ABSTRACT
From the Industrial Revolution to the battlefields of the First World War and from the development and mass production of modern medicine to the Internet Revolution, technology has made and unmade societies and shaped the lives of human beings. Since technology plays such a central role in almost all aspects of modern life it may come as no surprise that it also plays a decisive role in corporate development and the competitive positioning of firms. This is no longer just the case for the products and services of the traditional technology-based companies. Today, many companies ranging from financial services firms to logistics companies depend on technology in order to be successful. Technology not only plays a significant role in existing companies but is often the basis for new technologybased start-ups. Technological entrepreneurship has even become an important driver in the economies of many countries in the world, or, as Zehner (2000) points out:
Over 95% of all scientists and engineers who ever lived is working today. Scientific and technical discoveries can leap
in months instead of years. In addition, scientific and technical knowledge is likely to be found in Singapore or São Paulo as in Silicon Valley.
