In 2002, having been in product management for a number of years, I decided to affirm my commitment to business management by returning back to university to study a full time MBA. An MBA, while internationally recognised as the professional business management qualification, also provided the opportunity to broaden my knowledge base at the same time as backup my previous experience.

By taking elective subjects such as marketing strategy, strategic management and management of innovation I was able to focus my MBA towards the key skills required for product and business management.

With a keen interest in new technology and how competing technologies in a market environment typically result in a ‘technology winner’, my dissertation investigated the diffusion of technology and the factors that lead to a dominant design. To put this into context the dissertation then considered the emerging flat panel display market.

In a real business terms, understanding how a new product or technology is taken up in a market environment is a critical consideration in the design and development stage and marketing strategies employed.