Sustainable Development A Conceptual Framework For
Sustainable Development A Conceptual Framework For
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ALAN C BRENT
Graduate School of Technology Management, University of Pretoria
Natural Resources and the Environment, CSIR
MARTHINUS W PRETORIUS
Graduate School of Technology Management, University of Pretoria
Pretoria, 0002, South Africa
[email protected]
The complexity of integrating the concept of sustainable development and the reality of technology or innovation management
practices has been argued. The purpose of the research was to establish a conceptual framework of the technology management
field of knowledge and identify the departure point for further research in terms of incorporating the concept of sustainable
development into the field. From a review of the literature it is concluded that sustainability aspects are not addressed adequately
in technology management theories and practices. The subsequent conceptual framework defines the context better in which
sustainable technology management should occur. Emerging technology management practices related to sustainable
development do emphasise the focus on technology strategy, selection and transfer, especially between developed and emerging
economies. At the core of these issues lies technology assessment that also forms part of other technology frameworks and
methodologies. For the departure point for further research it is therefore recommended to concentrate on the development of
technology assessment methods, based on the modification of the Technology Balance Sheet, Income Statement and Space Map
analytical techniques, that incorporate the dynamic interactions between nature and society that is researched in the newly
established field of sustainability science.
Introduction
The concept of sustainability and sustainable development may be understood intuitively, but
it remains difficult to express in concrete, operational terms (Briassoulis, 2001). However,
many agree that sustainable development is about achieving environmental, economic, and
social welfare for present as well as future generations (Azapagic and Perdan, 2000). From a
governmental perspective this can be at national and global levels (UNCSD, 2001). From an
organizational perspective this can be at project (Labuschagne et al., 2005a) and technology
(Brent et al., 2006; 2007) levels. In some cases stakeholders specifically require that
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environmental, economic, and social goals must be met across all levels of development.
Sustainable development has subsequently been conceptualised as a state of dynamic
equilibrium between societal demand for a preferred development and the supply of
environmental and economic goods and services needed to meet this demand (Briassoulis,
2001). Systems approaches have been proposed to consider strategic sustainable development
planning in different sectors (Robèrt et al., 2002; Labuschagne et al., 2005b). But the
intricate relationships between the three dimensions of sustainable development, i.e.
environmental, economic and social welfare, have been difficult to model within the concept
of a clear absolute technological system (Brent et al., 2006; 2007). Specifically, trade-offs
between the three dimensions of sustainable development may not be possible to quantify as
the benefits cannot be measured. Proposals for these trade-offs can be referred to as ‘weak’,
i.e. indirectly indicating sustainability (Hanley et al., 1997; Rennings and Wiggering, 1997;
Atkinson, 2000).
Consensus on the general objectives and basic principles of sustainable development may be
obtained in theory. But consensus on the details of how to achieve sustainable development
or maintain sustainability is difficult to obtain in practice. This difficulty can be attributed to
the variety of perceptions on specific socio-cultural and political contexts that change over
time (Briassoulis, 2001; Brent et al., 2005a). To this end, the complexity of integrating the
concept of sustainable development and the reality of technology or innovation management
practices has been argued (Coles and Peters, 2003). The problem lies with the required
amalgamation of the:
(i) Traditional sustainability sciences of environmental and social assessment, and the
associated Integrated Environmental Management tools.
(ii) Conventional and resource- or environmental-focused economic sciences, and the
associated tools such as Life Cycle Costing.
(iii) The technology management theories and associated applications such as technology
forecasting and roadmapping, and transfer.
From a research perspective the following main question was subsequently posed: Are
sustainability aspects addressed adequately in technology management theories and
practices? In other words, has technological research progressed into the field of
sustainability science, as has been suggested (Kates et al., 2001)? The research question
focuses on mainly those large-scale technologies, i.e. technologies that can only be added in
discreet sized lumps (Murto, 2000), and which are highly dependent on, or may pose risks to,
the natural resource base of countries and regions (Cooney, 2004).
The primary objective of this paper is to establish a conceptual framework of the technology
management field of knowledge, and coupled tools and methodologies, as it relates to
sustainable development. The secondary objectives are to introduce a criteria framework of
what sustainable development entails in different resource-based sectors where technology
management occurs, e.g. the manufacturing, energy, and agricultural sectors, and to provide
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insight into how sustainability aspects may be measured effectively as part of technology
management practices in these sectors.
