Determinants of Technological Innovation Capabilities:
Using Fuzzy-DEMATEL and ANP
Chien-Ke Huang
1
, Chi-Hui Wu
2,3,*
, Jing Li
1,4
and Chih-Ling Hsieh
5
1
Ph.D. Program in Management, Da-Yeh University, University Rd., Changhua, Taiwan
2
Department of Management and Information, National Open University, Zhong Zheng Rd., New Taipei, Taiwan
3
Department of Information Management, Da-Yeh University, University Rd., Changhua, Taiwan
4
Music and Film College, Tainjin Normal University, Binshui West Rd., Tianjin, China
5
Professional Development in Education, Da-Yeh University, University Rd., Changhua, Taiwan
Keywords: Technological Innovation Capabilities, Fuzzy DEMATEL, ANP.
Abstract: This paper applies Fuzzy-DEMATEL and ANP to analyse the decisive determinants of technological
innovation capabilities (TICs) and the weight relation in high-tech and traditional manufacturing industries.
Technological innovation capabilities comprise various features that are complex and interrelated. Thus, the
purpose of this paper is to clarify the causal relationship of the various features to precisely provide the
enterprises with some determinants to maximize the effectiveness of resource utilization. In terms of
dimension, the research shows that the innovation management capability is the decisive factor of
technological innovation capabilities for high-tech industry and traditional manufacturing industry, which
affects the other five dimensions. However, in terms of criteria, learning capabilities are decisive determinants.
Therefore, in the face of competitive environment with continuous shortening of the product life cycle and
rapidly changing customer demands, overall, in order to enhance innovation capabilities, enterprises must
focus on the improvement of innovation management capabilities. In regard to the detail factors, the
enterprises must enhance the learning capabilities to recognize, absorb and make use of knowledge from the
internal organization in order to strengthen the knowledge management capability, the innovative decision-
making capability and technology of the enterprise itself.
1 INTRODUCTION
Innovation is the key factor and source of the
competitiveness of an enterprise (Hult, Hurley, &
Knight, 2004). Also it is the motive power for
economic growth (Schumpeter, 1942). Especially, the
application of technological innovation is the major
source of economic growth (Kuznets, 1973) and the
innovation capability also affects the performances of
an enterprise (Jayani Rajapathirana & Yan, 2018).
Therefore, in the face of changing circumstances, the
enterprise needs constant technological innovations
in order to maintain competitive advantages (Wang,
Lu, & Chen, 2008).
Because the traditional technology indexes are no
longer sufficient to reflect the environmental and
development conditions of the knowledge economy,
the relevant technology measurement indexes and
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +886-938-567-834
research methods have been constantly adjusted and
developed since the 1990s. Technological innovation
capabilities are defined as the ability of enterprises to
create new value for their customers by introducing
new products and services, developing new
technologies, and exploring new skills and
capabilities (Huang, 2011). Because the
technological innovation capability is a complex,
multidimensional and uncertain concept (Ince,
Imamoglu, & Turkcan, 2016), many researchers have
developed different methods of measurement to
assess the technological innovation capabilities of an
enterprise (Shafia, Shavvalpour, Hosseini, &
Hosseini, 2016). However, there is no consistent
conclusion due to various indexes for measuring
technological innovation capabilities, so it is difficult
to evaluate from a single point of view (Burgelman,
Christensen, & Wheelwright, 2004). Therefore, the
106
Huang, C., Wu, C., Li, J. and Hsieh, C.
Determinants of Technological Innovation Capabilities: Using Fuzzy-DEMATEL and ANP.
DOI: 10.5220/0009412101060114
In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Finance, Economics, Management and IT Business (FEMIB 2020), pages 106-114
ISBN: 978-989-758-422-0
Copyright
c
2020 by SCITEPRESS Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved
measurement of technology innovation requires a
variety of quantitative and qualitative criteria (Wang
et al, 2008). Besides, the assessment of the
enterprise's technological innovation capabilities is
considered subjective and inaccurate, this subjectivity
and inaccuracy increase the complexity of the
assessment. In general, evaluators judge it
subjectively by means of past experience,
professional knowledge and information.
