Defense Technological Innovation Issues and Challenges in an Era of Converging Technologies

Rapid advances in the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution pose a critical challenge to large, complex organizations both in the private and public sectors. The national defense ecosystem is no exception. The US Department of Defense has launched a number of efforts directed towards fostering creative and entrepreneurial problem solving, while evolving better practices to absorb external innovations.

Defense Technological Innovation describes the emerging paradigm for innovation at the US Department of Defense, and the consequential impacts on its stakeholders. Leveraging a combination of prior research, archival data, first-person observations and interviews, the authors identify practices and themes characterizing the key trends in defense innovation, describe current organizational approaches and practices, and develop a theoretical framework that elucidates the competencies required to underwrite defense innovation objectives. The findings therein are relevant to any large, technology-driven organization contending with the implications of rapid change in the high-tech landscape.

Scholars interested in the broad areas of technology innovation, national security, defense policy, and organizational change now have a book that addresses the problem of defense innovation. It will also appeal to scholars and policymakers in strategy, security studies, international affairs, and policy.

Bharat Rao, Department of Technology Management and Innovation, Tandon School of Engineering, New York University, Adam Jay Harrison, Vanderbilt University and Bala Mulloth, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, University of Virginia, US