What is Technology Brokering?

The Technology Brokering approach states that innovation occurs when companies, in attempting to solve new customer problems, are able to assemble existing technologies and solutions in creative fashion. Because companies have a tendency to overspend in internal technology development, the approach suggests many organizations should instead redistribute some of the resources they dedicate to the internal pursuit of breakthrough technologies toward the creation of a lighter, more externally-focused Technology Brokering system. Technology Brokering requires building a structured process linking together known customer problems with internally and externally available solutions.

Where does Technology Brokering come from?

The Technology Brokering process was developed by Andrew Hargadon at the University of California at Davis. Before becoming an academic, Andrew Hargadon was an engineer at Apple and at the design consulting firm IDEO.

Andrew Hargadon’s Technology Brokering approach is described in his 2003 Harvard Business School Press book entitled How Breakthroughs Happen. Many of the original ideas of Technology Brokering were also described in an earlier Harvard Business Review article entitled Building an Innovation Factory, co-written by Andrew Hargadon and Robert Sutton (May-June 2000).
What's the difference between Technology Brokering and other approaches to technology management or innovation?

Many approaches to technology strategy rely on an economic paradigm to anticipate the potentially “disruptive” nature of technologies and try to direct the allocation of resources of companies accordingly. The Technology Brokering approach does not rely on such an economic paradigm. Instead, it suggests that the key is to link external customer needs with what technology solutions are already available in the market – and sometime inside the company in other divisions. The Technology Brokering approach suggests a process to identify what customer needs and existing technologies need to be matched, and how to put in place such a capability inside a firm.

The Technology Brokering paradigm also provides a powerful explanation for why smaller companies are often able to “out-innovate” larger organizations in technology development by focusing more deliberately on the brokering of technologies, rather than on out-investing their competitors in R&D.

Who should sponsor Technology Brokering programs?

Technology Brokering is well suited for CEOs and General Managers trying to identify the “right level” of technology spending inside their organization. Heads of R&D and product development are other frequent sponsors of Technology Brokering efforts, particularly when they try to connect their organization more powerfully to the needs of the customer. Heads of Organizational and Leadership development are also natural sponsors of Technology Brokering efforts, as the approach requires the development of a multi-disciplinary, team-based process.