A patent portfolio-based approach for identifying technological threat from competitors

Effectively identifying technological threats from competitors and assessing their possible impact directly affects the company's interests and security. This study proposes an early identification approach for technological threats based on patent portfolio analysis. The approach measures and aggregates three dimensions of analysis - technological maturity, technological similarity, and the technological capability gap between a company and its competitors - in a range of technological fields. The novelty of this approach is that it uses patent portfolios to evaluate the level of technological threats faced by companies and to identify technological fields associated with high threat levels. The empirical research results show that this approach has the following advantages (1) it can address the shortcomings of previous studies that identified technological threats on the basis of a single dimension. (2) It is possible to evaluate the level of technological threats faced by the company in a variety of technological fields at the same time. (3) This approach is capable of determining the causes of technological threats faced by a company in each technological field and of providing effective decision-making support for companies that need to formulate reasonable response strategies to counter technological threats.