Strategic Planning for High-Tech Product Development

A three-questionnaire DELPHI management issues study of technology management problems identifies the top 24 technology management problems of advanced-technology product companies. These problems are ranked in order of importance. Strategic planning for technology products is found to be the dominant problem. A striking theme of the findings is the extent to which several of the twenty four issues are related to this dominant problem. Arguably, not only is strategic planning the top technology management problem of product development in high-tech companies but it is also the cornerstone problem. Dealing effectively with this top problem will require attention to aspects of several others of the management problems. This article first examines the area of strategic planning in advanced-technology product development. It then summarizes the DELPHI study's findings and explores the central role among these findings of strategic planning for technology products. The next 10 problems in importance then are examined in the context of their relationship to the top issue of strategic planning for technology products.     

DELPHI Findings about Internet Systems Problems, with Implications for Other Technologies

This article first reports the results of an on-line DELPHI Questionnaire study of the management problems of Internet/Web systems development. The study results indicate two "most important' clusters of problems: those that are concerned with strategy-related issues, and those that are concerned with data integrity and privacy issues. The first group is generally rated as being more important than the second. The article briefly discusses the overall results of the study. Thereafter the article is devoted to the "strategy' category of problems, with attention to the findings of other studies, including six prior similar-methodology DELPHI studies involving problems of managing technologies in other technology realms. Strategy problems are ranked among the most important technology management problems in all of the fields of these studies. A broad industry and academic effort to deal with the strategy and planning problem seems necessary to establish strategy theory and best practices for planning that are useful across many technology fields.     

The Role of Capacity Management in Manufacturing Strategy: Experiences from the Australian Wine Industry

There has been little research focused on identifying the position and role of capacity management in strategic manufacturing decision making. This research presents the findings of a major investigation into strategic capacity management in the Australian wine industry. The research found that advanced processing technology is being used as part of a strategy for increasing capacity in this industry. It was also found that supply dependability and product cost/price were the most important competitive priorities for wine production, after product quality. All three of these were found to be directly influenced by the level of capacity management. The importance of capacity management varied, depending on the category of wine producer (32 different categories were identified). It was also determined that the strategic position of capacity management in the manufacturing decision making process is linked to production planning and control, quality control and assurance and plant and equipment.     

Explaining the Generation and Performance of Intersector Technology Cooperation: A Survey of the Literature

Pharmaceutical companies are facing several major interrelated challenges, the most strategic being the decline in R&;D productivity resulting in empty product pipelines to replace products nearing patent expiry. A common response has been mergers and acquisition of competitors and biotechnology firms, but rather than resolving the problems, this has created new ones. While biotechnology promises to reshape the pharmaceutical industry, it too faces challenges: the industry as a whole is unprofitable and there is uncertainty regarding market acceptance of its products. This paper examines the current issues in the two industries, and describes a scenario process resulting in the development of a set of scenarios depicting four possible future paths along which the pharmaceutical industry may develop over the next 15 years.     

Managing for environmentally sensitive technology: networks for collaboration and learning

Environmental issues are acknowledged as problems which transcend boundaries at organizational and societal levles. By adopting the notion of product stewardship, companies are required to manage their products from conception to resurrection, while recognizing many stakeholder interests. This demands a new style of management which emphasizes collaborative structures. In the case of teh development of greener, more environmentally sensitive technology, there is a role for new collaborative networks which affect technology in either incremental or revolutionary ways. These networks can exist within the organization (intra-organizational), between organizations in the supply chain (trans-organizational) and with organizations at the domain level (supra-organizational). This paper analyzes the management, development and effect of thse networks on the greening of technology. It sets out a conceptual framework for exploring the role of collaborations in the management and development of environmentally sensitive technology. It than links the types of collaboration to empirical evidence from a detailed case study of a major internationa UK manufacturing company. The paper concludes by highlighting the implications for management and research that stem from the findings.     

