Innovation management tools: implementing technology watch as a routine for adaptation Group 1 Iiris Eestilä, Stheffany Godoy Garzon, Anastasiia Glebova, Toni Mellin, Müge Tetik

Today’s subject Session External sources of information Article Zabala-Iturriagagoitia (2014). Innovation management tools: Implementing technology watch as a routine for adaptation.

Question? What points should be taken into account when implementing technology watch tools in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in order to get the most out of the use of these tools?

Agenda 1. Introduction to innovation management 2. Technology Watch (TM) a. TW and SME 3. Overview of TW implementation process a. Observe information b. Analyze information c. Use information 4. Pros & Cons of TW 5. Discussion and conclusion 6. Questions

The purpose of the article The purpose of article to determine characteristics of technology watch from the user-oriented perspective in small- and medium- sized enterprises and to define a set of generic stages for its implementation.

Innovation Management Tools The main purpose of IM is to introduce change in organizations in order to create new opportunities or exploit existing ones.

Technology watch comes as result of: 2. Technology watch (TW) * Keen global competition* Shorter product life cycles * Flexibility demand to adapt changing markets * Shortages for times to market * Shorter time spans between leaders and followers * Routinisation leading to lock-in situations

2. Technology watch (TW) ❖Systematic observation, analysis and use of technological info. of the environment, to fit internal competences based on external inputs. ❖It is a key routine for market adaptation. ❖Most of the companies have not implemented TW; especially in the case of the SME. ❖Involves benchmarking, and search for: technological developments, new standards, entrepreneurship, changes in regulation or demands.

a. TW and SME ★TW can be adapted to SMEs operating in different sectors, as a strategy for: ● Insights earned by large High-Tech companies are not applicable to SMEs operating in non-high-tech sectors. ● SMEs are missing a systematic process to search, analyse and disseminate information. ● The flow of information has a top down-logic in the SME: managers play the main role, leaving no room for others to participate.

3. Overview of TW implementation process* Jon Mikel Zabala-Iturriagagoitia (2014) *Note that the presented model is devised for machine tool industry, for other industries and company positioning, a modified model should be considered and revised for effective use of TW TREAT

a. Observing information Select A scope and the key target technologies need to be defined (according to company strategy) Formal sources articles, patents, conferences Informal sources hearsay, contacts (requires verification) Search Acquired information needs to be filtered for essential and non-essential (requires expertise from the observer network actors) Synthesize The relevant information needs to be shared and made easily accessible for all in the company Synthesis sheet

a. Observing information - Synthesis sheet Synthesis sheet ● Formal and practical way of sharing information collected by the observer network ● Describes: ○ Technology ○ Technical issues ○ Issues for adopting ● Evaluates the potential impact the knowledge could have ● Stating the sources of information and the person processing is important for future use Jon Mikel Zabala-Iturriagagoitia (2014)

b. Analyze information Treatment information/technology is analyzed after which, a proposal is defined accordingly what actions should be undertaken? what needs to be considered by the decision- makers? TREAT Analysis should be possible to be made based on the synthesis sheet Effective use of the TW process would dictate around 35% of time spent in analysis [Cook and Cook (2000)] Distribution provided analysis needs to be distributed to TW managers (or others in charge of decision making) Expert sheet

b. Analyze information - Expert sheet Jon Mikel Zabala-Iturriagagoitia (2014) Expert sheet ● All the information managers need to know of for deciding company actions ● Other strategy related ideas or project ideas and competence development needs may be discussed ● The sheet leaves a document for later utilization and helps to share the important knowledge internally

c. Use of information Information gathered and analysed, but not put to use is useless The process concludes with use and exploitation, which may result in different actions: Acquisition of technology or intellectual property rights (IPR) Cooperation with key companies Strengthen core competencies New projects Agreements Acquire new assets or develop skills New innovations, markets, product development or reduced threats New R&D development Nothing suitable is found, timing is wrong, actions don’t suit strategy or too much risk is involved No good actions based on TW, focus on other issues and areas of the company and wait or restart TW cycle

4. Pros & Cons of TW PROS  Adaptability of TW to different organisational contexts  Maintaining competitive advantage by keeping the up level of technology  Usable for benchmarking  Clear roles and division of work CONS  Difficulties in defining the scope of relevant information and usable information sources  Possible lack of information  Organization is not suitable for the change the desired technology requires  The process can be easily carried out as a routine, when it should stay flexible  Time-consuming implementation process

4. Pros & Cons of TW PROS  Provides easy access and a way of distributing information inside the company  internal learning  Learning from competitors failures  Totally new ideas CONS  Limited access to formal sources like patent databases and scientific journals  People from different backgrounds are needed in the research phase in order to understand different extents of information  Invocation of founded information Resource consumption

5. Discussion and conclusion SME’s need to optimize time, cost and competences implementing TW processes. Needs access to patent databases, scientific journals, skills to understand these sources Consultancy firms offers such services Multiple actors (observers, analysts, animators, decision makers) needed. In SME’s, individuals undertake multiple roles. SME’s are dependant on their key employees → even if they leave, the company should continue to use the IM tools → institutionalisation and continuous use of these tools.

5. Discussion and conclusion Employees are usually the managers in SME’s & implementation of tools means change → managers should be aware of the changes IM tools are important for innovative performance of the companies. Yet, the industry that the company operates, internal and external factors play significant role regarding the best practices for these tools. - Very useful for R&D - Very useful for translating R&D findings to marketable products/processes Survival of the firm → Adaptation to the environment Screening the environment to adapt via IM tools - Creativity - Foresight - Knowledge management

6. Questions