From these objectives the paper aims to identify the departure point for further research in
terms of incorporating the concept of sustainable development into the technology
management field of knowledge, which is a specific agenda that may differ significantly from
other technology management orientated research themes (Pilkington and Teichert, 2006).
Methods
The primary objective of the paper was addressed by first considering the:
(i) Management of Technology (MOT) body-of-knowledge (BoK) process, which has
been initiated by the International Association for Management of Technology
(IAMOT, 2006), and specifically a survey on a Template for Graduate Programs and an
analysis of the results of a survey of 148 Technology Management or MOT graduate
programs (Portland State University, 2003).
(ii) Engineering and Technology Management Education and Research Council’s
identification of related research areas (ETMERC, 2006).
The Technovation journal was then searched for papers relating to tools and methodologies
of technology management in general, and on sustainable development, but relating to
technology management. The keywords of ‘technology management tools’, ‘technology
management methodology’ and ‘sustainable development’ were used in the review (see Table
1). Furthermore, a boolean search was conducted in multiple journal databases for the
keywords ‘technology management’ and ‘sustainable development’ (see Table 1).
The IAMOT BoK survey, the ETMERC identification of related research areas, and the
Technovation papers on ‘technology management tools’ and ‘technology management
methodology’ were used to construct a mind map of the technology management field of
knowledge (see Figure 1), which is downloadable from the internet (University of Pretoria,
2006). Mind maps are especially useful as support for intuitive-type research to highlight
casual connections between different aspects (Monaghan, 2003). In Figure 1 overlaps
between the IAMOT and ETMERC defined areas are shown with graphical links (left-hand
side of Figure 1). The linkages between defined technology management tools and
methodologies, and associated applications (right-hand side of Figure 1), and the IAMOT and
ETMERC areas are shown with numeric keys. The specific linkages between the core
technology management areas and sustainable development are emphasised with shadings.
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‘sustainable development’ was used to determine how the linkages between the core
technology management areas and sustainable development occur in practice.
Table 1. Journals and papers relating to technology management theories and practices,
and technology management orientated sustainable development
Journal Keywords References
Phaal et al., 2006
Technology management tools Maine et al., 2005
Brady et al., 1997
Technology management Liao, 2005
methodology Jacob and Kwak, 2003
Technovation Demaid and Quintas, 2006
Fahmy, 2005
Gerstlberger, 2004
Sustainable Development
Watanabe et al., 2003
Harris and Khare, 2002
Lambert and Boons, 2002
International Journal of Technology Transfer &
Commercialisation Momaya. 2005
(ABI Inform)
International Journal of Services Technology and
Management Banwet et al., 2003
(CSA Illumina)
International Journal of Biotechnology Sustainable Development AND Hamilton, 2001
(CSA Illumina) Technology Management
International Journal of Technology Management
Bowonder and Miyake, 2000
(CSA Illumina)
Technological Forecasting and Social Change
Sharif, 1992
(CSA Illumina)
International Journal of Technology Management Khalil and Ezzat, 2005
(SCOPUS) Phaal et al., 2004
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Discussion
A conceptual framework, which is the intent of this paper, supports understanding of an issue
or area of study, provides structure, communicates relationships within a system for a defined
purpose, and supports decision making and action (Phaal et al., 2004). Such a framework has
been introduced (see Figure 2), which is aimed at the firm level (Phaal et al., 2004). The
system, within which it applies, is that of a manufacturing business. The framework aims to
support understanding of how technological and commercial knowledge combine to support
strategy, innovation and operational processes in a firm, in the context of both the internal
and external environment.
Environment
Organisation
Commercial perspective
Strategy
I
Pull
Push Innovation mechanisms –
mechanisms – S S requirements
Technology
capabilities (knowledge
(knowledge base flows)
flows) Operations
E A
Technological perspective
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The framework emphasises the knowledge flows that must occur between commercial and
technological functions of a firm, and that an appropriate balance must be obtained between
push (firm capabilities) and pull (market requirement) mechanisms (Phaal et al., 2004).
However, these mechanisms are defined from an internal-to-external perspective. The
framework does not accentuate the external-to-internal drivers of sustainable development,
which have been noted (Labuschagne and Brent, 2005a), especially for firms that develop
and deploy large-scale resource-oriented technologies (see Figure 3). From a sustainable
development perspective it is required to expand the ‘environment’ component of the
conceptual framework.
