Innovation pathways at the Base of the Pyramid: Establishing technological legitimacy through social attributes

Two challenging imperatives we face today are the amelioration of global poverty and reducing environmental impacts such as global climate change. This article discusses these challenges in the ‘Base of the Pyramid’ (BOP), impoverished socio-economic groups from underdeveloped regions that have traditionally been excluded from economic participation. Drawing on the BOP, global value chain and latecomer literature, we propose five innovation pathways for social and environmental improvement within poor communities. We extend Geel’s (2002) new socio-technical landscape framework, Hall et als' (2011) and Hall and Martin’s (2005) framework for innovative uncertainties and Aldrich and Fiol’s (1994) legitimization processes by proposing a ‘hurdles and levers analysis,’ suggesting that in addition to overcoming technological and commercial hurdles, social attributes play a key role in BOP innovation dynamics. Two illustrative cases are presented; an initiative to replace candles and kerosene lanterns with semiconductor white light-emitting-diodes (WLEDs) in various BOP locations; and the development of naturally colored cotton in poor regions of Brazil for sale locally and abroad. We argue that social uncertainties in particular may act as ‘levers’, compensating for initial technological and commercial deficiencies, thus providing technology developers time to improve. The paper concludes with implications for policy and future research.     

THE CREATION AND DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW

In this study, we review the literature on the creation and diffusion of innovation in the private sectors (industry and services) in developing countries. In particular, we collect evidence on what are the barriers to innovation creation and diffusion and the channels of innovation diffusion to and within developing countries. We find that innovation in developing countries is about creation or adoption of new ideas and technologies; but the capacity for innovation is embedded in and constituted by dynamics between geographical, socio‐economic, political and legal subsystems. We contextualize the findings from the review in the current theoretical framework of diffusion of innovations, and we emphasize how the institutional context typical of developing countries impacts the diffusion itself.     

Counteracting innovative constraints: insights from four case studies of African knowledge-intensive metalworking and automotive clusters – ‘the Akimacs’

We respond to repeated calls over the years to further develop cluster theory specifically in an African context. Our contribution is to construct a framework which integrates theories focusing on path dependency, transaction cost economics (efficiency and systemic interdependency models) and regional development (lock in models). Our focus is on the innovativeness of African clusters and constraints on such innovation. Thus, drawing on cluster literature on constraints to innovation coupled with insights from current empirical work within African automotive clusters, we examine the challenges of counteracting the multilevel constraints which hinder innovation in African clusters. We develop a model for counteracting cluster constraints focusing on the impact of variations in innovative frequency, diffusion of innovations, innovative speed and protection of innovation. The model emphasizes the opportunities that arise when new entrant and incumbent firms interact to neutralize constraints at transactional, social, ecological and knowledge levels.     

Token entrepreneurs: a review of gender,capital, and context in technology entrepreneurship

ABSTRACT

This article reviews the literature on gender and entrepreneurship in technology to explore individual and contextual factors maintaining the token status of women in this field. It examines how the intersection of gender and context influences participation rates in entrepreneurship, and suggests that the deeply embedded cultural and cognitive associations that frame both technology and entrepreneurship as masculine concepts create barriers for women when these contexts overlap. It offers a framework for research and practice that aids in the analysis of complex multi-level barriers that control access to the forms of capital necessary for initial and continued participation in technology entrepreneurship. Given calls for women to participate more fully in high-growth technology ventures, it highlights the need for research to incorporate broader analytical perspectives that simultaneously examine both the barriers faced by women in these contexts and the factors that systemically sustain them.     

Multimarket Competition,Mobility Barriers,and Firm Performance

This study develops and tests a theoretical framework which suggests interactive dynamics, with strong performance implications, between the height of mobility barriers surrounding strategic groups and the extent of within‐group multimarket competition. Empirical analysis drawn from a longitudinal sample of pharmaceutical firms indicates that within‐group multimarket competition has strong positive effect on firm performance for strategic groups surrounded by high mobility barriers. As we move lower on the mobility barriers hierarchy, this effect decreases, becoming non‐significant for groups surrounded by moderate mobility barriers and negative for groups surrounded by low mobility barriers. These findings highlight the conditions under which mobility barriers and multimarket competition have significant performance implications. In addition, our results suggest that mobility barriers and multimarket competition are not substitutive but complementary devices promoting mutual coordination within strategic groups. Finally, our findings point to the need to consider multimarket contacts as an aggregate property of strategic groups.     

