Definitions of Strategy Corporate Strategy concerns of the parent company and represents the long term goals of the

e firm. About meeting stakeholders expectations and adding value to different parts of the enterprise. Business Strategy concerns of individual SBUs. Adoption of course of action and allocation of resources necessary to compete in a particular business area Technology strategy Developed in part at business level, but best positioned at corporate level Involves creating, enhancing and deploying resources and capabilities in support of business and corporate strategy Defined by a set of interrelated decisions encompassing technology choice, level of technology competence, level of funding for technology development, organisation for technology application and development (Burgelman and Rosenbloom, 1997) M. Porter (1985) suggests technology strategy is a firms approach to the development and use of technology. Although it encompasses the role of formal R&D organisations, it must be broader to address these issues: o What technologies to develop o Whether to seek leadership in those technologies o The role of technology licensing

Elements of Technology Strategy Organisation of technological activities Foresight of future business Response to external pressure Sources of technological knowledge

Range of technology strategies available Offensive Defensive Imitative Dependent Traditional Opportunist

Scope and Depth of Technology Strategy Scope: Firms with broader set of core technologies. Resource constraints limit firms development of technology internally Depth: Firms with more number of technological options. Correlated with the firms ability to anticipate technological developments in particular areas early on

Competence refreshing Aim is to use this strategy to acquire new technologies which have potential to generate a cluster of new future applications Highly risky strategy as it involves changing the technology base Mode of acquisition is that of acquiring companies that have developed know-how in a key area Internal ventures or venture capital investment could be appropriate to the initial phase

Competence destroying dangers (core rigidities) If no opportunities to shift its knowledge base to stay in same application range, it needs to refresh its current technological base Can be speeded up through alliances which helps to reduce cost of refreshing competence Firms need to be careful in selecting from different technology strategy options

Concerns whether to embark on an innovation project: Probable cost of development and implementation Probable future income stream arising from sale Probability of success

Knowledge Intensive Business Services Technology Market Relations Design and Research Human Resources and skills