Framing biomimetics in a strategic orientation perspective (biopreneuring)

This paper discusses how design originally rooted in biology can be translated into applications outside its original domain (biomimetics), and thus become strategically important for commercial organisations. This paper will also discuss how concepts from organisation and management theory can help conceptualise opportunity exploration and exploitation of bio-inspired designs to commercial applications (biopreneuring). Until now, research on biomimetics has primarily focused on translating design from biology to technology, leaving the application of biomimetics for business purposes somewhat overlooked. This paper fills some of that void. Business orientation literature is applied to identify some of the key strategic aspects associated with commercial translations. In closing, this paper briefly sketches out some key implications for business research and for affected decision-makers.     

商业模式创新中场景价值共创动因及作用机理研究

随着智慧互联技术的创新性应用,产品智能化、服务化、情感化发展趋势日益明显,用户需求在时间、地理空间及情感方面的高度耦合引起商业应用场景的海量涌现。由此,场景化商业模式创新在现实商业应用层面越来越广泛,并引起了学术界的高度关注。立足于商业模式新视角,探究场景构成要素、场景价值创造动因及其作用机理,以价值创造为核心,以情感体验、社群渠道、连接机制为场景的潜变量,论证了场景价值是基于顾客生活方式和生活细节的情感体验,并在特定消费情景中由企业与顾客共同创造、顾客自己独立创造出来的价值。研究成果打开了商业模式视角下对场景价值探究的黑箱,对现有企业商业模式创新设计提供了有益借鉴。     

Integrating the critical success factor method into the business process outsourcing decision

This paper outlines a framework that integrates the critical success factor (CSF) method into the outsourcing decision. The framework builds upon the generic outsourcing evaluation methodology and uses the CSF method as a means of evaluating outsourcing at the business process level. The findings from applying the outsourcing framework in a retail bank are presented. The research found the application of the framework delivered positive results in business process outsourcing decisions. As well as linking outsourcing with organisational strategy, it provided a mechanism and language for prioritising which processes require attention through either internal improvement or outsourcing. However, the findings identified a number of challenges with applying the framework including defining processes and understanding complex interdependencies between business processes prior to outsourcing.     

Developing a transformative business strategy through the combination of design thinking and futures literacy

The paper describes a systematic methodology that combines futures literacy and design thinking to enable the collective discovery of new and disruptive business niches. It is a participatory approach centred on design know-how, which promotes innovative forms of engagement and articulation. The proposed methodology balances experience in designing and applying foresight approaches and futures literacy knowledge labs together with a multidisciplinary understanding of institutional context.

The methodology fosters decision making processes that embrace complexity and treat uncertainty as a resource, thus improving an organisations’ capacity to use the future to expand its understanding of the present. It has been applied at the Center for Strategic Studies and Management (CGEE), an organisation where institutionalised foresight and technology assessment takes place in Brazil, especially in support of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policy design and implementation, as well as evaluation. However, its clients also include different ministries within government and industries alike.

The article outlines the ways in which the organisation involved all its collaborators in jointly rethinking its future, building upon collective intelligence, narrative building, sense making, framing and reframing. The design principles called for these experiments to follow a collective learning curve that enable a renewed focus on systemic and transformative innovation. The crafting of new strategic questions was inspired by jointly expanding the understanding of the imaginary futures of the interrelated systems in which the organisation might play a role. As a consequence, new and disruptive possible roles for the institution were identified. These insights then informed the assessment and choices for the redesign of the business strategy.

This paper presents the methodology for combining design thinking and futures literacy, the application of this methodology to CGEE, and the major findings of the overall exercise. Readers will find out about the impact of this exercise on the organisation’s approach to both its own strategic positioning and to the design and implementation of foresight and strategic studies. The paper concludes by outlining the implications of the proposed methodology for foresight practice.     

