Title: Managing technological limits

Authors: Karin Loffler, Roman Boutellier

Addresses: Technology and Innovation Management, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), Scheuchzerstrasse 7, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland. ' Technology and Innovation Management, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), Scheuchzerstrasse 7, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland

Abstract: Technological limits hinder companies from improving the performance of products, as battery capacity restricts the performance of mobile communication devices. These |bottleneck technologies| offer potential for differentiation. Technological limits can be anticipated, if the fundamental limitations of a technology are known. This research provides an overview over the existing literature on technological limits and discusses the challenge with cases from practice. Gaps in literature and in practice are identified. Five propositions on the management of technological limits are deduced. Approaches are discussed how the knowledge about a company|s technological limits can support technology planning.

Keywords: technological limits; bottleneck technologies; fundamental limits; technology planning; trade-off; technology management; product differentiation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTE.2009.031501

International Journal of Technoentrepreneurship, 2009 Vol.2 No.2, pp.134 - 155

Received: 10 Mar 2009
Accepted: 27 Jul 2009
Published online: 05 Feb 2010 *

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