UC Davis experts: Technology and innovation management

The following University of California, Davis, faculty members are available to comment on technology and innovation management. If you need assistance on other business topics, please contact Julia Ann Easley at (530) 752-8248, jaeasley@ucdavis.edu.

Management of technology and innovation, knowledge brokering
Technology adoption, innovation
Technology management
Technology and innovation management, technology policy
Technology management policy and strategy

Management of technology and innovation, knowledge brokering

Andrew Hargadon, associate professor and director of technology management programs for the Graduate School of Management, is an expert in technology management, management of innovation, entrepreneurship and the management of new product development. Hargadon's research is focused on the point at which technology and innovation meet and the interplay between product development and marketing. He looks at the sources of new ideas and the notion of "knowledge brokering." His book, How Breakthroughs Happen: The Surprising Truth About How Companies Innovate describes how engineers and entrepreneurs pull together old ideas and ways of thinking from different areas and use them to create revolutions in other industries and fields. A former design engineer for IDEO Product Development and Apple Computer, Hargadon also studies how entrepreneurs and designers must overcome the fact that people adopting innovations rely on familiar understandings and ideas to make sense of new technologies. Contact: Andrew Hargadon, Graduate School of Management, (530) 752-2277, abhargadon@ucdavis.edu.

Technology adoption, innovation

Nicole Woolsey Biggart, dean of the Graduate School of Management, is a professor of both management and sociology, and she holds the Jerome J. and Elsie Suran Chair in Technology Management. Biggart is an authority on organizational theory and management of innovation. Her research interests include economic and organizational sociology, firm networks, industrial change and social bases of technology adoption. The author of seven books or book-length reports, Biggart has studied a wide array of sectors, organizations and markets around the world, including the auto industries of South Korea, Taiwan, Spain and Argentina; the U.S. commercial building industry; Japanese management strategies in the United States; management and organization in the Far East; organizational explanations for scandals in the White House; organizational change in the U.S. Post Office; and the sociology of labor and leisure. She is also an expert in the formation of business clusters. Contact: Nicole Woolsey Biggart, Graduate School of Management, (530) 752-7366, nwbiggart@ucdavis.edu.

Technology management

Professor Hemant Bhargava of the Graduate School of Management is an expert in management information systems, technology management and the information technology industry. He centers his research on the economics of information systems and the IT industry, focusing on various issues in pricing, product variety, operations and competition. He has studied topics such as preferential placement in Internet search engines; information gatekeepers; quality-differentiated product versioning and price discrimination; electronic intermediaries and e-commerce; and joint optimization of pricing and inventory policies in electronic retailing. His research on market strategy for IT products and services shows that contingency pricing is increasingly relevant in many IT settings such as data storage outsourcing, managed hosting, nontraditional software, products from startup firms, telecommunications services and e-commerce. Contact: Hemant Bhargava, Graduate School of Management, (530) 754-5961, hkbhargava@ucdavis.edu.

Technology and innovation management, technology policy

Richard Dorf is a professor in the Graduate School of Management and a professor emeritus in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He researches and teaches entrepreneurship, technology and innovation management, management of nonprofits, new venture management, venture capital management, and technology policy and technology management. He is also a consultant in engineering project development, commercialization, innovation, management, and new business ventures. He teaches courses on new and small business ventures, and sustainable and responsible business. Dorf has authored more than 30 books including Entrepreneurial Ventures, in which he discusses the essence of entrepreneurial activity and its importance to the life of capitalism and growth. Contact: Richard Dorf, Graduate School of Management, (530) 754-9061, rcdorf@ucdavis.edu.

Technology management policy and strategy

Jerome Suran, senior lecture emeritus in the Graduate School of Management, is an authority on ethics, technology management, global strategy, budget control models and strategic planning. Suran developed and has taught the school's capstone course on management policy and strategy. He also teaches a course on managing professionals that covers pricing, budgeting and ethics. In addition, he has developed courses in technology management, innovation management, and computers and information systems in business applications. The co-author of two books on transistor circuits, Suran developed and taught courses in microelectronic analog and digital circuits and systems for the College of Engineering. He holds 19 patents and is a registered professional engineer. Before coming to UC Davis, Suran had a 34-year career in industry, including top management positions with General Electric Co. and engineering positions at Motorola Inc. and the J.W. Meaker Co. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. Contact: Jerome Suran, Graduate School of Management, (530) 752-7397, jjsuran@ucdavis.edu.

Media contacts

Julia Ann Easley, News Service, (530) 752-8248, jaeasley@ucdavis.edu

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Last updated July 21, 2004