Mentor Bouniatian on cycles and equilibrium

Although Mentor Bouniatian's theory of the business cycle is no longer referred to, it used to be often cited for its emphasis on time-lags (wherein he anticipated Aftalion) and for its early use of the acceleration principle. There are, moreover, additional elements of interest: he identified the conditions for a moving equilibrium, with some traits similar to the so-called ‘Harrod-Domar model’, he introduced the exogenous/endogenous distinction in business cycle theory, he was among the pioneers of the idea that growth cannot be dissociated from cycles and crises, and he discussed aspects of the ‘fallacy of composition’ problem.This paper examines these features of Bouniatian's theory of cycles and crises (as well as some frankly unsuccessful ones), both in terms of their relationships with contemporary developments in this area of research and in terms of their internal logic and methodology and their role in Bouniatian's analytical construction. As an upshot it is argued that although Bouniatian attempted to couch his theory in terms of the marginalist toolbox, his views on cycles ranges were more akin to the tradition of heretics, for he thought of crises not as a temporary deviations from equilibrium but perceived instead equilibrium as a temporary state of affairs in a world where overcapitalization is the norm rather than an exception.     

Entrepreneurship,novel combinations,capital regrouping,and the structure-agency relationship: an introduction to the special issue on innovation and Austrian economics

This introduction outlines some key aspects of an Austrian perspective on innovation, which is viewed as an ongoing, dynamic process in which entrepreneurs combine heterogeneous capital resources in new ways order to develop and deploy new technologies, products, and methods of business organisation. It goes on to introduce the contributions to this special issue on Austrian economics and innovation.

     

Bank Credit Risk Management and Migration Analysis; Conditioning Transition Matrices on the Stage of the Business Cycle

Credit risk has been one of the most active areas of recent financial research. It is driven by advances in portfolio risk measurement and management techniques, growth in credit derivatives trading, the Basel II implementation, and regulatory concerns stemming from the commercial credit crunch that initially took place in 2001 and 2002 in the USA. Within this broader literature, a growing body of research analyzes the meaning, role, and influence of credit ratings that quantify credit risk. This paper examines the two-way links between credit risk measurement and the macroeconomic conditions, interpreted through phases of business cycles. We propose a methodology applied on bank internal rating data, which estimates ratings migration probabilities while integrating the state of the economy. We first discuss the issue of whether credit risk is low or high in different economic scenarios. In order to evaluate this prospect, we examine each year in four quarters that represent different scenarios throughout the year. We then review how macroeconomic considerations are incorporated into credit risk models and the risk measurement approach that underlies Basel II and Basel III.     

Data Envelopment Analysis of different climate policy scenarios

Recent developments in the political, scientific and economic debate on climate change suggest that it is of critical importance to develop new approaches able to compare policy scenarios for their environmental effectiveness, their distributive effects, their enforceability, their costs and many other dimensions. This paper discusses a quantitative methodology to assess the relative performance of different climate policy scenarios when accounting for their long-term economic, social and environmental impacts. The proposed procedure is based on Data Envelopment Analysis, here employed in evaluating the relative efficiency of eleven global climate policy scenarios. The methodology provides a promising comparison framework; it can be seen as a way of setting some basic guidelines to frame further debates and negotiations and can be flexibly adopted and modified by decision makers to obtain relevant information for policy design. Three major findings emerge from this analysis: (i) stringent climate policies can outperform less ambitious proposals if all sustainability dimensions are taken into account; (ii) a carefully chosen burden-sharing rule is able to bring together climate stabilisation and equity considerations; and (iii) the most inefficient strategy results from the failure to negotiate a post-2012 global climate agreement.     

电子商务服务业企业绩效评价研究——基于回归分析

文章通过国内外文献回顾,对电子商务服务业企业绩效评价的相关研究进行了梳理,报告了电子商务服务业企业绩效评价研究的现状,在此基础上,从内部经营能力、客户、企业的学习与成长、财务能力以及协同创新能力五个方面,选取了20个有代表性的评价指标,构建了电子商务服务业企业绩效评价指标体系。采用回归分析,通过对电子商务服务业企业的问卷调查,对文章所构建的电子商务服务业企业绩效评价指标体系进行了验证。验证结果表明了文章所构建的五个方面20个指标体系的合理性;同时,进一步说明了电子商务服务业企业绩效评价指标中的财务能力以及内部经营能力相对其它三方面指标对电子商务服务业企业绩效的影响更为显著。研究结论为完善电子商务服务业企业绩效评价的理论研究提供了参考,对电子商务服务业企业实际开展绩效评价活动具有一定的实践指导意义。     