Furthermore, and especially for large-scale resource-oriented technologies, the system must
be extended beyond the firm level, i.e. the life cycle of the technology (or asset) and the life
cycle of the associated product value chain must be considered (Brent et al., 2005b; 2007).
Such an extended life cycle system is illustrated in Figure 4.
Pressure
License to Operate
Support
•Responsible Care Principles
•Sound Corporate Governance
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Resource
Provisioni ng
Construction
Operations/
Maintenance
De -
commissioning
Product
Usage Process/technology
life cycle
Phase -out
&
disposal
Figure 4. Life cycle system for large-scale resource-oriented technologies (adopted from
Brent et al., 2005b; 2007)
Many different criteria frameworks that aim to address the concept of sustainable
development in different sectors are available in the literature. From an analysis of the
different approaches, a framework has been introduced (Labuschagne et al., 2005b) that
focuses on large-scale resource-oriented technologies (see Figure 5). The framework
emphasises that the operational initiatives in industry must be evaluated separately in terms
of internal and external economic, social and environmental performances. However, the
internal operational sustainability must also be ensured, e.g. technology management
practices, and a fourth dimension of sustainable development has been suggested
(Labuschagne et al., 2005b; Mulder and Brent, 2006). Therefore, it is proposed that
technology management, as it relates to sustainable development, should be conceptualised as
a triangular-based pyramid (see Figure 6). The three conventional dimensions of sustainable
development form the base or foundation of the pyramid, and supports sustainable
technology management practices at the top of the pyramid.
The conceptual framework indicates two planes of influence. First, technology management
practices (at the firm level) influence other internal operations, but sustainable development
aspects, e.g. economic forces, natural resource constraints, and social behaviour, may also
influence internal operations. In turn, internal operations do exercise influence on different
sustainable development aspects. Similarly, there is interaction between internal operational
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initiatives, the technology and product life cycle phases outside the firm level, and
sustainable development aspects.
It has been stated that conceptual frameworks exist largely in the mind and require practical
devices to ‘interface’ with the real world, in terms of both the development (induction) and
application (deduction) of frameworks (Phaal et al., 2004). The devices, i.e. tools and
methodologies, depicted on the right of the technology management mind map (Figure 1) are
primarily concerned with the interfaces between two planes of the conceptual framework.
This is reflected in the defined research and education focus areas of IAMOT and ETMERC.
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Resource
Organisation
Provisioning
Maintenance
Strategy De-
I commissioning
Pull
Push Product
Innovation mechanisms –
mechanisms – S S
Technology requirements Process/technology
capabilities Usage
(knowledge
(knowledge base flows) life cycle
flows) Operations
E A
Phase -out
&
disposal
Technological perspective
Internal
influence
Economic:
• Financial health
• Economic performance
• Potential financial benefits
• Trading opportunities
Environmental:
• Air resources
• Water resources
• Land resources Social:
• Mined abiotic resources • Internal human resources
• External population
• Stakeholder participation
• Macro social performance
Interfaces between the planes and the sustainable development aspects have been considered
in theory, albeit to a lesser extent. Table 2 summarises the obtained literature that deals with
such interfaces. In these cases the technology management research and applications were
mainly associated with the sub-areas of risk management and decision-analysis or support,
and is highlighted in Figure 1 (dark shading).
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It has been noted that, as a research area, technology management is extremely diverse
(Pilkington and Teichert, 2006). This is emphasised in the mind map of Figure 1.
Furthermore, in the sustainable development context, technological research is viewed as one
of the four branches of sustainability science (Kates et al., 2001), i.e. concentrating on the
design of devices and systems to produce more social goods with less environmental harm.
Sustainability science in turn can be defined as the study and integration of particular issues
and aspects of radical, systemic approaches to innovation and learning for ecological and
social sustainability (Struyf, 2003). The merger of these two fields has led to concepts such
as Environmentally Sound Technologies (ESTs), i.e. technologies that have the potential for
significantly improved environmental (and social) performance relative to other technologies
(IETC, 2003a).
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The European Institute for Technology and Innovation Management (EITIM, 2001) states:
"technology management addresses the effective identification, selection, acquisition,
development, exploitation and protection of technologies (product, process and
infrastructural) needed to maintain a market position and business performance in accordance
with the company's objectives".
