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Editor's note;
The authors believe that a company's technology is unlikely to be fully exploited simply by its jn-
corporation in products and services alone. They present an exploratory study of the problems which
can arise during the marketing of "know-how", illustrating their themes by numerous case-histories,
and suggesting various marketing strategies.
and, in fact, any control equipment currently based on mechanical principles, in-
cluding such mundane devices as petrol pumps.
A company possessing a high technology capable of widespread application and
exploitation is however faced with several questions:
Should the knowledge be used by the firm to enhance its own narrow market
position? Should it be sold "whole" for either short term profits or on a longer
term licensing basis?
To whom should the knowledge be sold? What are its potential applications
outside the company's own areas? How should it be sold and what, if any, inter-
mediaries are required?
It appears that the sale of technology is often overlooked by manyfirms.This may
be due to the supposed difficulties of handling the marketing of an intangible product
compared with the tangibility of the normal manufactured product. It may also be
caused by the difficulties of recognising a potentially marketable technology among
those possessed (and taken for granted?) by the firm.
EXCLUSIVITY
In discussing the area it is important to distinguish between "exclusive" and "non-
exclusive" technology marketeers: the Pilkington company provides a good example
of a non-exclusive technology marketing company.
The manufacture of high quality flat glass was a relatively costly and wasteful
process of grinding and polishing until the innovation conceived by Sir Alastair
Pilkington in 1952. The Pilkington Float Glass Process which was announced in 1959
involves the forming of a continuous ribbon of molten glass on an enclosed bath of
molten metal. Its development was justified solely on the basis of the very substantial
savings it brought about in the company's own operating costs. At no stage did
Pilkington intend to monopolise the flat glass process. Friction between the major
plate glass producers would have eventually led to increasingly costly R & D through-
out the industry and there were fears of a price war. Pilkingtons also used the
patented know-how of its competitors in some other fields and this would have had
to cease in the event of a "technologywar".
Marketing of Technology | 371
Pilkingtons were not in a position to meet work demand outside the UK. Therefore
they took the decision to exploit overseas markets by licensing their know-how.
Pilkingtons' seven year, 7 million development programme led to 100 relevant UK
patents by 1972 and corresponding patents in 50 other countries[2]. All the world's
major glass manufacturers had taken licences to the process by 1969. The process
is licensed to 23 manufacturers in 13 countries. Altogether the world's glass industry
has invested 500 million in the process. There are 64 float glass plants operating,
under construction or in the planning stage. The licences were granted for manu-
facturing in the licencee's home territory and provided for the free exchange of know-
how and patent improvements. They also provided for the licencee to license others
to use the patent improvements. Royalty receipts had reached 9 million per annum
in 1972. The float glass project had proved a success by royalties alone.
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SPIN-OFFS
This paper is mainly concerned with technology marketing by non-exclusive
marketeers. This area needs to be divided into further segments.
A company may sell its "mainstream technology"its own current or past produc-
tion or product technologies. This can be to another manufacturer operating in the
372 | European Journal of Marketing 11, 6
aircraft industry in Britain. The report lists almost 100 products and processes where
aviation has contributed to general technology. This opens the argument as to whether
that technological manpower and finance could have been better employed directly
on these commercial by-products. However, the possibility of wastefulness in this
area is countered by two factors: firstly, there is the difficulty in setting objectives
when tackling technological development problems directly; secondly, the maintenance
of high-technology firms in, for example, the aircraft industry, means that the tech-
nology which is spun-off to receiving companies is likely to be at a higher level than
would have been developed internally in those companies.
Spin-off can take place either by direct sale or by the company setting up its own
company to exploit the technology. The Fairey company is an example of a company
which has developed in part by buying spin-off technologies from other firms. Most
large corporations seem to leave a wake of spin-off companies either part owned by
themselves or often managed by former employees. The management of this "spinning-
off" process is further discussed in Thackray[4].
It is in the area of technology spin-off that the ability of a company to spot its own
potentially marketable technologies becomes critical. This can be illustrated by an
example from the electronics industry. It may be said that the capacity for growth in
this industry is closely related to innovative capability. This includes manufacturing
process innovation as well as product innovation. Indeed the product technology in
micro-electronics is relatively widely known. However, it is the ability to manufacture
products with acceptable "yields" which reduces the number of companies (and
countries) able to operate in the area.
Integrated circuits are microscopic electronic circuits produced on tiny pieces of
silicon. These are assembled into easily handled, packaged devices which plug into
printed circuit boards. These in turn are assembled to build up the complete electronic
systems which comprise TV sets, radar and computers, etc. Figure 1 shows some
detail of the integrated circuit manufacturing process. Although it is an industry in
itself, the IC manufacturing requires specialised knowledge from a number of other
areas. Engineers and managers in these individual departments have to detect industry
trends and guard against technological obsolescence. The processes are capital
Marketing of Technology | 373
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intensive and effectively lack patent protection. This means that a competitive edge
is maintained by intensive research and development. Thus technical expertise in
such an industry is likely to be greater than other industries and it might be expected
to produce significant technology for "spinning-off".
