The technology company development journey : from concept to commercialisation

It is widely recognised that Scotland has competitive advantage in key areas of science and technology within its research and company base. However, the nation performs relatively poorly in terms of numbers of active entrepreneurs, business start-ups and creation of high-growth technology businesses within knowledge intensive industries. Scotland needs to rapidly commercialise those technologies where there is both a strong market opportunity and an ambition to create or grow a company of scale. The Scottish Government's Economic Strategy (Scottish Government, 2011) highlights the role that commercialisation can play in contributing to economic growth and Scottish Enterprise (SE) has built a clear strategic commitment to commercialisation: developing and investing in a number of initiatives and programmes to support the conversion of science and technology based ideas into products or services which deliver value to a particular market. With the ambition of converting the country's wealth of research assets into economic assets, a better understanding of the mechanics and transitions by which technology based ideas are transformed into marketable goods and services across the 'concept to commercialisation' paradigm is key to improving success rates and economic benefits for Scotland. This paper sets out the key findings from primary research that gives a unique insight into the experience of 32 companies that have been supported by SE. The research evidence highlights the challenges involved in the commercialisation process and path to market for Scottish-based technology companies, whose origins may be existing technology businesses, university spin-outs or start-up companies, and is the first in-depth analysis of its kind in Scotland

Technology commercialisation and intellectual property rights in Ghana

By an Act of Parliament of the Republic of Ghana, CSIR Act 521 of 1996, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR, Ghana’s main R&D Organisation was re-established with a new mandate to conduct market-oriented, demand-driven research and also to commercialise the research results & technologies developed. The CSIR was tasked to recover three-quarters of its annual operating expenses through contract research and services. Over five years of implementation, what are the experiences? This paper looks at the implementation process, the attitude of research scientists towards the change and the impact of the commercialisation process on the socio-economic development of Ghana. The constraint of commercialisation including inadequate intellectual property laws is discussed. The intellectual property rights protection from the perspective of a developing country is also discussed. Intellectual property-related laws cannot remain static in a world where economic development is becoming increasingly technology-based. Intellectual property laws are going to be more stringent and stricter in the days to come, offering more opportunities and challenges.Intellectual Property Protection; Commercialization; Tripps; Ghana

Is Anonymity the Missing Link Between Commercial and Industrial Revolution?

The Industrial Revolution is often characterized as the culmination of a process of commercialisation ; however, the precise nature of such a link remains unclear. This paper models and analyses one such link: the impact of a higher degree of anonymity of market transactions on relative factor prices. Commercialisation raises wages as impersonal labour market transactions replace personalized customary relations. This leads, in equilibrium, to higher real wages to prevent shirking. To the extent that capital and labor are (imperfect) substitutes, the resulting shift in relative factor prices leads to the adoption of a more capital-intensive production technology which, in turn, results in a faster rate of technological progress via enhanced learning by doing. We provide evidence using European historical data that England was among the most urbanized and the highest wage countries at the onset of the industrial revolution.

From life force to slimming aid : exploring views on the commodification of traditional medicinal knowledge.

The commodification of traditional knowledge is a lively topic for academic debate, with opinions ranging from categorical rejection of this process, to views that it could be a liberating act. This debate is often characterised by generalisations and a lack of empirical engagement. This paper presents a case study of the commercialisation of traditional medicinal knowledge of the San in Southern Africa. A scenario survey in 3 communities reveals a range of different views amongst individuals and communities, much of which could be linked to differing local and historic socio-economic factors. Although the survey indicates that commodification is widely accepted, the subsequent use of a ‘life story’ approach to examine the actual commercialisation of the Hoodia (Hoodia Gordonii—a plant with appetite suppressant properties), shows that this acceptance is problematic. San informants reflect on it as a pragmatic choice informed by experiences of deprivation and economic hardship, resulting in a process which changes the cultural meaning of the plant and undermine its traditional healing power for the San themselves

Follow the leader or the pack? Regulatory focus and academic entrepreneurial intentions

