Development of a two-dimensional scale for evaluating technologies in high-tech companies: An empirical examination

Based on a sample of 463 technology evaluations, this paper demonstrates empirically the conceptual split between “technological attractiveness” – which is outside of the control of the company and “technological competitiveness” – which is within the company's control. The 16 “technological attractiveness” criteria produced by the literature review gave a set of six different factors (62.5% of variance) depicting potential value. The 16 “technological competitiveness” criteria derived of the literature review were summarized with only four questions (58% of variance) depicting accumulated value. As such, this research shows that managers assess technologies on the basis of a limited set of criteria. These results have practical implications as they enable us to target technology audits to a more workable set of questions at the operational level.