No abstract

The IT system is one of the key infrastructures in order to add intelligent feature to power grids. Many papers anticipated a rocky road for IT system integration into power system and suggested the cloud computing adoption as a smart grid IT infrastructure to smooth the integration. Though cloud computing could overcome some of these integration challenges, it would bring some of its own. This study intends to give more insight to decision makers or utility companies to make a better decision whether to adopt cloud computing with regards to their needs or not. In the problem statement section is explained why the current approach to define advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing from selective point of views is not enough and might not be accurate, and a comprehensive assessment is required. The proposed multi-perspective framework takes all the criteria that would affect the assessment of cloud computing and put them into organizational, technical, economical, social and political categories. This framework would guide players in smart grid to better define benefits and challenges of cloud computing according to their needs.

No abstract

Purpose -The establishment of partnerships between companies, government and universities aims to enhance innovation and the technological development of institutions. The biotechnology sector has grown in recent years mainly driven by its cooperative business model. Compared to other countries, this sector is slowly advancing in Brazil, with delays in science, technology and innovation, especially in the private sector. This paper aims to examine, through social network analysis, the collaborative networks between institutions that filed patents in biotechnologymedicinal preparations from plantswhose inventions had Brazil as the priority country.Design/methodology/approach -The study of technological cooperation using patent documents is a reliable approach as they serve as good indicators of the interactions between organizations that focus on innovation and development of new product. Social network analysis of cooperation networks helps to understand the connections between patent assignees, and how they establish relationships.Findings -Results show that public universities are the institutions that most deposit patents, as well as those that co-operate the most, especially Universidade of Campinas. The study also reveals the critical role of Research Support Agencies in stimulating research and technological development, which result in new technologies.Originality/value -The study applied the social network analysis to provide an overview of the interactions among Brazilian institutions with the purpose of helping in decision-making and inciting public policies to leverage the biotechnology sector.

The technology transfer concept is not consensual throughout the literature and encompasses several different facets and nuances. In spite of the apparent confusion regarding its definition, researchers and practitioners are unanimous when it comes to its importanceespecially for organizations that depend on technological development. The literature has brought a myriad of taxonomies, frameworks and guides trying to make sense and formalize the transfer process. However, few are the real cases analyzed in the current body of knowledge. This paper brings a case from an organization that is trying to overcome the obstacles of technology transfer by creating its own framework. The frameworkstill in its preliminary formis presented and analyzed, its reasoning, components and criteria are depicted and discussed, and its limitations and future directions are pointed out. This paper contributes to the literature by enriching the body of knowledge with a real-life case and contributes to the practice by informing technology managers of how an organization is dealing with its R&D management and technology transfer issues.

This research intends to advance knowledge in the technology management field, most importantly in the study of organizations that develop technologies inhouse and wish to enhance their technology transfer performance while maintaining adherence between R&D activities and overall business strategies. The objective was to build a multi-criteria decision-making model capable of producing a technology transfer score, which can be used by practitioners in order to assess and later improve their organizations' technology transfer capabilities-ultimately aiming to improve technology development as a whole. The model was applied to a major power utility organization in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The introduction brings initial and basic information on the topic, along with the problem statement-this chapter is aimed at situating the reader on the boundaries of the topic while highlighting its importance within the technology management field of study. The second chapter is the literature review. It brings general and specific information on technology transfer, as well as its complexities, gaps, relationship with other fields and the characteristics of this topic within the energy realm. It also tries to shed a light on how the alignment between R&D and business strategy is perceived by the literature, discussing some of the methods used and its shortcomings. Additionally, the literature review brings an analysis that builds the argument in favor of a continuous technology transfer process, and tries to show how it would be helpful in vi TABLE OF CONTENTS

No abstract

The strategic management of an organization is well understood and there are several different frameworks and methodologies available to develop and implement strategies that will put the organization on the right track and make it more competitive. Nevertheless, the ability to manage technology and to assess and choose the right technologies to be used and to be invested in is not that well understood and developed. The technology readiness is important to be measured and managed, so that organizations have the chance to make better decisions on which technologies to rely on and when. Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) is a method developed by NASA nearly 40 years ago and it has been proven to help organizations to manage their technologies. The aim of this paper is to understand, in more details, how TRL can help organizations and what are the potential implications of using it to the betterment of R&D management. Interviews were conducted with technology managers and researchers. Grounded theory was used to analyze the data, and the results indicate that TRLs can improve R&D management. Some hypotheses were formulated and should be confirmed or refuted by future research.