Drawing on the academic entrepreneurship and regulatory focus theory literature, and applying a multilevel per- spective, this paper examines why university academics intend to engage in formal (spin-off or start-up companies and licensing university research) or informal (collaborative research, contract research, continuous professional development, and contract consulting) commercialization activities and the role local contextual factors, in partic- ular leaders and work-group colleagues (peers), play in their commercialization choices. Based on a survey of 395 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) academics working in 14 Scottish universities, the research findings suggest that an individual’s chronic regulatory focus has a direct effect on their formal and informal commercialization intent. The results reveal that the stronger an individual’s chronic promotion focus the stronger their formal and informal commercialization intentions and a stronger individual chronic prevention focus leads to weaker intentions to engage in informal commercialization. In addition, when contextual interaction effects are considered, leaders and workplace colleagues have different influences on commercialization intent. On the one hand, promotion-focused leaders can strengthen and prevention-focused leaders can under certain cir- cumstances weaken a promotion-focused academic’s formal commercialization intent. On the other hand, the level of workplace colleague engagement, acting as a reference point, strengthens not only promotion-focused academ- ics’ intent to engage in formal commercialization activities, but also prevention-focused academics’ corresponding informal commercialization intent. As such, universities should consider the appointment of leaders who are strong role models and have a track record in formal and/or informal commercialization activities and also con- sider the importance workplace colleagues have on moderating an academic’s intention to engage in different forms of commercialization activities

Precautionary Expertise for GM Crops (PEG): National Workshop Report UK

Although the precautionary principle has been widely accepted in Europe as a basis for decision making about Genetically Modified (GM) crops, there are many perspectives on its interpretation and how it should be implemented. The PEG project is analysing how current European practices compare with different accounts of the precautionary principle. It has been examining different people’s accounts of precaution and their views on the procedures for regulating and managing GM crops, in seven EU member states. Workshops with the potential end-users of our research findings are an integral part of the PEG project. Workshops have been carried out in each of the partner’s countries. These scenario workshops offer a policy analysis tool that enables a more action orientated approach to policy research. They help bridge the gap between research and the policy process by involving people at an early stage of the project, and ensure that our research questions and findings are embedded in the policy process. This report discusses the outcomes of the UK workshop, ‘GM Futures? Scenarios for GM Crops’, held on 5th February 2003 at the Royal Horticultural Halls, London. The workshop used three policy scenarios as a tool for considering the causes and consequences of commercialisation of GM crops. Rather than attempting to predict the future, by mapping different scenarios the workshop attempted to draw out dynamics and interactions which may not otherwise be obvious. Workshop participants came from a range of backgrounds and were all involved in the policy process either directly as a member of a Government department or advisory committee, or through their position within their organisation. A key policy-relevant outcome was the way that the three policy scenarios - to go ahead with commercialisation, to postpone it further or to commercialise GM crops in a limited way - might all present the Government with equally complex and difficult consequences. Further, while limited commercialisation may appear to be an attractive policy option, the scenario map drawn by the participants indicated difficulties that would need to be handled in order for limited commercialisation to be regarded as a potential option

Post-Project Market Review as a tool for stimulating commercialisation of knowledge creation projects

This paper handles about the introduction of a post-project market review, which is based on the concept of post-project reviews to stimulate commercialisation. It will start with a brief description of the case-company. After this, the motives of the research will be clear and the research methodology will be explained

Exploring the role of servitization to overcome barriers for innovative energy efficiency technologies – the case of public LED street lighting in German municipalities

In this paper we analyse the case for public application of LED street lighting. Drawing from the energy services literature and transaction cost economics, we compare modes of lighting governance for modernisation. We argue that servitization can accelerate the commercialisation and diffusion of end-use energy demand reduction (EUED) technologies in the public sector if third party energy service companies (ESCo) overcome technological, institutional and economic barriers that accompany the introduction of such technologies resulting in transaction costs. This can only succeed with a supportive policy framework and an environment conducive towards the dissemination of specific technological and commercial knowledge required for the diffusion process