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Content uploaded by Letizia Mortara
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All content in this area was uploaded by Letizia Mortara on Oct 07, 2016
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1
Technology intelligence practice in UK technology-based
companies
Letizia Mortara*, Clive I.V. Kerr, Robert Phaal and David R. Probert
Centre for Technology Management, Institute for Manufacturing, Department of
Engineering, University of Cambridge, Mill Lane, Cambridge CB2 1RX, UK
*E-mail: lm367@cam.ac.uk
*Corresponding author
Abstract: Technological information has become an increasingly important advantage
for technology-based companies facing shorter technology life cycles and a more
globally competitive business environment. Companies have dedicated progressively
more resources to the development of Technology Intelligence (TI) systems, realising
that these are important assets for business success. Reviewing eight intelligence
systems implemented by UK technology-based organisations, this work aims to test the
theoretical model developed by Kerr et al. (2006) and to investigate how TI systems are
implemented in practice. The characteristics, strengths and weaknesses of each system
were reviewed using the theoretical model as an analysis template.
Keywords: TI; technical intelligence; T-Intel; market intelligence; competitive
intelligence; intelligence systems; intelligence processes; technology scanning;
information sourcing; strategic planning; decision making.
Mortara et al. 2009
Technology intelligence practice in UK technology-based companies.
International Journal of Technology Management 48 (1): 115 -135.
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1 Introduction
Technology intelligence (TI) is a capability used by organisations to support the
decision making process via the collection and delivery of information about new
technologies. TI is used for the identification of emerging technologies that could be
exploited by the organisation as well as to discover those that could threaten its current
business.
In the face of increased competition in a globalised environment, companies feel greater
pressure to improve their TI capability. Also, academic attention has mirrored
practitioner interest and has resulted in several works in this area (Lichthentaler, 2002,
2004a, 2004b, 2004c, 2005, 2007; Savioz and Blum, 2004; Savioz and Tschirky, 2004;
Gassman and Gaso, 2004, 2005). This research aims to contribute to this emerging field
of interest. In particular, it has the multiple purposes of:
- understanding how technology intelligence systems are currently operationalised
in industry,
- corroborating the theoretical model of Kerr et al. (2006),
- acquiring knowledge on technology intelligence implementation issues.
To date, literature has not presented many practical examples of intelligence systems in
full. Hence, for this study, a sample of selected companies ranging in size, sector and
type have been investigated to gain a broad perspective on TI solutions and problems.
Results are presented following the template suggested by the intelligence model (Kerr
et al., 2006) giving account of how the examples reflect the theory. Two technology
intelligence systems are presented in detail in the appendix. The model has also been
confronted with some of the intelligence case studies in literature, e.g. Ashton et al.
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Technology intelligence practice in UK technology-based companies.
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1991; Tessun 2001; Savioz and Tschirky 2004; April and Bessa 2006; Rohrbeck, Heuer
et al. 2006; Savioz 2006.
2 The model (Kerr et al., 2006)
The model encompasses an intelligence framework of factors linked to a process and
system architecture.
1. The framework (Fig. 1) describes intelligence in the context of organisations, in the
following terms:
- Approaches: the ways to connect the sources of information to the decision
makers. Top-down: where the information consumers ‘ask’ the intelligence
system to gather information. Bottom-up: where the information gathering
system ‘knows’ who would be interested in receiving particular information
acquired.
- Intelligence Streams: technology (TI), competitive (CI) and market (MI)
intelligence.
- Decision Makers.
- Actions: Reasons for performing intelligence.
- Types of Information acquired and Information Sources.
FIG.1 ABOUT HERE
2. The system (Fig. 2) involves four modes for searching information, two of which
(Mine and Trawl) are directed inside the organisation and two (Target and Scan) are
used for outsourcing information. The modes can be described as:
- Mine: the searcher is aware where the gathered information is stored.
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Technology intelligence practice in UK technology-based companies.
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- Trawl: the searcher is not aware of where the information resides.
- Target: the searcher knows what to look for, outside the company.
- Scan: the searcher has not previously identified which information to acquire.
FIG.2 ABOUT HERE
3. The process (Fig. 3): on one side, decision makers input guidance on how to direct
the search, identifying information needs; on the other, information is disseminated
back to them by the intelligence cycle. Six phases lead to the capture and delivery of the
information. Co-ordination assigns tasks, generates ideas for sources and refines the
search goals with the decision makers. Search, Filter and Analyse form a subordinate
cycle within the process that is repeated until a satisfactory result is achieved. Then
investigators Document their findings and Disseminate their intelligence.
FIG.3 ABOUT HERE
3 Methodology
The research employed a ‘case-study’ approach (Yin, 1994) which, due to its strengths
in theory-building (Eisenhardt, 1989), was considered the most appropriate to collect
initial evidence to support a theoretically developed model. However, the cases are
intended to test and illustrate the theoretical model rather than to formally validate it.
Semi-structured interviews were held with fourteen technology-based organisations,
eight of which were studied in greater detail (Table 1). The companies were selected
from UK-based companies to cover a wide range of industrial sectors and company
types with the only proviso of a strong interest in keeping abreast with technological
developments.
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The interviews were conducted at the companies’ premises, using the model developed
by Kerr et al. (2006) as a guide. The main areas covered were:
- Comments on the framework, system and process model.
