Factors Affecting the Use of Technology Management Tools

The technology management discipline is silent about presenting a coherent set of tools and techniques that could be used to manage technology. Furthermore, the literature does not attempt to understand how the usage of technology management (TM) tools and techniques could affect firm performance. This study deals with three interrelated questions: ۱) what TM tools are used in practice? ۲) Do TM tools affect firms’ performance and ۳) Which factors determine the usage of TM tools? After a short introduction on TM tools and techniques, the paper will present the importance of the subject matter. Next the empirical study will be summarized. Based on a survey of ۵۲ electronic and machinery firms in Turkey, the study finds a number of interesting results. The statistical analyses show that there are significant relationships between the number of total TM tools and techniques that a firm uses and (i) the hierarchical level of the chief technology officer (CTO) or the manager who is responsible for the technology in the firm, (ii) the field of education, and (iii) the number of employees, or in other words the size of the firm. More importantly, the findings indicate a significant and linear relationship between the extent to which the firms have reached their growth targets and the number of TM tools and techniques used by them. This relationship is, however, not observed between firm profitability and the number of TM tools and techniques. The findings have important implications for the practice of TM and confirm the role of technology management for firm performance.

Keywords:

CTO , technology management , technology management tools , performance