Title: From R&D management to strategic technology management: evolution and perspectives

Authors: Ferdinando Chiaromonte

Addresses: Studio Chiaromonte Snc, via Adda 105-00198, Rome, Italy

Abstract: The Italian OMIT (Observatory on Management of Innovation and Technology), jointly with the German DIFI, ran an international survey on ||Strategic technology management and evaluation systems a comparison of Italian and German companies| experiences||. The two-phase project involved a panel of international experts in the field and a sample of Italian and German managers of large companies. The present paper: 1) starts from the assumption that the changes in paradigm of R&D management firstly stressed the relevance of a more holistic concept of R&D (innovation management) and more recently focused on companies| strategy, elaborating the new paradigm of strategic technology management; 2) illustrates the basic hypotheses of the survey and its main results, identifying three different profiles of respondents (experts, Italian managers and German managers) and compares the trends and perspectives of their answers; and 3) finally discusses these results trying to give answers to the following questions: 1) If technology dimension is really embedded in the company strategy concept, what are variables and tools that foster an effective strategy-technology connection? 2) Is knowledge management a key asset in this process? 3) How can internal (core) competencies be developed towards external ones? 4) Are evaluation systems crucial to the success of strategic technology management and how can they be implemented?

Keywords: strategic technology management; R&D management; core competencies; knowledge management; research and development.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2003.003119

International Journal of Technology Management, 2003 Vol.25 No.6/7, pp.538-552

Published online: 11 Jul 2003 *

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