- Interviewees’ activity within the corporate TI activity.
- Comments on the TI system in place: challenges and strengths.
After the analysis, the interviewees were asked to check the case report for any
inconsistencies.
TABLE 1 ABOUT HERE
4 Framework factors analysis – Fig. 1
Table 2 reports data according to the framework of factors in Fig.1. Some factors,
namely Decision makers and Actions, were specifically investigated for the TI stream
while the others are generic to the overall intelligence system.
TABLE 2 ABOUT HERE
4.1 System approaches
Firstly, it was observed whether the systems worked Top-Down (following the TI users’
requests) or Bottom-Up (feeding information to users without a specific request). In
most cases (2,3,5,6,7,8) both approaches were observed and Table 2 reports just the
dominant one. The strongest form of top-down approach was found for Target
activities, where intelligence followed a list of pre-identified technologies. This
approach dominated in small groups and where decision makers knew to whom to
address the information requests. As Scan looks for non pre-identified technological
information, its dominant approach was Bottom-Up. For Scan, the search inputs were
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limited to broad directives. For example, in Imaging (7) a European TI outpost received
strategic roadmaps from each business unit as general guidance for the intelligence
activity. According to Imaging’s scouts, having generic direction from the top
encouraged them to investigate every potentially important field without being
constrained by pre-determined boundaries. As a side effect, the intelligence operatives
found it difficult to identify and interest decision makers and to tailor the information to
their needs. This was especially true for very large global organisations with many
decision makers (6,7) (Savioz, 2006). To overcome this problem, companies acted in
two concurrent ways:
- Decision makers promoted their interests and suggested a preferred
communication channel, for example by using internal personal web-
pages in which these details were reported (7). For instance, Air Products
(Brenner, 2005) developed an in-house knowledge experience database
to target decision makers with intelligence alerts.
- Intelligence agents improved their understanding of how the organisation
worked and the needs of potential users. For example, in Telco-service
(6) a scout hunting for start-ups with interesting technologies reported
that a great part of his time was spent in talking, listening and
networking internally with decision makers and other scouts.
4.2 Intelligence streams
Every company studied gathered information on technology, products and markets with
technology (TI), competitive (CI) and market (MI) intelligence.
- With regard to TI, information was fed into innovation processes (1,2,3,4,6,7,8).
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- Every organisation had MI activities, typically within marketing departments.
- CI was mostly considered as part of MI (3,5,6,7) or TI (1,2,3,4,6,7,8). In the
case of Print 2 (3) and Telco-service (6), CI was part of both MI and TI. In
Tech-consult (2), a non-profit organisation, competitors were mostly
considered partners, collaborators or even members. However, the technology
know-how that could be applied to support industrial needs was regarded as
‘product’. As such, CI and TI merged completely. Other examples can be
found in literature where CI, MI and TI are performed concurrently. This is the
case of the Early Warning System at Daimler–Benz Aerospace (Tessun, 2001)
where CI and MI merge, and also for the Competitive-Technology Intelligence
of an Exploration and Production Business of a Multinational Energy Company
(April and Bessa, 2006).
However, the TI and MI streams of intelligence were typically run separately and had
little opportunity to share findings. Poor communication between MI and TI was a
problem shared by all the cases observed. Sometimes TI staff received periodical
reports from marketing intelligence but had no direct contact with anyone who produced
them (1,4,7). The marketing and technical people interviewed pointed at a lack of
common language which inhibited information sharing. In all cases, the streams of
intelligence converged at the decision makers who disseminated them (e.g. in the form
of strategic roadmaps (3)). An exception was Tech-consult (2) where the industrial
support groups exchanged technical information with market connotations directly with
technology intelligence operatives.
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4.3 Decision makers
TI outputs were used for strategic, tactical and operational decisions by all the
companies with the exception of Food & Drink (5) whose strategy was primarily based
on MI. However, while intelligence operatives usually participated in tactical and
operational decisions, strategic planners generally did not require involvement of the
intelligence operatives in the decisions. The strategic planners in Mech (4) used TI
outputs transformed by the business units into product-focused information. An
interesting observation was that, in half of the cases (1, 6, 8, 5), decision makers were
also directly involved with TI, typically in co-ordination roles (e.g. CTOs (1)). This
provided a clear direction to the intelligence activity which easily targeted the decision
maker’s needs. On the other hand, the influence of one decision maker imposes a
personal footprint and could be a limiting factor to the initiative of individuals and their
analysis.
4.4 Actions
TI systems aimed to encompass all the four Actions listed by the framework (Fig.1):
identification of opportunities, awareness of threats, profiling of trends and assessment
of the state of the art. A special case was Food & Drink (5), which did not specifically
concentrate on threats coming from technology, nor on technological trends. This was
because Food & Drink operated a traditional business whose prosperity was seen to
depend more on commercial factors than on the advent of new technologies.
4.5 Types of information and information sources
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The lowest framework level in Fig.1 relates to the sources of information and the types
of information gathered. ‘White’ intelligence is publicly available information whereas
‘black’ information is obtained through unethical or illegal means, e.g. industrial
espionage (Rouach & Santi, 2001). ‘Grey’ (Prior, 2004) intelligence is private
information usually obtained through informal discussions. Information is also a mix of
explicit and tacit knowledge obtained first or second hand, sourced through internal and
external means.
