Marrying knowledge discovery in databases (KDD) with technology intelligence (TI) - avenue to paradise or blind alley?

As a consequence of the increasing complexity and dynamics of the environment in which companies operate, technology intelligence systems (TISs) - aiming primarily at the early discovery of new technologies with strategic relevance - have recently begun to gain importance. Two generic approaches an information technology-driven and a human resource-driven approach - have been suggested for the construction of such systems. The recent developments in knowledge discovery in databases (KDD), with respect to text mining, offer the possibility to integrate the various approaches available under a common architecture. Based on discussions of KDD and TI, the KDD-bused technology intelligence system KDD/TIS is presented and evaluated. It integrates information technology and human resource-driven approaches and encompasses techniques for mining quantitative, structured, as well as qualitative semi-and unstructured data. It addresses all relevant environmental dimensions and is designed as an open system. Based on the evaluation of KDD/TIS, future research requirements are identified.