Commercialization Of New Technologies Research Articles

Technology transfer offices in the diffusion of transformative innovation: Rethinking roles, resources, and capabilities

Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs) serve as intermediaries supporting the commercialization of new technologies in the market, with the aim of enhancing economic competitiveness. Recently, there has been a growing recognition of innovation's role in addressing societal challenges, referred to as transformative innovation. In this context, TTOs are expanding their scope and mission, tasked with acting as intermediaries aligning societal needs—beyond mere market demands—with potentially transformative technological solutions.This paper empirically explores how TTOs interpret this new expanded role and examines as well the organizational resources and capabilities they mobilize to enact that role. We compare two TTOs that have recently been involved in projects related to the diffusion of transformative innovation. Our empirical findings reveal a disconnect between the prescribed expanded role of TTOs and their actual interpretation of that role. Additionally, TTOs lack the flexible mandates necessary for engaging in transformative innovation diffusion and the expertise to assess societal needs and impacts. They also face challenges in collaborating and co-creating with unfamiliar social actors. Rethinking the roles, resources, and capabilities of TTOs can help address this misalignment operationally.

Bridging the valley of death in the EU renewable energy sector: Toward a new energy policy

AbstractThe European Union (EU) has committed to becoming a global leader in renewable energy. Reaching this target implies fostering innovation activity to maximize the competitiveness of the European renewable industry. By relying on a case study approach based on a small number of in‐depth interviews with selected stakeholders, this paper illustrates one of the main factors hindering technological development in the renewable energy sector in Europe. More specifically, the paper focuses on the so‐called “valley of death,” which traps promising technologies in a “limbo.” While ready to be deployed from a technical standpoint, these technologies are not cost competitive and, paradoxically, only their widespread commercialization would allow to drive their cost down. The paper also identifies a mix of policy solutions that can effectively support the competitiveness of the EU renewable energy industry. While more public funding to deploy promising renewable energy technologies is certainly needed, EU policymaker should also improve synergies between EU funding programs at all stages of the research and innovation process. In addition, introducing an EU risk insurance and guarantee fund would ultimately allow to reduce deployment costs and boost commercialization of new technologies.

TRENDS OF COMMERCIALIZATION OF THE LATEST TECHNOLOGIES IN UKRAINE

Goal. The aim is to study the peculiarities of the development of commercialization of new technologies in Ukraine, generalization and deepening of methodological and organizational and economic principles of determining the economic efficiency of commercialization of new technologies. Method. To solve scientific problems used: comparative analysis of empirical data; abstract-logical generalization. Results. The tendencies of commercialization of the newest technologies in Ukraine in the conditions of uncertainty of the economic environment are studied in the work. On the basis of the conducted comparative analysis the conditions of success of commercialization of the newest technologies are defined. The problems of regulating the effective commercial activity of the latest technologies have been studied, and the expediency of its expansion has been substantiated. Scientifically substantiated conceptual bases and practical recommendations concerning the basic tendencies of development of commercialization of the newest technologies are developed. Scientific novelty. In the process of analysis, it was found that the most effective and efficient direction of STP implementation is the commercialization of new technologies. Practical significance. Some results and conclusions can be used by government agencies in drafting government programs to regulate innovation.

Knowledge and innovation dynamics of the Northwest Russia under geopolitical changes

Over the past 25 years, Russia has faced several economic and geopolitical challenges, including the 2008 global financial crisis, sanctions imposed in 2014, and the COVID-19 pandemic. To remain resilient in the face of these challenges, Russia needs to adopt a flexible development strategy and transition to a new path of development. This transition requires the development of new knowledge-intensive industries, expansion into promising markets, strengthening trade and economic partnerships, and achieving technological sovereignty. This study examines the innovation system in Northwest Russia and identifies factors that are critical for its sustainability and innovation security in the face of geopolitical instability. The study uses an integrated approach to trace the knowledge production and innovation process from research findings to the commercialization of new technologies. The study finds that there are strong correlations between innovation activity and R&D investment, patent activity, and the number of innovative organisations. The study also identifies three types of regional innovation systems in Northwest Russia: core, semi-periphery, and periphery. The nature of the regions’ involvement in R&D determines the dynamics and specialization of their publications and patents. The study also finds that there is a positive correlation between the volume of innovative products and quantitative factors in the functioning of subsystems involved in knowledge generation and innovation. Finally, the study examines the geography and structure of the international research network that the regions of Northwest Russia had formed by 2022. It shows that the geopolitical transformation requires a significant part of cooperation ties with unfriendly countries to be restructured.

CREATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE INNOVATION SYSTEM IN THE PRC

The article is devoted to the process of transition of the People’s Republic of China from the position of a country successfully adapting and using modern foreign technologies to the state of a country with a domestic innovation system capable of independently creating its own breakthrough technologies and generating impulses of global development. The author shows a radical change in the position of science in the country over the past decade. The number of people employed in R&D has more than doubled with a 3.5-fold increase in research and development funding. The prestige and demand for researches and engineers have significantly increased in the Chinese society.
 
 Solving the above-mentioned tasks has required serious institutional innovations, including the implementation of numerous state R&D programs, the redistribution of functions and responsibilities between various participants in the innovation process (e.g. public research organizations, colleges and universities, state-owned and private companies), strengthening the role of the business sector in financing, development and commercialization of new technologies, the comprehensive development of international scientific and technological cooperation etc. Both direct and indirect sources of R&D financing as well as different forms of implementing investment projects in the field of R&D are considered in detail. Cases of the most successful innovative companies and projects are presented.
 
 Special attention is paid to the analysis of China’s success in creating a post-industrial knowledge society, including the country’s rising position in various international rankings reflecting innovative development in whole and its particularities. The problems and difficulties on this path are also characterized with a special accent on improving the quality and efficiency of scientific research, as well as a more effective protection of intellectual property rights in the country.

Commercializing circular economy innovations: A taxonomy of academic spin-offs

Innovation and the commercialization of new technologies are seen as important drivers of the transition to a more sustainable development. An actionable strategy to achieve such a transition is outlined in the European Union strategy on resource efficiency and the development of a circular economy (CE). Academic spin-offs (ASOs) are new ventures based on scientific research that play an important role in commercializing technological innovations. However, the potential role of ASOs in the CE transition has not been systematically examined. We build on a unique dataset covering the population of ASOs in Norway and coded newspaper articles to identify potential CE-related innovations being commercialized by these firms. Using multiple correspondence analysis and clustering analysis, the ASOs were empirically classified along two dimensions related to the types of innovation (i.e., product or process) and the types of CE principle (i.e., narrow, slow, or close the production-consumption loop). Five clusters of CE-related ASOs were identified (i.e., smart product-service providers, technical process enhancers, biochemical cycle extenders, renewables providers, and biosphere regenerators), each having specific roles in the CE transition. This taxonomy can serve as a basis for more systematic comparisons of CE-related innovations across different firms and contexts. We conclude by outlining an agenda for further research and implications for how policies can harness the potential of ASOs to foster CE innovations.

Rethinking the Resources and Responsibilities of University Spin-Offs: Critical Factors in Times of Global Crisis

In recent years, the promotion of university spin-offs has become a measure adopted by many European universities to facilitate the commercialization of new technologies and knowledge that can lead to more sustainable economies and societies. However, the effectiveness of university-based companies has also been questioned, as many of them are resource-constrained, remain small in size and struggle to consolidate once they leave the university context. This paper addresses two main research questions: what are the critical factors inhibiting the consolidation, performance, and sustainable development of university spin-offs at a mid-range European university, and which critical factors need to be addressed the most thoroughly by the university’s support programs in order to improve their efficiency? To answer these questions, we collected relevant information from a panel of experts and interviewed academic entrepreneurs from a public university in the South of Spain. The analytic hierarchy process was applied to identify and prioritize the critical factors and sub-factors encountered by the university-based companies. The results show that poor management is the biggest critical factor in the consolidation of the spin-offs. One implication, the findings of our study reveal, is the need for university administrators to improve support for university spin-offs in terms of managing the new business as opposed to prioritizing the difficulties associated with the launch. Another is the need to raise awareness among faculties of the importance of finding an appropriate balance between technical and managerial skills in order to improve the chances of entrepreneurial success.

Tracing the technology transfer of battery electric vehicles in China: A patent citation organization network analysis

Technology transfer is an active process in which advanced technologies are transferred between two different actors. In a fiercely competitive environment, the development and commercialization of new technology, such as battery electric vehicles (BEV), increasingly depend on technology transfer across organizational boundaries. To further explore technological transfer across organizations, it needs to combine the related information with patent citations. However, the existing literature usually ignores the diversity and difference of patent citations across jurisdictions. To close the gap, the paper takes the difference of patent citations into account. The paper gains an insight into the evolutionary pattern of BEV technology transfer across organizations in China by constructing multi-category citation networks. We find that the technology transfer networks are increasingly complex over time, but technology transfers between organizations are uneven. An important characteristic of technology transfer is that it follows the power-law distribution with a very long tail. More importantly, both large car manufacturers and new entrants play an important role in technology transfer, followed by top automotive suppliers, while the role of universities is limited. Our findings can help policy-makers or company managers better understand the evolutionary pattern of BEV technology transfer at the organizational level.