Dealing with the dynamics of technology roadmapping implementation: A case study

Nowadays, companies are facing many challenges. The product life cycle is getting shorter while the complexity and the demand for product customization are increasing. Technology Roadmapping (TRM) has been widely used as a strategic management tool to help organizations in effectively identifying potential products or services for the future, determining proper technology alternatives, and mapping them with resource allocation plans. With the completion of TRM implementation, any organization can be assured that its required technologies and infrastructures will be ready when needed. Implementing TRM as a part of the ongoing strategic/business planning process is challenging because it may affect the organizational work process, structure, and culture. Therefore, an organization needs to understand how the changing roles and responsibilities of key players involved in the TRM process match with the dynamics of TRM implementation in each stage. This paper illustrates the dynamics of TRM implementation and presents a case study to demonstrate how one of the leading building product manufacturers in the ASEAN region went through the process.     

Technology strategy in uk firms

This paper is a conceptual and empirical study of the problems that companies and managers face in formulating a 'technology strategy'. The main issues in technology strategy decisions can be charactented as having acquisation management and exploitation elements and an internal-external dimension. The research on which the paper is based aims to link and develop these elements within a wider conceptual context. It reports that, empirical results of one questionnaire and two interview surveys on technology strategy, as practised by UK companies and managers. The findings from the studies and their implications are discussed for the technology strategy itself for the significance of the company industry and technology setting; and-fir the underlying problem of how managers think about the firms technologies. The conclusion is that the problems of formulating a technology strategy are more deeply rooted than has previously been suggested.     

Strategic control of technology in diversified companies with decentralized R&D

This paper analyzes current trends in the strategic management of technology in a sample of 25 companies. It is particularly concerned with the balance of responsibility between the corporate level and the business unit level for accumulation of technological assets. It is argued that preuious tendencies to decentralize these issues, along with K & D operations, to the business unit level are being partially rtversed. A new paradigm of corporate management of technological assets is identified. This analysis is then used in conjunction with existing taxonomies of innovation strategy and corporate strategy to propose a new taxonomy of corporate technology strategies.     

Diagnosing Constraints in Knowledge of SMEs

SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) have problems with both formulating and acquiring new knowledge and skills. A method is proposed to identify the knowledge and skills an SME requires to exploit its market opportunities. The method provides a quick but effective strategic analysis to diagnose gaps that are essential for a company in its attempt to maintain or improve its competitiveness. Within this method, gaps in knowledge and skills relate to a company’s market approach, product designs, production technology, and management methods. For the identified gaps, necessary actions are planned. This enables a company to acquire new knowledge and skills, and to bring its market approach, product designs, production technology, and management methods in line with both the company’s own ambitions and market demands. In applying the method, it turned out that the companies involved were made conscious of the emerging strategic pattern regarding their attempts to achieve competitive advantage.     

基于TRIZ的战略性新兴产业技术创新方法研究

战略性新兴产业是技术突破与创新产品市场化深度融合的产业,技术创新对战略性新兴产业的发展尤为重要。TRIZ理论作为国际公认的重要创新方法之一,能够有效地解决战略性新兴产业技术创新中存在的主要问题。将TRIZ分析解决问题的创新思维方法嵌入到产业技术创新过程中,针对战略性新兴产业在发展过程中存在的技术范式不确定、知识产权及科研管理机制不健全、资源配置机制不合理等问题,从制约技术创新的瓶颈、路径分析、创新方案确立等方面探索战略性新兴产业技术方法问题,针对产业技术创新的萌芽期、成长期、成熟期,分别制定出合理的创新方案。     

Coordinating R&D and business planning

In order for US companies to become more competitive they need to improve coordination between their R&D and business planning. This article explanis what is known about coordinating R&D and business palnning, and provides guidance on how to improve it. It examines the development of a technology plan. Before a company can effectively deal with issues related to coordinating R&D and business planning, the R&D organization should understand its own capabilities through developing a technology plan. The intergration of technology planning with business planning is then examined. Two types of business palns are considered in relation to technology planning-product line strategies and a long-range business plan. Finally, the problem of definning on R&D organization's mission clearly is looked at.     

