Complete Guide to Strategic Management Of Technological Innovation

Strategic management is the ongoing planning, monitoring, analysis and assessment of all necessities an organization needs to meet its goals and objectives. Changes in business environments will require organizations to constantly assess their strategies for success.

What is Strategic Management Of Technological Innovation?

Strategic Management of Technological Innovation is the ongoing assessment of technologies available to the company for use in its normal day-to-day race, and the selection of the best ones for incorporation into this daily routine. It also assesses the organization’s available resources and budgets, and plans how best to use these in the execution of its routine. Having a thorough knowledge of prevalent technology will enable the organization to gain an advantage over others that do not have such knowledge. Technological innovation can be considered as part of the general strategic management because it helps consider products and services that could be supplied to outside parties within the organization.

Importance of Strategic Management Of Technological Innovation

Companies should strive to keep an ahead of the game by adopting new technologies which are emerging at a faster pace than ever before. This is crucial to achieve sustainable competitive advantage because ill-placed investments in technology can have a detrimental effect on the business, while well placed investments in technology will allow the firm to reap more profit. It is advisable for the dominant firm in each line of industry to adopt a strategic management of technological innovation to keep up with the new developments occurring in the market.

How To Manage Any Organization’s Resources Better?

The tools of strategic management are most helpful in ensuring that hard assets are utilized to the right degree. Not only should hard assets be managed, but managerial positions should also be filled with the right people, supporting equipment and services should be procured, and other key resources should be accounted for. The company should also ensure that the product and services supplied to the firm’s various markets are at an acceptable standard.

Importance Of Strategic Management Of Technological Innovation

Technology plays as great a role in the world as businesses and entities themselves. It is because of this importance that every business should keep an eye on technologies that are becoming increasingly prevalent. The organization that is the first to adopt a given technology will have a greater chance of achieving sustainable competitive advantage. A case study indicates how this phenomenon is evident in the market, with Forbes, Inc. claiming that the top strategic innovators have a substantial competitive edge over their rivals. While this is true, it is also true that if an organization fails to keep up with the pace of technology, it will risk losing all of its potential for growth and sustainability.

How To Manage Resources In Organizations?

Management of resources should be done to great effect. It is only through good management of resources that an organization will thrive and attain its aims. There are various ways of doing this, and each of the following methods can help in the management of an organization’s resources.

It is possible for an organization to purchase the right kind of equipment for itself in order to help it fulfill its objectives. It could also hire the services of any other service provider to fulfill these needs.

It is possible for an organization to purchase the rights to use a technology that is still patent-protected.

If a given technology is not patented, the organization can always come up with its own patent, and use that for its benefit.

In order to prevent any supply chain delays, an organization should keep a good stock of all necessities at all times.

Resources can also be managed by working out the most optimal way of using any kind of equipment, or making sure that any equipment is effective enough for the organization to use it for as long as possible.

The company should also strive to utilize whatever resources it can get, while at the same time working on developing technologies of its own.

The company should also strive to make profits as well as realize its objectives.

Strategic Planning Systems & Strategies For Business Growth…

Planning is one of the biggest keys to business growth. However, the third most important strategic planning factors in growth are the strategies used beyond the plan. An executive who has planned the same strategy over and over and is not willing to grow is not a leader. An executive who plans the same strategy over and over and is only willing to do more of the same is also not a leader.

You will be disappointed if you expect to get a pot of gold by simply figuring out a growth strategy. You will only receive results if you are also willing to make the decisions necessary to turn the strategy into actions.

So what are the growth strategies that you can use to turn your business from small to large?

1. Find A Different Market

When you start out in a new market, you have the chance to grow faster because you are not competing for shelf space or client support while you are building your clientele.

Staying in the same market lets you strengthen your core competencies as you are busy trying to figure out how to stand out against your competitors.

2. Get Closer To Your Client

Many small business owners are nervous about outsourcing services because they have a fear of losing control. They are also scared of giving away the “secret sauce” that they have in their business.

But outsource if you want. If you can find a better product or service that does NOT outsource, even better!

But sometimes outsourcing is the right way to go, and you will only get the extra cash flow, or the competitive advantage, if you are more flexible than your rivals.

3. Expand To New Geography

You have to consider the long term goals that you want to have in business. Moving your business to a different area allows you to take advantage of your area’s natural resources.

Moving your business to a different part of the country allows you to get a fresh perspective on design or manufacturing that your current location might cast a shadow over.

In the end, you may be able to stay in your current location, but it is better to give yourself the option to move into a new market.