An empirical study of e-government diffusion in Fiji: a holistic and integrative approach

Pacific Island countries (PICs) are facing certain unique challenges in e-government diffusion due to their geographic, cultural, social, and economic environments. However, very few rigorous empirical studies have been published about e-government diffusion issues in the region. To address the knowledge gap, we conducted a case study of Fiji. Drawing on Fountain’s technology enactment framework as a theoretical lens, we identified and investigated in a holistic and integrative way the major issues and challenges which influenced e-government diffusion and outcomes in Fiji. The study has significant implications both for research and practices not only in Fiji but also in the PICs.     

AI-augmented HRM: Antecedents,assimilation and multilevel consequences

The current literature on the use of disruptive innovative technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) for human resource management (HRM) function, lacks a theoretical basis for understanding. Further, the adoption and implementation of AI-augmented HRM, which holds promise for delivering several operational, relational and transformational benefits, is at best patchy and incomplete. Integrating the technology, organisation and people (TOP) framework with core elements of the theory of innovation assimilation and its impact on a range of AI-Augmented HRM outcomes, or what we refer to as (HRM^(AI)), this paper develops a coherent and integrated theoretical framework of HRM^(AI) assimilation. Such a framework is timely as several post-adoption challenges, such as the dark side of processual factors in innovation assimilation and system-level factors, which, if unattended, can lead to the opacity of AI applications, thereby affecting the success of any HRM^(AI). Our model proposes several testable future research propositions for advancing scholarship in this area. We conclude with implications for theory and practice.     

Local clusters in global value chains: exploring dynamic linkages between Germany and Pakistan

Recent research has underlined the importance of external linkages for industrial clusters. Suppliers and buyers within a global value chain offer important external ties for cluster-based producers not only in terms of the distribution of physical goods, but also for knowledge flows and innovation. Globalization has intensified such value chain links, connecting geographically dispersed producers to global markets. Yet, there is limited research on how local clusters enter global chains or on ties between clusters in the developed and developing world. This study addresses this gap. It uses the case of the global surgical instrument industry to analyse connections and differences between the industry's leading production clusters in Germany and Pakistan. Global standards, low-cost competition, and advances in medical technology raise challenges for both clusters. The paper explores the responses to these challenges. It distinguishes between knowledge and production links to illustrate differentiation in each cluster, diverging trajectories and continuing ties.     

An Inquiry to Move an Underutilized Best Practice Forward: Barriers to Partnering in the Architecture,Engineering, and Construction Industry

There is an obvious need in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry for improved project team integration through project delivery to ensure improved project outcomes. The literature reports that, among other methods, project partnering, when followed successfully, provides a great opportunity to improve project performance via improved collaboration among key project stakeholders (e.g., owner, designer, contractor) and reduce claims as a result while letting all project members stay in their traditional roles and work under any contractual framework, including design‐bid‐build. Despite its potential and history in the United States since the late 1980s and being classified as one of the best practices by the Construction Industry Institute in 1996, partnering continues to be underutilized. Existing research on partnering is mostly limited to public projects such as mega roadway and bridge projects. Guided by the literature, the aim of this research is to understand and report barriers to project partnering in the United States from both vertical/horizontal and public/private construction sectors. Via a comprehensive literature review, followed by a Delphi survey of partnering experts, this study systematically classified barriers to project partnering. In study results, implementation barriers to partnering during project delivery are more frequently pronounced than the barriers to its adoption. Of the top reported barriers to project partnering, the majority are cultural; project team related barriers show the greatest area of potential for improvement; and contrary to the literature, none is legislative. The study contributes to the body of knowledge by drawing attention to project delivery and management practices in the AEC industry to improve team collaboration and chances of successful implementation and adoption of integrative practices.     

Lesbian and gay expatriation: opportunities,barriers and challenges for global mobility

The research presented in this paper addresses an important gap in the expatriation literature in examining perceptions of opportunities, barriers and challenges for expatriation of lesbian and gay (LG) expatriates. This is an area that is under-researched despite such individuals representing a growing sector of the global talent pool. Based on an analysis of interviews with 20 LG expatriates, the study draws on social capital theory as a lens for highlighting LG expatriates' unique attributes and networks. The research is significant in suggesting that the expatriates' sexual minority status is viewed as both a disabler and enabler in expatriation. We suggest that there is a corporate ceiling for LG expatriates, and that they experience discrimination and stereotyping, and oftentimes limited organizational and host-country support. Significantly, the findings also extend research in suggesting that LG workers may have more opportunities in global staffing than previously thought and a valuable role in contributing to inclusivity debates and policy development on the global business stage. Furthermore, LG expatriates may be accepted in host countries when homosexuality is deemed legally or socially unacceptable for locals, and legal and financial independence within LG partnerships may provide them with more mobility than their heterosexual counterparts.     

