Toward an inclusive understanding of technology intelligence: a literature review

Abstract

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to promote the authors' understanding of technology intelligence by responding to two questions: What is technology intelligence? How is it accomplished? Design/methodology/approach – To respond to the two main questions about technology intelligence in this paper, the authors have studied relevant academic, peer-reviewed journals and books using the literature databases of Google Scholar, Sciencedirect, Inderscience, Wiley and Emerald Insight. They have used few selection criteria to choose papers and books for inclusion in their study. Findings – Enhancing the authors' understanding of the technology intelligence concept by responding to the two main questions (What is technology intelligence? How is it accomplished?), classifying the main studies in the field of technology intelligence and several practical and theoretical implications are the findings in this paper. Practical implications – A number of practical implications related to technology intelligence structure, process, methods, tools and players are suggested to managers of organizations and companies to improve their technology-related planning processes and decision-making. Originality/value – Despite the considerable level of consensus on the necessity of precise scanning and monitoring technological changes and trends, there is still limited understanding of the technology intelligence concept. This paper intends to enhance the authors' understanding of technology intelligence by responding to two questions: What is technology intelligence? And how is it accomplished?