Table 3 summarises the sources of information used in the cases observed and reports
its attributes, distinguishing between:
- published information, mostly gathered through service subscription;
- non published information gathered through external social networks.
While published information is explicit, white and first hand, it was possible to gain all
types of information through contacts. No one admitted using ‘black’ sources of
information.
The most popular sources of published information were internet websites, patent
databases and field-specific publications. Patents were appreciated because of
information about applications in comparison with technology in academic papers often
far from direct implementation. An additional advantage of patent reviews was that
queries can be directed in order to understand competitors activities, giving insight into
technological trends in the field. Internet search engines are used to identify new
sources of information related to current interests. On the other hand, internet searches
need carefully chosen keywords and on-line sources can be unreliable. Only two
organisations (1,6) used external intelligence services, mostly because of the low budget
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attributed to intelligence and because they felt that the reports wouldn’t be tailored to
the company’s needs. Journals and magazines were sometimes provided in common
areas (5). However, the subscription to external systems and tools could be poorly
exploited by those performing intelligence as part of other duties (5).
According to the interviewees, TI should rely heavily on published information and no
one during the interviews seemed concerned that published information, especially
patents and academic articles, is typically a year or more old, due to the time required
for publication (Lichtenthaler 2006).
TABLE 3 ABOUT HERE
Choo’s (2002) review of scanning behaviour of managers suggests that ‘human sources’
(i.e. non published) are very valuable, to the extent that organisations such as Novartis
(Savioz, 2006) base a large part of their TI system on people’s networks.
The sources of non-published information (informal sources (Reger, 2001)) ranged from
commercial events such as trade fairs to collaborations with universities. The most
popular choices were links with people and organisations that had a high degree of
technological knowledge or who were ‘experts’ in the same field as the company.
Collaborations with universities were mostly used to research ‘blue sky’
technology/applications, while supplier and trade fair information related mostly to
applications and products.
Table 4 lists the preferred external sources reached through networking, for Target and
Scan from the case studies. To access the sources of non published information,
companies relied on external social networks, whose importance has been widely
endorsed by past research: networks of external relationships can provide an important
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source of competitive advantage (Gulati et al. 2000), especially since knowledge has
been recognised as an important resource (Barney, 2001). Examples of the networking
activities and sources which can be used are reported by Ransley (1996) in his
benchmarking study of External Technology Watch activities in Chevron and other
chemical companies.
TABLE 4 ABOUT HERE
Sources for Target: Overall, companies made direct connection with specific primary
sources, selecting a specific academic department, a conference or a trade exhibition
where they could find information relative to their target objectives. The preferred
sources were trade shows, exhibitions and contact with suppliers and customers.
However, while companies sent representatives to most of the trade shows in their own
field, they developed relationships with academic departments in relation to just one or
two projects. Only the more research-intensive companies attended academic
conferences.
Sources for Scan: For secondary sources, network connections were the preferred
mechanism, such as venture capitalists and development agencies, linked to several
primary sources. Secondary sources could both direct interesting information towards
the company and disseminate the company’s requirements. The most popular scanning
sources were government organisations such as regional development agencies, through
which companies learned about funding opportunities. Friends and acquaintances were
the sources that provide the most serendipitous findings. The link with this type of
source was obviously not formalised. Start-ups and venture capitalists (VC) were used
as sources by the few companies with an ‘open innovation’ (Chesbrough, 2003)
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philosophy, which had teams and processes dedicated to identify and invest in
businesses with interesting technology.
Linking with all sources of information required energy and resources not available to
all the companies. The largest organisations whose activity was significantly influenced
by technology, or that had suffered from not detecting in time the signals of important
technological changes, were the ones that linked with the most comprehensive set of
sources (2,6,7).
5 System modes analysis – Fig. 2
Various solutions were adopted for the four modes. A more in-depth analysis of these
solutions, leading to the creation of a ‘system elements toolbox’, will be presented in a
forthcoming paper (Mortara et al., 2008). Two case studies are reported (Tech-consult
in Fig. 4 and Telco-service in Fig. 5) in their entirety to illustrate how differently
companies can operationalise the four modes of searching. These two companies
indicated the greatest need to keep abreast with technological developments in the
sample but even if their TI systems were complex and large resources were deployed,
some weaknesses could be identified. For the former, a technology consultancy, TI is
the main product; Telco-service requires a high innovation pace to keep and expand its
market share and depends on technology which evolves quickly. Also, case studies from
the literature have been compared against each mode (See table 5).
FIG. 4 ABOUT HERE
FIG. 5 ABOUT HERE
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TABLE 5 ABOUT HERE
5.1 Mine and Trawl
Knowledge management issues and approaches applied to Mine and Trawl for the
storage and retrieval of information acquired by intelligence. Companies Trawled to
reach internal knowledge not explicitly stored and inaccessible with the Mine mode. All
the interviewees seemed aware of the importance of having efficient information
management systems but admitted that their systems had to be improved. Only Tech-
consult (2) appointed a knowledge management team to maximise its potential.
Methods employed to Mine varied from improvised and unstructured, such as
personal/local folders roughly classified (5,8), to systems supported by data
management tools and techniques. Examples of the most sophisticated infrastructure
were libraries (2,3,4,6,7) and software databases (1,3). Tech-consult (2) maintained a
database covering core technological literature (e.g. books, journals, proceedings,
theses, standards or patents) published world-wide. Staff abstracted and tagged the new
literature with keywords and performed searches on behalf of enquirers. Telco-service
(6) used its internal website to archive and share information where people can create
personalised self-updating web pages to monitor the news captured by intelligence.
