2. Literature Review
2.1. Technical Innovation
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2. Literature Review
In the age of the knowledge economy, innovation is the most important driver of economic development and is an important basis for the high-tech industry and future economic development in Taiwan. Knowledge and intangible assets (for example, patent management) ensure industry competitiveness. Taiwan’s advantage in the high-tech industry is especially reliant on uninterrupted innovation. Only by strategically deploying patents in one’s industry can a company maintain its industry position or lead. However, how does one actualize efficient innovation? Some ideas from various studies related to TRIZ, the thought-tool for technological and systematic innovation, have been collated in this paper.
2.1. Technical Innovation
2.1.1. Definition of Technological Innovation
Science and technology generally refer to scientific research and technological development, as well as the relationship between the two, with the former being the basis for the latter.
Commonly, scientific discovery leads to technological innovation; however, technological innovation sometimes appears first, and through its use, the underlying scientific principles are discovered.
Schon (1967) defines technology as any tool, skill, product, process, equipment, or method by which humanity extends its abilities. Erdilerk (1986) defined it as the accumulation of knowledge and specialized skills that are invested in final products or their production.
In practice, a majority of scientific research requires a large quantity of technological equipment; therefore, vigorous progress in technological development is a major driving force behind scientific progress. For example, without the technology for high-speed computer calculations, scientists would have no means of sorting the one billion nucleases involved in the complete human genome. We thus observe the great contribution of technological progress to scientific discovery.
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Technological development is primarily founded on the results of scientific research. However, the findings of scientific research must undergo a period of technological R&D and application prior to producing economic benefits. Technological R&D, in turn, must rely on existing scientific knowledge, using the range, sequence, principles, and tools of science and engineering to translate research findings into products. Similarly, scientific research also needs the support of industry resources and equipment. Therefore, the connection between scientific research and technological development grows ever closer, with the boundary between the two sometimes being blurred.
The evolution of human civilization has been strongly driven by technological progress. The various ages – stone, bronze, iron, industrial, and information – are all examples of new technology leading to the emergence of a new civilization. Hacker and Barden, renowned scholars of education in science and technology, proposed the following definitions of technology in 1987:
a) The total knowledge used to transform resources to fulfill the needs of humanity.
b) A type of strategy used for human existence.
c) Means and methods by which humans control and transform the natural environment.
d) The practical application of a theory (such as science).
e) The application of knowledge and the knowledge of applicability.
f) The primary force behind changes in society.
g) The primary tool by which humanity adapts to the environment.
h) The process of using science, information, and human resources to achieve the goals of humanity.
i) The use of human knowledge, tools, resources, skills, and processes to solve practical problems and extend the capabilities of humanity.
j) The production of new forms of civilization.
Simply put, technology consists of the various tools, materials, resources, and other means by which humanity solves its problems or needs, that is, the solutions thus imagined. The essence of technology is the solution of problems.
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2.1.2. Definitions of Creativity and Innovation
Creativity is generally described by local and international scholars in various ways, such as creative thinking, problem-solving ability, thinking ability, and imagination. The Dictionary of the Zhang School of Psychology provides this explanation of creativity: when facing problematic conditions, it is the process of going beyond one’s existing experience and breaking through the limitations of custom practices to form new concepts (Zhang Chunyu, 1989).
Creativity is the ability to engage in creation through the concentration of one’s will and the taking of risks, resulting in the transformation of inertia and the production of something unexpected, such as a new technology, service, or product function. In other words, creativity requires that we use our mental abilities to solve a problem situation.
Rhodes (1961) compiled more than 50 definitions of creativity, which were summarized as the 4P factors of creation: person, process, product, and place. Here, creativity is seen as a complete system containing the creator’s personality characteristics, cognitive and psychological processes, manifestation of the creative product, and interactions between the creator and the environment (Chen Zhenming, 2005; Rhodes, 1961). Creativity can be taught (Chen Longan, 1998; Torrance, 1972).
Creativity can appear in various forms at different times. Cai Lixing, Ph.D., former CEO of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., stated that “a good idea that gets put into practice is called innovation; otherwise, it is just creativity. Innovation brings with it implementation, that is, how to actualize a good idea.” The Latin root of the word “innovation”
is “innovare,” which means “the process of commodifying the results of one’s studies.”
