Development of a Practical Tool for Exploring the Map of Technology

This study suggests a way to utilize the map of technology as a guide to find new technology component. Recent studies of mapping knowledge mainly focused on analyzing the map as a result of technological innovation rather than utilizing the map for exploring the world of technological innovation. The preliminary result of a case study suggests that a firm can find possible technology components that can be combined with own technology component. The map of technology comprises the nodes of International Patent Classification (IPC) main groups and the links presenting the co-assign relationship between the IPC main groups.