Requirements on New Technology and the Technology Implementation Process

Paper i proceeding, 2010

In literature, many authors have pointed to the importance of technology and technology development for company competitiveness. In this study we aim to study the technology in more detail and attempt to develop an understanding on the requirements and needs on “technology” from the perspective of product development. The research question which we aim to answer in this study is: “What are the requirements on maturity of technology when this technology is about to enter into the product development process?“ A qualitative research strategy, based on three study cases involving 17 interviewees, has been chosen. All three cases come from one single company, Volvo Aero Corporation (VAC) in Sweden, in the context of the aero engine industry. The study contributes with a broad mapping of requirements and how they relate to different categories of technologies, showing big differences both regarding content and timing. It is concluded that attention should be payed both to how the organization builds new capabilities and to the capabilities of the technology itself. A surprisingly complicated picture on the requirements relating to the implementation of new technologies has emerged in the study. This contributes to the understanding regarding the difficulties of developing new technology and integrating it into an application.