The study of technological innovation is a diverse and growing field. Terminology and theories describing the factors influencing the production and application of new technology differ among observers and researchers in the field and few studies specific to building technology have been made. In the most general terms, innovation is the introduction of a new idea (Mish, 1985). This introduction entails the production of new information and the diffusion of that information to people who can use it to solve problems, to see the world in a new way, or to enhance their efficiency, effectiveness, or living quality. In a more specific application, technological innovation refers to the process in which a new idea is embodied in tools, devices, or procedures that are of practical value to society. Typically thought of as a new product, technological innovation may also be a new process of production; a substitution of a cheaper material, newly developed for a given task, in an essentially unaltered product; or the reorganization of production, internal functions, or distribution arrangements, leading to increased efficiency, better support for a given product, or lower costs.
Technological innovations often involve tools and procedures, products and processes, interacting in new ways. Known drugs may be found to be successful in treating new illnesses, or changing the production line may yield improved rates of production. Many of the construction industry's technologies involve such combinations of hardware and software. Technological innovation can also be an improvement in instruments or methods of making or doing innovation. New technology that is not used is not innovation. Paradoxically, even technology that is well known and widely used in some industries or nations may still be new and innovative in a different setting. Many years can sometimes be required for new ideas and information to diffuse from one place or application to another. Such technology is still "new" to the society that receives its benefits. Although many people have come to regard new technology solely as the result of increasingly revolutionary discoveries in science and in our understanding of how things work, adaptations and new applications of older knowledge may also lead to innovation.
Successful new technology and innovation tend to be inspired by the practical needs of individual people or enterprises, or the needs of many individuals expressed in market demand or social policy. Technological innovation may also be initiated by scientific invention—new discoveries and developments—but "market pull" is widely felt to be more influential than "technology push" as a force for innovation. The time between invention and innovation may be long.
The technological innovation process consists of a series of phases necessary to implement improvements or develop a new production process, product or service.
There are two ideas about the origin of technological innovations. One argues that the technological push comes from the scientific research and development sectors, with no commercial purpose and the other (Market Pull), more accepted today, affirms that it’s market needs that instigate companies to develop new technologies that satisfy the demands of consumers and businesses.
Now, we’ll analyze the technological innovation process focused on meeting market needs and how it applies in companies.
The 8 stages of the technological innovation process
- Basic research
Basic research is that phase of the technological innovation process that only occurs in large companies, usually in the pharmaceutical, energy and information technology sectors, which keeps research and development departments continuously abreast of the state of the art technologies that most impact their organizations.
- Applied research
When it detects some specific market needs that may represent an opportunity to develop a sustainable competitive advantage for the business, the company searches among the technologies that dominate the way to solve this problem.
At this point, you can integrate existing technologies creatively and innovatively or really develop something totally new.
- Development
When reaching a solution to the market need, it’s time to develop the product, service or process that will be marketed or employed.
For this, a prototype is developed that must be tested, preferably with the help of the public that will use it.
Two interesting approaches to this stage of the technological innovation process can be used:
- Design thinking, which takes into account how people interact with innovative products and services
- Scrum, which promotes small iterations, incremental advances in the prototype and the rest of the innovation process, always based on the needs of those who will use it.
- Engineering
With the prototype set, you have to turn it into a scalable product or service that can be mass- produced or meet the specific needs of an industry.
Materials, suppliers, appropriate forms of storage and transportation are searched, such as connecting parts and benefiting inputs, defining which professionals will need to be hired and trained, among other measures.
- Manufacture
This is one of the most important aspects of the technological innovation process.
It is time to define the best way to deliver the solution created to the final customer, with efficiency and quality.
- Marketing
With the product or service ready to be released, it’s time to do concept tests, market research and market testing to see if any adjustments are still required depending on how their acceptance and distribution is taking place in test markets.
- Promotion
Once the market tests are done, the product or service is launched nationally or globally, depending on the markets the company serves.
- Continuous improvement
Once launched, both the product or service and the process flows used to produce and deliver them to end customers are constantly measured and analyzed, with the aim of looking for ways to improve them even more, adding even more perceived value to the final customers.