Therefore, we can say that technological commodification is the core content of innovation.
The common definitions of innovation, as compiled by Sounder (1987), are listed in table 1.
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Table 1: Definition of Innovation compiled by Sounder (1987)
a) A creative process that takes two or more existing things and combines them, or which uses a new method to create an entirely new object.
b) A complex set of actions between a creative idea and its realization c) The discovery and actualization of new methods.
d) The course of social change resulting from a new technology.
e) A brand new device, concept, or idea.
f) A change of use that is new to a system, organization, or society.
g) An improvement or reorganization of a previously existing practice.
h) Anything whose form differs from what currently exists.
i) Any innovation, convention, or thing that is being newly used by a group.
j) An object that is being regarded as new by an individual or its user.
Management professor Peter F. Drucker (1998) proposed that “innovation refers to changes to the production of resources or changes to the value or satisfaction of consumer resources,” and
“anything that changes the existing methods by which resources are made valuable may be described as innovation.” Watkins, Ellinger, and Valentine (1999) proposed a definition of innovation as a new way of using something.
Liu Ruitu (1993) holds that innovation refers to: (i) the process of applying an invention, concept, or service to reality; (ii) an expansion of the style, function, or use of an existing technology or product; or (iii) the conversion of technology into economic value and the development of useful products. In a broad sense, innovation is of two types: technical and non-technical. A technical innovation refers to an innovation or improvement upon a product or manufacturing process, whereas a non-technical innovation refers to changes to concepts related to management techniques and knowledge management.
In summary, technological innovation not only covers production and manufacturing but also includes aspects of management.
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2.1.3. Type of Innovation
Abernathy (1978) distinguishes between major product and process improvement technological innovations. The former is oriented toward the maximization of product performance, while the latter is oriented toward improving the product manufacturing process. Both aim at minimizing costs, raising productivity, and improving product standards. Christensen (1997) proposed a theory of sustainable and disruptive innovations. Sustainable innovation uses methods that are well recognized by a mainstream market clientele as providing a superior product or service.
Conversely, disruptive innovation uses a new product or service to create a completely new market.
According to Betz (1998), there are four methods of innovation:
a) Incremental innovation improves the functionality of present technology, thereby improving its performance and security or lowering its price; incremental innovation can preserve an industry’s competitiveness.
b) Radical innovation provides the opportunity for new commercial risks and industries.
Therefore, radical innovation is able to create new industries.
c) System innovation provides a new function based on the reconstruction of existing technologies. An industry can be revolutionized through innovations in its system technology.
d) Next-generation technological innovation occasionally results from the growth of innovation in a system. This type of innovation is both a system innovation and an innovation in a system. Some call this next-generation technology (NGT), which transforms the advantages of existing industries.
Evolution in stages is a macro-level methodology aimed at mapping the maturity of an existing technical system. S-curve characterizes the whole system life cycles. There are four stages: infancy, rapid growth, maturity and decline– Figure 2.1. TRIZ introduces four indicators in determining where a product or system is in its evolutionary S-curve In addition, each stage has its own features. For the system in different stages, TRIZ also gives some
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advices for its development. To summarized the above in terms of technical evolution in S-curve -Fig.2.
Figure 2: Technical Evolution S-curve
a) Incremental innovation creates products whose normal innovation process places them at the same segment of the S-curve. The primary motivation behind innovation is existing company technologies.
b) Radical innovation is the natural alternation between two segments of the S-curve. The direct driving force is the onset of the withdrawal period or production life cycle.
c) Sustainable innovation is a collection of progressive and breakthrough innovations. This is the normal evolutionary process of product innovation.
d) Disruptive innovation is located at the branching point of the maturation period in a product’s evolutionary process.
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2.1.4. Methods of Creative Thinking
Creativity is a basic element and the starting point of innovation. This is why so many companies have paid great attention to the production and generation of better ideas (Stamm, 2006). Though the production of creativity is not easy, if we can find the right method for doing so, we will never again be left scratching our heads searching for inspiration.