However, many decision-making issues, such as
technological innovation capabilities, the
characteristics of their internal complexities cannot
be expressed in a hierarchical manner (Sumrit &
Anuntavoranich, 2013a). This is because it interacts
with each other at the upper and lower levels, and the
elements at the lower level also have interdependence
between the elements at the top. (Saaty, 1996).
According to the research results about the
literatures of the capabilities of technological
innovation, studying the technological innovation
capabilities of different industries, the factors that
affect technological innovation capabilities, the
degree of correlation between each factor, and the
results of causality are different. For example, some
scholars’ research objects are the traditional
industries and the research results show that the
technology development capability and the
innovation management capability are crucial factors
to an enterprise’s capabilities of the technological
innovation (Kumar, Kaviani, Hafezalkotob, &
Zavadskas, 2017). Other scholars’ research objects
are the high-tech industries and the research results
show that collective learning capability and
innovation management capability are crucial factors
to an enterprise’s capabilities of the technological
innovation (Ravari, Mehrabanfar, Banaitis, &
Banaitiene, 2016).
The purpose of the research is to find out and
compare the decisive factors of the capabilities of
technological innovation between the traditional and
high-tech industries in order to upgrade the
capabilities of the technological innovation of
industries and to maintain the reference of the
competitive advantage. Therefore, the research
objects of this research are the traditional and high-
tech industries and to obtain the indexes of
technology innovations by fuzzy Delphi method’s
questionnaire and build the structures on the
capabilities of the technological innovation.
Additionally, it analyses the relations of the cause and
effect that affect the structures and criteria of the
capabilities of the technological innovation and to
ascertain the decisive factors. Finally it applies ANP
to analyse the weight of the priority on the criteria of
the capabilities of the technological innovation in
order to provide enterprise operators with the
reference of the strategy planning.
2 LITERATURE REVIEW
Facing the incessant change around the global
environment, technological innovation capabilities
are the important and unique strategies to upgrade the
enterprise’s competition advantages (Shafia et al.,
2016). Technological innovation capabilities and
information technology capabilities would affect the
business performance (Yuan, Shin, He, & Kim, 2016;
Bergeron, Croteau, Raymond & Uwizeyemungu,
2017) and innovation performance of an enterprise
(Mir, Casadesus, & Petnji, 2016).
Adler and Shenhar (1990) first bring up the
concepts about Technological Innovation
Capabilities (TICs), TICs are an enterprise’s special
assets including the crucial fields of the technology,
manufacture, process, knowledge, experience and
organization (Türker, 2012). Burgelman et al.(2004)
defines technological innovation capabilities as a set
of complete strategies that the organization promotes
the technological innovation. According to Adler and
Shenhar’s (1990) researches, technological
innovation capabilities are classified to 4 kinds
including (1) the capability to satisfy the needs of
market through developing new products (2) the
capability to manufacture these products with suitable
technologies (3) the capability to satisfy future’s
needs by developing and introducing new products
and technologies (4) the capability to respond to
abrupt development of technologies and the
unpredictability conditions that the rivals bring about.
Therefore, technological innovation capabilities are
defined as: an organization upgrades technological
innovation capabilities by providing new products
and services, adopting new technologies, innovating
new skills and capabilities or abilities of creating new
clients’ claims on value (Huang, 2011).
The scholars researching technological
innovation capabilities have different viewpoints to
the indexes of measuring technological innovation
capabilities. Christensen (1995) brings up the asset
approach to measure the indexes of technological
innovation capabilities. Chiesa, Coughlan, and Voss
(1996), Burgelman et al. (2004), Turker (2012) and
Ravari et al. (2016) measure the technological
innovation capabilities by the process approach.