The governance mechanism of Russian firms: its self-enforcing nature and limitations

The legal form of business enterprises in contemporary Russia is diversified to almost the same extent as those in major advanced countries. Joint-stock companies are now the most common form of incorporation among leading industrial enterprises. The law on joint-stock companies in Russia provides for the governance mechanism of joint-stock companies, in order to implement the concept of a ‘self-enforcing’ organisation in which the legal code of business management should be observed voluntarily by managers and large stockholders. This fundamental idea is embodied in many aspects of the current system, including the mechanism of management and supervision characterised as ‘diarchial leadership’, the balance of power between stockholders and corporate officers, and the internal audit system. However, the self-enforcing nature of the Russian enterprise has been undermined by a number of factors, including the overwhelming expansion of closed joint-stock companies, the predominance of insider ownership, the short history of internal auditing and the lack of legal enforcement power. As a result, breaches of company law are rampant in Russia today. This raises serious problems for the Russian corporate system, along with the legal peculiarity of privatised firms and people's enterprises, which complicates the system of joint-stock companies and deprives it of transparency.     

浅析世界各地区农民合作组织特点及绩效

以合作社成立的目标为出发点,参考企业经营绩效的平衡计分体系,建立合作社绩效评价体系。通过对欧洲、北美、亚洲等地区的合作社特点及其对绩效的影响分析,从财务、合作社内部运营、客户及社员导向和学习、成长及创新等四个方面对各地区合作社如何提高绩效进行总结,结论会对国内合作组织的发展起到一定的参考作用。     

用管理会计营运现代商业银行

现代管理会计是商业银行经营之必需。现代商业银行在市场经济体制条件下,必须改变在计划经济时期形成的经营理念和管理机制以及控制手段,运用现代管理会计制度,创新企业运营模式。现代管理会计制度的特点在于,侧重于为企业内部管理服务,方式方法灵活多样,同时兼顾企业经营的全局与局部两个方面,并面向未来。这也是管理会计区别于财务会计的一个主要标志。     

The contrasting interaction effects of university-industry collaboration motivation with demographic characteristics on university-industry collaboration performance in Taiwan

ABSTRACT

This paper applies a demographic characteristics perspective to understand the internal contingencies of the relationship between university-industry collaboration (UIC) motivation (commercialisation, learning, accessing the resources, and teaching) and UIC performance (number of publications, number of patents, commercial products, and number of business cooperation cases). The paper focuses on two aspects of demographic characteristics, age and gender among UIC scholars, and their effect on scholars’ UIC motivation as potential enhancements to improve UIC performance. We collected data from 376 scholars with UIC experience in Taiwan, and the proposed hypotheses were empirically tested. Our results extend the literature by showing that specific categories of UIC performance depend on a scholar's specific type of UIC motivation. We also specify the moderating effect of demographic characteristics on the relationship between specific subconstructs of UIC motivation and UIC performance. The study’s implications and future research directions are discussed.     

How to improve scenario analysis as a strategic management tool?

Scenarios are claimed to support strategic decision makers. They are especially effective in dealing with uncertainties. This paper addresses some drawbacks of the conventional scenario method, which is especially directed at handling these uncertainties, and indicates possible avenues for methodological adaptations. We take the approach, which rests in the Shell tradition, as exemplary for our discussion on the mainstream scenario methodology. This approach has some limitations when it comes to dealing with simultaneous trends and countertrends, and trends or clusters of trends that are not thought of beforehand, especially the methodological requirements of causality and consistency, which might be limiting factors in this respect. This paper indicates alternative ways for scenario construction. It discusses the use of either recombinant scenarios, context scenarios, or inconsistent scenarios and/or combinations of these scenarios. These options explicitly incorporate the notion of ‘paradoxical trend’ as the codriver of future developments into the methodology.     

Ethical dilemma scenarios and emerging technologies

This paper posits that ethical dilemma scenarios are a useful instrument to provoke policy‐makers and other stakeholders, to including industry, in considering the privacy, ethical, social and other implications of new and emerging technologies. It describes a methodology for constructing and deconstructing such scenarios and provides four such scenarios in an orthogonal relationship with each other. The paper describes some different, but closely related scenario construction–deconstruction methodologies, which formed the basis for the methodology adopted in the European Commission-funded PRESCIENT project. The paper makes the point that in ethical dilemma scenarios, it is not immediately apparent what choices policy‐makers should select. Hence, there is a need for undertaking a privacy and ethical impact assessment and engaging stakeholders in the process to identify and discuss the issues raised in the scenarios.     

