Technology Acquisition Strategies Research Articles

Variational approach for a technology acquisition strategy model in context of the Internet of Things

Variational approach for a technology acquisition strategy model in context of the Internet of Things

Assessing the influence of technostress on the academic performance of adult learners in Zimbabwe

The purpose of the study was to assess the influence of technostress on the academic performance of adult learners. A closed-ended questionnaire was self-administered to a total of 105 adult learners constituting 80% of the target population. Field survey data were presented using descriptive statistics of mean, mode and standard deviation and percentiles in tables. Stata11 data software was used for data analysis. The regression analysis was adopted to examine relationships between variables by extrapolation of the model’s p-value, R squared, adjusted R squared and regression model coefficient. The findings of the study indicated that there are statistical relationships between theoretical framework, techno stressors and the level of student sense of pressure due to educational technologies usage by adult learners. The study concluded that technology adoption as teaching and learning tools affects student performance through increased work pressure. Recommendations of the study indicate that adult learners should be effectively trained on how to utilise new teaching and learning technologies to reduce workload pressure. The study also recommends that technology acquisition strategies be proposed by the University to help the students acquire technology gadgets so that they are able to access teaching and learning materials. The study also recommended training and counseling of adult learners during their first year's first semester so that they are able to balance work-home and school responsibilities.

Fragmentation of Technology Ownership and Acquisition Strategy of Firms

AbstractThis paper examines how the fragmented ownership of complementary intellectual property (IP) rights affects firms’ acquisition behaviour. We theorize that as the ownership of complementary IP rights fragments, the rate at which a focal firm engages in technology acquisitions will increase. Our predictions suggest that firms will expand their IP portfolios through acquisitions as a strategy to continue innovating when the ownership over strategic IP becomes exceedingly spread among technology holders. Furthermore, we propose that this positive relationship between fragmentation and acquisitions will be stronger for firms whose patent portfolios hold relatively less value compared to their peers, owing primarily to their diminished control over strategic IP. Using a unique longitudinal dataset from the biopharmaceutical industry, we find empirical support for our hypotheses.

UNISON framework of system dynamics-based technology acquisition decision for semiconductor manufacturing and an empirical study

Semiconductor industry is technology-intensive and capital-intensive, in which semiconductor manufacturing companies strive to continuously migrate to advanced process technologies with productivity and quality to maintain competitive advantages effectively and efficiently. Since technology acquisition and capacity expansion take a long lead time, the present problem is a strategic decision under uncertainties that needs both human judgments and analytical approaches. Limitations of the existing studies can be traced in part to the lack of a framework within which different strategies can be evaluated while considering dynamic and uncertain market condition with systematic decision approaches. Focusing on realistic needs, this study aims to propose a framework for analyzing technology acquisition decisions with analytics based on historical data and conduct an empirical study for semiconductor manufacturing to reduce the risks and optimize the expected benefits. A system dynamic-based model was employed to clarify the dynamic interactions to evaluate the expected outcomes of the technology acquisition strategies. Moreover, sensitivity analysis is conducted to investigate the impacts of key factors to provide insights into different market scenarios for the decision-makers. The results of the empirical study have shown the practical viability of the proposed approach.

Technology Acquisition Strategy: A Latecomer's Perspective on Integrating Component Suppliers With System Integrators

Having unique market structures divided between a few buyers (military or airliners) and a few oligopolistic producers, as well as requiring several millions of components, the aerospace industry has the typical feature of a complex structure. Due to the complexity of operational procedures, strict safety regulations, and reliability requirements, close cooperation between manufacturers and suppliers is critical in developing new products based on the operational plan that incorporates customers’ needs. Thus, it is necessary to have a systematic planning and technology acquisition procedure that considers these various aspects. However, research has paid little attention to strategic technology learning and acquisition procedures in detail and practical guidelines through which system integrators and suppliers strategically cooperate in sharing strategic development plans. In this regard, we analyzed the case of “T-50,” the first indigenous supersonic advanced trainer introduced by Korea Aerospace Industries in 2005, to investigate the associations between system integration and components in development phases. Not only did we examine how the structures of technology dependence and operations in R&D phases manifest but also identified discrepancies between system integrators and suppliers. Finally, we provided strategic actions for latecomers to effectively acquire core technologies in accordance with both technology absorptive capability and the types of product architecture. This article helps firms to build both strategic technology planning and managerial capabilities in the complex product system industry. The proposed framework provides a detailed strategic planning process in the development phase and includes technology acquisition and R&D project plans between system integrators and suppliers for creating new products.

