Publikation
Towards an AI-supported Technology Transfer: A World Café Approach
Manuel Etzkorn; Josip Lovrekovic; Masoumeh Tavakoligargari; Anna Gieß; Jan Jürjens; Harald von Korflesch; Peter Fettke
In: Digitales Management for a Fast-Changing World. International Scientific-Practical Conference (ISPC-2025), 5th annual International Scientific-Practical Conference, September 25-26, Garden City, NY, USA, Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics (SPBE), Springer Nature Link, 9/2025.
Zusammenfassung
Technology transfer (TT) refers to the dissemination of technological knowledge from a provider to a recipient. As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to enhance and transform processes across various sectors, including finance, agriculture, and healthcare, it becomes increasingly relevant to examine its implications for TT. While initial studies show that specific aspects of TT can benefit from AI integration, they also highlight the need for further research to develop a more comprehensive understanding of this intersection. To address this gap, we conducted an exploratory study using the World Café methodology. Together with 33 TT experts, we explored three research questions: (1) How can TT be supported by AI? (2) What new tasks in TT are enabled by AI? (3) Does the TT process need to be adapted to enable effective AI support? The discussions revealed a wide range of challenges, prerequisites, and potentials for AI applications across different application areas, including (1) market and patent research, (2) development of databases, (3) contract management, (4) support of invention disclosures, (5) IP value prediction, (6) risk assessment, (7) project management, (8) matching, and (9) personality assessment. These nine application areas were subsequently assessed in a workshop with seven TT experts regarding their potential impact and implementation effort. According to these evaluations, market and patent research, as well as the disclosure of inventions, emerged as the most suitable for AI support. As a final outcome, the study identified and discussed TT application areas that could benefit from AI and provides an initial assessment of their feasibility and potential value.