Romijn and Albaladejo (2002) bring up the output-
based approach to measure the indexes of
technological innovation capabilities. Yam, Guan,
Determinants of Technological Innovation Capabilities: Using Fuzzy-DEMATEL and ANP
107
Pun, and Tang (2004), Guan, Yam, Mok, and Ma
(2006) and Wang et al. (2008) bring up the functional
approach to measure the indexes of technological
innovation capabilities Besides, Sumrit,
Anuntavoranich (2013b) and Kumar et al. (2017)
measure the technological innovation capabilities by
the comprehensive perspective approach.
As for Resource Based View(Wernerfelt, 1984;
Grant, 1991), the technological innovation
capabilities are enterprises’ unique assets(Guan & Ma,
2003; Guan et al., 2006), it comprises of many
different fields including resource allocation
capability, resource exploiting capability,
organizational capability, innovation planning
capability and project cross functional team
integration capability. As for the perspective from
core competence (Prahalad & Hamel, 1990), the
technological innovation capabilities are meant to
integrate the management procedures for every
department of an enterprise into unique competence
including market capability, manufacturing
capability and R&D capability. As for the viewpoint
from Dynamic Capability (Teece, Pisano, & Shuen,
1997) and Knowledge Based View (Kogut & Zander,
1992; Grant, 1996), the technological innovation
capabilities are viewed as the learning process (Cohen
& Levinthal, 1989; Hitt, Ireland, & Lee, 2000) in
order to enhance the enterprises’ necessities of the
knowledge and skills including learning capability,
absorptive capability, knowledge management,
innovative organization culture, network linkage
capability and technology acquisition capability; And
there is no way to measure the technological
innovation capabilities by a single perspective
(Chiesa et al., 1996; Burgelman et al., 2004; Guan &
Ma, 2003; Guan et al., 2006). Additionally, different
scholars have different viewpoints on the levels and
frameworks of the technological innovation
capabilities. Some scholars adopt the single-level
index (Yam et al., 2004; Guan et al., 2006; Kumar et
al., 2017), others adopt two-level dimension and
index (Christensen, 1995; Chiesa et al., 1996; Romijn
& Albaladejo, 2002; Sumrit & Anuntavoranich,
2013b). Because the technological innovation
capabilities are complex and multi-dimension
concepts, this research adopts two-level dimension
and index to integrate what mentioned above by
scholars and to coordinate and conclude six
dimensions and twenty criteria.
3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
AND MODEL DEVELOPMENT
3.1 Research Framework
The research is divided into three phases to analyse
and collect information in order to construct
dimensions and criteria; First of all, the first phase is
to retrospect relevant literatures as a foundation,
archiving the past scholars’ perspectives, inducing
technological innovation capabilities of affecting
enterprises. It has six dimensions and twenty criteria
and adopts Fuzzy Delphi method to make the group
decisions to scholars and experts of the technological
innovation in order to solve ambiguous problems and
obtain consensuses. So it depends heavily upon the
knowledge and experiences from scholars and experts
and converge the dimensions and criteria to
consistency and reliable structures for sieving out
comparatively important and higher criterion items in
order to compile questionnaires through the feedback
of experts and scholars’ opinions.
The second phase is the DEMATEL questionnaire.
The main researching objects are Taiwan’s high-tech
and traditional manufacturing industries. The
practical experts of technological innovation in high-
tech and traditional manufacturing industries use
Fuzzy DEMATEL to construct relation matrixes
between dimensions and criteria, illustrating the
graphs of the causal relationship, making path
analysis about the cause- and -effect relevant
affection . Furthermore, it finds out the decisive
factors of technological innovation capabilities and to
construct the causal relationship of the decisive
factors in technological innovation capabilities.
The third phase is the ANP questionnaire. The
main researching objects are Taiwan’s technology
and traditional manufacturing industries. The
practical experts of the technological innovation in
technology and traditional manufacturing industries
analyse ANP to find out the comparative weight and
relevancy of every dimension for the technological
innovation capabilities in order to bring out
conclusions and concrete suggestions on the
important factors that affect technological innovation
capabilities.