4. Start A Brand New Business

If you start a new business, your new business can become the big fish in the small pond by the time you have expanded. You can start a new business in the same industry, or in a completely new industry. Either way, success is a lot easier to come by when you do not have to fight for market share.

5. Provide Additional Services

As you market your current services, you might find that you could add support services. As you seek new clients, you may find that you can provide new training or webinars about your core service for their customers. By adding these services, you can grow your customer base.

6. Learn New Skills

If you have a passion for a different industry, it might give you an edge over your competition. Big companies are desperate for employees with specific skills that they are struggling to find. If you can add a technical or creative skill to your arsenal, you might find a new set of clients that need your services.

7. Focus On Your Core Competency

If you find that you only have a certain set of services that your clients are interested in, look at those services and decide if there is another service that you can add that fits your core competency. If you want to market those services, you should consider doing away with the services that do not fit your core competency.

8. Create A Blog

As you investigate your skills and core competency, you will realize that you have more to say about a specific subject matter than you do about your services. Instead of making a boring site with text and pictures, make a blog filled with your wisdom and wit. Once people find you on the web, you can pitch your services if you make them valuable enough to your target audience.

9. Invest In Your Current Business

If you find a particular area of your company that you do not have time to focus on, and if you can hire someone to provide the skills you want without slacking on their ability to provide expertise in other areas, then you can hire a part time worker. A part time worker might even help you to do things better or more efficiently. The value of your company will rise if you do this.

10. Market Your Company

Once you find a strategy that works, and you are making money, you might feel that you do not need to market your company. But you will end up seeing your company’s growth slowing down if you do not continue to advertise. Look for new and innovative ways to market your company and find the right message for your company.

11. Make A Plan

As you start growing your own business, you are on your way to creating your own legacy. You now have the opportunity to set the tone for everything that is to come in the future. Make a plan for your growth. Invest in its success. Gather support from your customers. Take this opportunity and you will enjoy the ride to success.

12. Take Stock Of Your Business

Take stock of your business experiences. You can take stock of the growth of your company, not just financially, but emotionally, in the business environment. How has the company changed? What are the staff members saying about the changes? Set up a story board with all the comments, and look at all of your comments for a few weeks. If you get to the end of the stories, look at the last comments and put them back on the board. If you have just a few comments, add new comments to the board, and then look at all of the comments over the same time period that you have been looking at the comments. Do this for at least six months, and look at your story board before you put it away for six months.

This will help you to see what is going on in your business, and it can give you an idea of what you do well, and what needs to be changed, the right way to do things, and if you need to work on a problem area.

13. Give Your Customers Exactly What They Want

Your customers do not care about what your company needs, they care about what your customers want. But what your customers want is based on their wants. So when you listen to your customers, you might find that they have a set of criteria for you in making their next decision. If they are shopping for product on the Internet you can make sure that you meet their criteria for the best product on the market, and you will meet their criteria for making their next decision an easy one. Listen to people that are happy with your company and focus on what they want from your company, and you will find that you will have a hard time scrambling for clients when you are trying to market the product that your clients want.

14. Seek Professional Growth That Will Benefit Your Business

If you want to grow your company, you will need to invest in professional development. But if you are not sure if your professional growth will fit into your company’s plans, you need to make sure that your company will be able to take advantage of the professional growth that you want. Once you know that your professional growth is a good match for your company, you can find a seminar at your company, or a professional development organization that can give you the growth that you are seeking.

Strategic Management Of Technological Innovation

In a constantly changing world, organizations have to stay aware of the new trends. New opportunities are opening up on a daily basis and organizations have to seriously consider the chances to either get on the train or miss it. New technology is developed and organizations have to find ways to use it strategically.

However, technological innovation bring with it a whole set of issues. From the issue of innovation-stakeholders, that have to be geared towards new technological opportunities, to the issue of integration of technological innovations into the present operation of the enterprise. The problem is (and there are usually many of them) is that technological innovations have a tendency to make their way onto the global market and as soon as they do, the competitor does not even give you a minute for adjustment.

The major issues, however, are the issues that concern the attitude towards technological innovations and that are primarily hidden in the culture of the organization. In order to ensure that a technological innovation is truly embraced and strategically utilized, several internal and external motivators, as well as the right attitude of every enterprise stakeholder, are needed.

The management of technological innovation starts by developing the organizational strategic vision – which is more than just a set of short and mid-term standards that the enterprise has to live up to. A vision is a way of seeing the future and working towards it. The more you can forecast and follow the premonitions the greater your chances for success will be.

The technological innovation management is a very complex process. There are several techniques that are used in order to ensure that the technological innovation is successfully integrated.

