Technology Push Research Articles

Ambidexterity drivers of value-creation and appropriation in business models

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate how different trajectories can be detected and classified in business models (BMs) at the level of their underlying product development value-structure (value-creation and appropriation), and what are the drivers. Such BMs are run by multinational firms to accommodate various technologies and innovations; however, this is stressful because of inherent incompatibilities and conflicts.Design/methodology/approachAn explorative study of six product cases from Du Pont’s Textiles Fiber Division (DTFD), namely, nylon yarns, knits and wovens, DTFD blockbusters, Coolmax®, MicroMattique™, filling materials and Supriva™, is conducted.FindingsIn value-creation, technology push or market pull yields resultant technology-forward or market-back trajectories. For value appropriation, new growth opportunities or continuous market expectations lead to breakthrough or continuous innovations. Consistent and inconsistent combinations of these trajectories yield four differential drivers: technological breakthrough, market-back technology, continuous technology and continuous market-back. This is supported by relevant supply chain strategies, either focused through joint ventures and licensees for commodities or vertically integrated for specialty products.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper adds to the analysis of ambidexterity in the value structure of BMs along constituent value-creation and appropriation, thus providing a logical lens to understand various complementarities that exist in terms of opposing technology trajectories and product innovation repertoire.Practical implicationsThis study contributes to the knowledge of product innovation management in the textile industry, where both large-scale innovation and operational excellence are challenged over the past few decades.Originality/valueThe lessons learnt address the fundamental issue of higher value generation through configuration of multiple contrasting value-structure elements.

Developing technology pushed breakthroughs: an empirical study

Developing a technology push product that brings real novelty to the market is difficult, risky and costly. This case study analyzes success factors defined by the literature. True industrial cases, representing Finnish ICT firms in their early phase after a successful market entry, were researched for the success factor analysis. The whole set of the previously introduced success factors were variably supported, and three new factors arose. Because the technology pushed development processes are risky with high failure rates, the validated success factors are valuable knowledge for the developments intensive firm’s management.

Beyond technology push versus demand pull: the evolution of solar policy in the U.S., Germany, and China

Beyond technology push versus demand pull: the evolution of solar policy in the U.S., Germany, and China

Charting Process-Based Collaboration Support in Agile Business Networks

Agile business networking is an emerging concept aimed at helping companies face the challenges of the dynamic economy of the 21st century. It integrates a technology and a business perspective, arriving at highly dynamic internet-based processes. Despite its importance, there is no common understanding of this concept: many different interpretations exist leading to ad hoc business requirements or technical innovations. This creates confusion in research, development and application, and possible misalignment of requirements and solutions towards the future. In this paper, we set clear lines in this playing field by defining a configuration space for dynamic, process-based business collaboration, analyzing technology push and demand pull forces, and confronting these forces for alignment. To help new research efforts, we outline an approach to properly position them. Thus, we aim at contributing to a well-structured development of a dynamic Internet of Processes.

New approach to Integrated Pest Management research with and for horticulture. A vision from and beyond economics

The main problem addressed in this paper is the low adoption rate of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) knowledge into practice. Many IPM research leaders believe this low adoption rate is due to bottlenecks in knowledge supply. Consequently, they have asked for research, education and extension efforts that will lead to more widespread use of flexible, locally adapted and practical IPM. In our opinion, however, the bottleneck is a lack of attention for the motivations and framework conditions of the end-users. Therefore, in this paper we shift the focus from technology push to market pull. This paper is based on interviews with Dutch greenhouse growers about the adoption of a new cultivation concept and on export data of tomatoes and apples from Eurostat's Comext database. The two data sources were combined to get understanding of the interactions between entrepreneur types, economic drivers and adoption of new IPM methods. The motivations of the greenhouse growers were captured in mind maps. The export data were analysed for differences between market segments. The main motivations of the growers for adopting innovations such as IPM were getting access to high market segments and achieving better crop growth and lower crop losses. Thus, the challenge for IPM research is integrating tasteful cultivars and product types, advanced agronomy, adequate crop management, attractive packaging and low pesticide residue levels in an inclusive product concept (e.g. residue-free snack tomatoes in a transparent plastic cup). This can be achieved by capturing innovative production strategies from market-oriented entrepreneurs, further developing these strategies in in-situ experiments with input suppliers, crop-oriented entrepreneurs and advisers, and co-creating guidelines for integrated production strategies with these partners for both crop-oriented and costs-oriented entrepreneurs. The costs-oriented interviewees often had financial problems and/or plans to sell their business. Consequently, knowledge investments in this specific subgroup will, in many cases, not lead to adoption of new crop protection solutions.

