New venture departments: Organizing for innovation

A popular approach to managing new business development in a large corporate environment—the New Venture Department— is considered in this article. The author reports on a study of NVDs in 18 companies—discussing why they were, established, ways that they differed and how they evolved over time.     

海力士与意法半导体合资存储器芯片制造厂落成

中国目前最大的晶圆制造厂,使合资双方的制造成本更具竞争力,更迅速进入世界增长最快的中国市场。2006年10月10日,倍受关注的意法半导体公司和海力士半导体江苏省无锡市合资建立的存储器芯片前     

Resource complementarity and international joint venture performance in Korea

The resource-based view of joint ventures (JVs) posits that JV performance is driven by JV partners’ ability to create synergy by joining complementary resources. We examine the synergy generated from resource complementarity in the context of JVs formed between developed market firms and local Korean firms. Besides the independent effects of both partners’ complementary resources on JV performance, we examined whether a joint effect on JV performance existed. We found that both technology-related resources and local knowledge-related resources affect JV performance independently and simultaneously. The impact of local knowledge-related resources on JV performance increased with the level of technology-related resources, and the impact of technology-related resources on JV performance increased with the level of local knowledge-related resources. Technology- and local knowledge-related resources are thus not simply additive; mutually enhancing synergies exist between the two resources. This finding further suggests that the synergistic effect of both partners’ complementary resources on JV performance can be substantive.     

Railway innovation and uncertainty

This paper outlines two innovative projects carried out within the same organisation, but with markedly differing results. One has been satisfactorily completed while the other, although having run for much longer, is still experiencing technical problems. The two projects, British Rail's Advanced Passenger Train, and High Speed Train, are examined in relation to the concept of uncertainty. It is suggested that many of the points upon which the projects are differentiated can be attributed to the degree of uncertainty to which they were subject. It is concluded that one means of handling the uncertainty associated with development programmes is to adopt a flexible approach. It is noted, however, that flexibility may not be simply a question of personnel or organisational disposition, but can be influenced by the characteristics of particular projects.     

Dialectical tensions and path dependence in international joint venture evolution and termination

This paper identifies how dialectical tensions influence the conflicts in and unplanned terminations of international joint venture (IJV) relationships. The findings from case studies of two Finnish-Chinese JVs show how initial tensions and institutional imprints set the IJV processes in motion; how critical junctures influence perception of the IJV relationship and its evolution; and how a lack of efficient communication, interlinks between dialectical tensions, and insufficient movement of trust between cultural, organizational, and individual levels in the relationship lock in action patterns of confrontation which lead to the termination of the IJV. In essence, this study contributes to international business research by explaining the path-dependent nature of dialectical tensions in the evolution and survival of cross-cultural JVs.     

Induced innovation and agricultural development

Dr Ruttan reviews the five general models in the literature on agricultural development: the frontier, conservation, urban- industrial impact, diffusion and high pay-off input models, and finds them lacking. He outlines a model of agricultural development which treats technical change as endogenous to the development process, rather than as an exogenous factor operating independently of it. This leads to an emphasis on the strong relationship between technological and institutional change and a call for institutional innovation that will result in a more effective realisation of the new technical potential.     

Interdisciplinary research centres — a problem in strategy and management

Interdisciplinary research centres (IRCs) in the UK were originally set up by the UK Advisory Board for Research Councils (the ABRC) to foster cross-disciplinary basic research. This activity was seen to be a fruitful way to help British industry overcome some of its current technological shortcomings. The author describes the strategy pursued by the ABRC in setting up the IRCs, their location, staffing policies, relationship to industry and other characteristics.
The author indicates the problems faced by IRC managements in the present situation. There is financial stringency, they have to ensure continuity of expertise, a problem posed by the ABRC's insistence on a very small permanent core staff at each centre, and they have the difficult task of directing basic research, which has its own internal logic, towards externally defined objectives thought to be relevant to the British national interest.
The author believes that only radical change can guarantee a successful future for the IRCs but is pessimistic that the ABRC's present tactics will procure it.     

