Consumer-oriented tech mining: Integrating the consumer perspective into organizational technology intelligence-the case of autonomous driving

Abstract

To avoid missing technological opportunities and to counteract risks, organizations have to scan and monitor developments in the external environment through a structured process of technology intelligence. Previous approaches in tech mining-the application of text mining for technology intelligence -have primarily focused on the elicitation of technical or legal information from web, patent, or research databases. However, knowledge of consumers' needs, fears, and hopes is a prerequisite for the success of an emerging technology in the marketplace. Thus, we claim that technology intelligence needs to also consider consumers' technology perceptions. Hence, we propose a novel and comprehensive approach to collect user-generated content from the web and apply text mining to derive consumer perceptions. In doing so, we align with an established tech-mining process. This paper illustrates our approach on the emerging technology of autonomous driving and provides an initial indication of concurrent validity.