4.1 Commercialization Strategies in Speech Recognition (Mandatory)

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Questions and Answers

What was the primary goal of the earliest recorded ASR research effort in 1952?

To develop a machine that could recognize all spoken words

To design a machine capable of understanding human speech

To create a machine that could translate spoken language into written text

To build a device that could recognize the spoken digits zero through nine (correct)

What was the location of the first successful ASR research?

RCA Laboratories

AT&T Bell Laboratories (correct)

Lincoln Laboratories

Kyoto University

Which of the following organizations was NOT actively involved in early ASR research?

Kyoto University

NEC

IBM (correct)

University College, London

Which of the following was NOT a contributing factor to the development of early ASR research?

The need for accurate speech recognition in medical diagnosis Signup and view all the answers

What is the main idea of the passage regarding the stages of development of a disruptive technology?

Disruptive technologies typically start with high competition, shifting towards cooperation for licensing or acquisition. Signup and view all the answers

What is the significance of the "switch" mentioned in the passage regarding technological development?

It signifies the shift in focus from technical progress to market strategies. Signup and view all the answers

What is the main argument presented in the passage regarding the development of disruptive technologies?

Disruptive technologies evolve through successive stages of competition and cooperation. Signup and view all the answers

According to the passage, what is a common characteristic of disruptive technologies?

They typically exhibit a large number of competitors initially. Signup and view all the answers

What do entrants have the option to do regarding the innovation's value?

Enter the market themselves and test the innovation Signup and view all the answers

What incentive does the incumbent have when negotiating with entrants?

To encourage the entrant to take on potential risks Signup and view all the answers

What might incumbents do in the absence of options for cooperation with entrants?

Acquire technologies to shelve them Signup and view all the answers

What type of technology might lead to incumbents acquiring it just to place it on the shelf?

Competence-destroying technologies Signup and view all the answers

What is directly related to how incumbents and entrants choose to interact regarding commercialization?

The potential for technological disruption Signup and view all the answers

What technology did Qualcomm develop for cellular communications?

Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA) Signup and view all the answers

Which approach does CDMA utilize for handling multiple calls?

Simultaneously managing interference Signup and view all the answers

How does Qualcomm's CDMA compare to TDMA in terms of efficiency?

CDMA is more efficient Signup and view all the answers

What strategy did Qualcomm employ after entering the product market?

Switching to a preferred licensing model Signup and view all the answers

What was a significant reaction to the introduction of CDMA technology?

Skepticism from many industry experts Signup and view all the answers

What time frame is mentioned for the development of Qualcomm's CDMA technology?

Three to four years Signup and view all the answers

What was a necessary component in the development of Qualcomm's CDMA technology?

Several successful demonstrations Signup and view all the answers

Which protocol handles multiple calls sequentially, unlike CDMA?

Time-Division Multiple Access (TDMA) Signup and view all the answers

What significant development in the field of ASR occurred in the early 1960s?

The creation of Threshold Technology Signup and view all the answers

What was the first company dedicated exclusively to ASR?

Threshold Technology Signup and view all the answers

What factors create uncertainty regarding an innovation's value?

Uncertainty itself and market testing Signup and view all the answers

Which action can an incumbent take when there is uncertainty over an innovation's value?

Licensing or integrating the technology Signup and view all the answers

What was a notable investment mentioned in the early development of ASR technology?

Investments from IBM’s T.J. Watson Research Center Signup and view all the answers

What does ASR stand for in the context of the content?

Automated Speech Recognition Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following companies was not directly involved in ASR during the early 1960s?

Microsoft Signup and view all the answers

What role did Threshold Technology play in the history of ASR?

It was the first company dedicated solely to ASR Signup and view all the answers

What is a key reason that small drives came to dominate the market?

They are compatible with incumbent products and processes. Signup and view all the answers

What challenge do incumbent companies face when integrating new technologies?

They may represent high initial costs of integration. Signup and view all the answers

What does generic uncertainty refer to in the context of innovation?

The unknown future value of an innovation. Signup and view all the answers

Why might an incumbent choose to integrate a new technology in-house?

If there is assurance of the innovation’s future value. Signup and view all the answers

What is the implication of having an enlarged choice-set for new entrants in a market?

They can modify their commercialization strategies. Signup and view all the answers

Which company first claimed a speech recognition accuracy of 85%?

Interstate Electronics Corporation Signup and view all the answers

What is a technological driver of the choice between competition and cooperation?

High costs of integrating expensive technologies. Signup and view all the answers

What is the significance of the term 'grammar-free recognition' in speech technology?

