Defining and improving technology transfer business and management processes in university innovation centres

The complex and dynamic behaviour associated with technology transfer business processes combined with the technological risk involved in the participating small firms, has led to a lack of business process definition and improvement in this area. Furthermore, the embryonic firms are highly individualistic with differing needs for assistance and development. There may also be a tendency to provide infrastructure and basic services with an avoidance of business process definition and hence, improvement.The aim of this paper is to investigate how potential business and management inputs can be used to define and to suggest improvements for two key technology transfer business processes, namely the technology licensing process and the business building process.A stratified pathway process mapping approach is used. This research approach includes semi-structured interviews with University Innovation Centre small firms, focus groups with Innovation Centre stakeholders and best practice benchmarking.The findings indicate that a modified processual approach can be adopted to define key business processes within technology transfer. Using this approach it is possible to show where business and management interventions can most effectively be deployed in each process.     

Roadmapping for technology push and partnership: A contribution for open innovation environments

There are several tools in the literature that support innovation in organizations. Some of the most cited are the so-called technology roadmapping methods, also known as TRM. However, these methods are designed primarily for organizations that adopt the market pull strategy of technology-product integration. Organizations that adopt the technology push integration strategy are neglected in the literature. Furthermore, with the advent of open innovation, it is possible to note the need to consider the adoption of partnerships in the innovation process. Thus, this study proposes a method of technology roadmapping, identified as method for technology push (MTP), applicable to organizations that adopt the technology push integration strategy, such as SMEs and independent research centers in an open-innovation environment. The method was developed through action-research and was assessed from two analytical standpoints: externally, via a specific literature review on its theoretical contributions, and internally, through the analysis of potential users' perceptions on the feasibility of applying MTP. The results indicate both the unique character of the method and its perceived implementation feasibility. Future research is suggested in order to validate the method in different types of organizations     

Inside the high-tech black box: A critique of technology entrepreneurship policy

Promoting new technology-based firms is the cornerstone of technology entrepreneurship policies in advanced industrial economies. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative empirical evidence from the UK, this paper provides a critique of these policy frameworks. The aggregate analysis shows that vast majority of these firms are micro firms, a small minority of whom grow rapidly. The paper then highlights the incongruence between the nature of these firms and the public sector technology policies designed to support them. The qualitative data reveals that typically these firms are corporate rather than university spin-offs; most do not undertake large amounts of in-house R&D; most do not have protected IP; and only a small minority are VC-backed. Most derive their main competitive advantages from open innovation sources such as relationships with end-users and customers. The paper offers suggestions for how policy could be recalibrated to better reflect the requirements of local entrepreneurial actors and the types of support required by most high-tech SMEs.     

Determinants of licensing activities of local public technology centers in Japan

Local public technology centers are publicly managed institutions that facilitate technology transfer to small local firms. As well as providing small local firms with various technological services, local public technology centers conduct their own research and patent inventions. This study examines factors facilitating licensing activities and finds that the determinants vary according to the phase of technology transfer. Employing more Ph.D. scientists tends to promote the licensing of patents, while organizational efforts that encourage scientists to better understand the technological needs of small local firms tend to increase royalty revenue. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.     

Absorptive capacity, its determinants, and influence on innovation output: Cross-cultural validation of the structural model

The main purpose of this study is to provide stronger quantitative evidence in the field of organizational absorptive capacity research by using a more direct measure of absorptive capacity and a wide range of variables in a cross-nationally tested structural model. The results show that there exist two kinds of absorptive capacity: demand-pull and science-push. Their most important determinants proved to be internal R&D, training of personnel, innovation co-operation and attitude toward change. Both kinds of absorptive capacity are positively related to product and process innovation output. Therefore, absorptive capacity is to be given more attention in the future research and innovation policy considerations.     

Barriers to innovation and public policy in Catalonia

The present paper analyses the link between firms’ decisions to innovate and the barriers that prevent them from being innovative. The aim is twofold. First, it analyses three groups of barriers to innovation: the cost of innovation projects, lack of knowledge and market conditions. Second, it presents the main steps taken by Catalan Government to promote the creation of new firms and to reduce barriers to innovation. The data set used is based on the 2004 official innovation survey of Catalonia which was taken from the Spanish CIS4 sample. This sample includes individual information on 2,954 Catalan firms in manufacturing industries and knowledge-intensive services (KIS). The empirical analysis reveals pronounced differences regarding a firm’s propensity to innovate and its perception of barriers. Moreover, the results show that cost and knowledge barriers seem to be the most important and that there are substantial sectoral differences in the way that firms react to barriers. The results of this paper have important implications for the design of future public policy to promote entrepreneurship and innovation together.

