Discovering Potential Application Areas for Technologies Using Function-Based SAO Semantic Analysis: A Systematic Framework

With the current acceleration of disruptive and convergent technologies, opportunities to apply technologies in a novel way are playing a key role in research and development. These endeavors can help enterprises reduce risks and make money while expanding the scope of their technology portfolios and imposing transformative impact. However, in terms of practical management, how do enterprises discover potential new areas to which they can apply their existing technologies? Current research mostly focuses on the existing links between technologies and functions. But few studies discuss the hidden, yet-to-be-achieved links among these elements that hold the promise of potential. Exploring these opportunities is arguably more important in today's highly integrated world. Focusing on the microlevel of knowledge elements, in this article, we differentiate between the concept of explicit and implicit application opportunities, i.e., known and unknown opportunities, and present a systematic approach for discovering potential application areas for technologies. The approach, which is driven by function-based subject–action–object (SAO) semantic analysis, comprises four steps. First, technology–function pairs are extracted from patent documents using SAO semantic analysis. Second, a bilayer technology–function network is constructed based on co-occurrence relationships. Third, explicit application opportunities are identified via technology–function mapping. Finally, implicit application opportunities are identified through link prediction. A case study on immunotherapy technologies demonstrates the framework in practice, showing it to be both flexible and reliable. Furthermore, in addition to technology opportunity analysis, this framework also provides support for technology deployment and resource allocation decisions to enterprises with limited resources.