TECHNOPRENEURS AND THE TECHNOLOGY EVOLUTION

ENTREPRENEURSHIP is a process and the entrepreneur is an innovator who uses processes to

challenge existing norms via combinations of new resources and methods in commerce.

Technopreneurs are entrepreneurs who used technology as their driven factor in

transforming resources into goods and services, creating an environment conducive to
industrial growth.
Technopreneurship is, by a large part, still entrepreneurship. The difference is that
technopreneurship is either involved in delivering an innovative hi-tech product (e.g. Intel)
or makes use of hi-tech in an innovative way to deliver its product to the consumer (e.g.
eBay), or both (e.g. most pharmaceutical companies).
Technopreneurship has a high correlation with science and technology. Technopreneurship
promote
the
creation
of
new
ventures,
preparing
entrepreneurs
through
technopreneurship education, and providing the infrastructure to perpetuate and support
new start-ups and ventures.
Technopreneurship requires strategic thinkers in order to succeed in a rapidly changing
global environment and to achieve long-run sustainable competitive advantage.

TECHNOLOGY is the application of tools, materials, processes, and techniques to human

activity.
Types of Technology:

Information technology the use of zeros and ones in digital form on computers and the
use of systems (especially computers and telecommunications) for storing, retrieving, and
sending information.
Biological based technologies - those used to create new drugs or to clean up pollution
Mechanically based technologies - technological developments to the creation of useful
machinery or products or those that make pumps or valves.
Thus, the word technology or the phrase technological innovation is not only
associated with internet and computer software It is also about new microorganisms,
new devices, new processes and new products.
The use of technology is more prevalent (laganap) in some industries than in others. This
means that those industries are the ones in which an understanding of technology
strategy is important to entrepreneurs and managers.

INNOVATION is the process of using knowledge to solve a problem. Innovation is different from
invention. Invention is the "creation of a product or introduction of a process for the first time."
While Innovation happens when someone "improves on or makes a significant contribution" to
something that has already been invented.
TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION (RD)

The use of knowledge to apply tools, materials, processes, and techniques to come up with
new solutions to problems. and helps companies to keep up within the competition.
Technological innovation can be planned or accidental. PLANNED because many
companies invest in research and development with the goal of coming up with an
innovative new product or process that will give them an advantage, over their
competitors. ACCIDENTALLY, For example, Pfizer was not looking for a solution to the
problem of erectile dysfunction when it came up with Viagra. The solution to this problem
was merely a side effect discovered in tests of the drug for its intended purpose of treating
angina in cardiac patients.

IMPLICATIONS OF TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION

Technological innovation doesnt have to be profitable. - Companies, can, and do, come up
with solutions to problems that they cant make any money exploiting. So a big part of
technology strategy is coming up with ways to make money from technological innovation.
There are many different kinds of technological innovations. - They can come from any
kind of technical knowledge, from knowledge of computer science to knowledge of biology
to knowledge of new materials. Moreover, technological innovation can take the form of
solutions to a variety of different kinds of problems from speeding production to
introducing new products that meet customer needs to facilitating distribution.
There is not a direct, one-to-one, relationship between technological change and new
products or processes. - Some new technologies may lead to only one, or even no, new
products or processes, while others might make possible a very large number of them.

IMPORTANCE OF TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION

Technological innovation is an important source of value creation. - The application of

knowledge to human activity allows for the more efficient production of existing products
and services (that is, production that takes less money or effort) and allows for the

creation of products and services that meet needs that were not previously satisfied. For
example, technological innovation allows us to provide burn victims with artificial skin, and
makes the cost of transportation cheaper.
Technological innovation has a profound effect on the creation of wealth for individual
entrepreneurs and corporate shareholders.
Wealth creation = creation of products and services based on technological innovation
Technological innovation has a major impact on our lives.
o the way in which we look for information has been dramatically altered by internet
research
o how we get around was forever changed by the airplane and the automobile
o life expectancy has been greatly lengthened by medical diagnostics and treatments.

IMPORTANCE OF TECHNOLOGICAL STRATEGY

Technological innovation did not say anything about companies needs to develop a strategy to
manage innovation. But many observers believe that companies can, and should develop
technology strategies.
TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY is the approach that a firm takes to obtaining and using technology
to achieve a new competitive advantage, or defend an existing technology-oriented competitive
advantage erosion
Technology strategy is different from overall business strategy in several important ways:

Technology strategy has to deal much more with issues of uncertainty than general
business strategy because technological change is highly uncertain. Technological
change is very broad and cannot be determined precisely. A very small portion of new
technology ideas result in new products or processes.
Technology strategy involves the use of intellectual property management. - It can be one
of your organisations most valuable assets. Intellectual property has the real potential to
create competitive advantage and bring considerable value to an organisation when
managed appropriately and effectively.
Technology strategy involves the creation of new products and services that are
sometimes new to the world.
Technological change occurs - understanding the nature and dynamics of technology and it
recognised as an important driver of productivity growth
Organizations faced with a great deal of technical change need to be structured, manage
human resources, and design business models - to minimize employee resistance and cost
to the organization, while also maximizing the effectiveness of the change effort.
Making decisions about technology projects requires the use of different decision-making
tools. - Understanding the current state of the organization, competently envisioning and
laying out the desired future state of the organization and implementing the change in an
orderly manner.
Technological change opens up opportunities for new, high growth businesses in ways not
possible in other settings.
High-technology businesses face many strategic issues like standards and increasing
returns that are much rarer with low technology businesses since it involves application of
new tools, materials, processes, and techniques.

EVOLUTIONARY PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENT

Technological advance begins with basic scientific discoveries and ends with commercial
products that are adopted by a wide range of customers. - When new technology is first
invented, it emerges in a primitive form in which its usefulness is unclear. But;
Over time, as researchers work on the technology, it evolves and develops, with its
performance improving. - As the technology gets better, it meets the needs of a wider
range of potential customers, and products based on the technology are adopted by more
and more users.
The evolution of technology is not entirely driven by scientific advance. - Social, economic,
and political forces affect the path.

RADICAL AND INCREMENTAL TECHNOLOGY CHANGE

Most technological innovation is incremental, and involves small improvements to

existing technologies. - A good example of an incremental innovation is Intel's 486
microprocessor. This microprocessor was faster than previous generations of Intel's
products, but the changes that made it faster represented relatively small improvements
to its basic technology.
Other times, technological innovation is radical, and involves a fundamentally new way of
solving a problem. - A good example of a radical technology is the digital camera, which is
based on fundamentally different technical principles from traditional chemical film
technology.

Figure 2.4 Radical Technologies that have changed markets:

Aspirin
Internet
Superconductor

Personal Digital Assistant Automobile Jet Airplane

Beta Blockers
Medical Diagnostic Imaging
Mobile Telephone
Transistor

Microprocessors

Xerography Genetic Engineering

Television

Computer OS

Video Cassette Recorder Fiber Optics

Personal Computer

Technology S-Curves - are graphical representations of the development of a new technology.

Compare some measure of performance (for example, speed, cost, or capacity) with some
measure of effort.