New Framework of Digital Entrepreneurship Model Based on Artificial Intelligence and Cloud Computing

With the rapid development of entrepreneurial enterprises and the widespread application of emerging technologies, the commercialization of new technologies for entrepreneurial enterprises is particularly important. This research mainly discusses the new framework of digital entrepreneurship model based on artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Through artificial intelligence technology, the products provided by existing competitors only have the characteristics of one-way value; that is, data is only collected and displayed, and the application of artificial intelligence technology in products makes the value of products develop in two directions; that is, the machine can self-identify faults and errors are resolved and reported. Let customers experience the convenience, accuracy, and safety brought by technology through intelligent acquisition equipment hardware with artificial intelligence algorithm analysis and camera hardware with artificial intelligence image analysis. Customers can pay flexibly according to their needs. This model greatly enhances the high possibility of artificial intelligence companies landing. Use big data analysis and cloud computing technology to provide customers with a series of solutions such as warehouse management, sales forecasting, big data analysis, and financial management. In the SaaS market, in terms of market segmentation, there are no domestic enterprises with scale and brand effect; the incentive and welfare module will focus on the outsourcing and outsourcing of employee benefits. Relevant value-added services and derivative services are the core business, which can give play to the competitive advantages of specialization, scale, and platform. From 2018 to 2020, the cash paid to employees shows a gradual increase, and the taxes and fees paid are also increasing year by year. The cash paid for other operating activities reached a maximum of 12303 million yuan in 2018. This research will promote the innovation of new types of enterprises.

New Technologies' Commercialization: The Roles of the Leader's Emotion and Incubation Support.

New technologies, such as brain-computer interfaces technology, advanced artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and virtual reality technology, have a strong influence on our daily activities. The application and commercialization of these technologies are prevailing globally, such as distance education, health monitoring, smart home devices, and robots. However, we still know little about the roles of individual emotion and the external environment on the commercialization of these new technologies. Therefore, we focus on the emotional factor of the leader, which is their passion for work, and discuss its effect on technology commercialization. We also analyzed the moderating role of incubation support in the relationship between the leader's emotion and technology commercialization. The results contribute to the application of emotion in improving the commercialization of new technologies.

Commercialising circular economy innovations: a taxonomy of academic spin-offs

Innovation and the commercialization of new technology are seen as an important driver for the transition to more sustainable development. An actionable strategy to achieve this is outlined in the EU strategy on resource efficiency and the development of a circular economy (CE). This paper seeks to gain a more systematic understanding of the role that academic spin-offs (ASOs) can play in commercialising CE innovations. ASOs are based on scientific research and are a potential source of radical innovations, but their role in the sustainability transition has not been systematically examined. We rely on a unique dataset covering the population of ASOs in Norway and coded newspaper articles to identify potential CE-related innovations being commercialized by these firms. Using multiple correspondence analysis and clustering analysis, we find that the CE-related innovations commercialized by ASOs can be classified along two main dimensions, related to the type of innovation (product or process) and the type of CE principle (narrow, slow, or close the loop). Moreover, we identify five clusters of CE-related ASOs having specific roles in the CE transition. We conclude by outlining an agenda for further research and implications for how policies can harness the innovation potential of ASOs for realising a more CE.

Factors affecting researcher participation in technology commercialisation: A South African university case study

Background: Research universities in South Africa are well-recognised sources of new knowledge and their contributions to innovation are manifested through the creation, transfer and commercialisation of new technologies originating from academic research. Research collaboration between universities, industry and the community offer various benefits, which include funding for students and researchers and third-stream income for universities. Additionally, industry can gain access to new technologies to incorporate in improved products and services.Aim: The aim of this study was to identify the factors that encourage academic researchers’ involvement in technology commercialisation.Setting: The growth in university technology transfer in South Africa can be attributed to the South African Intellectual Property Rights from the Publicly Financed Research and Development Act (Act 51 of 2008). The establishment of Technology Transfer Offices at universities across South Africa, aims to involve researchers in commercialisation activities, champion the innovation conversation within universities and to progress innovations from concept to application in society.Methods: The study followed a positivistic research philosophy and a deductive approach. Researchers (n=38) in two faculties at the Nelson Mandela University participated in this exploratory study and completed an online survey. The respondents were selected through purposeful sampling. Results: The findings indicate that a combination of incentives is necessary to enable and to encourage researcher involvement in the commercialisation of research. A set of recommendations based on the findings and implementation suggestions are proposed.Conclusion: A combination of monetary and non-monetary incentives are required to enable academics’ involvement in commercialisation activities.

