Systematization of Technological and Economic Risks for the Selection of new Technologies

Abstract

In the face of the increasing internationalization of markets, rising cost pressure, and shorter product life cycles, manufacturing companies are facing increasing competition and innovation pressure. To secure competitiveness, the early development of new and innovative technologies and their implementation on the market as products or services is paramount. However, besides high potential benefits, new technologies are also associated with high risks regarding their technological feasibility as well as their estimated economic implications. Existing approaches of technology assessment usually focus on evaluating the technological potential, while the risks associated with these technologies are hardly considered. However, existing risks influence the probability of realizing the predicted technology potentials, making an exclusive assessment of the technological potentials by no means sufficient for an adequate evaluation of new technologies. Hence, the consideration of potential risks is of particular importance for the initial assessment and selection of technologies at an early stage. To promote the consideration of risks in technology assessment from a holistic perspective, this paper identifies both technological and economic risk factors of new technologies based on a systematic literature review.