The marketing of technological knowledge: An empirical analysis of licensing activities from university TLOs to the industrial sector in Japan

Technology licensing can be interpreted as a marketing activity that includes setting a target user, demonstrating the value of technology, negotiating prices, planning effective promotion, and so forth. Many companies as well as university Technology Licensing Organizations (TLOs) that pursue profit from technological assets, recognize the significance of the marketing perspective on technology licensing. However, not all companies and TLOs are able to achieve a satisfactory performance in their activities. This is mainly because the marketing of technology needs a different approach from those of the marketing of consumer goods, service goods, and industrial goods. Technology as knowledge is invisible and highly uncertain in the process of value realization, and this requires idiosyncratic marketing approaches. In this paper, we address the nature of technology marketing in comparison with the marketing of other goods and discuss key factors of success for higher licensing performance based on a questionnaire survey and the case analysis of TLOs in Japan. Major findings of the research show the importance of selecting a license target in the early stage, enhancing the visibility of the technology, and presenting the feasibility and usability of the technology in the context of the licensees' business field. We will further discuss the difference in approaches depending on the type of technology. (c) 2006 PICMET.