Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-102). / This thesis develops a framework for valuing projects in research, development and engineering (R,D&E) environments using real options valuation (ROV) concepts. It proves that the often-used discounted cash flow (DCF) techniques do not properly capture the uncertainty and flexibility of platform projects in technology-intensive industries. First the thesis presents the technology strategy that relates to value creation, value delivery, and value harvesting in high-tech companies. Analysis of the innovation dynamics models concludes that a sustainable competitive advantage in high-tech firms is most successfully achieved via high appropriability and development of a large set of complementary assets. The thesis also shows that a firm should use a mix of those assets depending on the technology development stage. Next the thesis investigates profit extraction in depth. The thesis describes how real options theory can be used to value most representative projects in technology-intensive firms, such as creation of intellectual property, development of breakthrough technology, and acquisition of platform technology. Based on ~ literature survey and the character of the last two projects analyzed, it is argued that multi-staged investment outlays are most accurately analyzed by using compound real options. An analytical compound options model is introduced and successfully implemented to value two real-life technology projects. Along with a mathematical analysis of the call on call options model, the thesis shows a proper way to discretionize investment outlays to perform an accurate valuation. ROV of technology cases with embedded options characteristics has significant strategic · consequences for high-tech firms. In the final part the thesis presents an approach to value , and dynamically manage a portfolio of high uncertainty technology projects. It is argued that R,D&E management can use ROV techniques to improve a sustainable competitive position and optimally develop its mid- and long-term technology strategy. The thesis discusses in-depth the managerial implication of ROV and the necessary ingredients to implement the real options framework into the corporate strategy. / by Piotr J. Wesolowski. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-70). / In recent years we have seen a confluence of science and technology that portends great impact to business strategy and product development. Just as physicists, chemists and biologists have extended their knowledge to other fields in pursuit of their own research, so, too, must senior business managers extend beyond competency in finance and marketing to comprehend fundamental scientific principles in order to make strategic business decisions. In addition to technical knowledge specific to their particular industry, successful leaders of the very near future will have to understand the ebb and flow of new technology discoveries "emerging" from the lab to the market, and will skillfully leverage these dynamics to navigate their companies through waves of innovation. The speed of scientific discovery and the convergence of multiple technologies to influence a single product create a compelling argument for corporate investigation of a range of emerging technologies and tracking of developments in multiple industries. "Technical intelligence" is knowledge, derived from analysis of appropriate metrics, trends and activities, which informs strategic planning and decision-making. This research surveys the academic literature and examines some methods and tools for gathering and employing technical intelligence. We conclude that an amalgamation of strategic evaluation methods, but especially scanning and monitoring, can and should be used to effectively develop an objective, simple, and descriptive view of technology emergence that captures activity, momentum, and ultimately, viability, of emerging technology over time. / by Ellen M. Brockley. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 98-102). / Combining an understanding of the technical progress and potential of semiconductor light emitting materials with an analysis of market adoption reveals useful insights into challenges and opportunities in the growing field of solid state lighting. The integration of discrete LEDs into solid state lighting systems is identified as a critical area of both technical and business development and the key to creating useful products and expanding new markets. Analysis of conventional and emerging optosemiconductor lighting industries highlights important differences of influence within the value chain. For solid state lighting, the significance of system integration shifts control away from large LED manufacturers and closer to the end user. Special focus on companies pursuing the system integrator role compares strategies for technology based niche players with strategies for joint venture companies formed by alliances of large lighting and semiconductor companies. Based on technology capability, industry conditions, and historical analogy, solid state lighting is projected to achieve wider adoption primarily through the growth of new applications and markets, not through the substitution of existing lighting business. / by Timothy L. Kelly. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 58-59). / The importance of "star scientists" in new biotechnology venture formation has been studied by many scholars. However, it is not clear to degree to which their involvement leads to a successful venture. This study examines the importance of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), management and venture capital firms during new biotechnology venture creation. In particular, this study has determined if MIT and MIT-Harvard licensed technology companies are able to attract SAB members from top institutions, Board of Directors and CEOs from top pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies as well as top-tier venture capital firms, compared to other biotechnology start-ups in Massachusetts. The results of the study confirm that MIT-Harvard licensed technology companies are able to attract top tier people and venture capital investment during an economic boom as well as the downturn, and this reinforces the proposition that firms are "born" great, rather then achieve greatness at least in terms of the constellation of people who join the firm. / by Ali Yeyinmen. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 120-121). / The pharmaceutical industry is now confronted with a discontinuous time period, especially in terms of its technology. In order to maintain their advantageous positions in the industry, pharmaceutical companies have to invest not only in internal R&D but also in external sources, since technologies in the industry are too broad to enable a company to cover all of the new technologies. Allotment of investment in internal and external R&D, however, is hard to determine; moreover, the selection of targets and styles of external technology acquisition by pharmaceutical companies requires deep deliberation on all the scientific and business aspects. In this thesis, I have analyzed the correlation between technology acquisition activities and the internal technological strength, or product development, in nine pharmaceutical companies in three countries: U.S., Japan, and Germany. Styles of technology acquisition deals vary among the three countries. German companies showed the most aggressive technology acquisition strategies in overall technology deals. U.S. companies exhibit strong technology acquisition strategies with prominent equity investment deals. Japanese companies were discreet about their technology acquisition deals, although they showed a similar degree of eagerness for product acquisition. The number of technology acquisition deals by Japanese companies, however, has increased during the past two or three years. A positive correlation between the number of all deals and product development (the number of pre-clinical drug candidates) was detected. On the other hand, there is no clear correlation between technology creation deals or technology frontier deals and product development. In order to assimilate the growing amount of external property, pharmaceutical companies must consider setting up an appropriate management organization because the deals between biotech enterprises and pharmaceutical companies involve dissimilar organizations in terms of culture, size, power, and expertise. I studied the organization of alliance management in Eli Lilly as an example. / by Hiroya Muranishi. