This book is a collection of the best papers presented at the Seventh International Conference on the Management of Technology held in Orlando, Florida, February 16th to 20th 1998. All papers were evaluated by at least two referees and both referees needed to agree on the high quality of a paper for it to be included in these proceedings. The papers cover a vast array of topics and the authors come from the four corners of the globe. This is a strong indication that technology management is a very real preoccupation in many countries.
The book is divided into four major sections. The first section brings together the conceptual papers, papers that deal with the management of technology as a whole, its definition, its evolution, its applications, and some of its specificities. The second section embraces other preoccupations with a very fundamental, recurring issue in the field: management of research and development, which continues to be a major concern for companies, governments and industries. The third and largest section includes papers on innovation and technology transfer. In a world where regional disparities are great, technology transfer constitutes an important lever that can be used to narrow the gap between the rich and poor countries. The topic of commercialization, or how to profit from innovation, is dealt with in the last section of the book.

This is a selection of papers representing the best thinking of leading researchers and practitioners in the field of management of technology. Based on a conference on growth through business innovation and entrepreneurship, it addresses a wide range of starting points for technology and innovation managers on how to develop and commercialize new technologies. The book is structured along three themes: entrepreneurship and venture creation; knowledge management; and multi-actor innovation. The first theme essentially deals with entrepreneurial energy, the conditions for its appearance and its success. It focuses mostly on entrepreneurs in innovation, start-ups and venturing activities. The second theme is composed of articles addressing various issues of knowledge and know-how management - the role that information and technologies play to facilitate and create new business opportunities. The third theme discusses the trend towards a multi-actor innovation process, according to which developments are carried out by several organizations, firms or otherwise, each contributing a piece of the innovation puzzle. The concentration is on three areas: the actual implementation of collaborative developments, involving various types of partners; supply and demand chains; and the interplay between technology and its societal context.