A fuzzy-based roadmapping model for enhancing high-tech small firms’ technological entrepreneurship capabilities: cases of Iran

ABSTRACT

Technology-based firms need to survive via technological changes. Technological entrepreneurship is concentrated on identifying and exploiting the tech-opportunities for creating product innovation. This paper introduces a fuzzy-based tool to promote innovation throughout firms in order to enhance technological entrepreneurship capabilities (TEC). The effort involves identifying components of TEC to develop the inference system, specifying the fuzzy relationship among these components, assessing the TEC in firms, and designing a TEC roadmap after a fuzzy-based gap analysis. Designed roadmaps introduce technological change priorities as a growth path to firms to move up along the ladder of competitiveness. Based on the results, a method for categorizing firms into four distinct levels that involve passive, reactive, proactive and innovative is introduced. Hence, firms have an action plan to enhance TEC from passive to innovative level in a time-based transition pathway.

KEYWORDS:

• Technological entrepreneurship capability
• TEC roadmap
• fuzzy logic
• high-tech small firm

Acknowledgements

The Authors would like to thank Rasoul Hejazi and Bahareh Badrian for their kind helps.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Seyed Reza Hejazi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Technological Entrepreneurship in the Faculty of Entrepreneurship at the University of Tehran. He received his Advanced Materials Doctor’s Degree from the Sharif University of Technology. His research intermests focus on technological entrepreneurship, high-tech start-ups, advanced materials commercialization and innovation in high-tech firms.

Mohammad Reza Seifollahi received his Bachelor of Electronic Engineering at the University of Zanjan and his MSc in Technological Entrepreneurship at the University of Tehran. His research interests focus on technological entrepreneurship and open innovation.