Technology Management Literature Research Articles

The varying effects of standardisation on digital platform innovation: evidence from OpenStreetmap

ABSTRACT We investigate the effects of standardisation as a means of direct control on digital platform innovation. Specifically, we study the standardisation of parameters and procedures implemented in the web editing API on the popular geodata platform, OpenStreetMap. Using a regression-based approach to interrupted time series analysis, we assess the quantity and quality of new content generated on the platform before and after the standardisation. We find that the intervention had positive and negative effects on the generation of platform content on OpenStreetMap, which we summarise in three different effects (control, simplification, spill-over). Through the control effect, standardisation decreases the generation of content in quantity by enforcing conformity and reducing complementor’s freedom in producing certain outcomes. Through the simplification effect, standardisation increases the generation of new content in quantity by simplifying and streamlining the production of certain outcomes. Lastly, through the spill-over effect, standardisation increases the generation of content in quality and new areas of the platform by improving the compatibility and interoperability of content. Framing these findings through the rich body of work on standardisation and innovation in the technology management literature, we engage a long-standing tension in research on digital platforms – the balance between control and innovation. We discuss the prospect of standardisation as one way to directly control the balance between desirable and undesirable variation necessary for platforms to innovate, as it restricts some activities while enabling others.

The Role of Employees in Digital Transformation: A Preliminary Study on How Employees’ Digital Literacy Impacts Use of Digital Technologies

Even though digital technologies such as cloud technologies are prevalent in transforming businesses, the role of employees and their digital skills in the process is, to a large extent, neglected. This article brings forward the novel concept of digital literacy to explore the role of employees in understanding the wide variety of opportunities of digital technologies and their actualization. By treating digital literacy as the antecedent of cognitive behavior of employees in utilizing cloud technology at companies, we apply the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) for analyzing preliminary empirical data collected from 124 Australian employees’ technology use intentionality and behavior. The quantitative analysis shows that the TPB holds for the utilization of cloud technology and there is a positive relationship between employees' digital literacy and the utilization of cloud technology at companies. Overall, the study contributes to the technology management literature by offering a workable construct to measure the digital skills of employees in the form of digital literacy. Further, it expands the TPB framework by introducing digital literacy as a perceived behavior control variable that helps to examine the role of employees in digital transformation. The paper ends with implications and limitations of our preliminary study, followed with suggestions for future studies.

Industrial Convergence and Industrial Crisis: A Situational Analysis About Precision Medicine During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Convergence, and its various configurations, is an established topic in technology and innovation management literature. This article contributes to the extant literature about industrial convergence by conducting an explorative analysis of the industrial crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. In this article, we aim to explore how industrial convergence affects the business dynamics of the healthcare markets. To fulfill our research purpose, we perform a qualitative study by exploring retrospectively the case study of precision medicine. Thus, we use a case study approach based on the triangulation of the multiple sources of evidence gathered. We propose a conceptual framework attesting to the continued recourse to digitalization for the need for data integration and the creation of hybrid figures within healthcare markets during the industrial crisis. This article proposes various implications for researchers and practitioners dealing with the management and development of innovation in convergent sectors.

Guest Editorial: Technology for Social Good

The papers in this special section tackle technological development for the social good. THE slogan for IEEE is "Advancing Technology for Humanity".Implied within that slogan is the purpose of technology is for social good. Thus, this special issue falls within the spirit of the IEEE. The United Nations has been supporting social good with various goals, initially the millennium goals which evolved to the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The SDGs represent 17 major goals covering the three major dimensions of sustainability—environmental, social, and economic goals. The linkages between the SDGs and Industry 4.0 technologies— the latest classification of production technologies— have shown some SDG benefits from these technologies. The importance of social issues and social good is not lost on recent works on technology management. Yet, although the SDGs are about a decade old—they are only just appearing in the technology management and related topics literature.

Short communication: To speed or not to speed? The impact of market type and the COVID pandemic

Rapidly developing and bring an innovation to market (innovation speed) should have positive effects on performance. Yet innovation and technology management literature also suggests that faster innovation speed may lead to higher innovation failures in some scenarios. We investigate the value of innovation speed in four market scenarios: established markets before and during the COVID pandemic and emergent markets before and during the COVID pandemic. The study findings indicate that the pandemic has major implications for the value of innovation speed. In established markets where customer needs are well defined, rapid innovation increases performance before the pandemic; yet fast innovation speed leads to worst performance during the pandemic. In emergent markets where customer needs are still being formed, before the pandemic, the effect of innovation speed on performance is U-shaped (that is, slow or rapid innovation speed is better than moderate innovation speeds). In contrast, increasing innovation speed always leads to higher performance during the pandemic and innovation is most successful at very fast innovation speed. We present top ten success factors for managing innovation speed before and during the pandemic. The research findings are applicable for the post-pandemic new normal. The study also advances the engineering and technology management literature.

