science

Technology brokering

Technology brokering is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Technology brokering rather than just read about it. In short: The idea of technology brokering is to span multiple industries, and to see how existing technologies could be used to create breakthrough innovations in other markets. Technology brokering requires companies to be strong in two areas.

Key takeaways

Technology brokering belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Technology brokering to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Technology brokering from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The idea of technology brokering is to span multiple industries, and to see how existing technologies could be used to create breakthrough innovations in other markets. Technology brokering requires companies to be strong in two areas. As Andrew Hargadon, technology brokering's founder, summarized: "Firstly, the company must have the ability to bridge distant communities, usually when a company can move easily across a range of different markets they have a better view of how technologies can be used in new ways. Secondly, technology brokering involves creating new markets and industries from innovative combinations of existing technology. These two strengths are difficult to have simultaneously because the strong ties the companies have with customers and supplies in one industry prevent the company from moving easily into other markets and experimenting with new ideas." Technology brokering can teach firms how to effectively shift the focus of traditional R&D teams from trying to invent completely new products to combining previous innovations. New ideas for observation based research pull R&D scientists out of the lab and place them into direct consumer observation to allow them to diagnose problems with products and identify the needs of the customer more accurately. The technology brokering process intertwines with the idea of empathic design, which is basically understanding products from a customer's point of view and then designing them to fit needs and issues. The advantage of empathic design, especially when combined with technology brokering firms, is that it leads to innovative products that suit the particular problems of the customer. Another perk of empathic design is including marketing and manufacturing people in the product design to get diverse opinions of product success and practicality.

History The first examples of technology brokering can be found as early as 1876 with Thomas Edison in his Menlo Park laboratory. In six years, this lab procured over 400 patents. Henry Ford is famous for the Model T automobile and the assembly line, but Ford himself stated that:

"I invented nothing new. I simply assembled into a car the discoveries of other men behind whom were centuries of work….Had I worked fifty or ten or even five years before, I would have failed. So it is with every new thing. Progress happens when all the factors that make for it are ready, and then it is inevitable. To teach that a comparatively few men are responsible for the greatest forward steps of mankind is the worst sort of nonsense."

Companies such as IDEO have their processes compared to Edison's operations of the Menlo Park laboratory. Since IDEO's founding in 1978, it has created 3,000 new products in over 40 industries. CEO of IDEO David Kelley stated about working in many different fields:

"Working with companies in such dissimilar industries as medical instruments, furniture, toys and computers has given us a broad view of the latest technologies available and has taught us how to do quality product development and how to do it quickly and efficiently."

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Technology brokering

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Technology brokering claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Technology brokering before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Technology brokering ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Technology brokering

In research: Technology brokering appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Technology brokering in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Technology brokering is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Intellectual property law, Research and development, Technology transfer, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Technology brokering outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Technology brokering in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Technology brokering means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Technology brokering out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Technology brokering in simple terms?

Why does Technology brokering matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Technology brokering?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Technology brokering.