Technology Entrepreneurship, Technology Strategy, and Uncertainty

Abstract

Technology entrepreneurship—and, by extension, technology strategy—is the study of how firms use technology to create and capture value. While this area draws on multiple domains, including literatures describing the evolution of technology, firms, and industries, few dedicated efforts have been made to integrate these domains to describe technology strategy, even though many of the most powerful firms today are not those with industry or resource positions but those with technology positions. This chapter unpacks the theoretical and empirical foundations of technology entrepreneurship as it relates to strategy, summarizes current research, and highlights important unanswered questions, foremost of which is the role of uncertainty in theories of strategy. This chapter also asks two important questions: Given the growing centrality of technology in almost every area of economic life, is a technology strategy view needed? Also, given the rise of uncertainty, is a theory of uncertainty also necessary?