For ESTs, the emphasis is not only on the firm level, but also on the regional, national and
international levels (IETC, 2003b). This again stresses the requirement to expand the
technological system that is managed, as is shown in the conceptual model (Figure 6), and an
adaptation to the EITIM definition is proposed, i.e. technology management addresses the
effective identification, selection, acquisition, development, exploitation and protection of
technologies (product, process and infrastructure) needed to sustain the competitive
advantage of regional sectors in accordance with the sector, regional, national and
international sustainable development objectives. A number of cases have been documented
in literature that supports the proposed definition of technology management (see Table 3).
Table 3 further shows that the literature on technology management and sustainable
development increasingly deals with three main issues:
(i) Integrated strategies across companies, sectors, regions, and, in some cases, across
countries.
(ii) Selection of appropriate technological options across companies, sectors, regions and
countries.
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(iii) The transfer of technologies (and knowledge) across companies, sectors, regions and
countries.
A focal point of these three issues is that of technology assessment or evaluation, which also
forms part of other technology frameworks and methodologies (see Figure 1). Technology
evaluation is one of the most significant techniques in an innovation function, such as
technology transfer, and it is best utilized in screening new ideas, assessing innovative or not
innovative technologies; it is a set of principles, methods and techniques or tools for effective
assessing the potential value of a technology and its contribution to a company’s
competitiveness and profitability (Bakouros, 2005). Models (Pretorius and de Wet, 2000) and
metrics (Geisler, 2002) have been introduced to assist the technology assessment process at
firm level. The following statements have been made with regards to the ongoing
development of metrics (Geisler, 2002):
(i) Technology is not judged by its existence alone, nor is its mere existence a sufficient
condition for successful usage.
(ii) We cannot evaluate technology unless and until we put it in the context of social (and
environmental) and economic phenomena.
(iii) Technology is not defined and evaluated by what it is, but by the criteria outside itself –
by its actual and potential users.
These statements support the system expansion component of the conceptual framework
(Figure 6), and the notion of sustainability performance indicators that have been proposed
for technology management purposes (Labuschagne et al., 2005; Brent et al., 2005b; 2007).
General technical, economic, environmental and social indicators have been proposed for
technology transfer evaluations (Dunmade, 2002). For large-scale resource-oriented
technologies specific sustainability indicators have subsequently been developed, which are
described in detail elsewhere (Brent and Visser, 2005; Labuschagne and Brent, 2006; Mulder
and Brent, 2006). Although the applications of these indicators do attempt to follow a holistic
approach, constraints have been noted where sustainability information is required from parts
of the expanded system that is not controlled by the particular technology management
decision-makers. Especially in the initial research and development phases of technology
management, a set of principles, methods and techniques or tools must be established for
effectively assessing the potential value of a technology and its contribution to sustainable
development during the market uptake phases of its life cycle (see Figure 7).
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Resource
provisioning
Construction /
Commissioning
Operations &
Maintenance
De-
commissioning
Product
usage Process /
Asset
life cycle
Phase-out
&
R&D R&D R&D R&D Disposal
gate gate gate gate
Product
life cycle
Assessment
Market
Research
Scale-up
Idea
uptake
Pre-feasibility
Idea Hardware / Implementation
/ Development Phase out
Business Operation
generation Feasibility Piloting Design Product
Study
Science
Engineering
Technology Management
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Conclusions
The turn of the millennium has seen increasing efforts to align technological research with
the emerging field of sustainability science (Clark and Dickson, 2003). However, the field of
science and technology for sustainability is in its infancy (AAAS, 2006). From the review of
the literature summarised in this paper, it is concluded that sustainability aspects are not
addressed adequately in technology management theories and practices. A conceptual
framework is subsequently proposed, which is based on an existing framework for
technology management, but as the field relates to sustainable development. The framework
defines the context better in which sustainable technology management should occur in
practice. An expanded system perspective is required, that not only includes the respective
technological, operational and business life cycles across companies, sectors, regions and
countries, but also the dynamic interaction between macro, meso, and micro economies,
societies at large, and the natural environment, as perceived by sustainability science. A
modification to the definition of technology management has subsequently been proposed.
Ultimately, the challenge lies in the formation and coordination of transdisciplinary research
teams (Pohl, 2001) that are required to reach truly sustainable technology management
practices.
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