3.2 Calculating Steps on Fuzzy Delphi
Method
This research uses fuzzy Delphi method to sieve out
the comparatively important items of the dimension
on the technological innovation capabilities. The
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108
steps of fuzzy Delphi method are as follows (Liang,
Lee, & Huang, 2010):
Step 1: Collect the decision-making group’s
opinions; Step 2: Set up triangle fuzzy numbers; Step
3: Defuzzification; Step 4: Sieve out the assessment
criterion.
3.3 Contents and Objects of
Questionnaire Design
It compiles six dimensions including innovation
management capability (A), collective learning
capability (B), innovation sourcing capability (C),
technology development capability (D), robustness
product & process design capability (E), technology
commercialization capability (F) and to sieve out six
dimensions and twenty criteria by fuzzy Delphi
method. We issue questionnaires to twenty scholars
and practical experts of the innovation research, high-
tech and traditional industry. They judge whether to
maintain dimensions according to their knowledge
and experiences. The threshold value in this research
is 60% which means that if over 60% of the scholars
and experts agree to maintain on dimensions of the
certain items, they are kept. This research sorts out 6
dimensions and twenty criteria. The criterion of the
minimum threshold value is 60.3% of the product
structure design and engineering capability. The
criterion of the maximum threshold value is 87.9% of
the learning capability. Every item has over 60%
experts and scholars’ agreements which mean that all
criteria are kept. Finally, twenty criteria and operating
definitions in this research are as follows: Strategic
management capability (A
1
), Organization capability
(A
2
), Resource allocation capability (A
3
), Risk
management capability (A
4
), Innovation decision
capability (A
5
), Resource exploiting capability (A
6
),
Learning capability (B
1
), Absorptive capability (B
2
),
Knowledge management capability (B
3
), Innovative
organization culture (B
4
), Network linkage capability
(C
1
), Technology acquisition capability (C
2
),
Investment capability (C
3
), R&D capability (D
1
),
Project cross functional team integration capability
(D
2
), Technology change management capability
(D
3
), Product structural design and engineering
capability (E
1
), Process design and engineering
capability (E
2
), Manufacturing capabilities (F
1
),
Market capability (F
2
).
3.4 Fuzzy DEMATEL Computing and
Steps
Li (1999), Lin and Wu‘s (2008) classifications are
references of the linguistic scale and triangular fuzzy
numbers in the fuzzy DEMATEL part. The linguistic
scale is divided into 5 kinds. In order to facilitate the
subjects to consider and fill up, it provides concretely
4 to 0 points in the questionnaire.
Fuzzy DEMATEL is the method that combines
the fuzzy linguistic variations with DEMATEL and
the steps of formulas and computing are as follows
(Wu, Liao, Tseng, & Chiu, 2015):
Step 1: Define the evaluation criteria and
determine the fuzzy linguistic scale; Step 2: Establish
the directed-relation matrix; Step 3: Establish and
analyse the structural model; Step 4: Establish the
total-relation matrix; Step 5: Conduct defuzzification;
Step 6: Centrality and relation; Step 7: The result
analysis.
3.5 ANP Computing and Steps
ANP is the method used in Multi-Criteria Decision-
Making, MCDM. It deduces the comparative priority
of the criterion through experts’ judgement or
practical measurement. The judgement shows the
comparative affection relations (Saaty, 2006). The
applications of ANP are divided into five steps as
follows:
Step 1: Establish the pairwise comparisons
matrix; Step 2: Compute the eigenvalue of the pairwise
comparisons matrix and the eigenvector; Step 3:
Consistency test; Step 4: Calculate limit supermatrix
formation; Step 5: Choose the optimum criterion.
4 RESEARCH THE RESULT
ANALYSES AND DISCUSS
4.1 The Results of Fuzzy DEMATEL
4.1.1 The Analysis Results of Every
Dimension
Step 1: Define the Evaluation Criteria and Determine
the Fuzzy Linguistic Scale
The assessment dimensions are as follows: A, B,
C, D, E, and F.