Exploring the effect of environmental orientation on financial decisions of businesses at the bottom of the pyramid: Evidence from the microlending context

Existing research has accumulated substantial evidence on the effect that an environmental orientation has on businesses' economic performance. Yet this research does not cover small businesses from bottom‐of‐the‐pyramid (BOP) markets. In fact, despite increasing interest in research on BOP markets, the effect of environmental orientation on the financial decision‐making of small businesses from BOP markets has gone largely unexplored. Using a large multicountry data set from a microlending platform, we investigate how the environmental orientation of BOP businesses impacts their financial decisions related to microlending, which ultimately shapes their economic performance. The results indicate that an environmental orientation necessitates BOP businesses to request a higher level of financial capital and ask for longer time to pay it back. Surprisingly, environmental orientation increases the odds of BOP businesses paying back the borrowed capital. These results show that environmental orientation gives rise to both challenges and opportunities for sustainable development in BOP markets.     

Application of bootstrap re-sampling method in statistical measurement of sustainability

Sustainability is of essential interest for many organizations and is defined as the ability to maintain existing resources at a certain rate or level when encountered with barriers. Factors affecting sustainability are categorized as enablers (capacities) and barriers (challenges) that have positive and negative effects on sustainability, respectively. To evaluate the status of sustainability, organizations need a measurement method to account for all the aspects of the sustainability classified into social, economic, and environmental tiers. Previously many researchers have provided indexes and measure specific to the studied field, which is not applicable to other areas. Furthermore, the proposed methods fail to cover all the aspects of sustainability. This study investigates a statistical method to measure the sustainability and the application of the bootstrap re-sampling method in order to overcome the problem with normality assumption when the sample size is not large enough and thus develop a more realistic stochastic model. The Bootstrap re-sampling method enables the unbiased estimation of population parameters such as mean and standard deviation. The proposed method is evaluated by comparing its results with those found in the literature.     

新型陆上快速安装钻井防喷器组装置技术方案

在石油钻井作业中,防喷器起到很重要的作用,从而防喷器组的安装装置也受到关注,钻井现场防喷器组安装方式费时费力,运输不方便且不安全,提高安装装置的自动化,将工人从繁重而不安全的工作中解放出来,保证人身安全是未来的发展趋势。本文从钻井防喷器组运输、安装、拆卸的角度出发,介绍了国内外钻井现场防喷器组安装装置的研究现状;对现有技术全方位的调研和理解,综合考虑目前安装装置的优点和存在的问题;提出了一种钻井作业防喷器组安装自动化水平的解决思路及技术方案;详细阐述了实现钻井防喷器组安装装置的自动化关键技术,以及该装置的模块化设计,包括运输、安装、拆卸;最后展望我国钻机防喷器组安装装置自动化技术发展趋势。     

Universit?tsendowments – Eine Bestandsaufnahme der theoretischen und empirischen Forschung

While university endowments have a long history, their contribution to operating budgets has gained considerable significance in recent years. Further as an important class of institutional investor there is strong interest in behavior and performance from the academic research side. This paper surveys the literature in the emerging field of scientific research studies concerning university endowments. We classify papers into four areas. (1)?Organization, which pertains to governance structure and the investment policy statement; (2)?asset allocation, where we discuss the main theoretical framework and the relevant observations both across time and for type of endowment; (3)?performance, in which (risk-adjusted) performance is discussed and distinguished by type and size of endowment; (4)?spending, which discusses the relation to the classical views and theoretical literature as well as what university endowments do in practice. We find that the modern framework for theoretical and empirical analysis can provide a very useful perspective for understanding the role of endowments. Nonetheless we highlight several challenges that should form the basis for future research agendas.     

Green process innovation: Where we are and where we are going

Environmental pollution has worsened in the past few decades, and increasing pressure is being put on firms by different regulatory bodies, customer groups, NGOs and other media outlets to adopt green process innovations (GPcIs), which include clean technologies and end-of-pipe solutions. Although considerable studies have been published on GPcI, the literature is disjointed, and as such, a comprehensive understanding of the issues, challenges and gaps is lacking. A systematic literature review (SLR) involving 80 relevant studies was conducted to extract seven themes: strategic response, organisational learning, institutional pressures, structural issues, outcomes, barriers and methodological choices. The review thus highlights the various gaps in the GPcI literature and illuminates the pathways for future research by proposing a series of potential research questions. This study is of vital importance to business strategy as it provides a comprehensive framework to help firms understand the various contours of GPcI. Likewise, policymakers can use the findings of this study to fill in the loopholes in the existing regulations that firms are exploiting to circumvent taxes and other penalties by locating their operations to emerging economies with less stringent environmental regulations.     

