Technology & Innovation Management Flashcards

A technology roadmap serves which primary function in engineering management?

Answer: Aligning technology development timelines with market needs and business strategy over a multi-year horizon

Technology roadmaps visualize the links between market drivers, product requirements, and enabling technologies across time, supporting strategic alignment and resource planning.

The 'exploration vs. exploitation' dilemma in organizational learning refers to the tension between:

Answer: Searching for new knowledge and capabilities versus leveraging existing ones for efficiency

March (1991) identified this trade-off: too much exploitation leads to competency traps, while too much exploration results in failure to capture returns from innovations.

Which of the following best describes 'user innovation' as studied by Eric von Hippel?

Answer: Innovation carried out by product users themselves, often shared freely with others

Von Hippel found that many major innovations originate with lead users who modify products for their own needs and often share those innovations freely.

A 'skunkworks' project in innovation management is characterized by:

Answer: A small, autonomous team operating outside normal organizational constraints to accelerate innovation

Skunkworks teams (e.g., Lockheed's Advanced Development Projects) operate with unusual autonomy, speed, and informal processes to develop breakthrough products.

In the context of innovation ecosystems, 'complementary assets' (Teece) are important because:

Answer: A firm needs access to assets like manufacturing, distribution, and service capabilities to successfully commercialize an innovation

Teece's framework shows that without control over complementary assets, innovators can lose returns to firms with superior manufacturing, marketing, or distribution capabilities.

What is the primary difference between a 'push' and a 'pull' model of technology transfer?

Answer: Push is driven by technology availability seeking applications; pull is driven by market needs seeking technical solutions

Technology push starts from an invention looking for a use, while market pull starts from an identified need driving the search for a technical solution.

When using the Ansoff matrix to guide technology-based growth strategy, 'product development' means:

Answer: Creating new products for existing markets where the firm already competes

The product development quadrant involves innovation to create new or improved products for the firm's existing customer base and market.