Wharton Preface and Chapter One

Summary



Wharton on Managing Emerging Technologies discusses the challenges departments, companies, and managers face in regards to managing emerging technologies. Never before have these technologies had such an impact on the way businesses are internally structured and run, technology is analyzed and used, and products are developed for ambiguous markets. An emerging technology is defined by the authors as “science-based innovations that have the potential to create a new industry or transform an existing one. The knowledge base is expanding, the application to existing markets is undergoing innovation, or new markets are being tapped or created.” This book gives a broad, management top down approach to the unique issues present when managing these technologies.



Successfully managing emerging technologies is critical to the success of any company, whether it already has a large presence in the market or whether it is a new entrant. Large companies may have more available resources, financial advantages, and other advantages over smaller, lesser known companies, but when managing emerging technologies that is not always an advantage. Large companies are more inclined to be more resistant to change, unable to gain the skills and knowledge that are needed, and reluctant to take a chance on a new technology that is unproven and new.



With the rate of technological progress accelerating more rapidly than ever before, companies cannot be as successful with the “fast-follower” strategy as they used to be. Companies need to change that mindset and be more proactive as opposed to reactive when embracing emerging technologies. New technologies may not fit into the current core competencies of a business so they made need to adapt to remain competitive. Although the future lifespan and profitability of an existing technology is unknown, there are factors that can be studied and applied to break down some of the ambiguity.



The change needed in the way a business functions and operates has made managing emerging technologies a different game than managing existing technologies. If managers do not recognize that the strategy is different, they will never be able to compete. Shifts in thinking include - a move to a dynamic organizational context, adaptive strategy planning, iterative and informal resource allocation, market exploration, and flexible technology research.



In addition to changing the thought process regarding business practices and existing technologies, businesses must also change the way they move towards adapting emerging technologies. Extensive knowledge in the area of interest, understanding the target market’s needs and habits, experimenting with prototypes or first-generation products, and slowly easing into the market can be employed to help cut down on risk and uncertainty. Also understanding any government rules or regulations affecting the market, using “knowledge networks,” using dynamic planning, and adjusting financial assessments to reflect the future profitability can help as well.



While there are frameworks, approaches, and perspectives to help better manage emerging technologies, there will always be a high level of difficulty and discrepancy. There will always be failures despite proper management, core competencies can be leveraged, but should not hold a business back, risks must be taken but can evaluated first, and while rivalry between companies is increased, collaboration is also embraced. Identifying, understanding, and overcoming or adapting to these challenges is what makes a business successful at managing emerging technologies.



Research Update



I found it interesting that Apple Computer thought it would master the PDA (personal digital assitant) field with the Newton. The Palm Pilot by Palm computing actually moved into the head position, but even since then the market leader has shifted many times. Many different companies have entered the PDA market since then (Sony and HP, to name a few) but with the increase demands for mobile communication, the demand for a PDA is diminishing. This increased demand for communication, email, and the functions of a PDA and the desire have all of these available in one place led to the merging of a cell phone and PDA to create a smartphone or pocket pc. These are devices that offer data capability (for email, web browsing, etc.), full phone and voice features, while managing contacts and calendars. They come in a variety of models and features, full key boards, slide out keyboards, on screen keyboards, touch screens, etc. Palm is one company that has adapted to the new emerging technology of a smartphone, for instance, when I looked at their webpage (http://www.palm.com/) they didn’t even advertise any standard PDA’s. The Homepage and main “Shop” page had only smartphones displayed, and offered many different options - full QWERTY keyboards, no keyboards, Palm OS, Windows OS, touch screens. This a good example of Palm using their core competencies - extensive knowledge of the target market and the way customers use and interact with the product - to their advantage when adapting to the changing environment of PDA to smartphone use.



Analysis



Wharton on Managing Emerging Technologies was written in 2000, and since then we’ve seen new products enter and shape the market. While some of the products mentioned in the book are sunseting, or even obsolete these days, I do find it accurate to say that the principles applied to managing the technologies hold true today. This illustrates that even though the future profitability, return, and lifespan of an emerging technology may not be known, there are still standard, non specific (at least in regards to a specific technology) guidelines that can be applied to successfully manage emerging technologies.



Resources



Day, George and Schoemaker, Paul. (2000). Wharton on Managing Emerging Technologies. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wily & Sons, Inc.



Zellen, Barry. (2005 Feb 25). PDAs, Phoned & Smart Devices. Retrieved February 10 2009, From http://wirelessinnovator.com/index.php?articleID=4522&sectionID=7