Technology-intensive Companies Research Articles

TOWARDS A SYSTEM OF PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR RESEARCH ACTIVITIES: NIKEM RESEARCH CASE STUDY

Although theoretical approaches to research and development (R&D) performance measurement are widespread, empirical investigations into the application of these theories are far less diffused. Therefore, we started a research project aimed at studying the R&D performance measurement practices adopted by Italian technology-intensive firms. This paper discusses the earliest empirical results of the project; it deeply investigates the experience of an Italian contract research organisation in designing a system of performance measures for its research activities. The studied case is interesting for the following reasons: (i) it witnesses the increased interest by technology-intensive companies towards R&D performance measurement; (ii) it enlightens the lack of consolidated practices capable of guiding the design of an appropriate performance measurement system; (iii) it elaborates a practical framework that can help fill this gap. In fact, a systematic approach for linking different contextual variables (i.e. the company's strategy, the type of R&D activity undertaken, the purpose of the measurement and the R&D unit's organisational structure) to the critical design choices (i.e. the choice of the performance indicators and the structure of the system) is suggested.

Implementing Concurrent Engineering

OVERVIEW:The use of concurrent and sequential engineering for new product development was compared in one technology-intensive company. Overall, concurrent engineering (CE) led to shorter development time and better performance. The study also established a framework for the systematic implementation of CE, involving process, people, tools and technology, metrics, organizational support, buy-in, and benefits and barriers to success. Among those barriers: lack of business unit and top management support, difficulty setting requirements at the concept stage, and lack of early involvement by Marketing.

Technology intelligence systems: practices and models for large, medium-sized and start-up companies

Technology intelligence is one of the latest management approaches that many companies are adopting in order to be successful in today's rapidly changing and challenging technological environment. This paper aims to provide insight into how leading multinational, technology-intensive companies, as well as medium-sized and start-up companies, organise and run a technology intelligence system. Issues such as process tasks and roles, forms of coordination and communication, influential factors, suitable structures and appropriate methods are discussed and further developed. Emphasis is given to 'best practices' in use, which have been taken from numerous interviews and in-depth action research, and which are presented as case studies in this paper.

Implementing concurrent engineering

OVERVIEW:The use of concurrent and sequential engineering for new product development was compared in one technology-intensive company. Overall, concurrent engineering (CE) led to shorter development time and better performance. The study also established a framework for the systematic implementation of CE, involving process, people, tools and technology, metrics, organizational support, buy-in, and benefits and barriers to success. Among those barriers: lack of business unit and top management support, difficulty setting requirements at the concept stage, and lack of early involvement by Marketing.

Extreme customer innovation in the front-end: learning from a new software paradigm

The front-end phase of the innovation process constitutes up to two-thirds of the total cost of new product development (NPD). In response to the new open innovation paradigm, new ways to integrate customers' knowledge into the innovation front-end must be explored. In an attempt to learn from analogous situations in which the interface between developers and customers has been managed successfully, this article analyses the Extreme Programming (XP) approach of software engineering. Through its iterative but disciplined probe-and-learn cycles, the approach helps companies effectively develop advanced products with the help of their customers. Using case studies from interviews with R&D directors of 20 technology-intensive companies, the applicability of successful practices from XP to traditional NPD is analysed. The authors identify four determinants for front-end management that reside between creativity and resource efficiency. These determinants dictate the potential for front-end effectiveness improvement and enable the maximum amount of knowledge generation and absorption from the customer.

Management of multi-R&D-alliance processes in international companies: a conceptual framework

The importance of international R&D alliances has been growing, and many large companies carry out more than 100 R&D alliances simultaneously. In parallel, the R&D organisations of large companies have become increasingly international. As a result, large technology-intensive companies face the problem of managing their multiple international R&D alliances in the context of globally distributed R&D units. In a situation involving both the multi-alliance and the international dimension, an adequate localisation and organisation of the alliance activities gain additional importance. These challenges are very common in practice but they do not receive adequate attention in the existing literature. Therefore, a framework is developed in this article based on existing research results regarding the localisation and organisation of international multi-R&D-alliance processes. The questions described above are analysed along a process model of international multi-R&D-alliance processes. Afterwards, a process-spanning view is set up, and managerial implications are discussed. Finally, the organisational option of an 'alliance function' is described, which facilitates an integrated management approach to international multi-R&D-alliance processes.