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 65). / Global warming is becoming a greater issue for human beings. People's life has become rich, comfortable and convenient, especially in developed countries. The rich life is supported by huge energy consumption and the energy consumption by human beings destroys natural balance of the earth. As consumption of oil is one of the highest contributors of greenhouse gases emissions, we need to reduce oil consumption- in order to cope with global warming. For oil companies, this is a tough business circumstance. Oil demand will diminish and oil companies will face severer competition and need to contribute energy conservation as well. This thesis analyses business circumstance of oil business in Japan and competences of ExxonMobil Japan and argues its future strategy. The analysis found that a competition in Japanese oil industry is a price competition and core competencies are all to compete price competition. The competition will be keener due to diminished oil demand. The argument suggests that the company should change its product from oil to service related to oil. Though the differentiation of oil product is difficult because of the quality regulations, services can be differentiated. As services can be improved by the feedback from customers. getting information on customer needs is another key issue. The thesis recommends that the company should collaborate with other industries and provide services beyond the current industry boundary. / by Kei Hara. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-96). / This thesis analyzes the effect of the privatization process on the telecommunications sector in Brazil. Given the international characteristic of this industry, this work dedicated great emphasis in understanding what are the main current issues in the telecommunications industry worldwide. Furthermore, it is investigated how other countries approached this major event - privatization and deregulation - of this critical sector for every society. Models and insights were then drawn and adapted to understand the Brazilian specific situation. It is examined the sector's current situation and its future trends in the Brazilian market after almost three years since the assets were auctioned and transferred to private hands. It is also discussed the potential industry scenarios in each major telecom segment. The conclusion is that a consolidation process is inevitable in order to reach economies of scale and scope in the system and hence guarantee a satisfactory return on the investments to the main players in the market. / by Marcelo F. Rodrigues Nunes. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-73). / The notion of clustering, defined as the localized value-creating system that comprises complementary firms, universities, investors and other private or public institutions, has become of critical importance for regional innovation policies. This thesis explores regional innovative capacity in Italy, where industrial districts or clusters of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have represented a strong economic force responsible for the country's economic vitality and growth. In order to respond to the changing global economic environment, that is challenging Italian regional clusters to achieve sustainable growth, a new notion of meta-cluster has recently emerged. Metaclusters extend the traditional definition to encompass the entire value chain of an industrial cluster. The thesis argues that the notion of meta-clusters is key to the future innovative activities, given the nature of relations between government, university and industry in Italy, the underlying fabric of the country's economic system and a number of case studies of SMEs. Meta-clusters will not involve improbable developments in new technologies disconnected from the local resources, but rather will leverage and enhance existing value chains through new process, technologies and innovation strategies. Part of the argument assumes a prominent role of regional institutions, as the catalysts for innovation upgrades, and of financial intermediaries, as the glue in the development of stronger relationships between industry, government and universities. / by Federica Busa. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2004. / "June 2004." / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 192-201). / Nanotechnology, which involves creating and manipulating organic and inorganic matter from the molecular to the nanoscale level, is an emerging, enabling technology that is receiving enormous amounts of attention in industrial and scientific communities. It is an umbrella term for a wide range of science and technologies. Significant and rapid advances in nanoscience and nanotechnology have been made in the past two decades. Numerous potential applications have been identified, with a promise to transform virtually every industry. These industries include aerospace, agriculture, biotechnology, electronics, energy and environment, information technology and telecommunication, materials science and manufacturing, and medicine. Governments from developed nations around the globe and private investors, including venture capitalists, are investing heavily in nanotechnology. Established companies and entrepreneurial startup firms are now exploring options for commercializing nanotechnology innovations. This thesis was initiated to investigate the current state of nanotechnology commercialization with respect to identifying the differences in commercialization strategies between startup firms and large corporations; the managerial and technical challenges facing nanotechnology based companies; the critical success factors in commercializing nanotechnologies; and the factors limiting the adoption and diffusion of nanotechnologies. The results and analysis of the interviews demonstrate that commercialization strategies for large corporations differ from those for start-up companies, with respect to methods for entering new business, funding new business, project selection criteria, risk management. There are several / (cont.) critical success factors which firms attempting to commercialize nanotechnology-based innovation must carefully consider. These factors, along with current and potential managerial and technical challenges identified by the study are discussed. The pace of commercialization will become rapid, and products based on nanotechnology will gain market acceptance once the identified are resolved. / by Christopher O. Oriakhi. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-113). / The tanker industry covers all business related with trading tankers in which there are many participants: vessel owners, charterers, shipbuilders, scrappers, consultants, capitalists, brokers, insurers, surveyors, agents, repairing shops, manning companies, and vendors etc. The industry exhibits the characteristics of commoditization driven by price. As the industry is significantly affected by the chartering market, I will herein focus on the chartering market and its movements, in order to better understand the industry. The structure of the market creates recurring cycles and instability. Also, the key elements affecting this market are highly interrelated. Characteristically, long delays of these key elements make the market more uncertain and more volatile. The purpose of this thesis is to study the dynamic of the oil tanker industry, in particular chartering market, using system dynamics methodology. A simulation model will illuminate the following:* Driving forces on the commoditized industry, Nature of the dynamics and structural behaviorsm, Effects of key elements on freight rates / by TaeSoo Lee. / S.M.M.O.T.