The Organizational Innovation System: A systemic framework for radical innovation at the organizational level

Most research on innovation management at the organizational level has typically been focused on one specific innovation project phase or innovation management concept. This has resulted in many valuable insights, though scattered in different (innovation) research fields and studies. With the development of the Organizational Innovation System (OIS), we bring together important insights from the Innovation Systems, Open Innovation and other related fields into a guiding concept useful for both innovation managers developing (radical) innovations and innovation scholars. In this paper, we define the OIS and its key structural components, and discuss the identified functions and categories of potential imperfections. With the OIS, we provide a holistic, hands-on concept currently lacking in the open innovation approach. From the conceptualization, a framework for analysis is put forward which provides structure to the study of ongoing and finished innovation processes. Additionally, the development of the OIS is a first step in the development of a currently underdeveloped micro-level within the innovation systems perspective. The insights in OISs and the future insights derived from analytical efforts, will not only be beneficial for the performance of innovating organizations and organizational innovation systems but also for the performance of the higher, interconnected system levels.     

The Open Innovation Journey: How firms dynamically implement the emerging innovation management paradigm

Open Innovation is currently one of the most debated topics in management literature. Nevertheless, there are still many unanswered questions in Open Innovation research. Especially two issues require further investigation: (i) understanding the relevance of Open Innovation beyond high-tech industries and (ii) studying how firms implement Open Innovation in practice. The paper addresses these topics by studying, through an in-depth case study, the journey that the Italian leading cement manufacturer, has undergone to move from a Closed to an Open Innovation paradigm.The paper shows that the Open Innovation paradigm is implemented along a three-phase process that comprises the stages of unfreezing, moving and institutionalising. Moreover, it emerges that the changes through which Open Innovation has been implemented involve four major dimensions, i.e. networks, organisational structures, evaluation processes and knowledge management systems. They should be therefore conceived as the managerial and organisational levers an innovating firm can act upon to streamline its journey toward Open Innovation. Theoretical and managerial implications of using these levers for implementing Open Innovation are discussed at length.     

The importance of design for firms׳ competitiveness: A review of the literature

Scholars dedicated increasing attention towards appreciating how design has changed individuals? perception of new products, firms? understanding and formulation of strategy, or other relevant actors? approach to innovation and technology management. By emphasising the importance of design for the definition of consumers? needs, the restructuring of firms? organisational structures and strategies, and the evolution of firms? value creation processes, this review paper identifies relevant research gaps and questions that would benefit from future scholarly attention. In particular, it is suggested that such effort should address the analysis of how design consumption can help better comprehend consumers? needs; what are the implications of design thinking on the skill sets of design professionals; the organisational structure of firms, including the reconfiguration of other business functions, and their strategy; and whether and how design thinking can shape firms? value creation processes and contribute to the formalisation of design tasks.     

Can academe achieve quality in small firms policy research

Small Business Centre, Durham University Business School, Mill Hill Lane, Durham DH1 3LB, UK

The overall objective of this paper is to review, in the light of substantial growth of research in the small firms area over the past decade, some of the key issues involved in ensuring that research is relevant to policy makers. The paper is both academic and pragmatic. It has the following specific objectives: (l) to provide an overview of some of the ‘myths’ as to what constitutes quality in research; (2) to define research and policy research in particular; (3) to consider critically issues of research methodology and explore how different methods used by academics can lead to very different results; (4) to review the role of academics and academic institutions in policy research and to consider some of the difficulties that may result from endeavouring to introduce research on small business into traditional academic departments; and (5) finally, to make recommendations as to how to improve the overall framework in such a way that small business research can be more effective in the 1990s than it was in the 1980s.

Overall the paper is written with a view to provoking discussion on key issues of making small business policy research more effective.     

