Technology Brokering: Microsoft as a Case in Point?

1 Technology Brokering: Another Way to Innovate (1)  Technology Brokering  Building new worlds and bridging to other worlds  Innovative Recombination of people, ideas, products  Edison as example of technology broker  Entrepreneurism is important but not as inventor of new idea but in ability to scan the world and find ideas which can be improved on, combine them with others to produce new product or service  Firm strategies  ‘Whole hog’ technology brokering – entire firm involved  Designated internal groups which act as consultants  Capitalizing on single opportunities and then going back to ‘business as usual’ Question: Is technology brokering an industry specific concept? Can these ideas be implemented in organizations?

2 Technology Brokering: Firm Strategies (2)  ‘Whole hog’ technology brokering – entire firm involved  Characteristics include nonexistent hierarchy, that is, fluid organizational structure, an attitude of wisdom – example is IDEO and Amgen  Designated internal groups which act as consultants  Characteristics include groups interested in redistributing the future among organizations, spanning multiple markets. Firm continues to develop its core competencies but has groups scanning the horizon for ideas and capitalizing on them. Examples are Xerox Parc ? and 3M  Capitalizing on single opportunities and then going back to ‘business as usual’  Characteristics include ability of firm to capitalize on these opportunities by adopting existing ideas, objects, and people and to have unique collaborations between the periphery and the core – Building the Xbox? Question: Is technology brokering an industry specific concept? Can these ideas be implemented in organizations?

3 Microsoft – A Technology Broker and Innovator? (1)  Microsoft’s DNA?  Proprietary  Top down leadership  Strength is brand, not necessarily products  Ability to change direction almost instantaneously (Internet in 1995)  Standardization across products important  Microsoft as technology broker –  Bought existing OS from local programmer and then called it MS-DOS  Wrote apps for Apple Macintosh and took GUI from MAC to develop its own user interface  Xbox is a good example of how Microsoft used technology brokering in the firm to exploit emerging opportunities by recombining existing products and reconfiguring the organization – Is the Xbox successful against Sony?  BUT according to Hargadon, Microsoft’s strategic position lies in its position between the user’s computer experience and the world of computing. In its unique position as a ‘central broker’, it has strangled any ideas which threatens this position

4 Lessons Learned  Technology brokering is an important way for companies in particular industries to manage the innovative process and there are a variety of strategies which companies can use, both internally and externally to innovate in this manner.  Companies which have used some of these technology brokering strategies in a positive way have succeeded in the marketplace (IDEO, 3M)  Organizations have to be reconfigured and cultures redefined for technology brokering to succeed.  Microsoft has positioned itself as a technology broker but may be exploiting the model in ways which stifle innovation in the marketplace  Microsoft seems to thrive on a variety of innovation strategies (de novo innovation, integrated innovation and category exploder) but it is unclear whether it will be successful in the future and can sustain its growth indefinitely because of organizational, cultural and talent issues