The Effectiveness of Strategic Technology Forecasting In the Telecommunication Industry in Africa: A Case of West Indian Ocean Cable Company

Abstract

A Research Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Award of the Degree of Master of Business Administration (MBA)The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the strategic technology forecasting techniques used at WIOCC and their impact on the delivery of robust and creative technology solutions across Africa. The study specifically sought to establish how expert opinion as a technology forecasting method affects the technology solutions provided at WIOCC, how technology monitoring and market intelligence affects the technology solutions provided at WIOCC and what other technology forecasting techniques or methods can be used to enhance the technology solutions provided at WIOCC. A descriptive research was used and the study used questionnaires to collect data. The target population was determined by the case study organisation, WIOCC and was the WIOCC employees in a management position. The target population was 54 but a sample of 48 respondents was used. 48 questionnaires were distributed and only 40 were filled and returned. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics where the percentages and means of the variables was computed. For the inferential statistics a correlation analysis was done for the dependent and independent variable by using SPSS and the results were presented in figures and tables. The findings revealed that monitoring and intelligence methods had the highest rating followed by expert opinion, trend analysis and creativity. It was also established that technology forecasting has enabled WIOCC to have competitive products and the firm has had improved performance attributed to technology forecasting. It was also revealed that technology forecasting has resulted into effectiveness. To establish the role of expert opinion in technology forecasting the study revealed that WIOCC makes use of varied technologies in the delivery of its technology solution and engages. The findings revealed that technology monitoring is considered vital in technology and innovation management at WIOCC, and technology monitoring has enabled WIOCC strategically position itself against competitors. There was uncertainty on whether the firm has allocated necessary resources to effectively detect and monitor technology trends or if it continuously observes technologies and markets over a period of time to determine trends. It was also revealed that the firm undertakes constant evaluations on its technological core competencies and external developments and it considers insights from internal and external v customers who may have information on potential opportunities and threats. The findings also showed that through monitoring and intelligence, WIOCC has minimised risk in strategic planning. The findings revealed that additional technology forecasting techniques have enabled researchers to document their findings in relation to the phenomenon of interest. Additional technology forecasting techniques applied have also resulted in timely and technology-specific solutions, despite having additional technology forecasting techniques many respondents were not sure if firms’ technology innovation at WIOCC is still unstructured and unsystematic. In addition, technology forecasting techniques have created an opportunity for improvement. As per the findings, at WIOCC, monitoring and intelligence methods are the most pronounced followed by expert opinion, trend analysis and creativity. Use of technology forecasting has enabled the firm to have very competitive products that have resulted in overall improved performance and organizational effectiveness. At WIOCC, technology monitoring is considered very vital as the nature of the industry demands use of technology to remain relevant in the market and to guarantee this, the firm has to pursue continuous evaluations on its technological core competencies to deter potential threats. There is awareness on access to a variety of techniques that can be developed for technological forecasting and use of past events to predict the future. This has been made possible by the use of additional technology forecasting techniques that have enabled researchers to document their findings in relation to the phenomenon of interest. The study recommended that WIOCC needs to undertake a thorough evaluation of its system to establish whether its efficiency is attributed to technology forecasting. Also, it is necessary for WIOCC to have in place policies to guarantee the same. There is a need of setting up a clear policy guideline on technology forecasting techniques and the firm needs to gain access to a variety of techniques that can be developed for technological forecasting. More studies need to be done on related firms in order to be able to generalize the findings, there is also a need to undertake further studies to determine the challenges facing technology forecasting at WIOCC