Technology Commercialization: DEA and Related Analytical Methods for Evaluating the Use and Implementation of Technical Innovation

by Sten A. Thore (Editor)

Overview

Technology Commercialization: DEA and Related Analytical Methods for Evaluating The Use and Implementation of Technical Innovation examines both general Research & Development commercialization and targeted new product innovation. New product development is a major occupation of the technical sector of the global economy and is viewed in many ways as a means of economic stability for a business, an industry, and a country. The heart of the book is a detailing of the analytical methods-with special, but not exclusive emphasis on DEA methods-for evaluating and ranking the most promising R & D and technical innovation being developed. The sponsors of the research and development may involve universities, countries, industries, and corporations-all of these sources are covered in the book. In addition, the trade-off of environmental problems vis-à-vis new product development is discussed in a section of the book.

Sten Thore (editor and author) has woven together the chapter contributions by a strong group of international researchers into a book that has characteristics of both a monograph and a unified edited volume of well-written papers in DEA, technology evaluation, R&D, and environmental economics. Finally, the use of DEA as an evaluation method for product innovation is an important new development in the field of R&D commercialization.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781402070174
Publisher:	Springer US
Publication date:	04/30/2002
Edition description:	2002
Pages:	409
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.04(d)

Table of Contents

Prologue.- I: Commercial Priorities.- 1. Tutorial. The Many Dimensions of an R&D Project: Multi-Criteria Analysis.- 2. Using Frontier Analysis to Rate the R&D Projects of a Commercial Corporation. Editorial Introduction.- Research Paper: Prioritizing a Portfolio of R&D Activities, Employing Data Envelopment Analysis.- 3. The Life Cycles of Sales and Profits: Dealing with the Uncertainties of the Commercialization Process Editorial Introduction.- Research Paper: Prioritizing R&D Projects in the Face of Technological and Market Uncertainty: Combining Scenario Analysis and DEA.- 4. Investment Policies by Venture Capital Firms and Government Development Foundations. Editorial Introduction.- Research Paper: Applying Data Envelopment Analysis to Evaluate the Efficiency of R&D Projects - - A Case Study of R&D in Energy Technology.- 5. Rating Academic Research. Editorial Introduction.- Research Paper: Controlling the Efficiency of University Research in the Netherlands.- 6. Rating R&D Sk. Editorial Introduction.- Research Paper: Pricing IPOs, Using Two-Stage DEA to Track their Financial Fundamentals.- 7. Monitoring the Dynamic Performance of a Portfolio of R&D Projects over Time. Editorial Introduction.- Research Paper: Evaluating a Portfolio of Proposed Projects, Ranking them Relative to a List of Existing Projects.- 8. R&D Budgeting: Assessing the Efficiency of R&D Projects in the Presence of Resource Constraints. Editorial Introduction.- Research Paper: On the Ranking of R&D Projects in a Hierarchical Organizational Structure subject to Global Resource Constraints.- II Environmental Concerns.- 9: Tutorial. The Environmental Impact of New Products.- 10: A New Mathematical Programming Format for Activity Analysis and the Life Cycle of Products. Editorial Introduction.- First Research Paper: Activity Analysis with Environmental Variables and Recycling: An Example from the Portuguese Bottled Water Industry.- Second Research Paper: Life Cycle Activity Analysis: A Case Study of Plastic Panels.- 11. Ranking Commercial Products with Harmful Environmental Effects. Editorial Introduction.- Research paper: Using DEA to Rank the Performance of Producers in the Presence of Environmental Goals.- Appendix. The Mathematics of Data Envelopment Analysis.

Editorial Reviews

Ten research papers examine the application of data envelopment analysis (DEA) and other methodologies to the study of how technologies move from research laboratories to the marketplace. DEA is a statistical methodology that permits the setting of commercial priorities while taking into account factors where outcomes are calculated against best practices. Papers specifically focus on: using frontier analysis for rating research and development projects, the prioritization of projects, controlling the efficiency of university research, tracking the financial fundamentals of IPOs, and analyzing environmental variables and recycling. Each research paper is accompanied by an editorial introduction. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)