User innovation and entrepreneurship in the virtual world: A study of Second Life residents

While prior studies have investigated factors, processes and pathways traversed in user innovation and user entrepreneurship within the real world, there is scant attention for user innovation and user entrepreneurship that take place within the virtual world. We report on an exploratory study of a select group of user innovators-entrepreneurs in Second Life, using virtual participant observation and in-depth interviews. Results suggest that the paths traversed by user innovators and user entrepreneurs in the virtual life broadly resemble those in the real life as reported in the literature. Interestingly, our study also suggests that Second Life as a virtual world breeds opportunities leading to entrepreneurial acts in the ‘real’ world as well as further opportunities in the Second Life. The virtual world itself, as a technological platform, also generates a range of opportunities. We formulate testable propositions and further link our insights to existing research on the drivers and pathways of user innovation and entrepreneurship in the ‘real’ world (i.e., the role of prior knowledge and networks), Austrian economics theory of entrepreneurial discovery, and creative collective theory.     

土地金融,一个有关地产创新的话题

国土资源部首次举办的高层论坛,在十七届三中全会审议通过的《中共中央关于推进农村改革发展若干重大问题的决定》刚刚提出"统筹城乡经济社会发展","逐步建立城乡统一的建设用地市场"等新的政策思路背景下,尤其令人瞩目。来自高层的相关制度设计者和研究者们探讨着如何把握土地制度改革创新的重点与方向时,来自基层政府部门的官员们则在讲述自己试验性的探索与实践——     

Democratizing innovation: The evolving phenomenon of user innovation

Almost 30 years ago, researchers began a systematic study of innovation by end users and user firms. At that time, the phenomenon was generally regarded as a minor oddity. Today, it is clear that user-centered innovation is a very powerful and general phenomenon. It is rapidly growing due to continuing advances in computing and communication technologies. It is becoming both an important rival to and an important feedstock for manufacturer-centered innovation in many fields. In this article, I provide an overview of what the international research community now understands about user-centered innovation. JEL classifications O32, O33     

中小企业技术创新与管理创新整合:机制创新

文章探讨了中小企业技术创新与管理创新整合存在的问题,认为现代中小企业要突破发展“停滞”,不能仅靠单一的技术创新或管理创新,必须依靠两者的有效整合,通过技术创新增强竞争优势,以管理创新协调企业内部的矛盾,发挥整合优势。     

Knowledge processing and ecosystem co-creation for process innovation: Managing joint knowledge processing in process innovation projects

Process innovation drives industrial competitiveness and sustainability but remains elusive since it requires co-creation and the sharing of idiosyncratic design knowledge in ecosystems of providers and customers of process equipment. This paper investigates how firms can manage knowledge processing through co-creation in joint process innovation projects. Analysis of cross-comparative case studies –including nine industrial ecosystem actors – identifies three types of technological challenge (complexity, novelty and customization) that creates knowledge-processing requirements (uncertainty, equivocality) during the value co-creation process. To manage these knowledge-processing requirements, this paper explains how three joint knowledge-processing strategies (joint problem solving, open communication and end-user involvement) help ecosystem partners make sense of the requirements and demands in process innovation. In this context, the procurement approach (such as contracting and relationship development) helps to facilitate higher levels of joint knowledge processing, drawing on the diverse knowledge of ecosystem actors to secure successful process-innovation outcomes. The present study contributes to the emerging literature on co-creation in process innovation by developing a framework that highlights the knowledge-processing dynamics in ecosystem relationships for process innovation. The implications for management extends to a practical tool that guides project managers in ensuring appropriate levels of joint knowledge processing among ecosystem actors.

     

Case studies in geotechnics: Some expedients for technical innovation

The path from fundamental research and development of a product to success in the market place is described, together with an account of some of the difficulties faced by the innovator. The essential nature of physical and mathematical modelling is emphasised and the advantages, not only for the mainstream programme of research and development work but also in the identification of other potentially fruitful areas for possible development, are highlighted. An indication of the licensing and marketing aspects which are essential to ensure that an invention becomes an innovation are given, and particular attention is drawn to the difficulties of a small business organization penetrating international markets in a high-technology field of activity. Finally, an attempt is made to identify some of the expedients necessary in technical innovation and, where appropriate, reference is made to the influence of engineering education.     

