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Strategic role of technology roadmaps
Technology roadmaps are commonly used around the world as technology to market planning tools, especially within the multiple stakeholder environments where the intended future needs to be clearly communicated to various role players such as the innovators, entrepreneurs, customers, suppliers and the government.
They are also very useful in translating strategies into implementable actions, with clear targets and timelines. Motorola is one of the first organisations that made use of technology roadmaps in the 1970s to facilitate production of strategic product plans that are documented, tracked and updated as the relationship between technologies and marketplace unfolds (Willyard & McClees, 1987). Technology roadmaps assisted Motorola to integrate corporate planning processes with technology planning efforts in order to deliver value to the market and to maintain the company’s competitiveness.
A growing number of organisations, industry associations, national governments and international agencies are using technology roadmaps for future technology planning and analysis. Examples of such roadmaps are the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS), several International Energy Agency (IEA)’s low-carbon technology roadmaps, the South African Solar Energy Technology Roadmap (SETRM) and NASA technology roadmaps. Technology roadmaps exist in different formats and have diverse purposes as shown by Phaal, Farrukh and Probert (2001).
Although this technique was initially utilised for integrated market, products, technology and research planning, various scholars have recently introduced frameworks for service technology roadmaps (Cho & Lee, 2014; Suh & Park, 2009; Wells et al., 2004). Geographically, technology roadmaps are currently being used in different parts of the world, including developed and developing countries, many applied in the energy sector.
There exist various other technology future planning and assessment tools such as foresighting, forecasting, technology intelligence, etc. According to Porter et al. (2004:291), “time horizon strongly affects methodological appropriateness” and “extrapolative approaches are usually suitable only for shorter terms”. Technology roadmaps are useful for much longer technology planning periods in which past performance might not determine the future. Although both technology roadmaps and foresight seek to collect and document future technology expectations in terms of what is likely to happen, technology roadmaps combine this with future desires of the key stakeholders and commitments from these stakeholders (McDowall, 2012).
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND .
1.1 Strategic role of technology roadmaps
1.2 Context of research .
1.3 Research objectives and main research questions .
1.4 Research sub-questions .
1.5 Contributions of this study .
1.6 Thesis structure and research roadmap .
1.7 References .
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ON TECHNOLOGY ROADMAPS AND TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT AND A LINK TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Knowledge evolution of technology roadmapping field: the emergence of third generation technology roadmaps .
2.3 Strategic importance of emerging technologies
2.4 Technology management in developing countries
2.5 Chapter summary and gap analysis ..
2.6 References .
CHAPTER 3: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR TECHNOLOGY ROADMAP DEVELOPMENT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
3.1 Introduction .
3.2 Multilevel analysis perspective of complex innovation systems
3.3 Leapfrogging as a technology catch-up strategy
3.4 Transition management theory
3.5 Proposed technology roadmap format for developing countries
3.6 Proposed technology roadmapping process for developing countries .
3.7 Chapter summary
3.8 References
CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
4.1 Introduction .
4.2 Research design
4.3 Quantitative survey
4.4 Qualitative interviews and desktop study
4.5 Data analysis procedure
4.6 Ethical considerations
4.7 Chapter summary .
4.8 References
CHAPTER 5: INNOVATION DYNAMICS IN SOUTH AFRICA AS A BASE FOR TECHNOLOGY ROADMAPPIN
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Priorities of innovation for the South African technology roadmapping community
5.3 Innovation competitive advantage
5.4 Chapter summary
5.5 References
CHAPTER 6: TECHNOLOGY ROADMAPS IN SOUTH AFRICA .
CHAPTER 7: SOCIOTECHNICAL TRANSITIONS FOR CASE TECHNOLOGY ROADMAPS
CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDED FUTURE WORK
APPENDIX A: RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS
