Managing Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Interview with Patrick van der Duin

Patrick van der Duin is an assistant professor Foresight and Innovation Management at Delft University of Technology and Associate Professor Futures Research & Trendwatching at Fontys University of Applied Sciences, Academy for Creative Industries. He has published in journals such as Futures, Foresight, Technological Forecasting & Social Change, and the Journal of Futures Studies. Patrick studied macro-economics at the University of Amsterdam and formerly worked as a futurist at KPN Research. From September 1 he will be managing director of the Netherlands Study Centre for Technology Trends (www.stt.nl). Patrick co-authored Managing Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation with Paul Trott, Dap Harmann, Victor Scholten and J. Rolan Ortt.

What is Managing Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation all about?

Managing Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation is the first textbook for non-business based entrepreneurship courses, focussed on students with a background in science and technology. The text is separated into three parts providing a roadmap for successful entrepreneurial projects:

• Part I focusses on how to create your venture, turning technology into businesses and how to link together entrepreneurship and innovation
• Part II shows you how to grow your venture and make it profitable, looking at the early development of academic spin-outs and how to adapt your technology to the customers’ needs.
• Part III takes you through the day-to-day running on your business; whether to adopt a contingency or contextual approach, how to develop new products and services and alternative options for growth.

Who would you like to read your book? Who is it directed at?

The primary target audience of the book is students from technical universities, but also people working at techno-start-ups.

What are the key messages in the book?

Entrepreneurs should develop an inspiring vision. They should be skeptical of all those ‘one-size-fits-all’ success formulas, but should instead develop their own way of turning technology into business. They should position themselves in a wider innovation system since the stand-alone entrepreneur has little chance of becoming successful.

How did you first become interested in the subject of technology entrepreneurship?

I was always interested in how companies deal with the question of what their future business will be, and given my job at Delft University of Technology and the fact that more and more students want to set up their own company instead of working for a large company, the topic of technological entrepreneurship become soon very interesting to me.

What do you think are the biggest trends and challenges facing the area of technology entrepreneurship and innovation?

One of the biggest challenges would be to make sure that new businesses are not only commercially profitable but also do good for society. Another point is that, for developing radical new products and services, companies need to pay more attention to new future developments.

Are there any other texts you found influential when compiling your own?

The work of Andrew van der Ven on the development of organizations, the book by Thompson on contingency theory, and the works by Clayton Christensen and Eric von Hippel.

Why should someone read your book?

To understand how to develop new technologically innovations and to understand which factors and topics play a vital role in this.

You can find out more about Managing Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation and/or purchase the book, here