TOURISM,RESIDENTS’ WELFARE AND ECONOMIC CHOICE: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Over the past decades, tourism development has raised economics, social and environmental issues, particularly for host communities. This paper provides a wide ranging review of the existing literature aimed at underpinning empirical tourism research with a robust economic framework. So far, tourism research has mostly focused on either quantitative or qualitative approaches that lack a strong economic theoretical setting. Most of the literature on resident's welfare analysis concentrates on their attitudes and perceptions without taking explicitly into account their preferences about policy development based on a cost‐benefit assessment. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to draw connections within the current body of research to explain the relationship between residents and tourism activity, as well as consumer theory and economic choice. In this way, it is possible to construct a multidimensional framework that allows one to analyse residents’ welfare in a systematic and more comprehensive manner.     

Sustainable entrepreneurship,innovation, and business models: Integrative framework and propositions for future research

This article introduces the business models for sustainability innovation (BMfSI) framework to study how business models mediate between sustainability innovations and business cases for sustainability. The BMfSI framework integrates two major perspectives (implicitly) found in the sustainable business model literature. The first is the agency perspective. It takes into consideration that some form of agency is needed, that is, “someone” who takes decisions and acts. Sustainable entrepreneurs are discussed as those agents who align their new or existing business models with sustainability innovations in order to be successful in business and to create value with and for stakeholders. The second perspective is the systems perspective, which acknowledges that business models are always embedded within sociotechnical contexts through which, for example, public policies, private financing, or stakeholder interests influence whether and how business models can be developed. The agency and systems perspectives are integrated in the so‐called business model mediation space. This theoretical notion embraces the decisions and activities pursued by sustainable entrepreneurs as they align their business models with sustainability innovations on the one hand and the influence of environmental contingencies, barriers, and stakeholders from the sociotechnical context on the other hand. The paper concludes with propositions for future research derived from the BMfSI framework.     

Human resource management,strategic involvement and e-HRM technology

Associated with the emergence of internet-based human resource management technology is rhetoric predicting that such technological advances (electronic human resource management technology or e-HRM) will make HRM in organizations more strategic. Yet such a prediction is contested in the literature on the role of technology in organizations. Using a large survey data-set consisting of 5665 companies that are located in 32 different countries, we use non-recursive simultaneous equation models with instrumental variables to empirically evaluate competing theoretical perspectives in this literature. We find and show that strategic HR involvement and greater e-HRM capability are both directly and reciprocally related supporting both theoretical perspectives but also showing each is not mutually exclusive. We discuss the implication of these results for human resource management theory, practice and future research.     

Legal requirements and employer responses to accommodating employees with disabilities

This article focuses upon the legal requirements for accommodating individuals with disabilities in the workplace and the perceptions of employers regarding barriers to accommodation. After a brief analysis of how federal courts have interpreted the ADA's accommodation requirements, the literature on accommodation is reviewed and a theoretical framework for examining employers' attitudes toward accommodation is proposed. The article then tests the framework using the results of a study of 500 New Jersey employers which elicited their experiences with and attitudes toward the accommodation of disabled workers. Suggestions for further research are provided.     

In the line of fire: managing expatriates in hostile environments

Abstract

This study explores best practice in the preparation and protection of strategic HRs deployed by Multinational corporations (MNCs) in hostile environments. By building on the literature from the areas of strategic and IHRM, expatriation, as well as risk and crisis management, the limitations and gaps of the extant research are highlighted. This provides a foundation for our investigation through a series of in-depth interviews with corporate executives, and insurers and relocation specialists with professional expertise in protecting and supporting HRs. This represents the first time such a detailed picture of the partnerships between MNCs and the specialists, required to deliver preparation and protection in hostile environments, has been depicted in the IHRM literature. The findings identify the challenges MNCs face when protecting their HRs and highlights the importance of specialist expertise, knowledge, and management. A framework for managing HRs within international hostile environments is subsequently developed offering an opportunity to systematically consider some of the ethical and strategic issues associated with the contemporary challenges of international mobility.