글로벌 기술획득전략의 유형별 특성에 관한 실증연구

Although demands of global technology transfer have been expanded, extant studies tend to focus on the national or industry level and are still limited to describing firm-level technology transfer. This paper aims to identify behaviors of the global technology acquisition strategy of 89 Korean companies by analyzing TBP(Technology Balances of Payment) data which records disembodied technological asset flows. Based on four indicators such as activeness, concentration, persistence, and dependence on external technology, firms’ technology acquisition strategy can be clustered into four types: classmate, shy guy, opportunist, and outgoing person. In addition, this paper contributes to a practical understanding of firms’ global technology acquisition behaviors and provides implications for determining innovation policy directions or firms

해외기술도입 전략이 기업 성과에 미치는 영향 : 한국기업을 중심으로

As the complexity of technology and the convergence between technologies increases, firms have actively utilized foreign technology acquisition to strengthen their competitiveness. Based on TBP(Technology Balance of Payment) data of 243 Korean firms, this paper empirically explores the impact of foreign technology acquisition strategies on the financial performance and the moderating effect of a firm

Technology acquisition strategy in the context of the Internet of Things using game theory

ABSTRACT In the era of open innovation, it is of great significance to analyse strategic trade-offs for enterprises’ technology acquisition between external and internal. This paper considers the relative pay-offs amongst two manufacturers’ selection for their respective scarce technology of the Internet of Things, using game theory models and numerical analysis. In addition to self-innovation relying on internal resources, enterprises can obtain technology from external sources, including technology imported from a third party or cross-licensing with its competitor. Unlike empirical analysis, this study focuses on the strategic firms’ interactions at the micro-level study and operational considerations, such as the factors influencing the mode of enterprise technology acquisition, firm competition and cooperation behaviour mechanism, and the selection of innovation initiators. The findings provide implications for competitive enterprises in high-tech industries to acquire complementary technologies by identifying what conditions lead to win-win outcomes. In particular, firms can adjust their licensing levels under certain conditions to adapt to the disparities in each other’s development capabilities, thus achieving cross-licensing agreements.

‘Anti-extortion’ mechanism of indigenous innovation by technologically backward firms: evidence from China

ABSTRACT Aiming at the strategic behaviour in ‘technology make-or-buy decisions’ in the real economy, this study develops a Cournot competition model with endogenous technological level, by comparing the technology acquisition cost of technologically backward firms under different technology acquisition strategies, we theoretically analysed the ‘anti-extortion’ mechanism of indigenous innovation by technologically backward firms, and the relationship between indigenous innovation and technology imports is empirically tested by using the data of Chinese industrial enterprises above designated size. We show that indigenous innovation can significantly enhance a firm's bargaining power, and the technology acquisition strategy of simultaneous technology imports and indigenous innovation can not only reduce the technology imports cost but also reduce the indigenous innovation cost. Therefore, only by indigenous innovation based on technology imports, can firms enhance their market competitiveness.

산업기술복잡성에 따른 기술확보전략의 경영성과 효과 분석

산업기술복잡성에 따른 기술확보전략의 경영성과 효과 분석

Multi-level drivers of catching up in complex product systems: an Iranian gas turbine producer

