Managing technological innovation
The world technology is changing at an unprecedented rate leaving even the technology gurus with future improbabilities; pondering about future outcomes. This journal article, by Vedpuriswar, Chowdhary and Ghori, delves into the scope of innovation of technology and subsequently gives solutions that can be used to counter technological perils. The author’s thesis provides explicit information about the article.

The authors want to show that the crucial factor when it comes to innovation is not merely technology, rather, combined with the market factors. Also, the innovators need to rely on other factors such as those that arise from the market reaction to the new innovations. These industries that are innovating should strive have minimal input through cost-effective means, but, which are efficient for potential outcomes, implying that they have to change their approaches frequently through reviving and renovating their companies. Thus, the authors’ views are that the innovating companies should neither focus too little on competencies since them risks being susceptible to a particular fundamental according to varying competencies, nor should the companies invest heavily on the competencies as they run the risks of flippantly using their resources. The companies that survive those challenges triumph in the situation at the end.

The authors are observing this by using secondary materials and personal observation. The authors draw their observations from companies from different sectors in the market environment-that has undergone innovation- such as electronics, oil, aviation and mass production. They use these sectors to illustrate how innovation in one sector was an example to another. Example of other personal observations used by the authors are whereby there were added new product features in the model of Sony Walkman and also whereby TV sets got knew characteristics.

Secondary resources from which the authors research include work from other authors such as James Utterback’s “Mastering the Dynamics of Innovation”, Clayton Christensen’s model , Chan Kim’s and Renee Mauborgne’s model for technological innovation and Gary Hamel’s “Bringing Silicon Valley Inside.

The authors draw extensively from these secondary materials. Thus, the authors write extensively and incorporate their opinions to those of the authors’ materials where they draw their perspectives from. An example is Gary Hamel’s work where they write,” Gary Hamel has draw various…”,like Christensen, he explains…”, Cham Kim and Renee Mauborgne offer a…”A framework developed by Clayton Christensen provides a good example,” among others.

Much of the authors’ work is not from primary sources. Even though there is another alternative that the authors could have used, directly quoting their secondary materials, they nevertheless, incorporated the resources from which they got their work with their own ideas; it softened the stance that much of their work was borrowed. Thus, they gave their article a tiny shine of originality.
In almost throughout the secondary articles, the authors don’t give their direct opinion of the other authors whose secondary materials they draw information from; rather the view that the authors’ of Managing Technological Innovation have from those materials is reduced to tones such as, “Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne…they feel that”, (p.5), indirectly endorsing another other authors’ materials such as,” A framework developed by Clayton Christensen…. provides a good answer,” (p.6). In quite a number of times, the authors’ extensively quote the secondary materials and don’t leave a clear perspective, whether they agree or disagree with the material, rather they seem to analyze that material. An example is the extensive quote of Utterback on page seven.

There are a number of topics for further discussion that the article raises. Some of these topics include how to effectively implement innovation into the innovation in a company without focusing little on the competencies in such a way that the company becomes susceptible to other different competencies and on the other hand, how to ensure that one doesn’t over invest on the competences in the company and lightly spread the resources. Also, there’s these other topic of how would do to salvage a company that a company that has been encountered by these factors that the authors caution against.

The authors’ article covers the topic of managing technological innovation from all sides. The authors use vivid information to give their opinion and knowledge on the topic and do it using precise words. However, the extensive quoting that is made by the authors leaves the reader on the dark; trying to figure out whether the authors are describing it from another author’s or other authors’, as it is evident in considerable information in the article. The authors’ conclusion, as it can be concluded from a reader’s point of view, uses the examples of the authors of the secondary materials to show their opinions. Nevertheless, it cannot be disclaimed that the authors’ work on the article was remarkable.
References

Honghua T. & Mark Z. (2011) Advances in Information Technology and Education: International Conference, CSE 2011, Qingdao, China, July 9-10, 2011, Proceedings, Part 1 (2011) .Ghori. Managing Technological Innovations. Springer: New York

Frederick B. (2011) Managing Technological Innovation: Competitive Advantage from Change. John Wiley & Sons: New Jersey.

Mary B.G. & James C.K. (2011) Technology Innovations for Behavioral Education..Springer: New York.

Luis M.C. (2011) Technological Innovation for Sustainability: Second IFIP WG 5.5/SOCOLNET Doctoral Conference on Computing, Electrical and Industrial Systems, DoCEIS 2011, Costa de Caparica, Portugal, February 21-23, 2011, Proceedings. Springer: New York

A.W. T. Bates & Albert S. (2011) Managing Technology in Higher Education: Strategies for Transforming Teaching and Learning. John Wiley & Sons: New Jersey.