Organisational modes for Open Innovation in the bio-pharmaceutical industry: An exploratory analysis

This paper investigates the adoption of Open Innovation in the bio-pharmaceutical industry, studying through which organisational modes it is put into practice and how these modes are interwoven with the different phases of drug discovery and development process. Two rounds of interviews with industry experts were carried out to develop a model describing the adoption of Open Innovation by bio-pharmaceutical companies. This framework was then applied to an extensive and longitudinal empirical basis, which includes data about the adoption of Open Innovation by the top 20 worldwide industry players, in the time period 2000-2007. The paper provides a thorough discussion of how bio-pharmaceutical firms have used different organisational modes (i.e. licensing agreements, non-equity alliance, purchase and supply of technical and scientific services) to enter into relationship with different types of partners (i.e. large pharmaceutical companies, product biotech firms, platform biotech firms and universities) with the aim to acquire (Inbound Open Innovation) or commercially exploit (Outbound Open Innovation) technologies and knowledge. The implications of the study for Open Innovation research and possible avenues for future investigation are discussed at length in the paper.     

Using learning networks to help improve manufacturing competitiveness

Innovation which requires the acquisition of new or improved technologies involves a technical and managerial learning process and it raises the policy question of how best to encourage and enable relevant learning. The absence or lack of experience in this domain is a particular problem for smaller firms (SMEs) and for enterprises in economies in transition—such as in the countries of the former Soviet Union or in eastern Europe. Successful technology transfer requires considerable management expertise as well as the availability of suitable solutions. This paper reports on one experimental approach used on a pilot basis in Romania to facilitate the absorption of `new' manufacturing practices, which involves the development of `learning networks' as an aid to this process.     

The influence of co-location in higher education institutions on small firms’ perspectives of knowledge transfer

Since 1980, the UK has experienced a dramatic growth in firms and employment in information–intensive business services, such as management consultancy and market research. Recent expansion of new and small firms operating in these sectors is the focus of a major ESRC–sponsored research project currently under way at Cambridge University Small Business Research Centre.

Small business service firms are able to compete successfully with large firms due to the imperfect nature of the market which characterizes business services demand and supply, together with specialization of expertise. The success of small business service firms depends on informal person–to–person networks, word–of–mouth recommendation and repeal business based on successful earlier assignments or personal contacts acquired, for example, while working in a large consultancy or market research company. This paper examines the types of networks utilized by small business service firms and argues that two distinct types exist: demand– and supply–related networks; the former involves links with clients, the latter links and co–operation between complementary small business service firms.     

Input/output ranges and performance: an examination of US machine tool producers

Despite the establishment of high-tech multinational enterprises (MNEs) in Ireland since the late 1950s, the country did not succeed in closing the technological gap with most of its EU counterparts. The weak National System of Innovation (NSI), and in particular low business and government R&D levels, combined with a lack of research and technology linkages between MNEs and indigenous firms, explain these poor results. However, the Shannon region in the West of the country presents some specific institutional characteristics that could theoretically make the region a strong technological enclave. The various actors in the region - i.e. the administrative, financial, political and research institutions, as well as the business organizations - have indeed infused a new type of economic development. After a brief review of the available concepts and models articulated around these actors and their interrelationships, the paper analyses whether the Shannon region, taken as an illustrative example, mirrors a specific economic and technological localized setting. The study is based on a survey of indigenous and foreign firms.     

Business service firms,service space and the management of change

The growth of business service firms represents the latest stage in a continuing twentieth century process of technological and organizational restructuring of production and labour skills. It is associated with the rising information intensiveness of production and the development of an economy of signs. Business service activities located in service spaces drive innóva.tions both in production technology and in management systems. The co-presence of business service firms with their clients as well as other business service firms shapes the possibilities of trust between them. A detailed case study of the way in which large client firms utilize the services of independent business service companies is provided. This is followed by an examination of the relationship between small firms and business service expertise. A dual information economy may be developing in which large firms are able to search for specialist business service expertise irrespective of its location, while SMEs are tied into local providers of more generalist expertise.     