基于企业核心竞争能力的产品决策的三维模型

目前企业产品决策主要采用多指标的综合评价模式,这在企业产品决策实践中遇到多方面问题。基于企业所处行业特点、拥有的资源的差异,其核心竞争力也不同,因而一般性的产品决策的多指标的综合评价模式常常缺乏针对性和适用性。本文针对目前企业在新产品种选择中的问题,研究影响企业品种选择的关键因素,以市场需求刚性、盈利能力和产品寿命周期这三个维度构建了八种产品类型。企业可以基于企业核心竞争能力的类型选择与企业相匹配的品种类型,制定合适的产品选择策略,以优化企业产品结构。     

Implementing technology roadmapping with supplier selection for semiconductor manufacturing companies

The rapid pace of technological innovation in the semiconductor manufacturing industry has necessitated the acquisition of competitive advantage from strategic technology planning. The vital requisite for this is well-timed investment including the replacement of old equipment with advanced new equipment. In such investment, selecting the appropriate semiconductor manufacturing equipment from the appropriate supplier is a key factor for successful technology planning. Therefore, equipment supplier selection should be taken into account in the technology planning of semiconductor manufacturing companies. One of the most widely used tools for technology planning is the technology roadmap (TRM). However, conventional TRMs have not considered the task of supplier selection. To address this limitation, this study proposes an extended, four-layered TRM that adds the layer of equipment supplier to the conventional layers of market, product, and technology. The equipment suppliers to be included in the new layer are selected from the supplier portfolio matrix composed of two performance axes: supplier performance and equipment performance. The candidates of equipment suppliers are placed on the supplier portfolio matrix according to the values of two axes determined by evaluation using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The proposed TRM is expected to be useful for technology planning by adding a consideration for equipment supplier selection in semiconductor manufacturing companies.     

Strategic management: The state-of-the-art and beyond

A study of 25 major corporations assesses the state-of-the-art in strategic planning, and explores future prospects for developing a more powerful form of strategic management to cope with the transition to a new economic era. Current planning practices show that large corporations have developed complex strategic information systems, a decision-making process that is inherently organic, and planning operations that embody cybernetic principles. However, the prevailing approach to strategic planning is severely limited because it is based upon an old model of corporate management that has become outmoded: a restricted focus on hard technology leaves critical soft issues unresolved, authoritarian hierarchies produce the typical disadvantages of bureaucracy, and a closed-system orientation isolates the firm from its environment. New approaches to business management seem to be evolving now to overcome these constraints: the frontier of economic progress is shifting to a new form of soft growth, organizational structures are being transformed into entrepreneurial networks, and the institutional role of business is expanding to include its external constituencies. These trends represent key features of a new model of strategic management—the “strategically managed corporation”— that is specifically suited for fostering strategic change.     

Cultivating the strategic use of information technology: lessons from hong kong

An executice decelopment programme which facilitates the strategic management of information resources is described. this programme uses a contriubution of mini-lectures and experiential learning in a workshop, format to help senior managers play an information technolofy (IT) leadership role in their entepires. It is noted that the growing importance of information and its associated technology has increased the need for a proactice management approach in current and near-future business environments. The growing possibilities which are resulting from rapid progress in IT must be linked with businerr needs and competitive imperatices to achieve a strategic impact with IT, as illustrated by; classic example of strategir-level information systems. The leadership development programme considen a framework for developing a strategic vision of IT in a particular enterprise and then facilitates the planning strategie infirmation .system to support that vision, using a entical success factors approach.     

