Managing technological limits

Abstract

Technological limits hinder companies from improving the performance of products, as battery capacity restricts the performance of mobile communication devices. These 'bottleneck technologies' offer potential for differentiation. Technological limits can be anticipated, if the fundamental limitations of a technology are known. This research provides an overview over the existing literature on technological limits and discusses the challenge with cases from practice. Gaps in literature and in practice are identified. Five propositions on the management of technological limits are deduced. Approaches are discussed how the knowledge about a company's technological limits can support technology planning.