Municipal demand-side policy tools and the strategic management of technology life cycles

This research is particularly concerned with public policy instruments which may help to accelerate the development and diffusion of sustainable innovations and support local economic development. While sustainable technology sectors are in high demand, firms still face significant barriers in developing and diffusing their technologies in regions throughout the world (Hoff, 2012). This area has been less explored in the extant research yet recent experiences suggest that supply side tools may not always have positive benefits for supporting clean technology evolution, or for taxpayers. Leveraging innovation policy and technology life cycle literature, we develop a model of demand-side policy instruments which could be applied at different stages of the technology s-curve in order to accelerate the adoption of sustainable technologies. Implications for managers, public policy actors and researchers are considered.     

Public support to innovation and imitation in a non-scale growth model

This paper studies technology policy within a version of Jones's [1995. R&D-based models of economic growth. Journal of Political Economy 103, 759–784] non-scale R&D-based growth framework that incorporates imitation of foreign techniques. In the model, imitation is the most important source of productivity growth at the beginning of the convergence process, whereas innovation dominates later on. In addition, the transitional dynamics of the model can account for well-known empirical regularities regarding the relationship between the level of economic development and public support to technology innovation and imitation. The paper shows as well that, even though policy in Jones-type non-scale models has no long-run growth effects, level effects can be substantial.     

中关村创新力提升中存在的问题及解决途径——基于企业集群创新网络视角的分析

运用创新网络理论和企业集群理论,分析了中关村高新技术企业集群创新力的现状和问题。提出了完善中关村高新技术企业集群创新网络的对策建议:发挥政府主导作用,在高新技术企业、高校和科研院所、中介组织、金融机构等各个行为主体之间建设显性或隐性的联接,从而带动创新网络的形成和创新成果的诞生。     

“两型技术”的概念、特征与功能

"两型技术"是"两型社会"的技术支撑。与传统技术不同,"两型技术"有其自身的内涵和特征,从而形成对经济社会系统的特有功能。     

Tensions between assessment,grading and development in development centres: a case study

Development centres capitalize upon tried and tested assessment centre methods and are quite widely used in career management. However, a number of issues arise in their operation. Some of these reflect the balance between, on the one hand, assessing and grading people and, on the other hand, facilitating and guiding their future development. An investigation is reported of how these issues are experienced and made sense of in a UK-based international company. Data were gathered on two occasions one year apart (Ns = 95 and 113) from participants and other stakeholders in a development centre for potential senior managers. Findings indicate that participants who were awarded a high grade at the centre did not necessarily have more positive perceptions of the development centre process. However, grading, with its consequences for development, motivation and social networks, was salient in respondents' comments about the centres. Themes in these responses are identified and described. Participants were more likely than others (e.g. assessors, line managers) to value the development centre for reasons related to their development, whereas others were more likely to mention assessment/grading. Few respondents mentioned both. Overall, the findings support, to some extent, concerns about the incompatibility of grading and development, but also suggest that the use of grading does not entirely negate the developmental value of the centres. Much depends on perceptions of how the grading information is used.     

Intangible assets as drivers of innovation: Empirical evidence on multinational enterprises in German and UK regional systems of innovation

The sources of value creation are increasingly relying on intangible assets (IAs). IAs are the lifeblood of knowledge-intensive industries where the new value added is disproportionally based on specialized, non-repetitious activities. However, while the role of IAs is recognised as central to sustain the competitiveness of firms and innovation systems, the understanding of the mechanisms through which IAs display their effects has not yet been fully grasped.By focussing on the processes through which investments in IAs occur, this paper aims to explore the key dimensions through which two specific IAs - organisational and network capital - are enhanced and contribute to the innovativeness and embeddedness of Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) in regional innovation systems. On the basis of over forty in-depth interviews to leading staff of German and UK flagship MNEs operating in the automotive, life science and ICT sectors, the paper shows that MNEs adopt rather distinctive strategies to develop IAs; that MNE degree of local embeddedness is strictly related to both the kind of IA strategy and the local environment; and that causation mechanisms are at work between MNE embeddedness and regional creation of IAs.     

The problem of private under-investment in innovation: A policy mind map

This paper reviews the major finance-related causes of private under-investment in innovation and the consequent alternative choices for public policy. The focus is on (i) incentive-based arguments that address the problem of limited appropriability of new knowledge, and (ii) the lacking access to external sources of finance caused by imperfections in the capital market. Drawing a policy mind map, which aims to enhance the mutual awareness and coordination of policy makers at the crossroads of technology and corporate finance, the paper is organised along the following chain of thought: (i) causes and rationales, (ii) aims and targets, (iii) critical constraints, and (iv) the main finance-related instruments of innovation policy.     