Networked creativity: a structured management framework for stimulating innovation

The effect of today's turbulent environment means that organisations need to improve their competitive advantage and swiftly respond to changing technology and markets. An organisation's ability to continuously innovate its products and business systems is essential to its future success. However, this ability to stimulate innovation is highly dependent upon the stock of potential ideas and problem solutions, which is available to feed the innovation process. These ‘seedlings of innovation’ are the product of the creative processes of an organisation. Whilst continuous, sustainable innovation is an essential competitive capability for future organisational success, to date the creative process has been allowed to operate in an ‘ad hoc’ and serendipitous fashion. Continuous innovation means that organisations need to be able to effectively manage their creative processes to ensure their innovation process has a plentiful supply of good ideas and solutions. To this end, a framework for enhancing networked creativity is presented as a means towards the effective management of the creative process within organisations.     

刚玉 突破无止境

2008年爆发的金融危机对全球各个行业都产生了一定影响.面对当前的经济形势,太原刚玉作为老牌物流装备企业,凭借不断地积累和发展,在寻找并把握新的市场机遇过程中表现出越来越强的竞争力.     

Organizational innovation: The challenge of measuring non-technical innovation in large-scale surveys

Although the implementation of innovative organizational concepts is considered to be highly important for a company's competitiveness, so far there has been little research on possible approaches to measure and monitor organizational innovations in large-scale surveys. Based on an item-oriented typology of organizational innovations which serves as the precondition for a common understanding, we describe and compare how organizational innovations have been measured through existing surveys in Europe. Using a large-scale survey comprising data of 1450 German manufacturing companies, we show how these different approaches lead to significantly different results regarding the organizational innovativeness of companies within one and the same sample. We derive four implications for the future measurement and monitoring of organizational innovations. Our findings contribute to the further development of an adequate methodology for an organizational innovation monitoring system.     

Exploring preconditions for open innovation: Value networks in industrial firms

The open innovation model embraces the purposive flow of internal and external ideas as a foundation for innovation and network formation. While the open innovation paradigm has been successfully applied in high-tech settings, there is a lack of research on adopters of open innovation in other settings. We describe a case study conducted in a process industry setting, focusing on the LKAB mineral group as it makes a transition from a closed to a more open innovation context by adopting remote diagnostics technology. This process has resulted in the creation of new value networks. By tracing the reasoning behind the organizational transformation and studying the technology used to carry it through, we seek to explore the preconditions for open innovation and provide insight into the role of IT in the process. Our findings show that adoption of the open innovation model is grounded in developing organizational environments that are conducive to innovation, including expertise in creating a culture for knowledge sharing, building a trustful environment, and a resourceful use of IT.     

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     

Organizing for modern technology and innovation: A review and synthesis

Classical and modern organization designs are reviewed and evaluated in terms of their capabilities for handling radical or major innovations. The choice of an effective organization design is shown to be related to the nature of the technological and market environments. Only Type IV organization designs, the modern-integrative organization designs, are shown to have the necessary qualities for handling all the phases in the life cycle of a major innovation. Though difficult- to implement and maintain, Type IV organization designs are shown to be a potent tool for those modern managers who fully understand how to use them.     

Organizing the purchasing department for innovation

Innovation is by far one of the most important competitive priorities in the current business context. Companies increasingly rely on their supply base to support their innovation potential. As a consequence, the purchasing department might dramatically affect the firm??s innovation capability. This paper aims to investigate??using a multiple case study approach??how the organizational design of the purchasing department could determine a firm??s capability to foster and manage innovation. Seven highly innovative companies were visited and the structures of their purchasing departments were analyzed. Three different configurations for the purchasing department were identified and described.     

Multi-level governance for sustainable innovation in smart communities: an ecosystems approach

International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal - This paper analyses the TrentoSmartCity project to redefine Trento (an Italian municipality) as a smart community according to an ecosystems...     

MBO融资:期待我国投行业务创新

MBO作为一种产权转移的方式 ,在我国的资本市场实践中不断得到应用 ,然而其融资渠道却一直不够通畅 ,这对MBO在我国的发展影响非常严重。本文分析了我国几种典型MBO融资方式并分别指出其不足 ,在此基础上 ,笔者认为证券公司应该充分发挥其优势 ,积极参与MBO ,从而为MBO融资问题提供一个令人满意的答案。     

Portfolio optimization under solvency II: a multi-objective approach incorporating market views and real-world constraints

Decisions in Economics and Finance - We propose a new approach to handle the problem of portfolio optimization for non-life insurance company incorporating the solvency capital requirement (SCR),...