INTRODUCTION TO THE FIELD OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT
1
Introduction to the Field of Emerging
Technology Management
A.J. Groen and S.T. Walsh
Many see emerging technologies as a solution vector for the global challenges of the twentyfirst century. Today’s emerging technologies include: computational sciences; nanotechnology; micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS); bio-fuels; mobile technologies and a host of
others. Yet an adequate understanding of their commercial, policy, environmental, ethical and
societal implications lags far behind the development of their science and technology. The
authors in this issue discuss the challenges presented by the commercial considerations of
emerging technologies. If emerging technologies are critical to solving the largest problems
facing the world, then better techniques are needed: for their management, to create policy and
educate professionals to commercialize and govern them. This special issue presents the work
of a number of researchers that helps to fill this gap. Some initial solutions such as radically
improving current techniques and generating new ones are presented, and each author provides future research pathways.
T
he keen interest in emerging technology
stems from both a competitive advantage
standpoint as well as a societal need point of
view (Myers et al., 2002; Ray & Ray, 2011; van
der Valk, Moors & Meeus, 2009; Walsh, 2007).
Emerging technologies are assisting in the
solution of the most challenging problems
of the twenty-first century, including issues
regarding water, health, energy, food and
environmental concerns (Chan, 2008; Tierney,
Hermina & Walsh, 2013). Many people from
developing and developed nations (Pandza,
Wilkins & Alfoldi, 2011; Thukral et al., 2008),
including former Swedish Prime Minister
Göran Persson (Persson, 2012) seek to embrace
emerging technologies as a problem solution
vector. Counterintuitively, they fear the continued use of...