Hemolysis generation from a novel, linear positive displacement blood pump for cardiopulmonary bypass on a six kilogram piglet: a preliminary report.

Current blood pumps used for cardiopulmonary bypass generally fall into two different pump design categories; non-occlusive centrifugal pumps and occlusive, positive-displacement roller pumps. The amount of foreign surface area of extracorporeal circuits correlates with post-operative morbidity due to systemic inflammation, leading to a push for technology that reduces the amount of foreign surfaces. Current roller pumps are bulky and the tubing forms an arc in the pumping chamber (raceway), positioning the inlet 360 degrees from the outlet, making it very difficult to place the pump closer to the patient and to efficiently reduce tubing length. These challenges put existing roller pumps at a disadvantage for use in a compact cardiopulmonary bypass circuit. Centrifugal blood pumps are easier to incorporate into miniature circuit designs. However, the prime volumes of current centrifugal pump designs are large, especially for pediatric extracorporeal circuits where the prime volumes are too great to be of clinical value. We describe a preliminary report on a novel, occlusive, linear, single-helix, positive-displacement blood pump which allows for decreased prime volume and surface area of the extracorporeal circuit. This new experimental pump design was used to perfuse a 6 kilogram piglet with a pediatric cardiopulmonary bypass circuit for two hours of continuous use. Blood samples were obtained every thirty minutes and assayed for plasma free hemolysis generation. The results from this initial experiment showed low plasma free hemoglobin generation and encourages the authors to further develop this concept.

Valuation of water and emissions in energy systems

Price incentives and economic penalties (monetization) are common approaches to control water usage and total direct greenhouse gas emissions (externalities) of industrial systems. We argue that homogenous pricing of externalities provides limited flexibility for mitigating environmental impacts as systems are affected quite differently by externalities. We use trade-off analysis and scalarization techniques to determine marginal prices for water and carbon by taking into account the actual physical and technical limits, stakeholders, and real-time conditions of individual systems. A combined heat and power (CHP) system providing hot water and electricity to a real residential building complex is undertaken as case study to demonstrate and describe these concepts. For this CHP system, we found that carbon prices should be increased by a factor of 14 and water prices by a factor of 217 to achieve an optimal compromise between cost, water use, and emissions. Our results point towards the need to consider alternative pricing schemes such as resource bidding (as is done with electricity) that better capture technology trade-offs and push systems towards their efficiency limits. Therefore, this approach can help stakeholders identifying more effective incentive-based environmental protection instruments.

The service innovation in healthcare network

Ageing population and chronic diseases are main issues for the Italian Healthcare System, requiring the development of service innovations. What are the drivers to develop service innovation in healthcare? In which way service innovation, particularly teleservices, can create value in health context? What are the key actors involved in the generation of value related to healthcare service innovation? This paper discusses the case of SPIDER@Lecco which aim is to create a rehabilitation ecosystem to offer new telemedicine services. This project turns out to be interesting for its open innovation perspective. The development of innovative healthcare services requires to overcome the technology push approach adopting a collaborative approach. The collaboration among heterogeneous actors characterized by different competences outlines the Healthcare Network.

Success factors for the commercialisation of Gas-to-Liquids technology

Notwithstanding the 2014/15 plunge in crude oil prices, Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) technology has been acclaimed as an important alternative to existing sources of liquid fuels, leading to significant efforts by many oil and gas companies, including Sasol, Shell, Axens, BP, GTL.F1, JOGMEC and Rentech, to develop GTL processes. However, only two companies, namely Sasol and Shell, have been successful with these endeavours. In this research, a mixed methods approach has been used to explore the reasons for this success, including the influence of commercial and technical factors. A framework consisting of five commercialisation success factors was developed and an analytical hierarchy process used to compare and rank the different success factors following interviews with a diverse set of role players in the GTL industry. It is clear that large-scale GTL projects require massive capital investment and carry large techno-economic risks. Moreover, an accurate return on investment is impossible to predict due to uncertainties in technology performance and market factors. As a consequence, project developers and financiers mitigate their risk by securing co-investment from GTL operators. Shell and Sasol dominate the GTL industry not necessarily because their technologies offer higher returns, but because they have jointly invested in GTL projects, an approach which subscribes to a model of technology push with risk sharing. It is recommended that other licensors should pursue the large scale validation of their technology at an existing syngas facility as a strategy to gain entry into the GTL market.