In light of the workings of the human brain, Guilford (1950) divided the problem-solving process into divergence and convergence thinking. The former is a method of thought that uses divergent thinking, discovers facts, or triggers creativity; the latter is a method of taking the facts and creative ideas obtained through divergent thinking, and restraining, filtering, and ordering them. Huang Dedan (1995) listed and arranged methods for creative thinking, which are shown in Table 2.
Table 2: Summarized Methods of Creative Thinking (Huang Dedan, 1995)
Technique/
Type Details
Divergent thinking
Free association thinking 1. Brainstorming
2. Search for problems or foreseeable conflicts
3. Catalog or image reference method Forced relationships 1. Input/output method
2. Attribute listing 3. Forced relationships 4. Pattern analysis 5. Limits method 6. 6W review 7. OPV method 8. PMI method
Analogical method 1. Synthetic/relational method
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2. Concept development schematic 3. Interaction matrix
4. Interaction network 5. Pattern analysis 6. Trial and error 7. Image mapping
8. Knowledge absorption 9. Pursuit of popular trends Convergent
thinking
1. KJ method (Kawakita Jiro method) 2. APC method
3. Checklist method
2.1.5. Results of Technological Innovation
Freeman (1982) and Roberts (1988) provided a concise definition of innovation, where Innovation = Invention + Commercialization. This means that innovation must simultaneously consider the implementation and market value of technological invention. Drucker (1987) held that innovation is an organizational and systematic joint effort, and requires systematic control to smoothly grow and transmit or create value for customers. Therefore, innovation is both a goal and a process. To achieve the goal of innovation, one first needs a creative person to produce ideas. Innovation is truly realized after follow-up discussions and development, successful implementation, and market verification.
Bharadwaj et al. (1993) held that innovation in terms of products, processes, and management can bring advantages to a company’s competitiveness, and can create monopolies in technological innovation activities. Therefore, when companies invest in technological innovation activities, they can expect returns in terms of the results achieved. To balance a company’s innovation results, with reference to Cooper et al. (1994)’s research findings on 173 innovative financial services companies, Avlonitis, Papastathopoulou, and Gounaris (2001) held that companies must simultaneously consider financial and non-financial results. The
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investigating a company’s technological innovation performance, we can use these two factors to evaluate the results.
Table 3: Comparative Indices for Scientific Innovation Results
Item Factor 1 Factor 2
Financial results
( . )
Non-financial results
( . )
Factor load Factor load
1 Profitability 0.709
2 High revenue 0.828
3 Large market share 0.766
4 Exceed expected profit targets 0.812 5 Exceed expected sales targets 0.832 6 Exceed market share targets 0.865
7 Positive influence on the shape of the industry 0.806 8 Increased loyalty among existing customers 0.823 9 Implementation leads to increased profitability of other
company products
0.709
10 Significant increases in number of new customers 0.655 11 Brings an important competitive advantage to the
company
Information source: Avlonitis et al. (2001)
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TRIZ is a way of thinking. TRIZ was designed for problem solving and provides a logical way of thinking for development of needed technical systems through overcoming contradiction and toward the increase of ideality in utilizing resources. (Valery Krasnoslobodtsev, 2006) A further benefit is that the use of TRIZ affects neural networks in the brain, allowing people to become more creative and approach problems from different angles (Kaplan 1996). TRIZ theory is a modern tool for scientific and technological innovation, and is an important weapon to enhance the national capacity for independent innovation.
2.2.1. Introduction
TRIZ is a Russian acronym for “The Theory of Inventive Problem Solving,” which was originally developed by Genrich Altshuller. Altshuller’s (1988) early work on patents resulted in his classifying inventive solutions into five levels as displayed in Table 4. He found that only 1% of the patterns are pioneering inventions; the remainder use previously known ideas or concept.
Table 4: Alshuller’s Levels of Invention
Levels of Invention Description Percentage of
Invention 1 Standardization Solution by methods well known within
specialty
32%
2 Improvement Improvement of an existing system in the same field
45%
3 Invention inside Technology
Improvement in existing system, usually from other fields
18%
4 Invention outside Technology
New generation of a system, using science not technology
4%
5 Discovery New system usually based on major 1%