CONTINUITIES IN HUMAN RESOURCE PROCESSES IN INTERNATIONALIZATION AND DOMESTIC BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Internationalization is often seen as posing distinctive human resource problems that are difficult to overcome. This paper takes an alternative approach by considering the processes by which firms, large and small, internationalize and the way they sustain overseas activity at different stages of their internationalization. It does so by reference to six challenges faced by firms in the course of internationalization. the result is to highlight continuities and regularities between international human resource management and the creation of an effective domestic organization, along with common underlying processes and skills centred on networking, teams and organizational learning.
It is argued that this shifts attention from the specific tasks of the human resources function to more broadly defined human resource activities and processes which affect the growth of firms internationally. Secondly, it helps firms to think more positively about becoming international and to address relevant skills. Thirdly, it identifies appropriate activities, tasks and situations that business schools need to provide as part of an international management education.
However, the paper also recognizes that internationalization involves specific differences between domestic and international business management. A number of these are rooted in country-specific institutional factors which human resource management, the function, has to address. While processes may be common, knowledge is context-bound.     

Technology Transfer to China: A Theoretical Approach

SUMMARY

Various economic theories can be used to shed some light on the complex phenomenon of technology transfer between two firms belonging to two distinct economies. Vernon's PLC model, Dunning's eclectic theory, and Coase's and Williamson's transaction cost theory highlight various aspects of the firm's transnational economic and business relations. Moreover, the new international trade theories and the more modern concept of National Innovation System emphasize technology as a crucial variable in the determination of commercial flows and of economic growth. Our theoretical approach goes beyond these various approaches in that it is designed to reflect the complexities of the economic, socio-cultural and political conditions prevailing in the recipient country. In particular, the ability of recipient countries to use their bargaining power is highlighted. The case of technology transfer in the Chinese telecommunications equipment industry will illustrate our general framework.     

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.     

网络经济与企业组织创新

在熊彼特对创新的定义中,实现高质量经济增长的创新不仅仅包含产品创新、工艺创新等技术创新,还应该包括采用新的企业组织形式,即组织创新。网络经济时代,信息技术在推动社会发展的同时,也给企业带来了管理上的革命。企业必须打破旧的组织模式,倡导与之相适应的网络化组织模式。     

Technology exploitation in the context of open innovation: Finding the right ‘job’ for your technology

In light of the recent economic crisis, many industrial firms attempt to capture additional value from their technologies by means of open innovation strategies. Besides acquiring external technology, many firms therefore increasingly try to license their own technology to other firms either exclusively or in addition to its application in their own products. This article shows that technology licensing offers important strategic benefits beyond generating licensing revenues, which underscore the need for an integrated management of technology licensing activities. Therefore, this article extends the concept of job-related markets that was recently developed in the managerial literature. A ‘job’ is the fundamental problem that a customer needs to resolve in a particular situation. Managers may transfer this job-related understanding to technology licensing activities because the right ‘job’ for a technology may be outside a firm’s boundaries, and it may help firms to identify additional licensing opportunities. On this basis, the article presents the concept of an integrated technology exploitation roadmap, which allows firms to use the job-related markets to integrate technology licensing in their strategic planning processes. An example of a machinery firm shows how this roadmap may contribute to strengthening a firm’s licensing business.     

Business strategies for transitions towards sustainable systems

This paper develops a strategic perspective for business to contribute to the innovation of societal systems. Sustainability issues at the level of societal sectors cannot be addressed by single organizations but need to be thought of as systemic challenges in which business, government and civil society each play different roles. Sustainability involves structural changes over longer periods of time, and requires co‐evolutionary changes in technology, economy, culture and organizational forms. We propose that the transition management framework offers a fruitful way to analyze such co‐evolutionary processes of social transformation and subsequently develop strategies to influence and accelerate such processes. We present the case of two firms working in this new context of transition management in The Netherlands. From these cases we conceptualize a more general approach for business to redefine and reframe the societal context in which it is operating and develop novel business strategies. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Forced technology transfer and China

Innovation is the most important competitive advantage of the United States. However, the infringement of intellectual property and the forcing of US firms to transfer technology to foreign firms have become increasingly important issues in recent years. This article discusses the implications of China's forced technology transfer regime.     

