Practical matters for defense contractors converting DoD technology to commercial markets

Abstract

This thesis asks if and how the defense contractor can profitably transfer the technology and institutional learning obtained from DoD funded R&D to commercial markets. There are numerous examples of very successful defense conversion in U.S. history, such as the computer and internet. This phenomenon however, is not commonplace and the original developer of the military applied technology did not often profit from its commercialization. Faced with multiple disadvantages associated with having adapted to doing business with the DoD, this thesis hypothesizes that the one possible advantage that the DoD contractor has in competing in the commercial markets is access to advanced technological knowledge and personnel that have benefited from the learning associated from performing state of the art R&D for the DoD. This degree of advanced technology learning is not as accessible to the commercial firm because business pressures do not allow the degree of funding for cutting edge technology and less directly applicable research. This thesis examines the barriers for the DoD contractor attempting to move into the commercial market and examines cases studies of successful conversions and the recommendations from applicable prescriptive literature.