Course Text: Burgelman, Maidique, & Wheelwright. 1996. Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation. Chicago: Irwin.
Case Packet: Small one.
This course is intended to help the general manager develop skills and knowledge useful in appraising and managing technological innovation. The first part of the course focuses upon issues relating to technology strategy, including decisions about which technologies to back, levels of commitment, the sourcing of technology, competitive timing, alliances, and competencies to be developed. The second part focuses upon the role of innovation context on technology management, including the influence of government, global competition's influence upon technological innovation, and an application of game theory to analyzing certain R&D issues. The third part focuses on implementing technology strategy. Decisions relating to the management of new business, product, and process development projects will be examined. Issues such as different project structures, managing projects over time, the use of complimentary organizational structures to facilitate project success, and keys project roles in technological development will be addressed.
The course utilizes cases, lectures, readings, and projects. It is important that each student be well-prepared and ready to discuss the assignment each day. (If, for some reason, you are not prepared on a given day, let your instructor know before the class starts.) If we do not hear from you otherwise, we assume that you are ready to start the discussion. For each case or set of readings, there will be some questions assigned which will be the starting point for our discussions. On selected days, students may be asked to provide written responses to selected case discussion questions. These responses will be graded as part of the participation grade. If you must arrive late or leave early, please notify the instructor in advance.
The projects will involve the development of feasibility studies for particular technologies developed in laboratories at Purdue (see attached project description). Students will work in teams and are required to provide a written report and do a presentation at the end of the course.
Grades will be determined as follows; Class participation 50% Projects 50% There will be no final exam.
Course Projects
Projects will involve teams of students developing commercial feasibility studies for specific new technologies which have been developed in laboratories at Purdue. We shall work with the Office of Technology Transfer which has responsibilities for capitalizing upon technologies developed at Purdue. We shall try to have all teams organized and matched up with specific technologies by the second day of class. Each team will have a specific faculty member assigned as their primary contact for any questions that might arise. You will be given whatever material we have available relating to each technology. In some cases, you may be able to talk to the Purdue researchers who developed the technology about their perceptions of commercial opportunities relating to that technology.
Each team should prepare a report which summarizes its findings. The report should start with a one page executive summary. The report should be written so that a competent manager who is not a specialist in the technology can understand it and judge its managerial implications. The relative importance of different factors will differ by project. For instance, in some cases government regulations will play a critical role; in others they will not.
Questions to be considered should include the following:
1) What is the nature of the technology and what are its potential advantages and disadvantages?
2) What is the state of technical development? Is there substantial uncertainty as to technical
feasibility, technical performance, or cost? How much technical development is needed to move the
project forward toward commercialization?
3) What is the primary competing technology(ies)? Is that technology mature or still developing?
How big a threat does that competing technology pose? Who are the major players in this field?
4) To what extent is there a need to develop complementary technology or supporting services?
Would this require major changes in the demands placed on users of that technology, distribution
channels, production technologies, or supporting services?
5) What is the commercial attractiveness of the technology? Are there particular submarkets and
are some more attractive than others at this stage in the development of the technology? What is the
size and growth rate of the market(s)? What factors will influence the development of this market?
6) What are the most promising business strategies to commercialize this technology in the early
stages? What resources are needed to exploit it?
7) What firm or firms are most likely to be interested in licensing this technology? Are there any
factors (financial strength, complementary assets, firm competencies, or corporate strategy) which
make some firms particularly promising?
Reports should be carefully prepared and be about 15 pages in length. Conclusions should be supported. References should be provided for specific facts or quotations. Please provide two copies of the report; one copy will be given to Purdue's Office of Technology Transfer. All reports will be due in class on June 25, 1996 at the beginning of class.
The last two class meetings will be devoted to oral reports on the projects. Presentations should last no longer than 20 minutes; there will be 10 minutes devoted to questions. All members of the team should participate in the presentation and question sessions. We hope to have representatives from the Office of Technology Transfer in class on those days.
TU 5/14 INTRODUCTION (GREEN) course overview, formation of project teams, discussion of
projects
Lecture: Understanding the scope of technology management
Assignments: Read Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation (SMTI): The art of
high-technology management, pp. 19-31.
TH 5/16 DESIGNING TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY (COOPER) Assignments of projects and
faculty contact person
Assignments: Read SMTI: Designing and Implementing a Technology Strategy, pp. 33-45;
Biotechnology: A Technical Note, pp. 415-418.
Prepare case: Monsanto's March Into Biotechnology, pp. 418-430.
1. What is Monsanto's strategy relating to biotechnology?
2. What direction should Monsanto's biotechnology research take? What end-product markets
should be targeted (animals, plants, pharmaceuticals)? Where should the company place emphasis
in regard to basic research, lab scale products, testing and clinical trials, commercial manufacturing,
and distribution? What should be the relative emphasis on internal development vs. external
sourcing of technology?
