Technology Scouting. A case study on the Deutsche Telekom Laboratories. René Rohrbeck Deutsche Telekom Laboratories ISPIM-Asia Conference 9 th 12 th January 2007
Agenda. Introduction Definition and elements of Technology Scouting Technology Scouting at Deutsche Telekom Laboratories Conclusion Rohrbeck_(2007)_Technology Scouting_Presentation.ppt 1
Introduction. Motivation and research question. Motivation Increased competition Increased technological complexity Shorter innovation cycles Fast changing customer needs Management needs to make decisions fast in order to stay ahead of competitors Research gap Research Questions No sufficient research on success factors and organization of technology scouting and interaction with other function of the organization What are the aims of Technology Scouting? What are important success factors of Technology Scouting? How should Technology Scouting be interweaved within the company? What organizational forms have proven to be effective? Rohrbeck_(2007)_Technology Scouting_Presentation.ppt 2
Definition and elements of Technology Scouting. Scientific classification of technology intelligence aspect. Using data from the past to anticipate the future Using gathered information for decision making Process and actors Organization Company level Technology Intelligence Regional/ national and supranational level Forecasting Foresight Future Analysis Source: Own figure Rohrbeck_(2007)_Technology Scouting_Presentation.ppt 3
Definition and elements of Technology Scouting. Scientific classification of technology sourcing aspect. External Technology Sourcing Fuzzy-front-end of innovation Product specification and development Prototype validation and testing Market launch Innovation Management Storage, internal generation and usage of technological knowledge Technology selling or licensing Technology Management Source: Own figure Rohrbeck_(2007)_Technology Scouting_Presentation.ppt 4
Definition and elements of Technology Scouting. Combination of the two aspects. Provisioning of Technology Intelligence to facilitate the Technology Management Identification, assessment and usage of information on technological developments Acquisition, development, storage, usage and selling of technological knowledge Technology Intelligence Technology Management Scouts identify and assess new technologies Technology Scouting Scouts facilitate the sourcing of technology Building and using a network of experts for competitive advantage Rohrbeck_(2007)_Technology Scouting_Presentation.ppt 5
Definition and elements of Technology Scouting. Definition of Technology Scouting. The Technology Scout is either an employee of the company or a consultant. He might be part or full-time assigned to the scouting task. Definition of the Technology Scout The desired characteristics of a Technology Scout are similar to the characteristics associated with the Technological Gatekeeper. These characteristics include: lateral thinker, knowledgeable in science and technology, respected inside the company, cross-disciplinary orientated and imaginative. Sources: Wolff (1992), Allen (1971), Wilkin (1974), Taylor (1975), Myers (1983), Nochur (1992), Rohrbeck_(2007)_Technology Scouting_Presentation.ppt 6
Generic Process of Technology Scouting. The 6 steps of Technology Scouting can be divided into Technology Intelligence and Technology Souring. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Selection of Filtering, Evaluating Definition of aims information Collection analyzing, and decision and search areas sources and of data interpreting of making methods to employ data Technology Intelligence Usage of information Technology Sourcing Source: Own figure following Reger (2001) and Ashton/ Stacey (1995) Rohrbeck_(2007)_Technology Scouting_Presentation.ppt 7 7
Agenda. Introduction Definition and elements of Technology Scouting Technology Scouting at Deutsche Telekom Laboratories Conclusion Rohrbeck_(2007)_Technology Scouting_Presentation.ppt 8
Goal of Technology Scouting at DTAG. Technology Scouting activities at Deutsche Telekom Laboratories are driven by 4 goals. Goals of the Technology Radar Early identification of emerging technologies, technological trends and disrupting technologies Raising the attention for the threats and opportunities of technological development Stimulation of innovation by combining the technology reports with assessment of business potential and by bringing people together Facilitation of the sourcing of external technologies by reaching through the network of technology scouts to their sources of information Rohrbeck_(2007)_Technology Scouting_Presentation.ppt 9 9
Process of Technology Scouting at DTAG. The technological findings from the scouting network are used for strategic and operative innovation management.. Identification Selection Assessment Dissemination International Scout Network uses sources in university & industry??????!!!!!!!! Innovation Strategy CTOs and CMOs??!!! R&D and Product Managers Source: Deutsche Telekom Laboratories (2006), The Technology - Radar Edition III/2006 Rohrbeck_(2007)_Technology Scouting_Presentation.ppt 10 10
Scouting network of DTAG. The scouts have roles similar to the nodes in a neuronal network and give access to information sources in industry and academia. $ $ Rohrbeck_(2007)_Technology Scouting_Presentation.ppt 11 11
Scout typology at DTAG. The DTAG has a balanced portfolio of internal and external as well as full-time and part-time scouts. Full-time Part-time Internal T-Systems Deutsche Telekom Laboratories External Detecon USA Ben Gurion University Shanghai University ASIA Compete The size of the bubbles represents roughly the number of technological findings from the different scouts Source: Own figure with data from interview Rohrbeck_(2007)_Technology Scouting_Presentation.ppt 12 12
Scout incentive system at DTAG. Monetary and non-monetary incentives are used for the actors in the scouting network. Actor in scouting network Used incentives Internal scouts Recognition Monetary reward in bonus scheme External scouts Payment per relevant technology identification Business Development opportunity Academic sources Industry sources Recognition Chance for joint research projects Business Development Sales Collaboration opportunity Source: Own figure with data from interview Rohrbeck_(2007)_Technology Scouting_Presentation.ppt 13 13
Agenda. Introduction Definition and elements of Technology Scouting Technology Scouting at Deutsche Telekom Laboratories Conclusion Rohrbeck_(2007)_Technology Scouting_Presentation.ppt 14
Conclusion. The 3 crucial elements to success of Technology Scouting are goal definition, incentive system and backward-loop. For practitioners 3 elements crucial to success of technology scouting goal definition Tailored incentive system Definition of backward loop to sources Further research Identify ways to measure value contribution of technology scouting Warning function about emerging threats and opportunities Impulse function to start innovation activity Validation of division of labour External scouts for scanning (undirected) Internal scouts for monitoring (directed) Rohrbeck_(2007)_Technology Scouting_Presentation.ppt 15
Thank you for your interest. René Rohrbeck Deutsche Telekom Laboratories Ernst-Reuter-Platz 7, 10587 Berlin +49 30 8353 58536 (Tel) rene.rohrbeck@telekom.de Rohrbeck_(2007)_Technology Scouting_Presentation.ppt 16
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