How information technology automates and augments processes: Insights from Artificial‐Intelligence‐based systems in professional service operations

AbstractThis study contributes to the technology management literature on the effects of IT on operations processes by examining the use of systems based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in professional services. The paper builds on key concepts on AI, information systems, professional work, and professional services operations management. A model is developed to explain how AI‐based systems combine with humans to do work, both automating and augmenting the work of the professional, leading to process improvement and extension of the service offering. The study uses case‐based research in two law firms and two accountancy firms using AI‐based systems. It shows that AI‐based systems are used selectively, mainly on high‐volume, back‐office tasks, across the sequence of stages in the professional service process—diagnosis, inference, and treatment. Automation using AI relieves professionals from repetitive tasks, while AI achieves augmentation by buffering professionals from low‐value activity, making their expertise scalable and providing new analytical insights. System use can improve performance in delivering core professional services and enable service extension into additional, high‐value advisory work. The model and research approach have potential implications for other emerging areas of technology management in OM.

Exploring the Business Model Innovation of Blockchain Technology

Blockchain is a technological innovation that performs a different paradigm (decentralized protocol) to change the way organizations or societies interact with others. Blockchain adoption evolves into different ecosystems (network of actors adopting BC) along with its development, namely public and private ecosystems. Although previous research has examined the role of BC on the business model, there is little explanation for how BC applies business model innovation (BMI) in different ecosystems. Using a multiple-case study approach, this study seeks to explain the innovation of the business model in different BC ecosystems. The study finds different formulas of BMI among the ecosystems. The potential BMI in the private/consortium BC emphasizes improving the existing business values. In the public BC, BMI potentially disrupts the current business model. The study also proposes a new theoretical model to identify the potential of BMI within an ecosystem. This study contributes to the technology management literature, particularly BC and BMI. Furthermore, the practical implications of this study are presented in this investigation.

Understanding technostress and employee well-being in digital work: the roles of work exhaustion and workplace knowledge diversity

PurposeTechnostress is becoming one of the main challenges among employees in the increasingly digital work context. Following the job demands-resources (JD-R) theory, this study aims to understand how technostress (e.g. techno-overload, techno-complexity, techno-insecurity and techno-uncertainty) decreases employees’ work well-being through exhausting one’s emotional and physical resources (i.e. work exhaustion), and to what extent workplace knowledge diversity could buffer this relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected three-wave data of 235 employees from three manufacturing companies in China. They conducted a moderated mediation model to test their hypotheses.FindingsThe results showed that work exhaustion mediated the relationship between technostress and employee work well-being and that perceived workplace knowledge diversity buffered this indirect effect.Originality/valueThis study might be one of the first attempts using the JD-R theory together with a three-wave longitudinal survey design to empirically examine the mediating role of work exhaustion and the moderating role of workplace knowledge diversity. The authors contribute to the information and technology management literature by underscoring the importance of being aware of technostress and managing technology-induced work exhaustion. They highlight that a knowledge-diverse work environment is an essential context that can help employees to handle difficult and complex tasks presented by various technologies and alleviate experienced technostress.

Influence of knowledge flow and knowledge stock on the technological niche through absorptive capacity in the R&D network

ABSTRACT The technological niche in an R&D network is a pulse of sustainable innovation for enterprises. Through a knowledge-based view (KBV) lens, this study examines the role of knowledge flow (stock) to elevate technology niche breadth (overlap) with a moderating effect of absorptive capacity. Chinese automobile industry patent data for 2005–2018 have been analysed through STATA 12. The results verify that knowledge flow (stock) has an inverted U-shaped effect on technology niche breadth, whereas, the effect on niche overlap is U-shaped. Furthermore, when absorption capacity is high, a moderate knowledge flow widens the technological niche and shrinks the overlap. But, at higher absorptive capacity knowledge stock widens the technology niche breadth but has no significant influence on niche overlap. This study is one of its types to optimise the technological niche through absorptive capacity and adds to KBV and technology management literature. Practitioners should optimise knowledge stock and knowledge flow to elevate the technological niche.

Emerging technologies and the use case: A multi‐year study of drone adoption

AbstractAlthough disruptive “Industry 4.0” technologies often lack a clear business case, vendors are advocating and companies are actively exploring their use in operations settings. The technology management literature suggests that successful adoption derives from an appropriate fit between the specific technology and (1) economic and strategic factors, (2) operational and supply chain factors, and (3) organizational and behavioral factors. Through a five‐year research project, we explore how drones—an archetypal emerging technology supported by a thriving vendor ecosystem—transitioned from early ideas to experimental applications to full adoption in daily operations. We analyze a range of data, including exploratory interviews with drone ecosystem actors, a secondary dataset, and case studies of drone applications in Geberit and IKEA. Key findings relate to our observation that technology adoption patterns for emerging technologies do not always follow the traditional linear logic of technology fit. We find that emerging technologies are characterized by a dynamic interaction between technology push from a thriving ecosystem and market pull from companies exploring meaningful operational and business value using the concept of “use case.” Based on these findings, we contribute to the technology management literature with an alternative technology adoption framework for emerging “Industry 4.0” technologies.