Pathways to commercialisation of biogas fuelled solid oxide fuel cells in European wastewater treatment plants

Fuel cell developments are driven by the need for more efficient and cleaner energy provision; however, current costs make it uneconomic in wastewater treatment plants. Interventions via policy instruments and business models may be required for cost reduction until the fuel cell is driven purely by market forces. In this work a novel market potential assessment methodology is developed and applied to quantify the impact of various interventions on biogas fuelled solid oxide fuel cell cost reduction and synthesize pathways to its commercialisation. The method is applied to 6181 plants in 27 European countries. Results show that 71% cost reduction is required for a medium sized fuel cell to be market driven. Existing incentives can trigger cost reduction by 13–38% but are not able to sustain it until the fuel cell is market driven. Innovations in business models, and incentivising business models instead of technologies can trigger and sustain cost reduction. Results also show that under today’s high capital cost, the number of economically attractive plants required to install fuel cells are lowest when business models are incentivised compared to other interventions. Incentivising new business models to encourage innovation in the sector has more impact that incentivising technologies. The framework is also relevant for creating narratives around the commercialisation of new technologies.

Analysis of the Key Success Factors for Commercializing Innovation

The development and commercialization of new technologies have inherent uncertainties and associated risks. Many researches conducted by Indonesian R&Ds never reached the diffusion stage, i.e., the commercialization process. Therefore, Indonesia needs a strategy to translate promising technologies into a stream of economic returns for its stakeholders. This study analyzes the critical success factors (KSF) for commercializing innovation. It used new product development literature and TOE (technology–organization– environment) framework and developed a research model to investigate the determinants of commercialization of innovation. In choosing the selected vital success factors, a hierarchy of KSFs was defined. It also used the Analytic hierarchy process to help experts rank the importance of identified KSFs. The KSF hierarchy is constructed with two levels: a critical comprising three dimensions and a detailed level of nine individual factors. The result shows that the experts believe that in the top-level, technology is the most critical dimension followed by environment and organization. Technology is the primary consideration for the company before launching their product to the market. Market demand has the highest rank from the environmental dimension. Lastly, experts suggest that the organization network is the most significant to grasp investors and potential markets for successful commercialization.

Коммерциализация объектов промышленной интеллектуальной собственности российскими предприятиями: актуальные аспекты проблематики

Intellectual property commercialization is one of the current ways of business capitalization. Using the process of commercialization of intangible assets, an enterprise receives both income and competitive advantage. The enterprise increases its market value as a participant of the intellectual property market since industrial intellectual property brings economic benefits, which increase together with its production volume. The present research featured a set of problematic aspects that level the effectiveness of the commercialization of new technologies at Russian enterprises. The research objective was to identify the main difficulties that enterprises face in the process of commercial implementation of industrial intellectual property. The author analyzed indicators that reflect the current practice of commercializing innovations in Russia. The article also focuses on the relationships between the entities participating in the commercialization process and the ways of their effective legal regulation. It contains a number of proposals to address the problems of commercialization of industrial intellectual property as a sphere of entrepreneurial activity in the context of Russian enterprises.

Students as Scientists’ Co-pilots in the Onset of Technology Transfer: A Two-Way Learning Process

To generate knowledge and technology transfer, universities are exploring new collaborative models. These new models aim to include actors that can have a positive impact on the technology transfer efforts of engaged academics. While open and collaborative models for technology transfer are seen as promising alternatives to the patent-centric linear model, there are limited insights on how these collaboration processes unfold and on their possible implications for the commercialization of new technologies. We explore the dynamics between the focal actor, i.e., the scientist, and a new actor in technology transfer, i.e., the students, in a university setting. We use an inductive, embedded multiple-case study to explore the contribution of knowledge interactions between scientists and students on the first steps of the technology transfer process. Our results suggest that the students’ contribution in the initial stages of the technology transfer process is influenced by the level of the scientist-student team consensus on the technology function as well as the flexibility and openness of the scientist to reconsider the technology meaning. We contribute to the ongoing debate on alternative technology transfer models and on the possible roles of students in academic ecosystems