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the pattern of technological capability building in the gas turbine industry as a complex product system (CoPS) in an Iranian gas turbine producer named Oil Turbo Compressor Company (OTC) and to recognize multi-level (firm, industry and national) drivers influencing technological catching up in this company.Design/methodology/approachThis paper used a qualitative approach and case study research strategy. A preliminary theoretical framework is proposed based on research background. Also, the data were collected from various sources, including the interview with 11 experts, studying many documents and participating in some relevant meetings and conventions. To analyze the data, the authors relied on their preliminary theoretical framework and applied the chronological sequence analysis technique.FindingsOur findings show that, first, in contrast with mass-produced industries where capability building pattern often leads to product innovation, technological capabilities in OTC have evolved from assembling to manufacturing, upgrading and finally redesigning of existing models of gas turbines. Second, two firm-level (proper technology acquisition strategies and building organizational and managerial capabilities), two industry-level (networking, integration and collaboration among key actors and existence of local market and demand) and two national-level (government’s policies, supports and initiatives and institutional arrangement and political conditions) drivers have played indispensable roles in facilitating and accelerating technological catching up by OTC.Research limitations/implicationsInevitably, the current research faces a few limitations. For instance, the difficulty of generalization is considered an inherent problem because it is a case study of only one Iranian latecomer company, as well as only one CoPS industry. Regarding implications, the findings suggest that technological catching up in CoPS industries in developing countries is not a simple and autonomous process and is influenced by multi-level factors, including national-, industry- and firm-level drivers.Originality/valueIn terms of theory, this paper tends to investigate and explain the catching-up process in OTC as an Iranian gas turbine producer by applying a multi-level theoretical framework that consists of firm-, industry- and national-level drivers. In terms of practice, this paper aims at investigating drivers affecting the catching-up process in a CoPS industry in a developing country that was faced with vast international sanctions, while many other studies in this area examined cases from developing countries such as Korea and China that had the opportunity of enjoying international collaborations and overseas knowledge flows.

SPE Board Announces Nominees 2021 President and 2020 Directors

Tom Blasingame is the nominee for 2021 SPE President. He and four others make up the slate of nominees recommended for positions open on the SPE Board of Directors. 2021 SPE President Tom Blasingame is a professor and holder of the Robert L. Whiting Professorship in the Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M University. His teaching and research activities focus on petrophysics, reservoir engineering, analysis and interpretation of well performance, exploitation of unconventional reservoirs, and technical mathematics. He also holds a joint appointment in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the university. As of February 2019, Blasingame has graduated 67 MS (thesis) students, 34 MEng (report, non-thesis) students, and 14 PhD students. He served as assistant department head of graduate programs for the Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M from 1997 to 2003 and has been recognized with several teaching and service awards. 2020 SPE Directors Regional Director Middle East Qasem Al-Kayoumi is senior vice president technical center in Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s (ADNOC) Upstream Directorate. His work experience includes drilling, reservoir management, reservoir simulation, field development, business planning, field operations, and technology development and deployment. Al-Kayoumi has been a member of SPE since 1985 and received a Regional Service Award in 2009. He helped establish the SPE Abu Dhabi Section, served as its chairman from 1993 to 1994, and continues to play an active role in section activities. Regional Director North America Zachary Evans is a senior storage engineer for TransCanada, based in Charleston, West Virginia. His work experience includes multiple underground gas storage development projects in the Appalachian Basin, specializing in reservoir characterization and performance monitoring, well integrity assessment, well test analysis, regulatory compliance, workover prioritization, employee hiring and training, and capital project oversight, and growth and expansion project coordination on the Columbia Gas Pipeline System. Before joining TransCanada, he worked in directional drilling and openhole logging as an MWD/LWD engineer and senior field engineer for Schlumberger in Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and Australia. Technical Director Drilling David Reid is chief marketing officer for NOV, where he advises on technology development, direction, and acquisition strategies for the company. He also develops company culture strategies and provides internal consultancy and advice on market trends. He has held field, management, and executive roles at NOV in E&P business and technology, product management, and drilling rig package development. Reid joined Varco International in 1992 and has worked in Scotland, California, and Houston in service, operations, design, business and product development, leadership, and management roles. He has served on the board of directors of the NOV and Schlumberger IntelliServ joint venture since 2009. Technical Director Production & Facilities Robert Pearson is the technical director and founder of Glynn Resources, a consulting company based in Calgary. He has worked in production operations, completions engineering, and field development planning for onshore, offshore, frontier, and unconventional developments in several geographic regions. Pearson spent 10 years at Shell International prior to moving to Canada with Petro-Canada, now Suncor, as a district production operations supervisor. He cofounded and was subsequently president of APA Petroleum Engineering, which is now part of the RPS Energy Group. He worked for the group in Singapore and Brisbane before returning to Canada in 2015.