Trawling was done, for example, by sending e-mails throughout the company asking
‘who knows?’ (3) or asking intermediaries (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) how to reach others who
might know. Trawling was easier for the smaller organisations where ‘corridor
conversations’ were a common means for information exchange (1,2,3,5,8) or where
communication among staff was strongly encouraged by the culture (2).
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Problems in the information management were generally greater for larger and more
complex organisations. Typical difficulties observed were:
- Data were often kept locally, rarely accessible to other intelligence groups
(1,2,3,4,5,6,7).
- Temporary systems, initially created to store material, were obsolete or
improvised and roughly structured, and it was difficult to re-organise and expand
them later. In Tech-consult (2) a great deal of information was stored in paper
reports, designed during the early years of activity; they were evaluating several
potential solutions to allow easy access to this source of accumulated
knowledge.
- People mostly considered Documenting in its ‘hardest’ form (e.g. writing
structured reports) and complained that there is often not enough time for this
task. A viable solution, adopted by Food & Drink (5), was to minimise the
documentation to abstracts, reporting the information source and who found it.
However, people’s minds are often the most ‘updated’ and ‘richest’ repositories
so that in Imaging’s (7) technology outpost, scouts exchange the latest news at
weekly meetings.
- Sometimes information was kept in transient repositories as for Telco-service
(6), where newsletters were collected on the internal web-page. Finding old
information was impossible as these were overwritten with new ones.
- Locating information could absorb a lot of resources: a decision maker in Telco-
service (6) admitted that it could take a very long time to get a sense of how
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much the company knew. Often, the more organised the Mine the easier the
Trawl.
5.2 Target and Scan
Target was organised around the main technology groups, where the distribution of
tasks followed a hierarchy mirroring the organisational structure. Target activities were
co-ordinated by people with proven technical expertise and with an understanding of the
corporate technology policy. They interfaced with MI and CI and with the decision
makers identifying new technologies to investigate. For example, the technology group
in Print1 (1) targeted four key technology sectors. Weekly group meetings headed by
the technology director provided the opportunity to delegate to individual team
members two to three technological topics to investigate.
Tools for the identification of new key technologies ranged from technology roadmaps
(Phaal et al., 2004) (1,2,3,4,7), to house-of-quality type of matrices (2) (Bossert, 1991)
and lists of technologies important for the company’s future (watch-lists (1,2,4,6,7,8)).
Gatekeepers (Allen, 1977) maintained the links between the company and the external
sources of information through their personal contacts. An analysis of the gatekeeper’s
behaviour (McDonald and Williams, 1994) shows the possible different natures of the
gatekeepers, from technology consultants to sales agents. In the cases observed, they
were usually recognised, internally and externally, as experts in their technological
field. Target was generally the mode in which companies felt strongest. The few
weaknesses observed were:
- All relied heavily on the competence of their experts and on their social
networks. Sometimes (2,3,7) no back-up plan was made to ensure continuity in
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case of an expert leaving. This problem also applied to the scan mode.
Knowledge retention practice like the one at Pfizer (Newman, 2002) could
minimise the losses.
- Often, different technology groups performed Target independently, leading to
wasted resources. An extreme example was Print 2 (3) where two experts, based
in different continents, ran parallel streams on intelligence investigating the
future of the same core technologies. The only contact between the two was the
business unit director, who independently consulted them on decisions. To
overcome this type of problem, Mech (4) encouraged the creation of links
among the intelligence operatives during training sessions, via the development
of a common language.
Scan activities were generally less organised and structured. Some companies (1,4,8)
had no dedicated activity looking for unidentified technologies. It was a common
remark among the interviewees that Scan for the unknown, making sure that the system
was covering all the ground and capable of detecting any new lead, was the most
difficult task.
Even when formally implemented, Scan was mostly a solitary activity. Operatives were
typically generalists or ‘accomplished novices’ (Bransford et al., 2000) with knowledge
of a wide range of topics, carrying out ‘active scanning’ (Lichtenthaler, 2004c). These
scouts (2,3,6,7) were appointed to search for weak signals, for example by participating
at events and fairs where start-ups presented technologies in different fields (6) and by
disseminating the company’s need to secondary sources (e.g. venture capitalists).
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Roadmaps (3,4,7), house-of-quality-type matrices (2) and organisational diagrams (6)
were used to identify potential information recipients.
Technology listening posts (Gassman and Gaso, 2004; 2005) (6,7) are the scouts’ and
recruiters’ operational bases and are set up in geographic areas typified by centres of
excellence in scientific research and industry and/or innovation clusters (Porter, 1990).
In Imaging’s technology outpost (7), the scouts have developed a country-based
approach to Scan assessing technologies and potential partners in each region of their
competence.
Companies set up attraction mechanisms to ‘bring in’ information, promoting their
willingness to hearing from outside about new technologies and ideas. Examples of
such attraction tools are website callings for inputs and collaborations (7), corporate
venture capital (CVC) activity (6,7) (Ernst et al. (2005) and surveys (2).
5.3 Modes flow – Fig. 6
Fig. 6 shows the succession of the search modes through generic ‘top-down’ and
‘bottom-up’ processes connecting the decision makers with the sources of information.
