Technology Management Practices and Infrastructure in Nanotechnology Industry: The Malaysian Case

The nanotechnology industry continues to grow in size and importance around the world, with many countries of both developing and developed status taking action by launching their own National Nanotechnology Initiatives. With the increasing cost of maintaining the research and development (R&D), as well as commercialisation of such a promising field in a growing country like Malaysia, industry players, such as research centres and private companies, need to find ways to improve their profit margin as well as provide quality products for their customers. One cost saving aspect is in the management of the technology, i.e., technology management practices. Even though it has been discovered through literature that technology management is a system that improves competitiveness and performance of organisations, there are still problems related to it, such as the traditional issues associated with cost, delivery, and quality, as well as surrounding influences from the environment regarding the infrastructure, specifically the R&D and industrial infrastructure, human resource, and industry readiness. This paper presents the review of literature regarding technology management and infrastructure in managing the organisational performance of companies in the nanotechnology industry, specifically in Malaysia. Through this review, the issues and challenges have been revealed and a potential research model has been formulated in order to assist in overcoming the highlighted problems.