Step 2: Establish the Direct Relative Matrix
It is able to obtain experts’ opinions after experts
compare dimensions in pair. And it integrates every
expert’s opinions by numbers in order to decrease
affections from extreme values; afterward, it is able
to obtain the fuzzy, direct and relevant matrixes.
Step 3: Establish and Analyze the Structure Model
It converts linear scales into normalization
formulas by transforming the criterion scale into the
Determinants of Technological Innovation Capabilities: Using Fuzzy-DEMATEL and ANP
109
comparable scale. It calculates the maximum value r,
4.612. It obtains the fuzzy, direct and relevant
matrixes of the normalization by transforming all
values in the fuzzy, direct and relevant matrixes.
Step 4: Establish the Fuzzy, Total, Direct and
Relevant Matrixes
After it obtains the fuzzy, direct and relevant
matrixes of the normalization, it obtains the fuzzy,
total and relevant matrixes.
Step 5: Defuzzification
It proceeds to have defuzzification on the fuzzy,
direct and relevant matrixes in order to obtain the total
and relevant matrixes.
Step 6: Centrality and Relation
It is able to calculate the row values (d), column
values (r), the sum of the rows and columns (d+r) and
the difference of the rows and columns (d-r). The
compilings show in Table 1. As for centrality (d+r),
the affection importance of 2 dimensions about D and
E is the biggest; and as for relation (d-r), the pluses
on 2 dimensions about A and B represent causal
dimensions; meanwhile, A is the strongest.
Otherwise, the minuses on 4 dimensions about C, D,
E and F represent effect dimensions; meanwhile, F is
the strongest. It obtains the causal relationship after
combining analyses of centrality and relation;
meanwhile, B is the strongest factor; D is the most
affected factor. And F is classified as the independent
dimension because centrality and relation are low; it
shows in Table 1. B is the main decisive dimension
that if enterprises consider only and upgrade
technological innovation capabilities.
Table 1: Row and column values among dimensions.
d(row
value)
r(column
value)
d+r
(centrality)
d-r
(relation)
Quadrant
Causal
relationship
A 41.661 39.543 81.204 2.118 2nd quad
affecting criteria
B 41.573 41.225 82.798 0.348 1st
q
ua
d
Core criteria
C 41.343 41.440 82.783 -0.097 4th quad
Criteria affected
D 41.548 41.656 83.204 -0.108 4th quad
Criteria affected
E 41.328 41.578 82.906 -0.250 4th
q
ua
d
Criteria affected
F 39.661 41.671 81.332 -2.010 3rd quad
Independent
Average
82.371 0
Step 7: The Result Analysis
After obtaining d+r (centrality) and d-r (relation),
it illustrates the causal relationship diagram as Figure
1 according to values. The arithmetic mean of
centrality (d+r) is 82.371 which is settled as the
threshold value; dimensions of technological
innovation capabilities are located on different
quadrants. The quadrant locations of the causal
relationship diagram in Figure 1 show as follows: one
dimension located on the first quadrant of
technological innovation capabilities represents B; it
belongs to the dimension of high centrality and high
relation. This dimension not only affects the
dimension on quadrant 4 but also is the core
dimension of technological innovation capabilities;
meanwhile it is classified as the core dimension of
technological innovation capabilities. One dimension
located on the second quadrant of technological
innovation capabilities represents the A; it belongs to
the dimension of low centrality but high relation. This
dimension can affect the dimension on quadrant 4;
meanwhile it is classified as the important dimension
of technological innovation capabilities. One
dimension located on the third quadrant of
technological innovation capabilities represents F; it
belongs to the dimension of low centrality and low
relation. Because the dimension on the quadrant does
not affect any dimension of technological innovation
capabilities; meanwhile it is classified the less
important dimension of technological innovation
capabilities. Three dimensions located on the fourth
quadrant of technological innovation capabilities
represent C, D and E; they belong to the dimension of
high centrality but low relation. These 3 dimensions
can upgrade and enhance their capabilities by
dimensions on quadrant 1 and 2.
Figure 1: Cause and effect diagram among dimensions.