Although each of the modes is necessary, the balance between them varied depending
on the company’s specific needs. In sectors where technology was changing rapidly,
like Telco-service (6), Scan was operated to a great extent. As mentioned, the more
effective the Mine system, the less Trawling occurred.
Target, Trawl and Scan all feed into the Mine mode. The first step is to locate
information inside the organisation. When it is unclear where it is, the Trawl mode is
applied to the repositories and eventually redirects the search outside via the Target
mode. In the case of the ‘bottom-up’ approach, no input is given to the search.
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Information is acquired, filtered and analysed against the requirements of the potential
stakeholders. If the information appears relevant to someone in the business, it is
reported according to the recipient’s requirements, highlighting the reasons for the
perceived significance. If the Scan information is judged interesting, a further Target
step in the process takes place. At this point the bottom-up and the top-down approaches
merge.
FIG. 4 ABOUT HERE
6 Process phases analysis – Fig. 3
There were no significant objections to the process cycle (Fig. 3), indicating that in
general the phases appropriately described the activities, although the degree of
precision and completeness for each phase varied from case to case.
The most common comments on the process were:
- The process was applicable to TI activities at different levels. At a high level, a
TI system or part of it can be co-ordinated like in Telco-service (6) where the
chief technology office distributed tasks and allocated resources to the different
activities with the intent of gathering technological updates. At a lower level, for
example, Tech-consult’s (2) patent office co-ordinated the patent and licensing
activities between two sites.
- The phases were rarely organised as formally as the process seems to suggest,
although activities were performed and recognised by each of the interviewees.
- Searching and Filtering could be conducted concurrently rather than
sequentially (1,2).
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- Different criteria were used for Filtering and Analysing a certain technology if
identified through Scan or Target. For Scan, a typical Filter criterion was a
general ‘is this technology interesting?’ and for the Analysis ‘does this
technology match the company’s needs? Can this technology represent a new
market opportunity?’. For Target, the criteria became more specific and
progressively more quantitative with: ‘how does this technology differ from
what is known?’ for Filtering, and ‘what is the value of this technology?’ for
Analysing.
- Analysis was considered the most challenging phase which needs specific tools
and techniques. Examples can be found in the study by Lichthenthaler (2005)
and in the practice at Air Products (Brenner, 2005).
- People found it difficult to write formal documentation and preferred to
disseminate their knowledge verbally, for example in weekly meetings (7). The
most successful forms of ‘hard’ documentation were newsletters (5,6,7) and
abstracts (2).
7 Concluding remarks
All the factors listed by the model (Kerr et al., 2006) were considered while analysing
the intelligence systems of eight technology-based UK companies. The firms performed
intelligence in line with the model, although specific approaches varied and not all
aspects were implemented by all companies.
Hence, although developed theoretically, the model is compatible with current practice
and represents a theoretical archetype of how technology intelligence works. It is a tool
that can help companies to review their current intelligence capabilities. However,
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aware of the limits associated with the case study methodology and of the limited
number of case studies, the authors do not consider the results as an exhaustive
validation of the model and future research in this direction is needed.
The most common challenges observed for TI systems were:
- Aligning market, technology and competitive intelligences and foster
communication between them.
- Managing the interface between decision makers and intelligence to enable the
efficient dissemination of information requirements and intelligence.
- Setting up Scanning for non pre-identified technologies.
- Organising an efficient knowledge management system to minimise Trawling
for internal information.
- Formalising the intelligence activities without reducing their flexibility and
capability.
- Evaluating the efficiency of TI systems. If intelligence is evaluated by the
number of successful innovation projects a long time is required to understand
its performance. Secondly, the success of innovation activities depends on many
other factors beyond the quality of intelligence.
- Ensuring all the ground was covered, tapping into relevant sources without
resulting in information overload and without investing excessive resources.
Future research will investigate this latest challenge by looking into how best to deploy
social networks resources to maximise intelligence outreach.
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In conclusion, this study firstly corroborated the theoretically developed conceptual
model with practical examples. Secondly, it provided practitioners with real examples
of TI systems and their challenges.
8 Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the companies for their collaboration. The study was funded
by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) under the
Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre (IMRC) grant.
Total words: 4499
9 References
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Technology intelligence practice in UK technology-based companies.
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Fig. 1: The intelligence framework, adapted from Kerr et al. (2006)
Trawl
Finding information which is
in-house, but not formalised
Scan
Learning about any
technological development
which could have an impact
on the future
Mine
Extracting intelligence from
an internal repository
Target
Monitoring the development
of new technologies identified
as relevant for the future
Inside Outside
Fig. 2: The system modes, adapted from Kerr et al. (2006)
Fig. 3: Intelligence process, adapted from Kerr et al. (2006)
Search
Filte
r
Document
Disseminate
Coordinate Analyse
Feedback
Decision
making
Input:
Intelligence
Needs
Intelligence Process
Decision
Gate
Output:
Intelligence information
for decision makers
Act
Feedback
Iterate
Refine
Decision makers
Sources of information
Intelligence Streams
Market – Competitive – Technology
Top-down
Bottom-up
Actions
Identify opportunities
Be aware of threats
Assess the state of the art
Profile trends
Mortara et al. 2009
Technology intelligence practice in UK technology-based companies.