Patterns of international technology acquisition in a post catch-up country: the case of Korean firms

ABSTRACTThis study aims to examine the use of international technology acquisition strategies in post catch-up countries, using the case of Korea. For this purpose, we collected a unique data set that describes technology acquisition activities in all Korean firms, from 2009 to 2011, as well as the basic characteristics of each firm. Eight unique acquisition patterns are specified through the self-organizing map (SOM), and a set of follow-up analyses are conducted to provide practical and discussible insights. Based on the eight patterns identified at the firm level, we argue that technology acquisition activities are diversified in post catch-up countries, relative to catch-up countries, with improvements of their internal capabilities. The research contributes to an expanded understanding of innovation strategies in the post catch-up context, and has practical implications that facilitate the innovation of firms in such countries, through international collaboration.

Peacekeeping's Digital Economy: The Role of Communication Technologies in Post-conflict Economic Growth

ABSTRACTPeacekeeping operations, mandated through the United Nations and regional bodies, play an increasingly diverse role in the economic development of post-conflict countries. A key way that missions can use their administrative capacity to support economic recovery is developing effective technology use and acquisition strategies in host countries, which is a peacekeeping-wide policy goal outlined in the high-level Performance Peacekeeping report. Our paper introduces the theoretical channels through which missions’ use of information communication technologies (ICTs) can support local economic development in post-conflict settings, making a theoretical argument that draws on both the literature on ICTs in peacekeeping and in economic development. We specify a Cobb–Douglas model that describes the potential impact of peacekeeping mission-led ICT investment on longer term economic development in combination with statistics on mission technology spending and internet use in host countries, providing a formal scaffold for our theoretical argument. Using this model and data in combination with a case study of the Central African Republic-based United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic mission, we argue that peacekeeping missions should use their purchasing power and stabilizing influence to attract value-added technology investment to support economic development.

Corporate strategies for technology acquisition: evidence from patent transactions

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine, for a sample of ten corporations in three industries (i.e. automotive suppliers, semiconductors, and computer networks), the different strategies that firms undertake when acquiring patent-protected technologies. In particular, the authors analyze and compare two alternative channels for patent acquisition: markets for technology (MFT) and merger and acquisition (M&A) processes.Design/methodology/approachThe authors implement two types of analyses, at both patent and firm level. First, the authors perform an econometric analysis to evaluate whether acquired patented technologies differ in their patent bibliographic characteristics with respect to patent-protected technologies that have been developed internally by the examined firms. The authors then investigate the presence of differences in the characteristics of transacted patents acquired in the MFT or by means of M&A activities. Second, the authors take a firm-level perspective and examine the technology acquisition strategies adopted by selected companies to identify the presence of common patterns, industry-driven specificities and firm peculiarities.FindingsThe authors find that acquired patented technologies are, on average, more complex, of higher technical merit and the corresponding patents show a higher legal robustness. Econometric results reveal the presence of differences between M&A and MFT patents: the latter seem to protect less complex, and thus easier to trade, inventions. The analysis of the patterns of patent acquisitions at the firm level shows the presence of different strategies for the external sourcing of patented technologies, based on whether acquired patents protect core or non-core technology areas of the analyzed firms. Such patterns are discussed in the light of the different streams of the literature on intellectual property (IP) management.Originality/valueThis paper makes use of a new and comprehensive data set of the US patent transactions that took place between 2002 and 2010. The authors added detailed data on the evolution of the corporate trees of analyzed firms. The paper contributes to the literature on technology acquisitions and MFT by examining the different channels for patented technology acquisitions. The issue represents an emerging area of interest in the field of IP management.

Peacekeeping's Digital Economy: The Role of Communication Technologies in Post-Conflict Economic Growth

Peacekeeping operations, mandated through the United Nations and regional bodies, play an increasingly diverse role in the economic development of post-conflict countries. A key way that missions can use their administrative capacity to support economic recovery is developing effective technology use and acquisition strategies in host countries, which is a peacekeeping-wide policy goal outlined in the high-level Performance Peacekeeping report. Our paper introduces the theoretical channels through which missions’ use of information communication technologies (ICTs) can support local economic development in post-conflict settings, making a theoretical argument that draws on both the literature on ICTs in peacekeeping and in economic development. We specify a Cobb–Douglas model that describes the potential impact of peacekeeping mission-led ICT investment on longer term economic development in combination with statistics on mission technology spending and internet use in host countries, providing a formal scaffold for our theoretical argument. Using this model and data in combination with a case study of the Central African Republic-based United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic mission, we argue that peacekeeping missions should use their purchasing power and stabilizing influence to attract value-added technology investment to support economic development.