Survival of the fittest: Technical assistance,survival and growth of small businesses and implications for public policy

Concerns about the value of government programs that provide management and technical assistance have been the subject of debate among researchers and policymakers. Based on an analysis of a multiyear survey sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Entrepreneurial Development, we examine the relationship between managerial and technical assistance and firm survival, as well as the relationship between the characteristics of technical assistance and financial and employment growth. Overall, findings suggest that managerial and technical assistance have a positive effect on both survival and growth, but these effects depend on the size of the firm, characteristics of the counseling experience, as well as age and other demographic differences. Implications for public policy are discussed.     

The interaction of multiple champions in orchestrating innovation networks: Conflicts and complementarities

In networked or open innovation processes, so-called innovation communities have been identified in the innovation champion literature, in which innovation champions from different levels in the innovation system supposedly act as a team. It has however not been studied in detail to what extent and how different champions in innovation communities complement each other and act as a team. Applying the concept of innovation network orchestration to analyze the role and position of different kinds of champions as brokers in innovation networks, the purpose of this paper is to unravel the interaction between champions and what this entails in terms of role complementarities and conflicts as regards innovation network orchestration. This is done by using an explorative multiple case study approach in which three innovation journeys are analyzed. The results indicate that a distinction can be made between primary innovation communities, who act as aggregated orchestrators of the overall innovation network, and who in turn orchestrate secondary innovation communities in certain sub-networks. Here different kinds of champions complement each other and act as a team, but these complementarities are not a given: they are negotiated over time in interaction, and lack of reflection on each other’s roles may result in role conflicts. The main conclusion is that an oversimplified notion of innovation communities as a unified team of champions should be avoided: innovation communities themselves need a form of orchestration.     

Low-Tech, innovation and state aid: the Austrian case

This paper analyses innovation patterns of Austrian Low- and Medium Tech (LMT-) SMEs and how these companies are supported by public policy. It adds evidence to the claim that Low-Tech SMEs are actually more innovative than commonly thought and that supporting these industries might yield positive effects. The Austrian innovation system is diversified, yet programmes that aim at LMT innovations are scarce. LMT SMEs are surprisingly innovative, but rarely use available support measures, indicating that these measures may be too High-Tech-oriented. Relatively high additionality effects and impacts can be achieved, if innovative LMT projects are fostered.

New technology,human resources and competitiveness in developing countries: the role of technology transfer

Technology transfer is widely seen as an important means by which developing countries can both acquire the technologies and develop the human resources needed to compete internationally. However, there are different types of technology transfer which may stimulate or inhibit local human resource development. Foreign direct investment may inhibit local human resource development unless the foreign partner is committed to the indigenous enterprise becoming internationally competitive. Technology transfer through licensing and off-the shelf purchase allows greater indigenous management autonomy which, together with the more direct exposure to international competitive forces, may be more conducive to indigenous human resource development.     

Leadership and innovation: relations between leadership,individual characteristics and the functioning of R&D teams

The main focus of this paper is the functioning of R&D teams, the role of the team leader and the characteristics of individual team members. After a brief overview of recent literature on leadership and innovation, some research results are presented from a study of leadership in self-managing teams; these teams have a number of characteristics in common with R&D teams, such as dependent tasks and job autonomy. The results lead to an integrated model for the effective functioning of R&D teams, with a focus on the relations between leadership behaviour, individual characteristics, team functioning and outcome variables.     

The cost implications of waste reduction: factor demand, competitiveness and policy implications

Manufacturing produces both good and “bad” outputs, such as waste, which have negative environmental effects. Economic (e.g., tax) and non-economic (e.g., reputation) incentives encourage firms to reduce waste. However, such practices are costly because decreases in output produced or increases in inputs used may accompany waste reduction. We employ a cost function approach to evaluate patterns of output and waste production and capital, labor, and materials use, for UK manufacturing plants. We find that costs of waste reduction generally imply increasing materials use and capital and labor input saving, but vary by county, region, and industry.

Managing change in South Africa: developing people and organizations

The interaction of Western and non-Western management practices is a growing issue in transitional and emerging economies through the world, not least within the multicultural context of South Africa. This is characterized in this article as an antithesis between instrumental and humanistic views of people in organizations, which is fundamental to the way change is being managed. In order to better understand how the management of people and change may be related to this antithesis, the results of an exploratory study, involving focus-group methods with thirty managers, and of a survey of some 200 employees in participating organizations are presented. Indicative results suggest that, despite best efforts from organizations which may represent best management and development practice, issues concerning the value attached to people in these organizations are still not being properly addressed. It may be only through understanding and reconciling this antithesis that change concerning the development of people, in South Africa as well as in other emerging economies, may be successfully achieved.