International Journal of Technology Management 48 (1): 115 -135.
26
Tech-consult The overall aim of Tech-consult’s intelligence system is to support its members’ present and future
needs. The technology groups’ managers are the decision makers. Every one is an intelligence representative.
Trawl Everyone is encouraged to build personal networks
to obtain information. Tech-consult encourage informal
‘parent-child’ relationships, whereby experienced
employees introduce the younger generation to their
personal networks. The library staff is often in the position
to find others with similar needs. An expertise guide lists
core staff knowledge.
Scan A scout with 25 years of experience in the company,
connects people both internally and externally to the
company, through a tight social network. The technology
groups organise forums twice a year to which
representatives from academic, industrial and government
organisations are invited. The meetings provide an
opportunity for discussion about the needs of the industry
in future years. A questionnaire is sent to the attendees in
advance to select the most important technology areas for
discussion.
Mine Organisational knowledge is mainly held by
individuals or in technology groups’ intranet archives. A
central library performs searches on behalf of enquirers
and acquires new material. The past projects archive
contains formal hardcopy reports, which are difficult to
search and update. An attempt to transform the archive
into an electronic system is ongoing.
Target Each technology group search for information
through field-specific sources and personal contacts.
Local roadmaps provide guidance on future technological
needs. Technology managers are the TI coordinators and
identify new technologies important for the future of their
area, delegating to individual members the task of
investigating each topic. Annually, a matrix is produced, in
collaboration with the industrial support teams (MI, BI) to
match current or desired technology expertise with
industrial needs. Tech-consult aims to licence
technologies, and with this perspective the patent office is
kept aware of internal research areas and looks for
relevant information which can threaten patent filing.
Fig. 4: Tech-consult intelligence system
Universities
Industrial partners
Research centres
Technical
conferences….
Technology
Group 1
Technology
Group 5
Technology
Group 6
Technology
Group 7
Technology
Group 3
Technology
Group 2
Technology
Group 4
Industrial
support 1
Industrial
support 2
Industrial
support 3
Industrial
support 4
Industrial
support 5
…
INDUSTRIAL
NEEDS
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
TECHNOLOGY
Government agencies
Regional development agencies
European organisations
Industrial partners
International contacts….
External Networks Internal networks
External
Networks
Patent office
Database
Library
®
Infrastructures
BUSINESS
INTELLIGENCE
TECHNOLOGY INTELLIGENCE - TARGET
TECHNOLOGY INTELLIGENCE - SCAN
Technology
manager
Technology
Group
manager
Experienced
multi-interest
technologist
Team
members
Mortara et al. 2009
Technology intelligence practice in UK technology-based companies.
International Journal of Technology Management 48 (1): 115 -135.
27
Telco-service In the technology office there are nine research centres specialising in different but overlapping
technology areas and also five ‘ventures’ focused on specific business areas. Cutting across technology boundaries,
they pull the expertise of the research centre laboratories together. TI is prevalently bottom-up and involves continuous
parallel streams of activities. Most of the decision makers do not have the background to understand highly technical
information, so they prefer to receive it in the form of a ‘pre-digested’ abstract that highlights the commercial potential of
technologies. Innovation activities merge TI and MI.
Trawl Decision makers consult trusted internal people and
through these personal networks reach other
knowledgeable individuals. If the personal network of
contacts cannot provide sufficient information, people
refer to the heads of the research groups and the
ventures.
Scan Scouts based in several outposts worldwide search
for technologies held by start-ups to fuel innovation in the
short to medium term future, participating at venture
capitalists events and publicising the company needs to
organisations that work with small companies. Start-ups
go through a qualification process of several progressive
deepening stages in which their technologies are
compared with Telco’s internal needs. Corporate venture
capital (CVC) provides funds for interesting technology
businesses and facilitates the flowing of information.
Mine People prefer to directly exchange information and
to be involved in discussions rather than to fill in
documents. Employees collect and store information on
their own devices. A formal system for codifying internal
knowledge is frequently discussed but at present no
coherent solution has been chosen. Archival is supported
by a customisable intranet, search engine where analysts
publish newsletters and technology watch lists. A digital
library provides access to technical and marketing
literature, patent search tools and patent analysts, press
releases and academic sources of information. A start-up
selection record is kept in a dedicated database.
Target Each research centre performs intelligence in its
specific technological field. Contacts and collaborations
with universities and attendance at scientific conferences
are sources of information for long term innovation.
Product fairs, commercial conferences, communication
with customers and suppliers and collaboration with
partners provide insight on competitors and sector
technological evolution. Telco-service also purchases
external intelligence reports such as foresight studies. A
dedicated group of specialised analysts collects and
digests information on technologies across the
telecommunication industry with very short-term future
focus and generates a watch list.
Fig. 5: Telco-service intelligence system
Analysts
Periodic top level
information collection of
technology trends with a
marketing perspective
Research &
Venturing Labs
Each research
centre collects info
in its own field
Technology
Analysts
Generation of a
watch-list for the
short term future.
Engagement with
start-ups
Worldwide activities of
scouts looking for new
technologies
Centres of
Excellence
listening posts
Scouts in contact
with academia and
research centres
worldwide
Venture-leaders
projects
Search of information to
support the
development of
innovative projects
Tech. Office
website
Library &
Patent office
CVC
External Networks
Ventures
Research Centres
Independent
search
Technologists as
part of their day by
day activity
INFRASTRUCTURE
Innovation
activities
Organised across
market and
technology
Decision
maker
Mortara et al. 2009
Technology intelligence practice in UK technology-based companies.
