Barrier:
What should lead profit? Technology or Economy scale?

Should we invest substantial amount of resource in small economoy scale?

Background

It is common that technology can lead profit especially IT industry. The demonstrative example of this is Iphone.  Although there were technologies such as touch screen, WI-FI, and 3G network, the Apple provide new interface that enables people to use enthusiatically.  However, I believe that huge economy scale led firm to invest and provide profit (e.g. mobile phone industry).  From the management of technology and economic perspective, if market cannot provide enough profit , technology should not be invested and researched.

Question 

Should we invest in the technology which cannot provide increase of profit, but synergy? For example, the company manufactures a wide range of steel plate product from ordinary to specialized and researches welding technology. The CEO emphasizes the research concerning Welding technology which proportioned small economic scale. It is largely because CEO believe that the more welding technology developed, the more specialized steel plate can be sold. However, developing welding technolgy provide only possiblity, not sales of steel plate. From the short and economic perspective, the technology should not be invested. However, development of technology may provide a possibility as a maket leader in steel plate industry.

Possibility or short-term economic rationality?