Exploring University-Industry Technology Transfer in India: Two Models

The purpose of this paper is to understand the influence of policy environment on development of technology transfer in university industry linkage in India. This study reviews literature on design perspectives of university spin offs including large scale survey of Indian universities, cross national comparisons and analysis of documents from professional bodies. There is evidence that policy environment is composed of structures that influence the implementation of a design. There is a policy shift that favoured indigenous state led technology transfer to private partnership in technology transfer in India. The opening of the Indian economy introduced policy environment favouring entrepreneurship. Two models of technology transfer in university-industry are proposed. The type I model is a technology push process that results in an IPR based regime where as the type II is a business pull model that favours university spin offs. Unlike the linear model of growth of technology transfer in the West, there has been a persistent divide between the sub systems of intellectual property and entrepreneurship in India. Research into the environment that designs a policy outcome in academic entrepreneurship may offer a template for a system that co-opts both IPR and entrepreneurship. Indian universities have been analysed for performance based on their traditional role in academics. The non traditional roles like technology transfer have been evaluated only through comparative case studies. This research fills the gap by giving an overview of the Indian scene and proposes theoretical models to understand them.

Modularity in Roadmapping – Integrated foresight of technologies, products, applications, markets and society: The case of “Lithium Ion Battery LIB 2015”

This paper describes how modularity is implemented in a roadmapping framework so that from a set of stand-alone roadmaps each could be used as an interconnected module, vertically and horizontally perfectly fitting together in an overall integrated roadmap describing a broad landscape of corresponding developments in technologies, products, applications, markets and society. The concept of modular roadmapping is illustrated by the example of a huge roadmapping project accompanying the innovation alliance “Lithium-ion batteries LIB 2015”, carried out by Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI, Karlsruhe, and funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany. The roadmapping framework addresses a broad technology landscape covering three focal domains: (i) Energy storage with lithium-ion battery technologies in general, addressing all kinds of corresponding battery applications, (ii) energy storage for electric mobility and (iii) stationary energy storage specifically. Each domain is represented and specified through a certain technology roadmap covering technological developments, a product roadmap assessing corresponding market trends and product requirements, and an integrated, unified roadmap linking technology push and market pull in a broader integrated view. In order to further specific insights for next generations of batteries in the above-mentioned roadmapping project, modularity for integrated roadmapping helps to systematically link expertise on technologies, products, applications, markets and society in regards to overarching (inter-)national challenges (e.g. the German energy transition). Every roadmap forms an independent module for itself, showing different paths of future development and critical dependencies in each of the three highly dependent but also highly complex domains mentioned. Yet only through the integration of all perspectives in technologies, products, applications, markets and society, the aim of analyzing and documenting changes of innovation systems as a whole can be accomplished. From an academic perspective, a modular design approach in roadmapping contributes to more conceptual clarity, especially when providing roadmaps for a technology-driven innovation system with a core technology in the focus and multiple other competing or complementary technologies around. From a practitioner's point of view, guidance is provided on how to link developments and progression made in basic and applied science, industrial R&D and socio-political trends, for current and emerging technologies and applications. The experience made and insights from various stakeholders involved in this roadmapping project are of interest and relevance for all actors, be they from science, industry or policy, as they may trigger the development of existing and emergence of new industries.

A Smart Wearable Sensor System for Counter-Fighting Overweight in Teenagers.

PEGASO is a FP7-funded project whose goal is to develop an ICT and mobile-based platform together with an appropriate strategy to tackle the diffusion of obesity and other lifestyle-related illnesses among teenagers. Indeed, the design of an engaging strategy, leveraging a complementary set of technologies, is the approach proposed by the project to promote the adoption of healthy habits such as active lifestyle and balanced nutrition and to effectively counter-fight the emergence of overweight and obesity in the younger population. A technological key element of such a strategy sees the adoption of wearable sensors to monitor teenagers’ activities, which is at the basis of developing awareness about the current lifestyle. This paper describes the experience carried out in the framework of the PEGASO project in developing and evaluating wearable monitoring systems addressed to adolescents. The paper describes the methodological approach based on the co-designing of such a wearable system and the main results that, in the first phase, involved a total of 407 adolescents across Europe in a series of focus groups conducted in three countries for the requirements definition phase. Moreover, it describes an evaluation process of signal reliability during the usage of the wearable system. The main results described here are: (a) a prototype of the standardized experimental protocol that has been developed and applied to test signal reliability in smart garments; (b) the requirements definition methodology through a co-design activity and approach to address user requirements and preferences and not only technological specifications. Such co-design approach is able to support a higher system acceptance and usability together with a sustained adoption of the solution with respect to the traditional technology push system development strategy.