Diversity of technology acquisition in technological catch-up: an industry-level analysis of Chinese manufacturing

ABSTRACTUsing panel data analysis for an industry-level sample of Chinese manufacturing industries from 2000 to 2009, the study examines how latecomers dynamically adapt technology acquisition strategy in terms of technology acquisition diversity during the transition process from imitation to innovation. Our research considers technology acquisition as a portfolio of technology channels and thus examines the impact of technology gap between domestic firms and foreign firms on technology acquisition strategy at the industry level. The findings reveal that technology gap positively affects technology acquisition diversity of Chinese manufacturing industries. Further, it shows that technological uncertainty weakens the positive impact of technology gap on diversity of technology acquisition.

Unveiling Technology Acquisition and Deployment Decisions for Technological Innovation: An Exploratory Study in Indian Power Distribution Firms

How managers take decisions with respect to the acquisition and deployment of technology to promote technological innovation is central to the field of strategic management. The main objective of this research is to explore how technology decisions drive technological innovation in organizations. Technology decisions have been explored through the lens of substance and enactment of technology strategy. The paper reports findings from three Indian Power Distribution Firms that have taken various initiatives to turn around the dilapidated power distribution situation in the country. The study in addition to proposing typologies of technology acquisition and deployment strategies on the basis of patterns discovered also puts forth propositions linking technological innovation to the typologies. A modified model linking the technological innovation process to the substance and enactment of technology strategy has also been proposed.

A DEMATEL-Based Framework for Identification of Causalities Among Internal and External Modes of Technology Acquisition

Technology acquisition plays a key role in the management of technology in industrial organizations. While there are ample theoretical and empirical researches on firm technology acquisition which are focused on the study of its dependence on other components of organization, the literature pays less attention to explore and analyze the inter-relatedness found in the main body of technology acquisition itself. Internal and external technology acquisitions are among the main substitute modes which are embodied in the general body of firm's innovation and technology acquisition strategy. In this research, we deploy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) as a powerful structural modeling technique to identify and visualize the causalities between internal and external modes of technology acquisition by processing the collective knowledge and expertise of firms' managerial boards and senior technology experts. Then, an integrated structure could be introduced for the macro-level technology acquisition and in addition to the mathematical modeling of causalities between internal and external modes of technology acquisition, a decision support system could be presented.

Plant foods and the dietary ecology of Neanderthals and early modern humans

One of the most important challenges in anthropology is understanding the disappearance of Neanderthals. Previous research suggests that Neanderthals had a narrower diet than early modern humans, in part because they lacked various social and technological advances that lead to greater dietary variety, such as a sexual division of labor and the use of complex projectile weapons. The wider diet of early modern humans would have provided more calories and nutrients, increasing fertility, decreasing mortality and supporting large population sizes, allowing them to out-compete Neanderthals. However, this model for Neanderthal dietary behavior is based on analysis of animal remains, stable isotopes, and other methods that provide evidence only of animal food in the diet. This model does not take into account the potential role of plant food. Here we present results from the first broad comparison of plant foods in the diets of Neanderthals and early modern humans from several populations in Europe, the Near East, and Africa. Our data comes from the analysis of plant microremains (starch grains and phytoliths) in dental calculus and on stone tools. Our results suggest that both species consumed a similarly wide array of plant foods, including foods that are often considered low-ranked, like underground storage organs and grass seeds. Plants were consumed across the entire range of individuals and sites we examined, and none of the expected predictors of variation (species, geographic region, or associated stone tool technology) had a strong influence on the number of plant species consumed. Our data suggest that Neanderthal dietary ecology was more complex than previously thought. This implies that the relationship between Neanderthal technology, social behavior, and food acquisition strategies must be better explored.