International Journal of Technology Management 48 (1): 115 -135.
28
Fig. 6: The modes succession. Continuous line = Top-down approach. Dashed line
= Bottom-up approach
Information needed
Do I know where?
yes
No
TRAWL MINE
Check in-house
Interesting?
yes
EXTERNAL
SOURCES
SCAN
TARGET
no
Sto
p
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Technology intelligence practice in UK technology-based companies.
International Journal of Technology Management 48 (1): 115 -135.
29
Name Sector Description & general information
1: Print 1
Manufacturing,
Printing, UK
Approximately two decades old, medium size manufacturing company which sells high performance, inkjet equipment and inks to
original equipment manufacturers in industrial printing markets. The company holds over 700 patents and patent applications. Based
in the UK, it has recently acquired manufacturing facilities in Europe and in the US. There has been a ‘step change’ from the original
‘technology licensing’ business model to the ‘production’ model.
2: Tech-consult
Technology
Consultancy, UK
Technology consulting. Through industrial membership, it allows external organisations to access full consultancy, R&D services and
facilities. The range of technologies is wide and covered by seven main ‘Technology Groups’, each specialised in different applications.
The know-how in the technologies supports several industrial sectors, which are managed by ‘Industrial Support Groups’. Innovations
are sought both to generate new technologies to create new intellectual properties, to exploit and to cover effectively the needs of the
members in the medium and long term (5-20 years).
3: Print 2
Manufacturing,
Printing, UK
World-leader in printing technologies and solutions with approximately 1700 employees. It manages subsidiaries and distributors
worldwide. The business, originally developed around a key technology, has grown through the acquisition of another printing
technology and now the company’s business revolves around these two key technologies, managed by two directors.
4: Mech
Manufacturing,
Mechanical
engineering, UK
Multinational company which supplies parts to the world's major producers of automotive vehicles, aircraft and aero engines. It
operates in more than 30 countries and employs about 39,000 people across its subsidiaries and 4,000 people in its joint ventures. The
company has recently embarked on the implementation of a technology intelligence system, starting from one of the two business
units.
5: Food & Drink
Manufacturing,
Food, UK
Part of a US-based multinational company producing alcoholic drinks, owing multiple successful brands. It doesn’t substantially interact
with the US headquarters, except from receiving the strategic targets. The innovation process and the company strategy are strongly
market oriented and technical innovation is principally directed to solve market or production problems. Three technology groups,
working loosely together, take care of aspects related to production and packaging of drinks. Each technology group is headed by a
director who co-ordinates a group of specialised technologists.
6: Telco-service
Telecommunication
Services, UK
Based in the UK. Four lines of business are supported by a technology office for research and innovation. Within the technology office,
nine research centres share expertise in several technological areas and hold resources for innovation. Across those the ventures,
headed by the ‘venture leaders’, manage the research budget. Every year, part of the research budget is set aside and attributed to the
strategic research which deals with long term issues. The technology office is located across the globe with sites in the US, UK and
Asia (India, Malaysia, Japan and Korea).
7: Imaging Manufacturing,
Imaging, US and UK
Multinational organisation with headquarters in the US and subsidiaries worldwide. The digital revolution has been a great challenge for
Imaging which flourished developing traditional imaging products for more than 100 years. The company has adapted its business
model to the new market needs and now revolves around four main businesses covering both traditional and digital technologies. As a
result of this history, particular attention has been given to building and improving the intelligence system.
8: Telco-manuf
Manufacturing,
Telecommunication,
UK
Designs, develops and commercialises mobiles technology digital radios for the security, military and utilities sectors. In the UK
headquarters product design and development take place, while the digital radios are manufactured by others in Europe. The company
employs approximately 100 engineers dedicated to the development of new products, and about 50 for marketing, sales and
administration services with a relatively flat organisational structure, where most of the technologists work in parallel in different
technical areas. The products are based on a standard technology which has now reached a mature stage. The major future
developments foreseen involve its installation and maintenance across the world. Technology drives innovation.
Table 1: Summary of the case studies.
Mortara et al. 2009
Technology intelligence practice in UK technology-based companies.
International Journal of Technology Management 48 (1): 115 -135.
30
Top down
(1,2,3,4)
Framework factors Cases
Bottom up
(5,6,7,8)
Decision makers
Strategic planning (1,2,3,6,7,8)
Tactical decisions (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)
Operational decisions (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)
Are decision makers part of
the technology intelligence?
Yes (1,5,6,8)
No (2,3,4,7)
Actions
Identification of opportunities (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)
Awareness of threats (1,2,3,4,6,7,8)
Profile trends (1,2,3,4,6,7,8)
Assess state of the art (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)
Intelligence streams
Market (1,3,4,5,6,7,8)
Competitive (1)
Competitive (with technology) (2,3,4,6,7,8)
Competitive (with market) (3, 5, 6)
Technology (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)
Merge of technology and
market intelligences
With decision makers (1,3,4,5,7,8)
Before the decision makers (2,6)
Table 2: Analysis of the cases according to the framework of factors
Table 3: List of preferred external sources of information used, with a reference to
the case studies. Keys: E = explicit; T = tacit; P = primary; S = secondary; W =
white; G = gray.