Self-perceived strategic network identity and its effects on market performance in alliance relationships

This study examines the relationship between a firm's perception of its own strategic network identity within its network of business alliance relationships and its market performance. In addition, the study examines how a firm's relationship management practices serve as antecedents to its strategic network identity. Based on a large-scale study of technology-intensive companies engaged in multiple and substantial collaborative projects with other firms, the empirical findings suggest that network sensing, relational embeddedness, and partner integration lead to strong strategic network identity and, subsequently, to enhanced market performance. The findings contribute to our understanding of how network relationship management activities can create enduring strategic advantages for the firm.

Insourcing Creativity with Listening Posts in Decentralized Firms

Technological listening posts as a means of technological knowledge sourcing were observed to be a widespread empirical phenomenon in centres of technological excellence and innovation clusters. Our research is based on 55 semi‐structured interviews with 12 technology‐intensive companies and 6 benchmarking‐workshops on external knowledge sourcing with 11 companies. We reveal three archetypes of listening posts: trend scout, technology outpost and matchmaker. We describe their respective mission, organizational structure and critical success factors. Each type is illustrated with case studies.

Organising the external technology exploitation process: current practices and future challenges

The external exploitation of technologies by companies by means of licensing-out, sale of patents, and collaborations has grown tremendously over the last few years. The systematic use of this technology exploitation mode is hindered by a large knowledge gap in the efficient and effective organisation of this process. The aim of this contribution is therefore to learn more about how the external technology exploitation process is performed in technology intensive multi-business companies. The research results of ten exploratory in-depth case studies in leading European companies are presented. Firstly, from an historical analysis of the development of the technology exploitation process, three generations of organising the technology exploitation process are derived. Secondly, fundamental policy issues of organising the external technology exploitation process are described. Thirdly, based on the case studies and literature, fundamental principles of organising the external technology exploitation process are developed.

Third generation management of technology intelligence processes

How have the technology intelligence approaches of large technology‐intensive companies changed in the last 30 years? This paper aims to answer this question through case study research in 26 leading European and North American companies in the pharmaceutical, telecommunication equipment and automobile/machinery industries. The empirical results show that technology intelligence approaches have closely followed the changes in R&D organization, project selection and technology planning. Three generations of technology intelligence management can be distinguished. Furthermore, the contingency factors for the location of technology intelligence within technology intensive companies are identified.

Initial directors of international R&D laboratories

Technology intensive companies establish new R&D laboratories in regions of high innovation and near centers of scientific excellence. Identifying the right R&D director to head up such greenfield investments is central to the success or failure of the new lab. Analyzing 162 interviews with senior R&D managers, we identify eight different directorship profiles. Examples of new R&D sites and their directors include IBM, Daimler, Leica, Microsoft, Xerox, Lucent and Ciba. The initial mission and the intraorganizational and intraregional integration of the new lab are principal factors for director selection, determining expatriate or national management, cultural and ethnic familiarity, as well as local or international transfers. The analysis of succeeding R&D directors indicates a trend towards locally rooted yet organizationally competent R&D managers. The paper concludes with desired qualifications of director candidates for newly established international R&D sites.

THE EFFECTS OF EXTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS ON INNOVATIVE ACTIVITY WITHIN FIRMS.

Data from technology-intensive companies in China are used to examine how external relationships influence new product development activities within firms. Findings indicate that both extra-industry and intra-industry relationships can be important to performance in new product development, but different types of external relationships have different effects on innovative processes.

Organizational designs for R&D

Executive OverviewResearch and development is becoming increasingly business-oriented, and corporate reliance on new technology and innovation is greater than ever. How can R&D activities be organized to yield the greatest value for the enterprise? A study of 14 leading technology-intensive companies in six industries illustrates how three organizational designs are being used to manage distributed, flexible R&D organizations: (1) decentralized, (2) networked, and (3) integrated. Decentralized designs limit the role of a central R&D group; they direct R&D resources more toward products and markets rather than basic scientific activities. Networked designs push the boundaries of R&D outside the confines of a central R&D group and the firm as a whole. Integrated models use sophisticated communication linkages to tie centralized, science-based activities with the business needs of the corporation. Within the three design approaches, there are design variants, each with its positive and negative tradeoffs. We show how some designs for R&D are more effective than others and provide suggestions for how companies in search of an ideal organization design for R&D can select among possible configurations to promote adaptive, value-oriented R&D organizations.