4.1.2 The Results of Every Criterion
Analysis
The research will analyses the criterion of every
dimension in order to understand the complex
relevance of technological innovation capabilities in
enterprises.
Step 1: Define the assessment criteria and design
the fuzzy linguistic scale.
The assessment criteria: A
1
, A
2
, A
3
, A
4
, A
5
, A
6
,
B
1
, B
2
, B
3
, B
4
, C
1
, C
2
, C
3
, D
1
, D
2
, D
3
, E
1
, E
2
, F
1
and
F
2
.
Step 2 to 7:
The analysis step 2 to 7 of every criterion
calculates according to analysis step 2 to 7 of every
above-mentioned dimension 4.1.1. The row values
(d), the column values(r), the sum of the row and
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110
column (d+r) and the difference of the row and
column (d-r) are compiled in Table 2.
Table 2: Row and column values among criteria.
d (row
value)
r(column
value)
d+r
(centrality)
d-r
(relation)
Quadrant Causal relationship
A
1
57.629 57.526 115.155 0.103
1st quad Core criteria
A
2
57.727 55.948 113.675 1.779
2nd quad Affecting criteria
A
3
57.505 56.736 114.241 0.769
2nd quad Affecting criteria
A
4
57.401 56.682 114.083 0.719
2nd quad Affecting criteria
A
5
57.835 57.436 115.271 0.399
1st quad Core criteria
A
6
56.734 56.823 113.557 -0.089
3rd quad Independent
B
1
57.547 56.668 114.215 0.879
2nd quad Affecting criteria
B
2
57.491 56.597 114.088 0.894
2nd quad Affecting criteria
B
3
57.495 57.385 114.880 0.110
1st quad Core criteria
B
4
56.830 56.650 113.480 0.180
2nd quad Affecting criteria
C
1
55.369 57.375 112.744 -2.006
3rd quad Independent
C
2
57.637 57.626 115.263 0.011
1st quad Core criteria
C
3
57.417 56.680 114.097 0.737
2nd quad Affecting criteria
D
1
57.548 57.755 115.303 -0.207
4th quad Criteria affected
D
2
56.031 57.647 113.678 -1.616
3rd quad Independent
D
3
57.606 57.571 115.177 0.035
1st quad Core criteria
E
1
56.711 57.706 114.417 -0.995
4th quad Criteria affected
E
2
57.513 57.678 115.191 -0.165
4th quad Criteria affected
F
1
56.561 57.654 114.215 -1.093
3rd quad Independent
F
2
57.261 57.703 114.964 -0.441
4th quad Criteria affected
Average
114.385 0
It shows on the quadrant locations in Table 2 that
the 5 criteria located on the first quadrant of
technological innovation capabilities represent
individually A
1
, A
5
, B
3
, C
2
, and D
3
; they belong to the
criterion of high centrality and high relation. The
criteria on this quadrant of technological innovation
capabilities occupy comparatively important
positions compared to the criteria on other quadrants
of technological innovation capabilities. 7 criteria
located on the second quadrant of technological
innovation capabilities represents individually A
2
, A
3
,
A
4
, B
1
, B
2
and C
3
; they belong to the criterion of low
centrality but high relation. These 7 criteria can affect
the criteria on the fourth quadrant; meanwhile they
are classified as important criteria of technological
innovation capabilities. 4 criteria located on the third
quadrant of technological innovation capabilities
represents individually A
6
, C
1
, D
2
and F
1
; they belong
to the criterion of low centrality and low relation.
Because the criteria on this quadrant do not affect any
criterion of technological innovation capabilities;
meanwhile they are classified as the less important
criteria of technological innovation capabilities. 4
criteria located on the fourth quadrant of
technological innovation capabilities represents
individually D
1
, E
1
, E
2
and F
2
; they belong to the
criterion of high centrality but low relation. These 4
criteria can upgrade and strengthen their abilities by
the criteria on quadrant 1 and 2. If the criteria of
technological innovation capabilities on quadrant 1
upgrade, they will improve the criteria of
technological innovation capabilities on quadrant 4.