基于智能制造的开放式创新模式——以沈阳机床为例

以世界机床行业排名第一的沈阳机床为案例,采取纵向案例研究方法,从动因、路径、主体、保障、平台和商业模式等方面研究了沈阳机床基于智能制造的开放式创新模式。研究发现:对于开放式创新而言,体制是保障,内外结合是必然路径,平台搭建是关键,商业模式创新是助推器。制造企业可充分利用信息技术、大数据技术来拓展开放式创新的广度和深度,推动商业模式创新,加快企业向智能制造方向迈进的步伐。     

Analyzing technological threats and opportunities in wireless data services

The ability to assess the threat and opportunity that technological innovations pose to an organisation's profitability, growth and survival has become one of the key elements in the development of offensive and defensive innovation strategies. Central to this process of assessing technological threats and opportunities is the need to analyze various aspects of identified technological developments. A range of analysis techniques exists, and a number of these are discussed and simultaneously applied to a specific technological development. While threat and opportunity assessment is relevant to almost any company in any industry, it is especially relevant to industries characterised by high rates of volatility such as the communications industry. The technological development, which has been chosen to apply these analysis techniques to, is the offering of 2.5/3G wireless data services, which is currently of great significance in the communications industry. The point of view that is taken is that of a European mobile network operator (MNO) that needs to assess the threats and opportunities that this development poses to its business. The result shows that the analysis process leads to a better understanding of not only the identified developments, their driving forces and enablers, but also their possible impacts on the organisation. This greatly enables the extent to which developments represent a threat or opportunity for a specific organisation to be assessed. In the framework of the overall technological threat and opportunity assessment methodology, the results of the analysis process will feed into the strategy formulation process where possible organisational responses can be developed.     

企业经营业绩评价方法的比较研究

评价方法是业绩评价体系的重要组成部分,如果说指标体系的合理设置是业绩评价结果客观、公正的前提条件,则业绩评价方法的科学选择与运用是业绩评价结果客观、公正的必要保证。本文在对几种主要的业绩评价方法,包括主成分分析评价法、层次分析评价法、功效系数评价法、综合分析判断法和比较分析评价法的特点和适用范围进行介绍、分析、总结、比较的基础上,提出了科学地选择与运用业绩评价方法应注意的问题及有关建议。     

高新制造企业商业模式创新评价

对高新制造企业的商业模式创新内容进行分类。从业务结构创新、盈利模式创新、经营模式创新、产业链上下游关系、战略领先及匹配程度以及市场表现6个方面构建了高新制造企业商业模式创新评价体系。据此设计商业模式创新评价调查问卷,并收集了在中国创业板37家高新制造企业在上市后的生产经营和发展情况,利用专家打分法获得样本企业的商业模式创新评价指标数据。结合熵权法和系统综合评价模型,对其商业模式创新水平进行了评价。结果显示:现阶段中国高新制造企业的商业模式创新水平存在较大差距,表现出明显的发展不平衡态势。最后,针对中国高新制造企业的特点,对其商业模式创新方向提出了具体建议。     

企业信息技术匹配动态调整模式的多案例研究

不断变化的内外部环境使得企业需要不断调整才能实现信息技术与业务的动态匹配。应用案例研究方法,分析3家企业信息技术匹配的动态调整模式和匹配程度变化,并通过内外部环境分析确定信息技术匹配动态调整模式的影响因素。研究发现：①企业信息技术匹配动态调整存在理想轨迹、矛盾决策、过量改革及飘忽立场等4种基本模式;②动态调整后,企业信息技术匹配程度可能发生变化,这取决于调整前的信息技术匹配程度及其调整模式;③市场竞争激烈、国家政策支持、客户需求变化、企业认识变化、管理模式创新等因素影响企业选择信息技术匹配动态调整模式。基于3家中国企业的多案例分析结果,可为我国企业实现信息技术与业务动态匹配提供参考。