The field of radical innovation: Making sense of organizational cultures and radical innovation

Organic organizational structures and cultures facilitate innovation because they allow organizations to shift their understanding of what a product, service or technology means. Yet, organic organizations may have to instill mechanistic structures and bureaucratic processes if they produce successful radical innovations. Thus, the basis of innovation can be undermined by its consequences. To explore this issue, this paper analyzes data from an ongoing longitudinal case study of a SME digital-design agency that developed a radical innovation for the market research industry. The paper observes that founders of the organization shifted their position to become managers as a result of their radical innovation and that other members of the organization have, consequently, re-evaluated their attitude toward the organization. To conceptualize our findings we turn to the work of Pierre Bourdieu. His notion of fields—which structure experiences and are, themselves, structured by experiences—offers a framework to understand the dynamics within an organization that occur as a result of a successful radical innovation. The contribution of our paper is: theoretically, we relate the discussion of innovation to wider social theories of practice and, thus, introduce temporal and cultural dynamics into the account of radical innovation; methodologically, we provide an example of a longitudinal study; and, in managerial terms, we indicate where divisions occur within an organization concerning the construction of meaning between managers and employees after a radical innovation.     

Standards,consortia, and innovation

The development of formal ICT standards is a challenging form of collaborative innovation, combining consensus decision making and R&D rivalry. To supplement this formal standard setting process, it has thus become frequent that part of the involved firms creates ad hoc consortia to better align positions on a common technology roadmap. This paper aims to assess whether such consortia can effectively mitigate R&D coordination failure through enhanced cooperation. We first develop a theoretical model showing that depending on the nature of firms' incentives to contribute proprietary technology, different types of R&D coordination failure – namely a Public Good or Rent Seeking problem – may occur in equilibrium. Using a large panel of standards, we then confirm empirically the prediction that consortia have different effects on innovation under a Public Good or Rent Seeking regime. Overall, we observe an increase in innovation after a firm joined a consortium. However, this effect is significantly weakened or even reversed for standards characterized by a strong Rent Seeking regime.     

渠道模式创新与管理提升

一、国内玩具渠道的变化趋势1、玩具渠道运作问题分析(1)、渠道理念与模式滞后:博弈关系,冲突不断,结构和分工不合理,效能低下;(2)、经销商能力制约渠道效能:职能落后,无法承担销售、维护、推广和服务的重任;(3)、渠道管理不到位:网络有效覆盖差,日常维护流于形式,支持服务少;(4)、渠道策略与激励粗放:简单的政策和资源驱动,往往高端放货,难以区域精耕。2、国内玩具渠道环境认识     

Unionization structure, licensing and innovation

We show the effects of the unionization structure (viz., decentralized and centralized unions) on a firm's incentive for technology licensing and innovation. The incentive for technology licensing is stronger under decentralized unions. We identify circumstances under which the benefit from licensing creates a stronger incentive for innovation under decentralized unions. If the union's preference for employment is high, the benefit from licensing may create higher incentive for innovation under decentralized unions. However, if the union's preference for wage is high enough, the incentive for innovation is higher under a centralized union irrespective of licensing ex-post innovation. If the centralized union decides whether or not to supply workers to all firms, the possibility of higher innovation under decentralized unions increases. We further show that perfectly substitutable workers can be better off under decentralized unions if the labor productivity depends on the unionization structure, which occurs in our analysis when, e.g., licensing after innovation occurs only under decentralized unions or innovation (with no licensing) occurs only under a centralized union.     

The propensity to exit and innovation

In offering an answer to the question, “Who exits and why?”, I introduce a model relating the decision to remain in, or exit from an industry, to conditions of demand and the underlying technology. In particular, I argue that two elements of technology are important — the role of scale economies in an industry and the extent to which the underlying technological information conditions can be characterized by either an entrepreneurial or a routinized regime. Based on the evidence from over 300 U.S. manufacturing industries, I conclude that the process of firm selection and industry evolution tends to conform either to the model of the revolving door, where the bulk of exiting businesses are new entrants, or else the metaphor of the forest, where incumbent establishments tend to be displaced by new entrants.     