The example can be taken a stage further if one department in the company is
considered: the Test Department has a number of engineering and production staff
who have a highly developed expertise in the testing of integrated circuits. This
"test know-how" is an important although intangible asset. We may now use this
department and this know-how to discuss the potential opportunities for the exploita-
tion of know-how in general.
APPLICATIONS OF KNOW-HOW
The firm has a resource in the form of know-how which it can use strategically in a
number of ways. Figure 2 shows the potential applications of a given know-how (in
this case test-technology) possessed by the firm:
It is this function, or its equivalent in other cases, which is usually the limit
of the exploitation of know-how, i.e., the potential application is restricted to its
basic function without further exploitation.
work. The main issues involved are in organising the marketing of the service,
particularly in terms of market identification.
(c) Non-ProfitUse
The non-profit use of know-how by the firm includes the furtherance of broad
social goals held by thefirmconcerning the diffusion of knowledge. It also includes
the furtherance of political aims especially in the case of international transfer of
know-how. This area can perhaps best be analysed by considering the company
as relating to all its publics not just the consuming one. It could be argued that
know-how has been acquired for society by people who are part of that society
and have gained their knowledge through the social process of education. Further,
it may be said that the transmission and enhancement of knowledge is an integral
part of this same social process. Although this may sound rather idealistic there
is considerable evidence of such transfer of know-how by firms on a non-profit
basis.
Marketing of Technology | 375
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(a) Intangibility
The problem of the intangibility of the product is shared both by service and
know-how marketing. The difficulties of describing or illustrating a service or of
influencing customer perception have been frequently discussed in the case of
service marketing, with particular reference to advertising and sales promotion[5].
However, intangibility has a second aspect in the case of know-how marketing.
This is the difficulty faced by the possessing company in recognising the potentially
saleable know-how which it has. This is also related to the problem of market
identification which is discussed later. However, experience shows that few
companies have developed any scanning mechanism for examining their tech-
nology. It is even less likely that they have developed any strategy for marketing
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that technology.
Such a strategy would be concerned with sales of technology within the overall
corporate objectives. It is perhaps because of the lack of awareness of their
potentially marketable commodity that there has recently been a considerable
growth in so-called "technological middlemen" acting on behalf of potential
buyers in seeking know-how.
(b) Buying
The buyer in an industrial company frequently has an important role in the
purchase of conventional products. However, the purchase of technical know-
how may be negotiated largely by engineering staff. This is possibly the same
staff who have failed to meet the company's expectations in technical expertise
resulting in the need to buy-in know-how. These individuals may be reluctant to
make such a purchase as this which may infer their own incompetence. It is notice-
able that decisions to buy-in expertise are usually made at Director level. Thus
any approach to sell technology must allow for the possible unwillingness of those
who will use the technology to recommend its purchase and must make a sales
approach at the appropriate level within the company.
(c) Distribution
Technical know-how for the non-exclusive marketeer differs from physical
products in that it is not deliberately stockpiled. Know-how can be built up within
an enterprise although it is unlikely to be prepared in advance for a promotion
or sales effort. It can also be considered perishable in the sense both of its
relatively short life and the ability of key personnel to leave the firm in the short term.
Know-how sales are likely to be direct sales or involve very short channels of
distribution. An analogy to the passage of physical products down a distribution
channel is the communication channels, either written or spoken employed in
know-how transfer. Whereas physical products are delivered in measurable
units on given dates, know-how is delivered in varying volume by semi-continuous
communication. This means that the delivery of know-how is often difficult to
define with associated legal problems. These problems are often tackled by
Marketing of Technology | 377
Initial study indicates that the market for technical expertise includes firms in
at least the following categories:
(1) Those who are well managed and seek to advance their technical position,
possibly in another market. These are likely to survey the market
thoroughly and be able properly to assess the technology "on offer".
They may also search for technology which is possessed by another
company but which has not been offered for sale.
(2) Those who are forced into buying technology either for survival or to
make up for a very significant technological inadequacy. These companies
do not necessarily understand their own problems and requirements.
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They may require the objectivity and advice of the supplying firm as to
those requirements.
(3) Those who have experienced a rapid upsurge in demand for products in
their area and are limited by their own technical and production resources.
These are likely to seek outside knowledge to speed up their expansion
or adaptation process.
On the other hand, firms are likely to part with their expertise because:
(1) Government authorities order them under anti-trust regulations.
(2) Thefirmmay require a technology from a rival and may wish to exchange
its own technology in return.