Aims and criteria for advancing technology management research at the Journal of Operations Management

Aims and criteria for advancing technology management research at the <scp>Journal of Operations Management</scp>

Management Principles for the Appraisal and Diffusion of Information Systems

In this paper, we bring to light the issue of appraising and diffusing information systems by small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana. The empirical data was gathered through an online questionnaire-based survey from 312 SMEs in Ghana. All these enterprises are registered members of the association of Ghanaian industries (AGI) and are confirmed users of information system. The framework of the study is developed based on the approaches found in technology management literature: management principles for disruptive technology, information system strategy, technological decision making and the technology acceptance models. The aim of the paper is to unearth management principles which allow SMEs in Ghana to appraise and diffuse information system successfully. We defined these principles through the comparison of known principles with the practiced principles of management of the small enterprises in Ghana and distilling the best management practices in information system appraisal and diffusion.

Prior knowledge, industry 4.0 and digital servitization. An inductive framework

Over the last few years digital servitization has become a very popular topic in the industrial marketing and technology management literature. The present article contributes to the extant literature on business models for digital servitization by investigating the roles and effects of prior technological knowledge. To date, this rich and growing body of literature has underestimated a crucial corporate asset for value creation, and that is firms’ past experience and knowledge. Such a corporate heritage may have relevant implications for a firm's approach and decisions regarding digital servitization, however, especially if it is related to one (or more) of the I4.0 technologies. The research question posed in the present article is thus: how does a company's prior knowledge affect its digital servitization strategies? To answer this question, we conducted a multiple case study, collecting and analyzing primary and secondary data about Italian medium- to large-sized enterprises that had recently implemented digital servitization. The findings illustrate the different effects of the technological solutions adopted on the companies’ business models, and delineate an inductive matrix with four different ideal-typical business models: expert industrializer; explorative solutioner; explorative industrializer; and expert solutioner.

Differences between policy assessment & policy evaluation; a case study on supportive policies for knowledge-based firms

In the management literature, the terminologies of assessment and evaluation in some cases are treated synonymously and are used interchangeably. However, these terms have different meanings and pursue different goals. In the area of ​​public policies, the two approaches to assessment and evaluation have yet to be separated. The article employs discourse analysis to examine the meanings, nature, purposes, methods, and other characteristics of assessment and evaluation in the lexical literature of the educational management (as reference literature) as well as technology management (literature close to the target literature). Accordingly, we have attempted to suggest new definitions, which differentiate between assessment and evaluation approaches in the field of public policy using the results of previous analyzes and metaphorical correspondences, and then define the boundaries of the uses of these tasks in the policy cycle. As a case study, the supportive policies of the Iranian government in supporting knowledge-based companies and institutions have been discussed, and some of the many possible investigations of the functions, outcomes, and practices of these policies listed based on assessment and evaluation. Some examples of challenges due to the inaccuracy in distinguishing between these two tasks and thus performing them incompletely are investigated in this case study and, as a result, deficiencies in the policy cycle and failure of policies to achieve their desired goals have been shown. Finally, the implications of management and policy on how can policymakers act on the paper's ideas as well as the necessity to use them are discussed.

Innovation, governance, and capabilities: implications for competition policy

Abstract Oliver Williamson’s contributions to many subfields of economics are salutary. However, he was recognized by the Nobel Laureate Committee primarily for his work on the boundaries (scale and scope) of the firm. This tribute endeavors to marry Williamson’s transaction cost economics with a capabilities framework to obtain new insights into how the scope and scale of technology companies influence their competitive performance in today’s digital economy. The role of big data and learning are highlighted. Strong implications for competition policy, and for management, emerge from the fusion of the two frameworks. Such fusion yields a more granular view of management and policy issues but requires the policy analyst to understand not just industrial economics but also the technology management literature which also has useful insights for competition policy and regulatory professionals.