The enterprises should engage in the criteria about A
1
,
A
5
, B
3
, C
2
and D
3
under the conditions of limited
resources and to classify them as the first priority of
upgrading technological innovation capabilities.
Additionally, the criteria of technological innovation
capabilities on quadrant 2 upgrade, they will also
improve the criteria of technological innovation
capabilities on quadrant 4; so they are classified as the
second priority of upgrading technological
innovation capabilities.
4.2 The Results of the ANP
4.2.1 Develop the Network Structure Model
This part will probe priorities of the factors for
technological innovation capabilities. So it constructs
the weights of every dimension and criterion by the
network procedure analyzing method. It analyzes the
structure model of ANP by means of 6 main
dimensions and 20 criteria of technological
innovation capabilities and inputs Super Decisions
software to establish the structure, calculating
analyses.
4.2.2 Establishment of the Pairwise
Comparison Matrix in the ANP Model
and the Consistency Test
It obtains the pairwise comparison matrix values
through calculating of geometric mean by the results
of 30 filling-up effective questionnaires and proceeds
to have consistency tests. The CI values of every
pairwise comparison matrix among 0.00545 to
0.02298 are all less than 0.1 in this research;
meanwhile, the CI values also less than 0.1 represent
passing the consistency test.
4.2.3 Pairwise Comparison of ANP
Dependency
Finally, the data from the ANP questionnaire, obtain
from the practitioners, were analysed and are
presented in Table 3.
4.2.4 The Results of the Analysis
As for the parts of the analysis results of dimensions,
innovation management capability has the highest
among the weights of dimensions. Innovation
management capability can affect the factors about
learning capability of the whole, innovation sourcing
capability, technology development capability,
robustness product & process design capability and
technology commercialization capability. And
Determinants of Technological Innovation Capabilities: Using Fuzzy-DEMATEL and ANP
111
innovation management capability is the most
important factor that enterprises develop
technological innovation capabilities. Consequently,
enterprises should engage in the innovation
management capability including the factors about
strategic management capability, organization
capability, resource allocation capability, risk
management capability, innovation decision
capability and resource exploiting capability in order
to upgrade their technological innovation capabilities.
Table 3: The weights of evaluation items for ANP method.
Dimensions Criteria Weights Total weights Rank
A
A
1
0.207 0.037 15
A
2
0.151 0.027 19
A
3
0.156 0.028 18
A
4
0.162 0.029 17
A
5
0.173 0.031 16
A
6
0.151 0.027 19
B
B
1
0.242 0.039 13
B
2
0.236 0.038 14
B
3
0.273 0.044 10
B
4
0.248 0.040 12
C
C
1
0.338 0.051 9
C
2
0.384 0.058 6
C
3
0.278 0.042 11
D
D
1
0.394 0.069 5
D
2
0.303 0.053 7
D
3
0.303 0.053 7
E
E
1
0.500 0.086 2
E
2
0.500 0.086 2
F
F
1
0.549 0.089 1
F
2
0.451 0.073 4
It also means that for the sake of improving
innovation management capability, enterprises
should be able to have abilities on discerning their
advantages and disadvantages from the interiority and
opportunities and threats from the external
environment, being able to make plans according to
enterprises’ visions and missions, ensuring the
organization operation mechanism and the
coordinating capability, cultivating technological
innovation culture of the organization, obtaining the
capital, technology and allocating the capital suitably
during technological innovation process, assessing
and enduring the risk of technological innovation,
organizing creative ideas of the high research and
development from the interiority, cooperating and
sharing the knowledge of the research and
development with other strategy alliance enterprises
or researching centers, being able to forecast and
assess the future trend of technological innovation,
having abilities to modulate and expand the
technology, human and the capital resource for
upgrading enterprises’ innovation management
capabilities.
As for the parts of the analysis results of
dimensions, the top 3 important capabilities at the last
priorities of the criterion assessment are
manufacturing capability, product structural design
and engineering capability and process design and
engineering capability individually. It means that
enterprises more emphasize the products that are
transformed from the results of the research and
development, designing the product structure,
establishing the modularization of the product,
supporting the manufacture design and devising the
design process of the assembling activity.