Innovation performance and influencing factors of low-carbon technological innovation under the global value chain: A case of Chinese manufacturing industry

Combing the global value chain framework and linear innovation process model, this paper analyzes the innovation performance of low-carbon technological innovation activities under the global value chain and the influencing factors. Other than previous research on sustainable technological innovation with major focus on radical innovation and socio-technical system transitions activities, this paper places focus on the general innovation characteristics of low-carbon technologies through an integrating view of global value chain and linear innovation process. This paper proposes an analytical framework of the linear innovation process under the global value chain, and uses factor analysis and a DEA-Tobit two-stage method to analyze the low-carbon technological innovation performance and its influencing factors of China's manufacturing industry under global value chain. The results show that the low-carbon technological innovation performance is diverse across different manufacturing industries in China. Moreover, among the three major influencing factors, government regulation is the only factor that shows a positive influence on low-carbon technological innovation performance, yet the effect is quite weak. Technology push displays a negative effect, and the impact of market pull on low-carbon technological innovation performance is not significant.

INNOVATION PRODUCTION MODELS

The article is dedicated to the study of the models of production of innovations at enterprise and state levels. The shift towards a new technology wave induces a change in systems of division of labour as well as establishment of new forms of cooperation that are reflected both in theory and practice of innovation policy and management. Within the scope of the research question we have studied different generation of innovation process, starting with simple linear models - "technology push" and "market pull" - and ending with a complex integrated model of open innovations. There are two organizational models of innovation production at the enterprise level: start-ups in the early stages of their development and ambidextrous organizations. The former are prone to linear models of innovation process, while the latter create innovation within more sophisticated inclusive processes. Companies that effectuate reciprocal ambidexterity stand out from all the rest, since together with start-ups, research and development centres, elements of innovation infrastructure and other economic agents operating in the same value chain they constitute the core of most advanced forms of national innovation systems, namely Triple Helix and Quadruple Helix systems. National innovation systems - models of innovation production at the state level - evolve into systems with a more profound division of labour that enable "line production" of innovations. These tendencies are closely related to the advent and development of the concept of serial entrepreneurship that transforms entrepreneurship into a new type of profession. International experience proves this concept to be efficient in various parts of the world. Nevertheless, the use of above mentioned models and concepts in national innovation system should be justified by socioeconomic conditions of economic regions, since they determine the efficiency of implementation of certain innovation processes and organizational designs at company and national system level.

Innovation development process in small and medium technology-based companies

Small and medium-sized technology-based companies are recognized as essential for the economy and business activity. The purpose of this article is to study how the technological innovation process occurs in small and medium technology-based companies located in the metropolitan region of the Paraíba Valley and North Coast – Brazil. The theoretical framework used is composed by six our models of innovation: the technology push, the market pull, the coupling innovation process, the functional integration innovation process, the systems integration and networking innovation process and open innovation. It was used in this research the multiple case studies with a qualitative approach. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with owner-managers. The sample consisted of four small and medium technology-based companies of metropolitan region of the Paraíba Valley and North Coast – Brazil. In the data analysis, there was an intra and cross case analysis in order to verify the similarities and differences of the cases studied. As a result of observation of innovation development models adopted by companies, it appears that the model is closer to what was proposed in the chain interactions model. The development of innovation depends on the type of economic activity that is developed by the company and the interactions it has with internal and external environment. It was concluded that the small and medium-sized technology-based companies do not innovate in a systematic way, but intuitively and very focused on the ideas of its founders. They innovate focusing for meeting the requirements of customers and the needs observed in the market. The formation of partnerships is still viewed warily by the leaders and owners.

Electric vehicles and India's low carbon passenger transport: a long-term co-benefits assessment