Technology Outsourcing in the U.S. and Japan

OVERVIEW:Technology-intensive companies in the United States and Japan are increasingly turning to external sources for technology needed for new competitive products. Management techniques to fully exploit externally sourced technology are still evolving. So far, most of the activity has been confined to the tactical, business unit level for new products on a case-by-case basis. Some firms are convinced that sustained competitive advantage can be obtained through a strategic approach to technology outsourcing. The path to competitive advantage may be through the coupling of a balanced internal/external technology strategy with a broad portfolio of tactical management techniques.

Incongruities as a source of organizational renewal in corporate management of R&D

The heydays of the central R&D laboratory as the ‘dominant design’ of corporate R&D in large technology-intensive companies is over. The last decades have witnessed not only downsizing of central R&D, but also ongoing experimentation and restructuring of the modes of managing corporate R&D. What is the logic behind these ongoing restructurings? The paper argues that different kinds of organizational incongruities constitute critical sources of change in the organization of R&D. The paper seeks to align a contingency and an evolutionary perspective in analyzing two Danish technology-intensive companies characterized by highly different organizational trajectories.

On the path of enterprise science? An approach to establishing the correspondence of theory and reality in technology-intensive companies

A comparison of common general management approaches and the problems encountered in enterprise management at present reveals a critical gap between management theory and technological reality. This is apparent in the fact that the threat to existence due to technological change currently experienced by an increasing number of companies is not addressed by current theories of company management. The notion of "enterprise science" is proposed as a means of closing this gap. This approach is oriented towards scientific, integrative solutions to non-trivial enterprise management problems. Its potential for realisation is explored in an illustration of current teaching and research activities at the ETH Zurich.

Conceptualizing the successful product development project as a basis for evaluating management training in technology-based companies: a participatory concept mapping application

This study provides a basis for the development of outcome indicators for management training programs suited to technology–intensive companies. We argue that training outcomes should be conceptualized in terms of dimensions associated with the success of product development projects (PDPs), a perspective that departs from conventional trainee satisfaction and cognitive growth indicators and, at the organizational level, economic performance and productivity metrics. A participatory team consisting of academics and human resource development personnel applied concept mapping procedures to develop such a conceptual basis. Ten expert managers in technology-intensive firms were interviewed and later called upon to sort for similarity and rate for importance 47 factors in terms of their importance to the success of PDPs. Software that integrates multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis routines was used to produce a concept map of successful PDPs. This conceptual framework is discussed in terms of its utility as a basis for developing outcome indicators and as a guide for the evaluation of management training in technology-intensive companies. The benefits to firms invoking a participatory concept mapping process are also discussed.

Convergent and divergent technological and market strategies for global leadership

This paper analyses the technological and market strategies of eight technology-intensive companies (5 American, 2 Japanese, I European) that have achieved global leadership through strategic focus. Both technological and market strategies are divided into two broad categories: (1) convergent; (2) divergent. Therefore, four strategy clusters could occur. A convergent technology strategy is defined as the development and synergistic integration of all technologies necessary to achieve worldwide leadership for a new product. A typical example is the first laptop computer by Toshiba. A divergent technological strategy is defined as the development of alternative technologies, related or unrelated, that will assure leadership in a given market. A typical example is General Electric Medical Systems. A convergent market strategy is defined as the utilisation of all marketing efforts to gain worldwide leadership in a specific market segment, as for example General Electric Medical Systems. Finally, a divergent market strategy is defined as targeting a broad spectrum of customers across many industries, with a great variety of diverse applications. A typical example is the Toray Company of Japan which has achieved worldwide leadership in the application of carbon fibres. The paper discusses the characteristics of the four strategy clusters, their applicability on a contingency basis, and their impact on corporate strategy and organisation. Guidelines for practical implementation are offered, which appear to be applicable within the triad of North America, Western Europe and Japan.

Industry group seeks changes to Clean Air Act

A newly formed industry coalition is calling on Congress to make surgical changes to the Clean Air Act to allow technology-intensive companies to keep pace with rapidly changing global markets. The...

Design principles for an innovating company

Executive Overview There can be no more formidable challenge for a young company than to learn how to compete in the emerging global technology marketplace. When that company must also run the FDA regulatory gauntlet, falter, and then come back to win big, there is the basis for a good story. When a bench chemist accidentally licked his finger almost twenty years ago in a G.D. Searle lab, there was little reason to suspect that the product which would finally come to market would become one of the most profitable and widely-used food products in U.S. history. This article is not meant to lift the veil on the story behind this product, but to help other U.S. companies learn how to compete on what I call the new playing field for corporate innovation. The commercialization of aspartame, or NutraSweet as it is known, is a story filled with lessons for young technology-intensive companies facing this challenge.