and automobiles.
Philips of the Netherlands is on the cutting edge of
consumer electronics innovation.
The rise to eminence of these countries in various technological areas did not come as accidents. The use of R&D to the breadth and depth that was once expected only of American firms was only one vehicle for the success of these countries in challenging American superiority in technology. The strategic management of technology by these countries’ firms facilitated the rise of Japan and other Asian countries as economic and technological superpowers. Patalinghug (1996) attributes the recovery and growth 0f South Korea to the “technological pioneering” practiced by South Korean firms to gain competitive advantage. The Collaborative Manufacturing Agenda (1996) of the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences of the United States emphasized that effective management of technology must become a high priority concern in the United States. Otherwise, as their article succinctly states, the U.S. firms were managing their way to economic decline.
These are but few general indications of the growing importance of the role of technology in the corporate strategy of businesses. As Porter (1985) shows in his analysis of the value chain, everything a firm does involves technology of some sort even if one or more technologies seem to dominate. While technology undoubtedly contributes to a firm’s success, how exactly is technology used in the overall strategy of the firm? How is technology and strategy integrated by firms?
What forces determine the evolution and
substance of a technology strategy? How do firms implement a technology strategy? What are the key issues in implementation?
This paper seeks to examine the various approaches to designing and evolving a technology strategy as an integral part of business strategy. Principally, the ideas of Porter (1985), Dussauge (1992), Noori (1990), and Maidique, et al. (1996) and others will be examined and discussed. A preliminary approach synthesized from the ideas of the above authors will be attempted. This approach will be very helpful in analyzing how the private sector chooses its innovation activities. A attempt will be made to use this 2