SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT

DRAFT
Research Agenda for the Science and Technology Program
Assessing the STM Capabilities of Thai Enterprises
Montri Chulavatnatol
Director of Science and Technology Program, College of Management, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.

Rationale
In modern economy, man, money, machine, and management (4M) are essential for the operation of any enterprises. Technology (or machine) in various shapes and forms has been recognized as a enabling component in industries, commerce and all sort of services. As technology grows and diversifies ever more rapidly, it has become much more complex and difficult to deal with. It is generally understood that scientific discoveries and innovative
use of the enormous pool of accumulated scientific knowledge ignite and fuel the technology explosion witnessed today. Managing both science and technology to maximize the cost-effectiveness is a growing challenge for the future managers and leaders of any
enterprises. Capabilities in science and technology management (STM) therefore
will become a valuable asset of a business. If used properly, STM can give a competitive advantage crucial for the growth and sustainability of a company.

Due to the trading culture, Thai firms are known to prefer to conduct their business
by trading mode over the manufacturing. So Thai firms are more keen to acquire and use technology application to their trading and services. In contrast, S&T for manufacturing
which are much more complex and hence demand more sophisticated knowledge and skills have not attracted much interest among Thai enterprises. Irrespective of types of enterprises, trading or manufacturing, building up STM capabilities in Thai firms will be crucial for the future economic strength of the country. To do so properly, first it is necessary to know the current status of the STM capabilities of the Thai enterprises. Then means to upgrade their STM capabilities can be designed and implemented.

The College of Management, Mahidol University has been entrusted to develop the Science
and Technology Management Program to train future managers and leaders with STM capabilities. To better positioned in educating the future generation managing leaders, the College should accumulate experience and expertise in assessing the STM capabilities of enterprises.

Objectives
This research will seek:

to develop key indicators suitable for measuring the STM capabilities;
to assess the STM capabilities in different types of Thai enterprises; and
to build up the database of STM capabilities in Thai enterprises for use in policy and strategy formulation to strengthen STM capabilities of Thai enterprises.

Potential benefits

There will be several reasonable benefits to be generated from the research. Among

them are, the following benefits:

STM students will be able to do thesis research on STM capabilities of

selected types of Thai enterprises;

The College and its staff will build up new Thai case studies and gain

experience and reputation in research;

Thai enterprises as well as governmental agencies concerned will be

able to seek advise from the College staff on policies or strategies to

improve their STM capabilities; and

STM graduates will be more aware of job market for managers with

training in STM.

Approaches

Research concept:

(1) Technology is widely used in modern Thai firms, from small to large, from

simple bakery shops to large car assembly plants, and from travel agents to big banks.

For some firms, technology plays a central or essential role in the firm�s business while

it may simply facilitate the business operation or just increase some added value to

the business.

(2) To most people, technology means a machine, a desktop computer or a piece of

simple tool. In fact, technology used in firms also covers know-how or operational

procedure or process of production, testing, inspecting samples or making measurement. Furthermore, technology is often embedded in people who are skillful, knowledgeable

and can operate or control the equipment or the production line. Technology is also

found in the form of operation manuals and technical materials or reports. Therefore, technological asset in an enterprises can be in the forms of machine, people and document.

STM capabilities of a firm will include the capabilities of the people concerned and the quality of the equipment or tools in use as well as process and technical records. STM capabilities may be measured at different stages:

technology choice
technology acquisition
operation
maintenance
replacement
adaptation
research and development
new technology

(4) At any stage, STM capabilities should aim at (a) maximizing the cost-effectiveness;

(b) the links between technology strategy and the overall strategy of the firm;

(c) the impacts of technology on the finance, manpower and organization behavior

of the firm.

Thai enterprises:

In this study, several thesis projects can be undertaken, each deals with a type or group of enterprises. The target enterprises will be further refined. However, the following types are tentatively included in this research since there are many of them and their business is well established in Thailand.

Service enterprises:

Banking
Food outlets
Department stores
Photoshops
Auto repair
Movie theaters
Hotels
Office buildings and condominiums
Hospitals
Radio and television stations
Telecommunication

Manufacturing enterprises:

Food and beverage
Car assembly
Consumer electronic industries
Companies in industrial estates
Household product industry
Construction material industry

Infrastructure enterprises:

Water works
Electric power plants
Telecommunication

Methodology

Development of indicators for the following STM capabilities using

expert group discussions:

Technology strategy management capabilities:

-technology requirement strategy

-technology impacts

-technology timeliness

Technology transfer management capabilities:

-technology choice

-technology acquisition

-operation

-maintenance

-replacement

Research and development management capabilities:

-technology adaptation

-research and development

Innovation management capabilities:

-new technology

-new application

Recruitment of Thai firms by invitation letters: for each type of

enterprises, 10-20 firms will be needed for the study.

Visits and interviews will be made for each firm using structured

format developed on the basis of the indicators.

Compilation and analysis of data.
Evaluation of the results by expert group discussion.
Report on the assessment.

Operational plan

July 99 - Improvement on the draft research agenda.
                - Briefing the students on thesis preparation.
                - Inviting Thai firms to participate
Aug 99 - Seek advice from the Board and directors.
                - Development of indicators
Sep 99    - Visits and interviews.
                - Data analysis and internal review meeting.
Oct 99 - Same as Sep 99.
Nov 99 - Same as Oct 99
Dec 99 - Same as Nov 99.
Jan 00 - Overall analysis
Feb 00 - Expert group evaluation.
Mar 00 - Report/thesis write-up.
Apr 00 - Public release of the research.
Expected outputs and outcome