3. How should biotechnology be organized? What are the implications of choosing Needleman as
Schneiderman's successor?
TU 5/21 FORECASTING TECHNOLOGY (COOPER)
Lecture: Strategic Responses to Technological Threats
Assignments: Read SMTI: Technological Forecasting for Decision Making, pp. 135-15; Patterns
of Industrial Innovation, pp. 154-159.
Prepare: See separate handout sheet
TH 5/23 PUTTING TECHNOLOGY INTO CORPORATE PLANNING (COOPER)
Assignments: Read SMTI: How to Put Technology Into Corporate Planning, pp. 60-64.
Prepare Case: EMI and the CT Scanner (A) and (B), pp. 118-135.
1. Appraise this market and the probable pattern of development of this young industry.
2. Appraise EMI's strengths and weaknesses relative to this opportunity.
3. What are your recommendations?
TU 5/28 TAKING TECHNOLOGY TO MARKET (COOPER)
Assignments: Read SMTI: Taking Technology to Market, pp. 109-117.
Lecture: Patents
Prepare: The Laser ReFractory, Inc. (case packet)
1. Analyze the proposed agreement from the point of view of The Laser ReFractory, Inc. Consider
profitability implications (if sales projections are realized) and long-term strategic implications.
2. Analyze the proposed agreement form the point of view of SurgiMed, of ArrayLase, Inc., and of
LightSource.
TH 5/30 INDUSTRY CONTEXT AND APPROPRIABILITY OF TECHNOLOGY
(THURSBY) Returns and incentives for conducting R&D; A game theory analysis of the decision
to innovate
Assignments: Read SMTI: Profiting from technological innovation, pp. 231-250
Games of strategy: an introduction (case packet)
Innovation and Imitation (case packet)
TU 6/4 INDUSTRY CONTEXT AND APPROPRIABILITY OF TECHNOLOGY
(THURSBY) Returns and incentives for conducting R&D; A game theory analysis of the decision
to innovate
Assignments: Prepare: In "Innovation and Imitation," suppose that firm A spends $C on advertising
to introduce the new product to the market. Further, suppose that as a result, if firm B follows and
introduces its own version of the product---the clone--it must match this by spending $C on
advertising also.
For various levels of advertising expenditures, determine firm B's response. What should firm A do?
TH 6/6 INNOVATION IN A GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT (THURSBY) Industrial policy; trade
policy; global competitiveness
Assignments: Prepare Case: Flat Panel Display Initiative (case packet)
TU 6/11 DESIGNING ORGANIZATIONS TO PROMOTE INNOVATION (GREEN)
Assignments: Read SMTI: Managing the internal corporate venturing process, pp. 610-621
Prepare Case: Allstate Chemical Company pp. 598
1. How has Allstate's strategy changed in the past ten years?
2. What is your evaluation of the Commercial Development Group? Would you propose changes?
3. How has Dynarim evolved and what managerial and technological challenges has it presented?
4. What are your recommendations for the Dynarim project?
TH 6/13 CHAMPIONING NEW TECHNOLOGIES (GREEN)
Assignments: Read SMTI: Management criteria for effective innovation, pp. 178-186.
Interim reports on projects
Prepare case: IBM's project: Nectarine (case packet)
1. What are your recommendations to Mr. Ikeda?
2. What is your appraisal of the management of the project? What should have been done
differently?
3. What drives champions of innovation and what challenges do they face? Should organizations
foster champions?
TU 6/18 NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES AND CHOICES (GREEN)
Assignments: Read SMTI: Creating and implementing a development strategy, pp. 657-673
Prepare case: Microsoft LAN Manager pp. 729
1. How important is the LAN market to Microsoft? Why?
2. What are critical problems in the NBU that affect its ability to compete and the pending LAN
projects?
3. How should Christenson position the two LAN projects (2.0 and 3.0) and structure productive
effort (headcount, experience, mindshare) to be most competitive?
4. How should Microsoft improve their product development process for the long term?
TH 6/20 JOINT VENTURES ACROSS INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARIES (GREEN)
Assignments: Read SMTI: How to integrate work and experience and deepen expertise, pp.
868-876
Prepare case: Plus Development Corporation pp. 747
1. What is different about the way the Japanese partner approaches product and process
development compared to Quantum? Why are they different?
2. How far behind is this project and what should Plus do about it? What are the costs of being
behind in this case?
3. Long-term, what does Plus bring to the development effort and the business? Is this partnership
competitively viable in the long term?
TU 6/25 ALL WRITTEN REPORTS DUE
PROJECT PRESENTATIONS
TH 6/27 PROJECT PRESENTATIONS
TH 7/1 NO FINAL EXAM