An empirical analysis on purposes, drivers and activities of technology opportunity discovery: the case of Korean SMEs in the manufacturing sector

Technology opportunity discovery (TOD) is becoming increasingly important for identifying technology opportunities so that they can be reflected in firms' strategy planning. However, understanding of TOD practices within firms is limited, and the diversity of TOD practices has not been fully reflected in previous studies, especially from the perspective of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which typically lack diverse technology portfolios or plentiful innovation resources, so technology opportunities have seldom been defined and analyzed. This study aims to investigate SMEs' TOD practices and to identify their characteristics. Interviews were conducted with Korean SME executives to define a conceptual TOD model for SMEs, and 104 Korean SMEs' TOD drivers and activities were surveyed focusing business drivers, business models, and information gathering. The results were then analyzed to define six technology opportunity types and to derive similarities and differences among them, which are used to understand and further support SMEs' TOD practices. The research findings are expected to enhance understanding about TOD practices and to help establish SMEs' TOD strategies.