(3) For financial reasons. The firm may gain more and reach wider markets
by allowing others to exploit its technology than through its own produc-
tion (e.g., the float glass project).
(4) The company may not have the technical or commercial resources to
exploit a technological breakthrough.
(5) A technological breakthrough may not be relevant to the firms overall
strategy. This means that it would rather sell the technology than pursue
further development.
Consideration of the "appropriate" level of technology for the company to
sell is one of the aims of the current research. There is evidence of sales by com-
panies of their highest or most current technology down to the lowest or oldest
technology they possess. This means that there is no "technological gap" between
buyer and seller companies which is appropriate in all circumstances. However,
it is reasonable to generalise that the greater the technological gap between seller
and potential buyer then the greater likelihood of middleman involvement. This
is because companies are more likely to identify the marketability of current or
recent technology than of older know-how.
This relationship impinges on a frequently quoted criticism of technology
sales. This is that in marketing its technology a company is effectively selling
its "seed-corn" or adversely affecting its future products. However such criticism
seldom rests on an accurate interpretation of the life of a given technology. This
Marketing of Technology | 379
life is frequently very short. This means that technology is often sold too late.
Thus the maximum royalty return is likely to be closely related to the period
when the sales of products incorporating the technology are at a peak. Here
again the desirability of a strategy for the maximum exploitation of know-how
is emphasised.
It is in the area of international sales of know-how that the seed-corn argument
has been heard most. Much publicity has been given to the sales of cheap Fiat-
based cars throughout Europe. These have been produced in East Europe,
following sales of complete production and product technology to East European
governments by Fiat. Another common automotive example is in the case of
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This is a further argument for the company to consciously plan the exploitation
and development of its technology. This planning involves the relationship
between a technology's expected life and its employment in hardware or direct
sales. It also requires a judgment of the relationship between the timing of sales
of current technology, the development of more advanced technologies and
their incorporation in new products.
Information concerning the volume of technology business conducted in
Britain and overseas is difficult to obtain. The international volume of this trade
continues to grow and a positive balance is currently obtained for the UK.
Royalty figures have been published by the Central Statistical Office, but these
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contain returns from mineral rights which are difficult to separate. Even if the
technological trade monetary volume could be obtained, true trade is obscured by
money channelled between divisions of multi-national companies as "royalties
on processes" to take advantage of differences in international tax situations.
(e) Pricing
The pricing of know-how or technology presents certain complexities. These
concern the difficulties in establishing the perceived worth of the technology by
the market, the determination of the true costs of developing a technology and
the relationship of revenue from technology sales to sales of hardware.
The price which the market will bear for a given technology clearly depends
on the value which an individual buyer puts on the expertise. There is likely to
be considerable variation in realisable price between different potential customers
depending on end-product values and volumes, e.g., sales of know-how to the
eastern bloc countries are often at relatively high prices as product runs tend to be
long and steady. The impracticability of "test-marketing" a technology in what
may be a monopsonistic market is probably balanced by the relative price in-
sensitivity of technology. Small changes in price are unlikely to affect, say,
the sale of an integrated circuits technology. The possibility of being able to
produce integrated circuitry in the time it takes to equip and stock a factory
and without the years and costs of development is a strong selling factor. This
leads to the second factor in price determination, the calculation of the costs of
developing a technology.
The allocation of costs to specific projects is complicated, particularly if
technology is being developed on a broad front. Technical expertise is essentially
people and the primary costs of technological advance are the costs of employ-
mentpayroll, benefits and expenses. Other remaining costs are directly related
to the level of manpowertravel, office supplies, rents, etc. This means that
methods of estimating the costs of technology must be able to account realistically
for personnel costs.
Marketing of Technology | 381
ledge and experience which are an asset to the firm. Personnel output is flexible
in terms of quality and quantity over short periods. On the other hand, continuity
of employment can allow conventional accounting methods as a costing exercise
to regard people as fixed assets of a going concern. These fixed assets can create
an earnings flow and be amortised over a number of years.
The asset value of personnel provides an indication of the worth of know-how
within the firm. This know-how can be apportioned to particular departments
within the firm. The aim of this approach is to allow an evaluation of the return
on the "capital" represented by know-how. This can be for pricing decisions and
also to determine whether the investment in know-how has yielded an acceptable
rate of return by marketing of products and know how. The techniques of
determining asset values of personnel is referred to as "Human Asset Accounting"
see Kekiman and Jones[8] and Dobbins and Trussel[9]. Although the detailed
quantification of asset value is of dubious benefit, it is necessary to comprehend
the magnitude of the asset represented by staff knowledge. It is this knowledge
which is the core of the "know-how" product. An assessment of its exploitation,
both by direct sale or in terms of physical products or services, is the basis of a
realistic strategy for the company which sees a relationship between the elements
and a rational balance of the three.
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