Dynamic technology leadership: The adaptive role of the CTO

OVERVIEW: The importance of the chief technology officer role is widely accepted, particularly in today's turbulent, global conditions. However, not enough is known about the key activities of CTOs or the factors that influence their priorities. Thirty in-depth interviews conducted with the CTOs in global firms identified key activities: aligning technology and corporate strategy and business models, determining technology entry and exit points, and preparing business cases to secure funding for technology development. The research also showed that priority areas for CTOs are related to technology transition points-major contextual and business discontinuities that impact the focus of the CTO. We conclude that the determination of priorities at these technology transition points is highly idiosyncratic and closely related to whether the CTO functions more or less strategically.

Quantifying the uncertainties in life cycle greenhouse gas emissions for UK wheat ethanol

Biofuels are increasingly promoted worldwide as a means for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transport. However, current regulatory frameworks and most academic life cycle analyses adopt a deterministic approach in determining the GHG intensities of biofuels and thus ignore the inherent risk associated with biofuel production. This study aims to develop a transparent stochastic method for evaluating UK biofuels that determines both the magnitude and uncertainty of GHG intensity on the basis of current industry practices. Using wheat ethanol as a case study, we show that the GHG intensity could span a range of 40-110 gCO2e MJ-1 when land use change (LUC) emissions and various sources of uncertainty are taken into account, as compared with a regulatory default value of 44 gCO2e MJ-1. This suggests that the current deterministic regulatory framework underestimates wheat ethanol GHG intensity and thus may not be effective in evaluating transport fuels. Uncertainties in determining the GHG intensity of UK wheat ethanol include limitations of available data at a localized scale, and significant scientific uncertainty of parameters such as soil N2O and LUC emissions. Biofuel polices should be robust enough to incorporate the currently irreducible uncertainties and flexible enough to be readily revised when better science is available. © 2013 IOP Publishing Ltd.