Browsing by Author "Visser, Jacobus Christiaan"

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    Making the implicit explicit: A case study of the implementation of technology management in a group of companies
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-12) Visser, Jacobus Christiaan; Von Leipzig, Konrad; Grobbelaar, Sara; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Industrial Engineering.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Technology management is an established field of study, which is concerned with the management of the various capabilities, resources and knowledge which make up the technology portfolio of organisations. Over time technology management has proven an effective link between the technological capability of an organisation and its business strategy. Effective technology management allows an organisation to dynamically and continually realign and reorganise its technological capabilities. By dynamically managing its technology, an organisation can counter external and market pressures to ensure that it continually leverages its competitive advantage in innovative ways and markets. This research study investigates how technology management can be implemented in an existing holding company with a number of subsidiaries grouped together in a complex hierarchical structure. An inductive and qualitative research process is employed to approach the problem in stages. First, specific research questions are defined to address different aspects of the larger research problem. A structured literature review is then conducted on both established and recent literature to determine what possible solutions are already available within the scientific literature. The most relevant solutions are then reworked into a reproducible set of instruments. These instruments are then uniformly applied to each of the subsidiaries of the holding company. The results of these instruments produce a complex and connected web of interrelationships between the various subsidiaries and their vested technologies. The final stage of the method is to map this complex web into a technology management framework, which can support the analysis and decision-making of technology management within the organisation. A local South African technology group of companies is used as a case study to test the research method. The technology group’s combined technology portfolio is diverse, yet containing significant overlapping technologies vested in the different subsidiaries. With the already established technology portfolio, some technology management processes are already in place, though informal and implicit in nature. A further aim of this research is then to, through the application of this research, develop the implicit and informal technology management processes of this company into explicit and formal technology management structures. Furthermore, it aims to develop a set of tools and frameworks to assist the company to maintain its technology management structures, while also serving as a long-term strategic decision-making tool. Other than illustrating an effective process for implementing technology management uniformly between different entities of an organisation with a complex and hierarchical structure, this study also explores other elements concerning technology management. First, a structured literature review investigates various aspects of technology management in both established and recent studies. Second, the study explores how technology audits can be reliably and uniformly conducted at different entities. Finally, a conceptual technology management framework is developed, which serves as both an at-a-glance view of the current state of technology within an organisation, and as a strategic planning device.