Identify the most relevant issues and possible solutions for the integration of the technological innovation into the core business of the enterprise.

• Creating incentive for managers to accept and use technological innovations.
• Identify necessary managerial abilities.
• Defining stakeholder interests, including competitors’.
• Identifying the best technological innovators.

Technological innovation management is primarily driven by attitudes. Whether an enterprise embraces a new technology or not depends on several factors. The primary factor is the extent to which the enterprise is able to grasp the breadth and potential of the new technology.

An enterprise can embrace the new technology if:

• The technology facilitates the contribution of a new value to its operations and/or products
• The technology is necessary for the survival of the enterprise (if there are not enough scientific or educational specialists)
• The technology can provide a better offering than that of the competitors
• The technology can create additional return on investment.

Furthermore, once the technology is adopted, it is critical to have the right people who will use it in the most effective way. Researchers suggest that the right people, a group of emergent leaders who have a right attitude, are critical for an enterprise to have success. It is primarily the attitude of the people towards innovation that defines the attitude of the enterprise towards it.

The attitude towards technological innovation is driven by:

• The necessity to augment the organizational competitiveness
• To increase the enterprise reputation
• To lower the cost of production
• To decrease the time to market
• The potential of technological innovation to revolutionize the industry
• The orientation of the top management towards technological innovation
• Internal R&D.

It is important not only to have the right people but to also have the right environment for technological innovation to flourish. This is not an easy task, to be honest.

In most cases, technological innovation is too far ahead to the market and there are not enough experts who can take on the technology without fear of failure.

In order for the technological innovation to succeed, it needs to be compatible with everybody’s needs. There are few ways to do that:

• Compatible with the enterprise’s business strategy and objectives
• Have clear procedures for the realization of the objectives
• Clear objectives
• Introduce superior technologies and allied social systems
• Implement an effective process for the collection and processing of current information about the technological trend.

In conclusion we can state that technological innovation is a mindset. It requires a strategic commitment from the top and the will to introduce the cutting-edge technologies. The human resource makes the most critical link in the integration of technological innovation. The attitude towards technological innovation is driven by both the top-management and the rank and file.

Perhaps the most difficult part is to create the right environment which will foster technological innovation.

Technology Acquisition In Practice

Technology acquisition is the process by which a suitable device is purchased, acquired, or leased by an organization. The organization (or an individual acting on its behalf) purchases or acquires the device, and often leases or licenses any software normally provided with the device.

Technological innovation is becoming crucial for every organization because competitiveness of nations and companies in the global economy depends directly on their ability to innovate and to implement new technologies. The innovation process is complex in many ways and has to involve several disciplines and stages.

Technological innovation is a dynamic process that occurs both inside and outside an organization.

The organization, as part of the process, has to first identify needs, and then optimize them, not the other way around.

The second stage involves the search for solutions. The organization should seek only those solutions that will best satisfy its needs and objectives. Therefore, the organization will need to identify the most important product performance characteristics which is not an easy task.

The next phase involves the evaluation of various solutions and the selection of the ones which best meet the company’s needs.

The last phase of technological innovation is the implementation of the technology. This involves not only technology adoption but organization buy-in and a strategic vision of technological innovation.

The process of technology acquisition can last for several months, or it can be a very complex and expensive process. It depends on the type of technology, the maturity of the technology, the number of alternatives that exist on the market, the number of suppliers who can provide the technology, type of licensing and other factors. It is a complex process that involves all aspects of technology.

A sound and complete process of technology acquisition must include the following steps of the technological innovation management:

• Identify the requirements
• Design the alternatives
• Evaluate vendor proposals
• Select vendor/licensee
• Negotiate terms and conditions
• Document technology acquisition
• Implement the technology acquisition
• Execute the process of technology
• (Communicate)

The technological innovation management includes the right attitude of the enterprise towards technological innovation.

Its primary focus point is on adapting organizational activities to be attractive for technological innovators. Institutional, cultural and policy factor must be well integrated into the technological innovation management.

Proper technological innovation management is critical for an organization because, if done right, it will dictate the future and success of the organization.

A firm has to not only have the right attitude towards technological innovation but also it must have a clear understanding of why it wants to innovate and what benefits it expects from the innovation.

One of the main issues in the implementation of technological innovation is the stakeholders’ buy-in and their positive attitude towards technological innovation.

Technological innovation is a process driven by the availability and global nature of information.

Information technology (IT) plays a central role in every stage of technological innovation. IT can help to capture, analyze and disseminate information related to technological innovation. It can help to collect, organize and share information and it can help to rapidly transform technology adoption process towards exponential innovation.