Innovation in the every day life of libraries

A state of the Art trend analysis of the Library and Information science reveals that the Library world is in the midst of the technological restructuring. Every branch of library work changes continuously because of the technological facilities, although the missions and goals remain unaltered. The libraries belong to these professional divisions which involve the innovation and technology transfer in everyday life. In most of the cases innovation either as a product or as a procedure goes into the libraries, it's not a phenomenon produced by them.On the strategic level libraries on average have developed the ability to collect, process and assimilate technological innovation.On the organizational level libraries follow the changes which technology transfer dictates such as close co-operation with computer centers and external commercial information suppliers, software and hardware suppliers, science and technology achievements, etc. It is too common to libraries to develop routines and Best Practices for every task, derived by the technology they use, for the cost decrease, the time save and the increase of the effectiveness and efficiency.The innovative process is the kind which libraries could adopt, as innovation is composed of the systematic retrieve of changes and systematic analysis of the opportunities which these changes could contribute to economic and social improvement.Innovation above all, is a social procedure, as it is interpreted in terms such as creativity, desires, fantasy and the ability to take risks and to change. So innovation and technology transfer differentiates the role of the librarian and extends it beyond the limits of the information intermediary. The librarian in order to involve, anticipate and especially produce innovation has to learn how to learn, as libraries have to learn how to change.The presentation will be a methodological one and will focus on Best Practices, the definition and a short report, how they combine with the library functions and how they produce innovative processes and new Best Practices. An evaluation of Best Practices according the Value Analysis method is included as a prerequisite of the final choice of which practice is characterised as Best and which not.     

Innovation Offshoring,Institutional Context and Innovation Performance: A Meta‐Analysis

Innovation offshoring (IO) has become a widespread management practice. Yet, evidence on the performance implications is inconsistent, and scattered across disciplines and contexts. We argue that the benefits firms can derive from IO depend on the institutional environment at home. Drawing on recent work on institutional theory in international business, we explore institutions that facilitate reverse knowledge transfer and/or institutional arbitrage with respect to innovation‐related activities. The results of our meta‐analysis that synthesizes evidence from 48 samples show that IO is related positively to innovation performance. As predicted, this relationship is moderated by differences in the institutional environments across countries. Specifically, when national innovation systems are weak at home, IO appears to enable institutional arbitrage strategy whereas Confucian cultures enable more effective reverse knowledge transfer. However, contrary to our expectations, the beneficial effects of IO appear to have diminished over time.     

Managing Technological,Sociopolitical, and Institutional Change in the New Normal

A New Normal environment for business has emerged in the years after the 2008 financial crisis based on numerous changes in the world's economic, technological, demographic, and sociopolitical factors. This combination of changes has created a New Normal environment for firms with major implications for managers, strategists, and entrepreneurs alike. It has resulted in an environment with new challenges and opportunities that are considerably different from what firms had to contend with in the years previous. In this paper, we present the main changes that characterize the current New Normal business environment and highlight some key implications for strategy and management. Then, we present the nine articles in this special issue dealing with different dimensions of this new environment for firms. Subsequently, we outline some future research questions that could help to advance our knowledge of the New Normal environment and its implications for firms and management theories. In examining the New Normal, it is important to be reminded that the world is indeed round and even small actions on one side of the globe can have a major impact on organizations on the other side of the globe.     

Strategic Technology Management in a Mid-corporate Firm: the Case of Otter Controls

This paper examines strategic technology management in the mid-corporate sector (firms with a turnover between £1 million and £130 million). There is a considerable literature which emphasizes the importance of linking technology and strategy, but this concentrates primarily on the activities of large firms. It is suggested that smaller firms can also benefit from a more strategic approach to technology management and this could help strengthen an area of weakness in the UK economy. The research is based on an in-depth case study of Otter Controls and utilizes a framework developed by Dodgson and Rothwell to analyse the firm's acquisition of new technologies. It is suggested that this model has utility in examining strategic technology management but the addition of a network perspective helps delineate the ways in which external relationships are established and sustained. The data indicate that universities can be useful sources of technology for smaller firms, but successful transfer is dependent on management skill in creating a culture that is open and flexible. Such firms do have considerable problems in assessing the skills and competences of university departments and this adds to the risks of technology alliances. There is also evidence to suggest that even universities with long-standing industrial links lack awareness of the problems associated with management in commercial organizations.