Rationales for Government Intervention in the Commercialization of New Technologies

The paper examines rationales relevant to the evolving roles of government intervention and private venture capital industry in the commercialization of new technologies. Specifically, government interventions may aim to mitigate market and systemic failures, eliminate structural rigidities, or respond to anticipatory myopia. Ex ante , constructive, and ex post evaluations are discussed in relation to the possibility that agencies responsible for policy implementation may intervene even in situations in which the benefits of their interventions are not necessarily transparent.     

Rationales for Government Intervention in the Commercialization of New Technologies

The paper examines rationales relevant to the evolving roles of government intervention and private venture capital industry in the commercialization of new technologies. Specifically, government interventions may aim to mitigate market and systemic failures, eliminate structural rigidities, or respond to anticipatory myopia. Ex ante , constructive, and ex post evaluations are discussed in relation to the possibility that agencies responsible for policy implementation may intervene even in situations in which the benefits of their interventions are not necessarily transparent.     

Translation behaviour: An exploratory study within a service multinational

In this paper, we address the issue of translation behaviour in the context of a service multinational. Our case study of a Nordic bank shows that emergent translation needs may be handled by the organisation and the individual in various ways such as self-translation, technical translation tools, social networks, or the central translation department. The choice between these options is shaped by situational influences including growing language diversity, accuracy, response speed, cost considerations, confidentiality of the information and task criticality. A key finding is the importance of social networks as a coping mechanism for employees confronted with the need to provide timely translation solutions, including the resort to external social networks, even relatives. Rather than a seemingly mundane, peripheral activity, translation was found to play a role in service delivery, organisational functioning and hence company performance. We propose a multilevel theoretical model of the translation process and conclude that organisation's translation ability which consists of organisational and individual responses should be considered as a component of its language absorptive capacity.     

Emergent foresight processes: industrial activities in wireless communications

Technology foresight has received growing attention among those involved in the shaping and implementation of science and technology (S&T) policies. However, although evaluative analyses of foresight exercises have supplied evidence on acclaimed benefits—such as the generation of future-oriented knowledge and strengthening of collaborative networks—they also point to challenges in translating foresight results into actions within research and technology development (RTD) organizations. In this article, we address these challenges by considering the work of the Wireless World Research Forum (WWRF), which has sought to promote the conception, development, and diffusion of wireless communication technologies. Specifically, by contrasting this work with well-known government-initiated foresight exercises, we typify so-called explicit, emergent, and embedded foresight activities and explore their interrelationships. Our comparative analysis points to conditions under which policy interventions may not be needed for the emergence of foresight activities that exert a major influence on RTD agendas. It also suggests several context-dependent roles for public policy, among which government-driven foresight exercises and the catalysis of more narrowly focused activities are but two examples.