Electric vehicles have attracted the attention of India's policy makers as clean technology alternatives due to their multiple advantages like higher efficiency and lower air pollution in short to medium term and reduced CO2 emissions as electricity gets decarbonized in the long-run under low carbon scenarios. This paper uses an energy system model ANSWER-MARKAL to analyse the role of electric vehicles (EV) in India. The modelling assessment spans the period 2010 to 2050 and analyses future EV demand in India under three scenarios: i) a ‘Reference’ scenario which includes the continuation of existing EV policies as outlined in India's Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC); ii) a ‘EV policy’ scenario which, in line with India's INDCs, follows targeted supply-side push policies for EVs, but without the budget constraints; and iii) a ‘low carbon’ scenario which uses an exogenous price for CO2 in line with the global target of 2 °C temperature stabilization. The scenarios analysis delineates penetration of EVs and their co-benefits as well as co-costs. The co-benefits relate to local air quality, national energy security and CO2 emissions in India whereas the co-costs (risks) are related to sourcing of raw materials for batteries and battery reprocessing and disposal.The findings show that: i) in the reference scenario, the EVs 2-wheelers will achieve a significant share by 2050. Electric 4-wheelers though would have a small share even in 2050; ii) EV push policies though lead to significant diffusion of electric 2- wheelers in India by 2030. These policies enhance diffusion of electric 4-wheelers only if financial incentives are sustained in the long-term, iii) the application of global carbon price on the Indian economy in the 2° C stabilization scenario increases competitiveness of EVs and results in near total share of electric 2-wheelers by 2030 and a sizable share of electric 4-wheelers by 2050. The high and rising carbon price in low carbon scenario cause deep decarbonisation of electricity and enables EVs to deliver deep cut in CO2 emissions. The results show asymmetry in the impacts of national and global policies on co-benefits from EV. The EV supply-push policies deliver moderate benefits vis-à-vis air pollution and energy security indicators but make insignificant contribution CO2 emissions reduction. On the other hand, the global carbon price in the global 2° C stabilization scenario delivers sizable co-benefits vis-à-vis all three indicators. This asymmetry reveal important policy insights: i) the policy sequencing is vital to gain co-benefits, ii) EV technology push policies are good for creating early domestic market for a clean vehicle technology but they may not deliver sizable co-benefits vis-à-vis CO2 emissions which are global externalities, and iii) implementing strong climate policies early would lead to EVs delivering high co-benefits, in case of India, vis-à-vis all three indicators.

WE‐DE‐207A‐00: Advances in Image‐Guided Neurointerventions‐Clinical Pull and Technology Push

WE‐DE‐207A‐00: Advances in Image‐Guided Neurointerventions‐Clinical Pull and Technology Push

SiC Power Switches Evaluation for Space Applications Requirements

We have evaluated several SiC power switches available on the market, by defining and performing a global test campaign oriented to Space applications requirements, in order to define their main benefits but also the limits of current SiC technology. This allowed to identify a number of target applications where SiC could be used as a technology push for a new generation of space electronics units. Silicon devices qualified for space systems above 600V for the switches and 1200V for the rectifiers are not available due to performances limitations of Si. Among the typical static and dynamic characterization, we have performed temperature and power stress and HTRB tests. More remarkably, we have carried out a first batch of total dose and heavy ions radiation experiments on 3 types of power switches: normally-on JFET, normally-off JFET and power MOSFET. Due to its higher stability and radiation hardness, the normally-on JFET is today the more adequate and reliable switch for the space applications.

Paradoxes or trade-offs of entrepreneurship: Exploratory insights from the Cambridge eco-system

The literature in business and management studies presents trade-offs (either/or) and paradoxes (both/and) as two different approaches of making choices. However, research in entrepreneurship has not analyzed entrepreneurial decisions through a paradox and a trade-off approach. Using insights from unstructured interviews with founders of start-ups in health care and medical devices industry in Cambridge (MA, USA), this study explores two approaches entrepreneurs follow while making decisions, a trade-off versus a paradox approach. Four dimensions emerge from the analysis: technology, market, customer, and team. Results show that within each dimension, in some cases successful entrepreneurs consider a trade-off approach (e.g. technology push over market pull, simplicity over complexity, or breakthrough over incremental). In other cases, they take a paradoxical approach (e.g. passion versus preparedness, improvisation versus planning, exploitative versus explorative innovations, a reactive versus a pro-active approach). Occasionally founders consider a trade-off approach in an early stage and move to paradox later (e.g. when deciding about listening to early versus late adopters or when selecting a single versus multiple market applications). Because of high certainty, a paradoxical approach occurs more often at a later stage of venture creation.

Bio-plastic (poly-hydroxy-alkanoate) production from municipal sewage sludge in the Netherlands: a technology push or a demand driven process?

Valorisation of components from municipal 'waste' water and sewage sludge gets more and more attention in order to come to a circular economy by developing an efficient 'waste' to value concept. On behalf of the transition team 'Grondstoffenfabriek' ('Resource factory') a preliminary research was performed for all the Dutch water boards to assess the technical and economical feasibility of poly-hydroxy-alkanoate (PHA)-production from sewage sludge, a valuable product to produce bio-plastics. This study reveals that the production of bio-plastics from sewage sludge is feasible based on technical aspects, but not yet economically interesting, even though the selling price is relatively close to the actual PHA market price. (Selling price is in this particular case the indicative cost effective selling price. The cost effective selling price covers only the total production costs of the product.) Future process optimization (maximizing the volatile fatty acids production, PHA storage capacity, etc.) and market developments are needed and will result in cost reductions of the various sub-processes. PHA-production from sewage sludge at this stage is just a technology; every further research is needed to incorporate the backward integration approach, taking into account the market demand including associated product quality aspects.