MEASUREMENT OF THE AVERAGE INNOVATIVENESS CHANGE OVER TIME IN THE EU MEMBER STATES

In the age of globalisation, implementation and commercialisation of new technologies are perceived as key elements determining competitiveness of particular countries, therefore, the growth of innovativeness is seen as the predominant direction of European Union society’s transformation into information society. The aim of the paper is to propose a procedure of measurement of innovativeness growth over time, with the Summary Innovation Index (SII) methodology as a starting point. The considered issue can be expressed by the following main question: how to measure the innovation performance dynamics for a selected group of countries (such as the EU-28, EU-15 or EU-13 countries) and for time intervals (not only for two moments of observations). This is an important inquiry since well-known innovativeness indices (SII, GII, or IOI) concentrate mainly on the provision of information about countries’ innovation performance for a specific year of observations. Due to this fact, changes occurring over longer time periods are rather neglected. The main result of the paper is a proposition of average innovativeness growth index. The index uses weights describing the employment share of a selected group of specialists (e.g.: scientists and engineers, research and development personnel) in relation to the economically active population.

Toward Constitutive Models for Momentum, Species, and Energy Transport in Gas-Particle Flows.

As multiscale structures are inherent in multiphase flows, constitutive models employed in conjunction with transport equations for momentum, species, and energy are scale dependent. We suggest that this scale dependency can be better quantified through deep learning techniques and formulation of transport equations for additional quantities such as drift velocity and analogies for species, energy, and momentum transfer. How one should incorporate interparticle forces, which arise through van der Waals interaction, dynamic liquid bridges between wet particles, and tribocharging, in multiscale models warrants further study. Development of multiscale models that account for all the known interactions would improve confidence in the use of simulations to explore design options, decrease the number of pilot-scale experiments, and accelerate commercialization of new technologies.

Does Social Innovation Contribute to Sustainability? The Case of Italian Innovative Start-Ups

Start-ups, among other enterprises, play a major role in the development and/or commercialization of new technologies and the development of national economies, given that firms are the innovation locus for an entire society. In Italy, a recent regulatory intervention has focused on start-ups creating a framework where innovative start-ups are defined and regulated. Among innovative start-ups, those with a social vocation are of particular interest, since they are understudied in the literature. Indeed, the aim of this paper is twofold: to analyze the relationship between social innovation and sustainability in the latter businesses, and try to understand how sustainability could be fostered through them. Italian cases of innovative start-ups will be studied through content analysis applied to the Social Impact Assessment Document provided by firms. Results show that the Social Impact Assessment Document provided by innovative start-ups explicitly pays attention to social innovation and sustainability in different ways. However, the document does not show the link between social innovation and sustainability. Nonetheless, going through these documents, the link between social innovation and the three aspects of sustainability (economic, social and environmental) clearly emerge and therefore could be better managed.

Importance of Foreign Investors for Russian Power Industry In Prospect of Energy Revolution

The article discusses current state of Russian electric power industry and the main problems of its development in the future of global energy revolution, which will lead to a significant increase in share of renewable energy in global production and consumption of energy and use of industrial energy storage, and will make it possible to change the structure of the industry and significantly reduce electricity prices. Traditional energy generation displacement by renewables associated with emergence of new, more cost effective technologies. Producers of “disruptive technologies” receive advantages over importers of innovations, which are especially noticeable during the formation of the new technological wave. Considering possibilities of effective development of Russian power industry, it is important to take into account the realities, including high level of depreciation of equipment, lack of capital and technologies. Currently, in the field of technology in the power industry innovative economies of Japan, USA, UK, Canada, as well as dynamically developing economy of China are leading. The high level of patent activity in these countries is caused by presence of infrastructure which promotes the commercialization of new technologies and free access to investment capital. In Russia technological exports in power sector occurs mainly due to foreign projects of Rosatom. Operation of foreign-made equipment which accounts for a significant proportion of fixed assets and problems with the development and introduction of competitive technologies are complicated by the lack of investment in domestic market. For maintenance of imported equipment Russian companies have to buy spare parts abroad and to enter into service contracts with foreign suppliers. High depreciation of fixed assets also determines the need for new investment inflows into the sector. Thus the existing dependence on foreign investors is supposed to increase. In the short term the lack of domestic technologies that can compete on the world market will require consideration of opportunities of more effective attracting FDI and technological partnerships with foreign investors.