印染期待出色创新

印染是纺织产业链中的关键环节之一，印染加工的优劣对体现纺织品服装附加值和提升产品竞争力起着决定性作用。我国印染行业在取得进步的同时，依然难以摆脱利润空间低、环境污染等困扰。自主创新能力低是症结。中国印染行业协会理事长李金宝提出，只有加快自主创新步伐，印染行业才有大突破。江苏紫荆花纺织科技股份有限公司和山东宾州的华纺股份有限公司，在谈及发展秘诀时，同时归功于创新二字。在他们看来，在印染行业，自主创新并非只决定着利润高低，还决定着企业的生存与否。     

Capabilities, innovation and competitive advantage

This special issue was aimed at advancing the literature examining the role of capabilities in innovation-based competitive strategy. Whilst the innovation literature has over the years moved away from its ‘product innovation’ pre-occupation to capture the role of other forms of innovation in value creation, the capability view has progressed from its ‘rigid’ or ‘static’ view to a ‘dynamic’ view in an effort to capture market dynamism. Despite the recent theoretical advancements the dynamic capability view still lacks a strong empirical base. Contributors to the capability literature over the recent years have adopted multiple research methods to capture capabilities that include cross-sectional designs, case studies and longitudinal studies. Within this backdrop, the articles that were selected for this special issue covers both conceptual and empirical approaches to examine the relationship between capabilities and technical and non-technical innovations and performance outcomes. This essay provides a future research agenda to advance this promising research field. It highlights the need for clearer conceptualizations and development of measures of dynamic capabilities, environmental conditions that underpin the development of dynamic capabilities within the firm and research into the much debated relationship between dynamic capabilities and competitive advantage and organizational performance.     

Learning creativity and design for innovation

This paper puts the case for using a pedagogical framework based on the principles of grammatical design in conjunction with conventional creative problem solving strategies in higher education to foster learning for innovation and creativity. It explores the design and delivery of an inaugural creativity and innovation course that used a combination of individual and group projects to explore the combinatorial use of creative problem solving strategies and grammatical design schemas. Using established creative thinking evaluation techniques and reflective practice journals offers a powerful path for the creative development of innovative ideas. Testing (Torrance, Creativity in the classroom, 1977) found that the figurative based creative thinking scores of an experimental group of non-designer undergraduate students significantly improved according to pre and post course tests. Two dimensional and three dimensional design assessment tasks were completed in conjunction with a series of creative problem solving teamwork sessions. Standard SELTS course evaluation also strongly suggests there is value in the active teaching of creativity strategies for the recognition of valuable problems and the development of innovative solutions.     

Business model fashion and the academic spinout firm

Studies indicate that most European new, technology–based firms (NTBFs) have been founded by relatively senior, highly–educated personnel coming from existing companies. These founders already have strong, industry and market links. A relatively small proportion have spun out of university or other public research facilities. However, this latter group has attracted particular attention from several interested groups, including governments and the scientific establishment. For governments, this has appeared to offer a means whereby public policy could have a direct and significant impact on economic development. Hence substantial public resources are increasingly being committed to support these developments in most industrialised countries. The founders of HEI spinouts are often academics aiming to commercialise nascent technologies and they face challenges which are less likely to arise for the founder with an industry background. The emerging technologies often commercialised in academic spinouts may have many potential applications. At the outset founders must make critical strategic choices of applications to develop, if they are to attract the substantial resources often needed for the risky development process. Some of these choices need an understanding of changing fashions in business models and investors' current preferences for particular industries. It is a difficult challenge for academic founders with little prior market knowledge and linkages, and no previous experience of professional investors and their requirements, to select the applications and business models which will support successful venture creation. This paper explores a number of key issues which surround these decisions and their relation to the changing business environment. It is concluded that the acceptability of novel technologies and products is mediated by systemic interactions which are ill–understood by industry and government.