It allows users to speak unlimited phrases. Signup and view all the answers

Which company claimed the highest accuracy at 99% in the early developments of speech recognition?

Votan Signup and view all the answers

What aspect do technologies often struggle with when assessed for market integration?

Their current alignment with consumer values. Signup and view all the answers

What is one potential benefit for an incumbent to incur integration costs?

To potentially improve the integrated technology. Signup and view all the answers

What technology did Interstate Electronics Corporation utilize for its speech recognition?

Hidden Markov model Signup and view all the answers

How did companies validate their speech recognition accuracy claims?

Through comparison against grammatically allowed word sequences. Signup and view all the answers

Which term refers to the ability of a speech recognition system to sometimes disregard expected word-sequence probabilities?

Acoustic evidence overriding Signup and view all the answers

In which year did multiple companies begin claiming accuracies above 90% for their speech recognition technology?

1981 Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following companies did NOT claim 99% accuracy in the early speech recognition advancements?

NEC America Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Dynamic Commercialization Strategies for Disruptive Technologies

Study examines commercialization strategies for disruptive technologies, focusing on the speech recognition industry between 1952 and 2010.
Startups often employ a two-stage commercialization strategy: initial competition followed by cooperation with incumbents.
Disruptive technologies initially underperform on mainstream metrics but exhibit potential for improvement over time.
Incumbents may initially be hesitant to cooperate due to perceived low value or high costs of integration.
This dynamic strategy allows startups to demonstrate technology value before seeking cooperative relationships.

Entry and Main Hypothesis

Entrant’s choice between competing or cooperating with incumbents is examined.
Factors influencing the choice include competition, access to complementary assets, frictions, and intellectual property protection.
Study deviates from static perspective by examining dynamic changes in commercialization strategies throughout a firm's life.

Technology Innovation Type Impact

Classifications of technology impacting commercialization choices are discussed, particularly focusing on competence-destroying vs. competence-enhancing innovations.
Competence-destroying innovations are more likely to be developed by new entrants.
High costs of integrating new technologies correlates with competitive strategies.
Uncertainty regarding innovation’s future value can influence choices.

Data Analysis

Study utilizes a hand-collected dataset of firms in the automatic speech recognition (ASR) industry from 1952–2010.
Data allows examination of relationships between innovation characteristics (e.g., disruptive technology) and commercialization strategies.
Early ASR technologies often exhibited lower performance initially but yielded improvements over time (disruptive innovation).

Disruptive vs. Sustaining Technologies

Disruptive technologies initially underperform on traditional performance metrics, while sustaining technologies improve existing metrics.
The initial unattractive nature of disruptive technologies can lead to competition in the beginning, followed by potential cooperation.
Factors like uncertainty about new technology’s future value, and decreasing costs of integration will influence incumbent's decisions.

Initial Vocabulary Size and Financial Performance

Disruptive technologies often have smaller initial vocabulary sizes relative to sustaining technologies.
The financial performance of disruptive technology firms may lag initial entrants’ but then improve.
Backward citation overlap analysis is used to distinguish disruptive technologies.

Disruptive Technology Adoption and Commercialization Strategy

Entrants adopting disruptive technologies are less likely to cooperate with incumbents compared to those adopting sustaining technologies.
Firms adopting disruptive technologies demonstrate a higher likelihood of switching from competition to cooperation.
Analysis on a firm-level and firm-year basis shows that disruptive technology adoption influenced switching between competing and cooperating with established companies.

Robustness Analysis

Research revisits earlier analyses using alternative methods while examining the robustness of findings on relationships between disruptive technologies and commercialization strategies.
Models control for various factors (e.g., entry year, venture capital, CEO replacement) to account for any potential confounding effects.
Alternative explanations, such as industry-level evolutionary trends or changes in commercialization strategies themselves, are considered.

General Conclusions

Study finds strong evidence that disruptive technologies frequently follow a pattern of competitive entry initially, followed by cooperative commercialization as the innovative technologies mature.
Study suggests that disruptive innovations may not invariably cause a replacement of incumbent market leaders in certain technological markets where appropriability conditions favor cooperation, and integration costs reduce.
The study emphasizes that technological commercialization choice should be viewed as dynamic and influenced by market conditions and time rather than a one-time static decision.

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Description

This quiz explores dynamic commercialization strategies utilized by startups in the speech recognition industry from 1952 to 2010. It highlights the two-stage approach of initial competition followed by cooperation with incumbents, as well as the factors influencing the decision-making process. Test your knowledge on how disruptive technologies evolve and the strategies used to enhance their value in the market.