Decision Support System for Technology Opportunity Discovery: An Application of the Schwartz Theory of Basic Values

TL;DR

This paper introduces a decision support framework that links technological feasibility with human values to improve early-stage technology opportunity discovery, demonstrated through workshops analyzing real-world technologies.

Contribution

It presents a novel framework combining Technology Readiness Levels and Schwartz's human values theory, bridging innovation potential with user motivations.

Findings

Internal experts see a wider value landscape than consumers.

Successful technologies are associated with a broader range of human values.

Value breadth correlates with market success.

Abstract

Discovering technology opportunities (TOD) remains a critical challenge for innovation management, especially in early-stage development where consumer needs are often unclear. Existing methods frequently fail to systematically incorporate end-user perspectives, resulting in a misalignment between technological potentials and market relevance. This study proposes a novel decision support framework that bridges this gap by linking technological feasibility with fundamental human values. The framework integrates two distinct lenses: the engineering-based Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) and Schwartz's theory of basic human values. By combining these, the approach enables a structured exploration of how emerging technologies may satisfy diverse user motivations. To illustrate the framework's feasibility and insight potential, we conducted exploratory workshops with general consumers and internal experts at Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc., analyzing four real-world technologies (two commercial successes and two failures). Two consistent patterns emerged: (1) internal experts identified a wider value landscape than consumers (vision gap), and (2) successful technologies exhibited a broader range of associated human values (value breadth), suggesting strategic foresight may underpin market success. This study contributes both a practical tool for early-stage R\&D decision-making and a theoretical link between value theory and innovation outcomes. While exploratory in scope, the findings highlight the promise of value-centric evaluation as a foundation for more human-centered technology opportunity discovery.