Technology and innovation management education in Serbia

Abstract

Technology Management (TM), alternatively referred to as Technology and Innovation Management (TIM) in both the literature and this paper, is simply defined as “the process of effective integration and utilization of the innovation, strategic, operational, and commercial missions of an enterprise for gaining competitive advantage” (Badawy, 2009). The US National Research Council defines the management of technology as “linking engineering, science, and management disciplines to address the issues involved in planning, development, and implementation of technological capabilities to shape and accomplish the strategic and operational objectives of an organization” (Nambisan and Wilemon, 2003). It is argued that in this century, the technological innovations in areas such as materials, electronics, aerospace, computers, telecommunications, and biotechnology have influenced the rise of dominant forces in the world economy. Yet there are serious concerns about “our effectiveness in generating and exploiting technology” (Mallick and Chaudhury, 2000). The MIT Commission on Industrial Productivity cites weak technology management practice as a major cause for the decline of competitiveness in many key US industries (Mallick and Chaudhury, 2000).