Types of Technologies

Why Technology has become a critical issue? International product Life Cycle theory Phase1: Export of local innovation to other markets Ex: TVs invented by American and European companies started selling in other markets in Europe. French company, which introduced electronic telephone terminal, started exporting to other European markets. Phase 2: Market grows and continues to grow and demand is satisfied by local production Phase 3: Exports by innovator starts decreasing. Demand for the new goods in less economically developed countries is rising. Demand is satisfied by earlier followers Phase4: Product or service is no longer an innovation. Less developed countries starts making the product more economically and exports to innovating countries

Global Competitiveness Ranking 2006 Ranking 2007 Business Competitiveness

Technology
Technology can be defined as all knowledge, products, processes, tools , methods, and systems employed in the creation of goods or in providing services Classification of Technology New Technology: A new Technology is any newly introduced or implemented technology that has an explicit impact on the way a company produces products or provides services. Ex: Computer software for drawing replacing manual drawing, Selling products through internet, ATMs in Banks.

 Emerging Technology: An emerging Technology is any technology that is not yet fully commercialised but will become so within five years. Ex: Superconductivity, Digital Studios. High Technology: High Technology refers to advanced or sophisticated technology Ex: PSLV in satellite launching, Cryogenic technology, Genetic Engineering, Software development High Technologies Company has following characteristics Employs highly educated people ( Scientists and Engineers) Its technology is changing at faster rate than other industries It competes with technological innovations High level of R&D expenditure

 Low Technology: Low Technology refers to technologies that have permeated large segments of human society. Ex: Digital Technology, Computer Chips manufacturing, Generic drugs. Low Technology Companies have following characteristics Employ people with relatively low level of education or skill Use manual or semiautomatic operations Low level of R&D expenditure

 Codified and Tacit Technology: Technology can be preserved and effectively transferred among users if it is expressed in coded form. Engineering drawing expressing shape, dimensions and tolerance about a product Tacit Technology is nonarticulated knowledge. There is no uniformity in the way it is presented or expressed to a large group of people. It is usually based on experiences and therefore remains within the minds of its developers. Knowledge is transmitted by demonstration or observation followed by assimilation by those who seek knowledge.

 Technology Transfer Definition: Technology transfer is a process that permits the flow of technology from a source to a receiver. The source in this case is the owner or holder of knowledge, while the recipient is the beneficiary of such knowledge. The source could be an individual, a company, or a country.

Categorises of Technology Transfer International Technology Transfer: Transfer is across national boundaries. Ex: Technology from industrialised countries to developing countries. Regional technology Transfer: Technology is transferred from one region of the country to another. Ex: Transfer of Technology from Mumbai to Bangalore Cross-Industry technology transfer: Technology is transferred from one industrial sector to another. Ex: Transfer of Technology from space program to commercial applications. Inter firm technology transfer: Technology is transferred from one firm to another. Ex: Transfer of computer aided manufacturing machines from an automobile manufacturing firm to furniture producing firm. Intrafirm Technology transfer: Technology is transferred with in a firm from one location to another. Ex: Transfer of Technology from a companies Bangalore division to its Pune location

Channels of Technology Flow

Channels of Technology Flow

General Channels

Reverse Engineering Channels

Planned Channels

General Channels: Technology Transfer is done unintentionally and may proceed without the continued involvement of the source. Information is made available in public domain with limited or no restrictions on its use. This information is harnessed by users and applied to their purposes. Examples of such channels are education, training, publications, conferences, and Study missions

 Reverse-Engineering Channels: Transfer in which no active contribution from the source. Here receiver is capable of breaking the code of technology and capability to duplicate it in some fashion. Ex: Compaq developed its first PC using reverse engineering. Compaq had all components needed for PC except ROM-BIOS Chip. This technology was owned and protected by IBM. Compaq engineers did reverse engineering of the chip to make similar chip and made the PC. Compaq sold 47,000 PCs (IBM compatible) in first year worth $111 Million!

 Planned Channels: Transfer is done intentionally according to a planned process and with the consent of the technology owner. Types of Planned Channels: Licensing (Purchase of right to utilise the technology) Franchise (Sale of technology with continual support) Joint Venture Turnkey Projects Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Technical Consortium and joint R&D Projects (Consortium between France and England to develop supersonic Planes)

 High tech is technology that is at the cutting edgethe most advanced technology currently available. The adjective form is hyphenated: high-tech or high-technology. (There is also an architectural style known as high tech). There is no specific class of technology that is high techthe definition shifts over timeso products hyped as high tech in the 1960s would now be considered, if not exactly low tech, then at least somewhat primitive. This fuzzy definition has led to marketing departments describing nearly all new products as high tech. (Source: Wikipedia)

High tech sectors Aerospace technology Biotechnology Information technology Nanotechnology Robotics OECD also classifies industries. OECD has two different approaches: sector and product approaches. The sector approach classifies industries according their technology intensity, product approach according to finished products. Further analysis from OECD has indicated that using research intensity as only industry classification indicator is also possible. The OECD does not only take the manufacturing but also the usage rate of technology into account. The OECD's classification is following (stable since 1973):

Industry name Total R&D-intensity (1999, in %) ISIC Rev. 3 High-Technology Pharmaceuticals 10.46 2423 Aircraft & spacecraft 10.29 353 Medical, precision & optimal instruments 9.69 33 Radio, television & communication equipment 7.48 32 Office, accounting & computing machinery 7.21 30 Medium-High-Tecnology Electrical machinery & apparatus 3.60 31 Motor vehicles, trailers & semi-trailers 3.51 34 Railroad & transport equipment 3.11 352+359 Chemical & chemical products 2.85 24 (excl. 2423) Machinery & equipment 2.20 29