Global networks of clusters of innovation: Accelerating the innovation process

This article presents a framework for understanding new patterns of innovation and commercialization that are most easily observed in Clusters of Innovation (COI) and in the global connections established among them. We define COI as environments that favor the creation and development of high potential entrepreneurial ventures. COI are characterized by heightened mobility of resources (principally people, capital, and information—including intellectual property); increased velocity of business development; and a culture of mobility that leads to an affinity for collaboration, development of durable relationships, and the formation of Networks of Clusters of Innovation (NCOI). These networks are distinct sets of relationships. When the connections progress to the point of mutual dependence and business integration among participating enterprises, such covalent bonds form tightly interrelated business communities, or Super-Clusters of Innovation (Super-COI). In this article, we analyze the characteristics of COI and the nature of the relationships that arise between them to form NCOI and Super-COI. Further, we present an integrated model to better understand the global innovation system.     

Millennium Project's draft scenarios for the next 1000 years

In cooperation with The Foundation For the Future, The Millennium Project of the American Council for the United Nations University has collected and rated factors that may influence the long-term (1000 years) future of humanity via the “Millennium 3000 Panel” of 100 advanced thinkers around the world. Their judgements have been organized into six first draft scenario sketches, of which three are presented in this paper.     

An infinite depth dam with Poisson input and Poisson release

Abstract

In this paper the content Z(t) of a dam where Z(t) ε( - ∞, h], h an arbitrary constant, is studied. Inputs to the dam form a sequence of i.i.d. r.v.'s and occur according to a Poisson process with parameter λ > 0 while releases from the dam form a sequence of i.i.d. r.v.'s and occur according to a Poisson process with parameter μ > 0. The Laplace transform of the process Z(t) is derived and expressions for the moments are given. It is shown that Z(t) has a nondegenerate limiting distribution, as t -- ∞, if average inputs per unit time exceed average releases per unit time.     

Greenspan's Retrospective of Financial Crisis and Stochastic Optimal Control

Alan Greenspan argues that the crisis was unpredictable and inevitable, given the ‘excessive’ leverage of the financial intermediaries. I focus upon the housing sector, which has been at the origin of the financial crisis because the value of the financial derivatives ultimately depended upon the ability of the mortgagors to repay their debts. The uncertainty concerns the capital gains – housing price appreciation – and the rate of interest. I explain why the application of stochastic optimal control (SOC) is an effective approach to determine the optimal degree of leverage, the optimum and excessive risk and the probability of a debt crisis. I show that the theoretically derived early warning signal of a crisis is the excess debt ratio, equal to the difference between the actual and optimal ratio. The excess debt of households starting from 2004‐05 indicated that a housing crisis was most likely.     

Better late than never: a study of late entrants in household electrical equipment

For the most part, studies on timing of entry have attempted to determine the advantages that early entrants may be able to develop and hold over subsequent entrants. Given that a large number of firms attempt to enter at a much later stage in the development of the market, it is particularly surprising that little research has attempted to examine the differences in the ability of late movers to penetrate the market. In this paper, we focus exclusively on late movers and examine the extent to which their early success can be tied to existing market conditions, their resource strengths, and their strategic positioning. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Commodification of Race in Singapore: The Customer Service Implications of the Other-Race Effect on Tourism and Retailing

This paper examines the phenomenon known as the other-race effect, which is the ability to recognize the faces of those of one race, easier than the faces of those from another race. Typically, the race that is easier to recognize is the individual's own race, and most previous research has focused on this type of comparison. This study, though, analyzes the ability of Chinese Singaporeans to recognize the faces of people of color versus White faces in a customer service context, and compares those results with the ability of White subjects in the United States to recognize the same faces. This approach is particularly applicable to the Asia Pacific region. Tourism accounts for a significant part of the regional economies, and marketers are becoming more sensitive to the changing needs of the multicultural marketplace where inter-racial interactions between customers and service providers in retailing and tourism are on the rise. Results of the research indicate evidence of the other-race effect. Asians who were more exposed to people of color than to Whites, recognized Black faces better than White faces. The results are interpreted based on the theoretical premise that people are better at recognizing faces of races for which there is a higher level of interaction, exposure, and familiarity.     

The worth of a songbird: ecological economics as a post-normal science

One of the very valuable features of Ecological Economics is its provision for publications under the rubric ‘Commentary’. In that way, essays which are not research in the strictest sense can still find proper refereed publication, and can be submitted to the further test of open colleague criticism. This paper is intended to be read in that spirit; and where criticisms are made of the work of particular scholars, that is done because of the significance of their contribution.     

Born-International SMEs: BI-Level Impacts of Resources and Intentions

The Katz and Gartner (1988) model describes four central properties of emerging organizations: resources, intention, exchange, and boundary. While designed as a general model for organizations, the approach has the potential to explain the early lives of "born-international" firms. In this study, boundary is used to define the central sampling frame. Two other properties, resources and intention, are evaluated in terms of their impact on the fourth property: exchange, measured as a firm's export growth and intensity. Given the inherent presence of two levels of analysis in emerging organizations, intention and resources are evaluated at both the individual and the organizational level. A sample (N = 47) of young "born-international" firms in the Indian software industry was studied, using a questionnaire. Results of the analysis are mixed for resources at both the individual and firm level variables. Intention is significant at the individual level but not the firm level. Contrary to other studies, these findings suggest that during the early stages of firm development, owner, not firm, characteristics play a pivotal role in performance, especially exports. The speculation is that this occurs because, in early stages, firms are relatively disorganized relative to the owner.     

Virtual Instant Global Entrepreneurship

International entrepreneurship must be hard, because so few firms attempt it. If true, perhaps it is hard because it requires knowledge about people and places far away. It is hard because it requires mastering processes to handle business across borders. And it is hard because it requires trust in the processes and eventually in the customers elsewhere. These three elements, knowledge, mastery and trust in international business are essential to the success of international entrepreneurship for SMEs.