Published information Non published information - networking
Sources of
information
Type Cases Sources of
information
Type Cases
Internet/websites E-P/S-W/G (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) University
contacts/projects E/T-P/S-W/G (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)
Patents E-P-W (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) Product fairs E/T-P/S-W/G (1,3,4,5,6,7,8)
Field publications E-P/S-W (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) Commercial
conferences E/T-P/S-W/G (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)
Non field publications E-P/S-W (2,3,5,6,7) Suppliers E/T-P/S-W/G (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)
External intelligence
reports E-S-W/G (1,6) Technical/profession
al bodies E/T-P/S-W/G (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)
Governmental
foresight studies E-P/S-W (6) Acquaintances,
friends and relatives E/T-P/S-W/G (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)
Co-operations E/T-P/S-W/G (1,2,4,5,6,7,8)
Government
agencies E/T-P/S-W/G (2,3,4,5,6,7,8)
Customers E/T-P/S-W/G (2,4,6,7,8)
Consultants E/T-P/S-W/G (1,2,6,7,8)
Scientific
conferences E/T-P/S-W/G (2,6,7)
Communities of
practice E/T-P/S-W/G (1,2,6)
VCs funds E/T-P/S-W/G (3,6,7)
Start-up fairs E/T-P/S-W/G (6,7)
Mortara et al. 2009
Technology intelligence practice in UK technology-based companies.
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31
External social networks
Preferred for Target Cases Preferred for Scan Cases
Tradeshows and exhibitions (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) Friends and acquaintances (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)
Suppliers/Collaborators (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) Government organisations (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)
Technical workshops (1,2,3,4,5,6,7) Futures studies (2,6,7)
Academic specialised technical
departments (1,2,3,4,5,6,7) Formal networks (2,6,7)
Research centres (1,2,3,4,5,6,7) Innovative Clusters (6,7)
Customers (1,2,3,4,6,7,8) Start-up fairs (6,7)
Technical scientific conferences (1,2,4,6,7,8) Venture Capitalists (6,7)
Table 4: Sources of information preferred for target and scan.
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Technology intelligence practice in UK technology-based companies.
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32
Mine Trawl Target Scan
Zepotens
Savioz & Tschirky, 2004
Savioz, 2006
Each of the technology
consultants in the company is a
‘human repository’
Weekly meetings to
exchange latest updates Finding solutions to their own problems
Finding problems to apply
their technology and finding
new technologies
Straumann
Savioz & Tschirky, 2004
Savioz, 2006
Lotus Notes collects outputs
from screening processes and
gatekeepers of the opportunity
landscape. Technology
management group organise
knowledge management
Technology Management
group co-ordination role
facilitates information trawling
Screening group - looking expressly to create
new products following the prompts of the
strategy. External experts network inputs new
ideas
20 internal gatekeepers
track the opportunity
landscape: knowledge base
for future trends. External
experts network inputs new
ideas
Daimler - Benz
Savioz & Tschircky, 2004
Licthenthaler, 2004
Savioz, 2006
Central database collects direct
inputs from all the TI activities
Internal gatekeepers network,
and Technology Monitoring
function
International listening posts monitor 'hot'
technologies and markets. Network of internal
gatekeepers analyses technology trends.
Connections with a circle of 150 experts
worldwide provide information on technologies
beyond the interest of internal gatekeepers
Circle members group and
international listening posts
keep observing for new
interesting technologies
Exploration &
Production
Multinational Energy
company
April and Bessa, 2006
Easy Intranet worldwide access;
Competitive and technical
Intelligence Global Network
space. Knowledge base
(Benchmarking, Trends, links,
3rd party research, partners,
news, success stories,
competitor files, business plans,
events calendar)
Intranet. Culture of
collaborating among experts.
Communities of Practice.
Staff can pose intelligence
questions, which are
answered by a member of the
global community
Experts, Key Intelligence Topics, Frameworks
to integrate competitor and technical
information
Experts, Frameworks to
integrate competitor and
technical information
International Research
Monitoring Program
Ashton,et al. 1991
IRM library stores information
accumulated
Audit (survey and interviews)
of information use and needs
of DOE program managers.
IRM enables information flow
among staff members
Office of Technical Assistance monitors
existing status of energy conservation-related
technology development in foreign countries
Office of Technical
Assistance looks for
evolving trends of energy
conservation-related
technology in foreign
countries. No evidence of
scanning in other sectors
Novartis
Savioz, 2006 Future Watch tool. Lotus Notes
General annual meeting of
technology gatekeepers plus
telephonic and virtual
meetings
Technology Group has small budget to assess
intelligence generated by technology scouts.
Scientific Services provide database
researches to internal clients. Secondment
scheme of junior scientists from universities in
the business units. Each core technology group
has a systematised network of gatekeepers. TI
units for each therapeutic area which
participate in decision making for that area and
determine intelligence needs
A virtual network of 150
voluntary gatekeepers
identifies technological
discontinuities. Units for: 1)
scanning for new application
technologies. 2) Monitoring
start-ups not yet involved in
partnership 3) Setup of
strategic cooperations
Table 5: Examples from literature of how companies carry out the modes for searching information
Mortara et al. 2009
Technology intelligence practice in UK technology-based companies.
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Mortara et al. 2009
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