Kathleen Allen is the author of several texts including Launching New Ventures, Third Edition, and Entrepreneurship
and Small Business Management, Second Edition, as well as a variety of trade books in the field of entrepreneurship.
A professor in the Greif Entrepreneurship Center of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern
California (USC), Allen has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs realize their dreams of starting new ventures. At
USC, she is director of the Technology Commercialization Alliance, a collaboration of the schools of business,
engineering, and medicine to commercialize USC technologies. She also leads a National Science Foundation project
with several university, public, and private partners.
Preface
Bringing New Technology to Market is the first text designed to address the entire technology commercialization
process, from idea to market. Today, as technology drives innovation and companies seek more effective ways to
exploit the intellectual property they create, it is important for students in business, engineering, and the sciences
to understand the processes that result in successful new technology products in the market. Consequently, the
subject of technology commercialization is becoming an important part of the graduate and undergraduate curricula
in schools of business, engineering, and science. Bringing New Technology to Market presents a comprehensive look
at the issues related to the transfer and commercialization of new technology. High-tech businesses with patentable
technology, whether engineering technology, biotechnology, or information systems technology, display different
business models, processes, and characteristics from mainstream types of businesses. Therefore, CEOs, CTOs, managers,
entrepreneurs, faculty, and students need to understand this phenomenon and learn how to successfully commercialize
the intellectual property they develop.
Technology is different from any other type of new product. For one thing, the market responds differently to
technology; customers are slow to accept a new technology with which they are not familiar. The entrepreneur who
introduces a new technology must, therefore, devise a strategy that captures early adopters in a variety of niches
in order to develop sufficient momentum to push the technology into the mainstream market. The development of new
technology is generally a longer and more expensive process than that for other products. Securing intellectual
property to protect technological products, processes, and know-how is also a critical component of the commercialization
process. New technologies are commercialized in a variety of ways, but the underlying commonality is an entrepreneurial
approach that seeks to create new value. Whether technology is developed inside the laboratories of a large company
or in an entrepreneur's garage, the need for a fast-cycle process with checkpoints and criteria that must be met
is essential to success.
This book was written to address all of these issues. Although it was prepared for a graduate-level course,
it can be used equally well in undergraduate courses. It was designed with 15 chapters to permit teaching the material
comfortably in one semester. The text is compatible with an overview course presenting the broad picture of the
technology commercialization process. Because it contains application tools, it is also appropriate for a course
where students are moving through the commercialization process with real inventions they have developed or technology
they have acquired for the purposes of commercialization.
Bringing New Technology to Market embodies three major themes. The first is new value creation. For companies
to be successful in sustainable technology innovation, it is critical that they punctuate their incremental or
value-added innovations with radical or value-creating innovations. Creating new value is the most important way
that a company can distinguish itself from its competitors. Therefore, the commercialization process as discussed
in this book makes it possible for a company to successfully combine the development and exploitation of both incremental
and radical innovations. The second theme is speed. As windows of opportunity for new technologies are shrinking,
product development timelines are by necessity shortening, creating a real dilemma for product developers--how
to produce superior high-technology products faster, yet at prices the market will tolerate. This book presents
methods, based on empirical research, that result in faster time to market without sacrificing quality or value
creation. The third theme is entrepreneurship. The tools that entrepreneurs employ to recognize and create opportunity,
test a business concept in the market, and gather the resources to execute the business concept are the same tools
required to successfully navigate the technology commercialization process. In this book, these entrepreneurial
tools are applied in the context of a new technology venture, whether that venture is a start-up, a venture inside
a large organization, or a spin-off venture from a large corporation.
Bringing New Technology to Market contains many features designed to benefit faculty, students, and others interested
in technology commercialization.
The book covers the entire spectrum of the commercialization process, from idea conception through prototyping
and testing, intellectual property acquisition, market analysis, and product launch. Readers will have a single
source for the latest information and research in technology commercialization.
It recognizes the broad spectrum of technology industries with examples from information systems, industrial
engineering, biotechnology, and other technical industries. The book is adaptable and compatible with courses in
engineering, science, and business.
Each chapter has a small real-world case that relates to the topic of the chapter. Readers will be able to
discuss the content of the chapter through the practical environment of the case.
Each chapter contains real-world examples of concepts presented in a readable style. Readers will be able to
easily see how theory translates into practice.
The book follows a logical progression in its development from idea conception to market launch. Readers can
learn the process through a natural progression where each new concept builds on the previous one.
The book treats the topic of feasibility analysis, a critical component of the commercialization process. Readers
will learn how to develop a business concept for a new technology and test that concept in the market.
The book contains three chapters on the development, acquisition, and management of intellectual property,
which is a critical aspect of the technology commercialization process. Readers will understand their rights regarding
the intellectual property they develop or acquire, and how to manage that IP to create wealth.
Every chapter contains a short case or profile of a real entrepreneur, inventor, or company grappling with the
commercialization process. Other real-life examples are sprinkled throughout the chapters to keep the topics grounded
in reality. Current and relevant research is the basis for the chapter content and additional resources, both books
and Internet resources, are given at the end of each chapter. In addition, questions at the end of the chapter
serve to provoke stimulating discussions in class or may form the basis for a class assignment.
Summary
Bringing New Technology to Market presents a comprehensive look at the issues related to the transfer and commercialization
of new technology. High-tech businesses with patentable technology, whether engineering technology, biotechnology,
or information systems technology, display different business models, processes, and characteristics from mainstream
businesses. Therefore, CEOs, CTOs, managers, entrepreneurs, faculty, and students need to understand this phenomenon
and learn how to successfully commercialize the intellectual property they develop.
Bringing New Technology to Market is the first text that addresses the entire technology commercialization process
from idea to market.
Table of Contents
I. THE FOUNDATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY COMMERCIALIZATION.
1. Innovation and Commercialization.
2. Recognizing and Screening Technology Opportunities.
3. Developing and Testing a Technology Business Concept.
4. High-Technology Product Development Strategies.
II. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.
5. The Concept of Intellectual Property.
6. Licensing Intellectual Property.
7. Intellectual Property Strategy.
III. FINANCIAL STRATEGY FOR TECHNOLOGY START-UPS.
8. Building and Valuing the Business Model.
9. Funding the Technology Start-Up.
10. Funding Growth.
IV. THE TRANSITION FROM R&D TO OPERATIONS.
11. Moving from R&D to Operations.
12. Marketing High Technology.
13. Growing the High-Tech Venture.
14. Entrepreneurial Venturing Inside a Corporation.
15. Developing a Business Plan for Sustained Innovation.