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Technology & Innovation Management Flashcards

7 cards from real MEM practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

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  1. A 'patent thicket' in technology management refers to:

    Answer: An overlapping web of patents that makes it difficult for firms to commercialize new technology without licensing many rights

    Patent thickets create barriers to market entry by requiring innovators to navigate numerous overlapping IP rights held by multiple parties.

  2. According to the Utterback-Abernathy model, during the 'fluid phase' of an industry's evolution:

    Answer: There is high product innovation with many competing designs

    The fluid phase features high uncertainty, many competing product designs, and experimentation before a dominant design emerges.

  3. Which of the following best describes a 'platform ecosystem' in innovation management?

    Answer: A core technology or standard that enables third-party complementors to build products and services around it

    Platform ecosystems (e.g., iOS, Android) provide a foundation that third-party developers and complementors use to create additional value.

  4. A company uses a '70-20-10' innovation budget allocation. What does the '10' typically represent?

    Answer: Transformational or breakthrough innovations

    The 10% allocation targets transformational, high-risk bets on entirely new markets or business models with long time horizons.

  5. What is the primary purpose of a 'stage-gate' process in new product development?

    Answer: To provide structured review points where projects are evaluated and either advanced, revised, or killed

    Stage-gate (Cooper) creates decision checkpoints between phases, ensuring resources are allocated only to projects with sufficient technical and commercial merit.

  6. The concept of 'coopetition' in technology industries refers to:

    Answer: Simultaneous cooperation and competition between firms, often around shared standards

    Coopetition (Brandenburger & Nalebuff) captures how rivals can cooperate on standards or platforms while still competing on differentiated products.

  7. When evaluating technology investments, the 'real options' approach is preferred over simple NPV because it:

    Answer: Captures the value of managerial flexibility to delay, expand, or abandon projects as uncertainty resolves

    Real options analysis treats investment flexibility (expand, defer, abandon) as having economic value, which static NPV fails to capture under high uncertainty.