5 CONCLUSIONS
The purpose of this research is to try finding out
relations between dimensions and criteria that affect
the technical innovation capabilities and the
reciprocal affections; ranking the following important
weight of every dimension. As for the results from
Fuzzy-DEMATEL, there exist the relevant affections
indeed among dimensions and criteria. It also obtains
more precise weight measurement base through the
results of ANP analysis. In the future, it will be a good
reference according to the conclusion of the research
and provides the following researchers who intend to
research the issues on the technical innovations with
new thinking directions. The results in this research
show that there exist the relevant affections between
dimensions and criteria. The degrees of the reciprocal
affections of the technical innovation capabilities at
every dimension or criterion are different.
So far as the dimensions are concerned, the
capabilities on the technology commercialization
respondent to other 5 dimensions have less manifest
affections at the critical dimensions of the
technological innovation capabilities. The reason is
that the capabilities on the technological
commercialization are affected easily by other
factors; learning capabilities of the whole have most
affections to other factors. Furthermore, innovation
management capabilities are the key and important
factor for success. It shows according to the results
and relations of criteria that the enterprises will
upgrade collective learning and innovation
management capabilities of the whole if they can
enhance the innovation decision, strategy
management, knowledge management capabilities.
Consequently, the interiority of the enterprise’s
organization should have ideas on high innovations of
research and development and to cooperate with other
strategy alliance enterprises or researching centers,
being able to share the knowledge of research and
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development, forecasting and assessing the future
trends of the technology innovations, discerning the
advantages and disadvantages in the interiority,
making plans according to the enterprise’s prospects
and missions ,having capabilities to accumulate and
manage crucial knowledge resources and then
absorbing to use in order to upgrade learning and
innovation management capabilities of the whole
enterprise. However, the six dimensions affect
undoubtedly the enterprise’s decisive factors on
technological innovation capabilities according to
their strength. This research probes the reciprocal
affections and degrees under the criteria of every
dimension thoroughly. In practice, the enterprises can
choose dimensions they want to enhance and then
choose the suitable and manifest criteria that upgrade
this dimension according to results of the research in
order to increase and enhance enterprises’ technology
innovation capabilities, competition advantage and
core competences.
So far as the criteria are concerned, the criteria
about the organization, absorptive and learning
capabilities are important factors that affect other
criteria at the decisive criteria of technological
innovation capabilities. It means that the enterprises
should upgrade their collective learning capabilities
of the whole incessantly in complex environments
that change strongly in order to deal with the severe
competitions and enhance to affect other dimensions
of technological innovation capabilities for
maintaining their competition advantages. Therefore,
the enterprises should have abilities to discern, absorb
and apply new values of the exterior information to
enterprises’ products and services. And they have
abilities to discern, absorb and apply knowledge from
the interiority of the system to accumulate and
manage crucial knowledge resources. Finally, the
enterprises can ensure operation mechanisms and
coordinate capabilities in the interiority of the system,
cultivating to innovative organization culture and
heading to upgrade the criteria of technological
innovation capabilities. From viewpoints of the most
strong and bigger affections, the enterprises should
improve the criteria of technological innovation
capabilities by means of the core criteria of
innovation decision, technology acquisition and
technology change management capabilities under
the conditions of limited sources. It means that the
enterprises should have abilities to accumulate and
manage crucial knowledge resources, then absorbing,
using them. The enterprises can ensure operation
mechanisms and coordinate capabilities, having
abilities to discern, absorb and apply new values of
the exterior information to enterprises’ products and
services, cultivating the technological innovation
culture of the organization, organizing ideas on high
innovations of research and development in the
interiority of the organization, cooperating with other
strategy alliance enterprises or researching centers,
sharing the knowledge of research and development,
forecasting and assessing the future trends of the
technological innovations to upgrade their
technological innovation capabilities.
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