Succeeding in innovation: key insights on the role of R&D and technological acquisition drawn from company data

This paper discusses the relationship between a company’s investment in innovation and its success in introducing new product and/or process innovations. In doing so, this analysis departs from the standard approach which puts forward a homogenous R&D-based knowledge production function by introducing different types of innovation investments (R&D and technology acquisition) for different sets of companies. Using the Community Innovation Survey (CIS) dataset comprising more than 3,000 Italian manufacturing companies, the econometric analysis adopts a set of techniques which allows to control for the sample selection, endogeneity and simultaneity problems which arise when dealing with CIS data. The main findings are summarised as follows: (1) beyond the acknowledged effect of R&D in increasing the probability of success of product innovation, a larger-than-expected role is played by technology acquisition in the innovation process; (2) the relative importance of R&D and technology acquisition varies significantly across different types of companies where crucial dimensions of analysis are company size and the technological domain of a sector.     

基于供应链视角下的应急物流控制体系建设研究

中国是世界上自然灾害发生较多的国家之一,如何有效预防与应对自然灾害等突发公共事件是包括中国在内的全世界各国政府希望得到有效解决的难题,文章通过梳理相关研究脉络,发现国内外现有文献大多是从一般性应急物流的视角探讨其构建以及研究应急物流某个具体的运作环节等问题,在总结了目前我国在应急物流控制体系中存在应急物流的运作机制有待提高、指挥不到位、技术欠发达、监督机制缺失诸问题的基础上,提出构建基于供应链视角下的应急物流控制体系的研究思路,应急物流的控制体系一般应由组织管理系统、安全监管系统、预警及风险防范系统、信息系统、激励评价系统5个子系统构成。基于供应链视角下认识对待应急物流控制体系则更应该从长远性、全局性与战略性的角度来考虑,使其更加具有计划性、协调性。本文尝试从供应链视角对应急物流控制体系的战略协同、监管、预警与评价等领域进行较系统的阐述。     

The evolution and strategic management of new technology-based sectors: the case of computerized business systems

Accepted paradigms of strategic management can be expected to be adapted for new technology where inter alia, the pace of technological change is rapid, uncertainty intense, and product life cycles short. It is argued that there are generic drivers of the euolutzon of such new technology sectors, and that the early identification of anticipation of and adaptatzon to these general forces can in theory provide businesses with a strategic advantage. Businesses, however, are often possessed of considerable inertia whilst the managerial perception of such sector trends can be affected by inter alia earlier commit-ments and experiences. This paper analyses such issues of strategic management with reference to the computerized business systems sector i n which the authors have conducted extensive empirical research over a two-year period.     

基于集体主义的企业科技向善：逻辑框架与竞争优势

新冠疫情对经济及社会运行造成了重大冲击,除了履行慈善捐赠等传统社会责任行为,一些企业还通过科技创新与善意的产品供给抗击疫情,企业与社会的融合互动更加紧密,据此引出企业科技向善概念。通过厘清企业科技向善概念,梳理了企业科技向善与竞争优势的关系,讨论了企业科技向善的未来研究方向,从企业与社会关系角度丰富和扩展了企业战略管理研究,并为企业管理实践与政府监管提供了新视角。     

高管同酬、激励效率与公司绩效

我国部分上市公司的董事长和总经理领取的年薪完全相同。这种高管同酬的确定依据是什么？高管同酬是否具有激励效率？高管同酬又会对公司绩效产生什么影响？文章利用2007－2012年 A 股上市公司数据,对高管同酬及其经济后果进行了实证分析。研究发现,部分上市公司出现高管同酬,主要是因为高管薪酬由公司政治因素或内部薪酬比较所决定,而并非遵循最优契约观所寓示的“效率逻辑”;与高管异酬的公司相比,高管同酬公司的董事长薪酬激励缺乏效率;高管同酬对公司未来财务绩效产生了显著的负面影响。这表明在中国情境下,高管薪酬契约的设计和实施需要关注公司权力博弈或内部薪酬比较等非经济性因素的影响。