The aim of this text is to draw upon academic theory and real-world case materials as the basis for defining key guidelines necessary to optimize the outcomes from involvement in technological entrepreneurship.
Most texts, university courses, and corporate training programs have the start point in the entrepreneurial process as the identification of new market opportunities, thereby providing the basis for the development of a radically new product or service proposition. Given the high number of commercial successes achieved by this market-driven approach, this clearly is a valid and viable way of creating new firms and sustaining the performance of existing organizations.
Nevertheless, it is important to register that in terms of maximizing the wealth of organizations and even entire nations, the most economically impactful entrepreneurial outcomes are the result of what Joseph Schumpeter, the father of modern entrepreneurship theory, described as “creative destruction” leading to the decline, and sometimes, the total disappearance of existing industrial sectors. Schumpeter opined that the most successful form of innovation is technology-driven. This occurs with scientific or technological breakthroughs and experimentation leading to the launch of a radically new product or service at a time when there often is little evidence of the existence of an identified market opportunity. Subsequent to the emergence of Schumpeter’s theories, both academic research and real-world case studies have validated the fact that the management of technology-driven entrepreneurship is a somewhat different process to that of market-driven entrepreneurship. As demonstrated by firms such of Apple and Google, the existence of this difference generates the perspective that benefit exists in identifying the managerial guidelines that can be of assistance in ensuring the success of technological entrepreneurship projects in both start-ups and existing businesses.
The guidelines presented in Chapter 1 are generated by a review of economic trends, understanding the nature of entrepreneurship, and the differences that exist between technology-driven versus market-driven entrepreneurial activity. Chapter 2 presents the guidelines associated with understanding the traits and behaviors of the technological entrepreneur. This is followed in Chapter 3 by coverage of issues associated with the creation and management of entrepreneurial enterprises.
Opportunity recognition is a critical aspect of successful entrepreneurship. The nature of this process in relation to the guidelines for effective idea generation and subsequent development activities of the technological entrepreneur are examined in Chapter 4.
The source of entrepreneurial opportunities is not restricted to events within core market systems, but can also emerge as the result of changes in the macroenvironment. Hence, Chapter 5 presents the guidelines concerning how by understanding these latter sources of change, this can lead to the identification of new entrepreneurial opportunities.
Opportunity exploitation cannot succeed unless the individual and/ or organization has the appropriate competences. Chapter 6 examines the nature of the competences required in order to successfully engage in technological entrepreneurship. The initial launch of entrepreneurial products or services usually occurs based on an intuitive rather than a logic-based strategic philosophy. The ways in which emergent strategies can be created, developed, and evolved over time as a result of market experience are covered in Chapter 7. The management of technological entrepreneurship involves some unique organizational processes. These are covered in Chapter 8. Success in radical innovation is usually critically dependent on the acquisition and exploitation of new knowledge. Chapter 9 reviews the necessary guidelines for exploiting new knowledge within the entrepreneurship process.
A characteristic of many developed nation economies is that the service sector now provides the majority of these countries’ GDP. Chapter 10 reviews the guidelines associated with the exploitation of technological entrepreneurship to enhance the growth and expansion of service sector organizations. Another characteristic of developed economies is the exponential rise in the cost of health care reflecting the influence of advances in medical treatment and the demand pressures caused by population aging. Vital for the ongoing success of any economy are the ways can be found to stabilize or even reduce health care costs. Chapter 11 examines the opportunities associated with the exploitation of technological entrepreneurship within the health care sector. Chapter 12 is the final chapter in which some of the current advances in science and technology offer new opportunities for future entrepreneurial outcomes.
One target readership group is undergraduates and postgraduates, especially in the science and technology disciplines, who are taking courses in subjects such as innovation, small business management, or business strategy. The other target audience is individuals who are team members, or individuals who are managing teams, engaged in scientific or technological innovation.