Technology roadmapping: Industrial roots, forgotten history and unknown origins

Technology roadmapping has an established and proven track record for helping organizations with their strategy, long-term planning, innovation and foresight activities. Technology Forecasting & Social Change has played a leading role in disseminating research on roadmapping and, so, for its 50th anniversary issue, this paper provides a historical account of the emergence of roadmapping from the practices developed and deployed by technological-based organizations. Motorola, BP, Philips, EIRMA, Lucent Technologies and the Semiconductor Industry Association have all made significant contributions leading to the modern form that embodies a temporal, multi-layered, systems-based approach underpinned by the ‘market-product-technology’ structure (i.e. why-what-how). However, the industrial roots of technology roadmapping can be traced back to an earlier period, which is, as of yet, unacknowledged in the technology and innovation management literature. There is the overlooked or, perhaps, forgotten history where organizations such as NASA, Boeing, GE, Lockheed, USAF, Rockwell International and the U.S. Department of Energy initiated and advanced the practice of roadmapping – through this publication, their contributions will now be given the credit they so rightfully deserve.

Effective models of science, technology and engineering entrepreneurship education: current and future research

Science, Technology and Engineering Entrepreneurship Education (STEE) might raise student awareness towards the opportunities seeking challenges of entrepreneurship to promote technology transfer. However, despite the face validity of teaching technology entrepreneurship, there has traditionally been a weak link between the fields of research entrepreneurship education, and technology management and commercialization literature. In this introductory article, we ask whether entrepreneurship could be taught to students in engineering, science and technology majors via the use of dedicated teaching models. We highlight the prevailing approaches in STEE and identify two main research streams. We discuss promising research avenues for extending research on STEE focusing on the background and profile of target audiences, and assessing their impact on students’ learning outcomes. Finally, we provided summaries of the papers in the special issue and how they contribute to wider understanding of the effective models of STEE.

Determinants of Adopting a Zero Waste Consumer Lifestyle

As of 2019, Euromonitor International predicted that one of the most emerging consumer trends would be the aspiration and acting for a plastic-free world. The concept of Zero waste has been widely discussed in production technology and waste management literature, however, in recent years environmentally conscious consumers also decided to get more involved in concrete - and sometimes radical - waste reduction actions, even lifestyle changes. These initiatives were also supported by the authorities by banning certain single-use plastic items in the European Union by 2021. Media and social media personalities also have thematized the waste pollution problem and have brought closer to the population the principles of zero waste lifestyle. While the environmentally conscious consumer behavior has been researched widely before, the diffusion of zero waste principles at household level has not been in the researchers’ focus. The present study aims to conceptualize and then identify the dimensions and the determinants of a zero waste consumer lifestyle. Questionnaire-based research has been delivered on a sample of 378 people active in zero waste social media groups in Hungary. Our results reveal that the waste reduction initiatives are the most important components of the zero waste behavior; however, dimensions of reusing and recycling products, packages or waste are also identified. The zero waste consumer is driven by altruistic motivations, is nonconformist, guided by his own values and convictions, shows positive attitude towards zero wasters’ efforts, follows social media influencers’ videos in zero waste matters and is active in social media groups.&#x0D; &#x0D;

From a-value to value-multiplication: leveraging outbound open innovation practices for unrelated diversification in the sensor industry

ABSTRACTOpen innovation, as a connection-driven innovation paradigm, provides a set of practices, stimulating collaborative and intrapreneurial actions, while facilitating the rethinking of antiquated business models and value propositions. This research contributes to the extant open innovation and technology management literature by (a) conceptualising outbound open innovation and delineating it into two sub-modes: inward and outward and (b) elucidating the role of outbound open innovation as a vehicle for unrelated diversification and enabler of intrapreneurial aptitude within a technology-driven ecosystem. Fifteen in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted within a leading producer of sensing solutions, illuminate new value-creation narratives, grounded in intra and cross-industry innovation, providing novel research and management insights on utilising outbound open innovation practices as a means of leveraging un/under-utilised organisational resources towards developing diversified commercialised offerings and value-adding capability-based activities.

A Systems Perspective to Market – Based Mechanisms (MBM) Comparison for International Shipping

There is a debate on which Market-based Mechanism (MBM) international shipping should adopt to mitigate CO2 emissions. Literature presents three preferences: one supports fuel levy, another supports Emissions Trading System (ETS), while the last remains neutral. This study aims to investigate: which MBM is suitable to mitigate CO2 emissions for international shipping? First, we build a systems perspective conceptual model based on economics, technology and innovation management literature to understand relationships between CO2 reduction, R&D, adoption of technologies and financial resources. Next, fuel levy and ETS are defined. multi-criteria decision-making approach is used, containing single-dimensional metrics derived from literature and our conceptual model. We find that fuel levy is more suitable due to higher effectiveness in generating funds, encouraging R&D and technology adoption. ETS is harder to implement as it requires more man-hours to set-up, operate and review. ETS with full auctioning of credits becomes marginally comparable to fuel levy. To conclude, our view is that the MBM needs to fit the context in which it is deployed. In view of the sector’s current need for R&D, fuel levy seems to be more suitable than ETS for international shipping. Note: An earlier version of this paper was titled A systems perspective to market - based mechanisms (MBM) comparison for international shipping.