Niche Entry as a Route to Mainstream Innovation: Learning from the Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell in Stationary Power

The paper charts the efforts to establish a successful niche position for the phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC) in stationary power generation, as a precursor to wider technological system and regime change. Market entry depends on matching price/performance characteristics to a niche, and improving performance through increasing returns, the most important and immediate of which are ‘learning effects’. The paper identifies five types of learning effect: (i) migrating the technology to other niches and into the mainstream; (ii) opening the way for other technologies that may have greater scope for migration; (iii) transferring learning within the pioneering company to other technologies or products; (iv) transferring experience to others in the industry; and (v) enabling users to learn. Although PAFC may be perceived as a failure in some respects, a wider perspective suggests it has made a positive and useful contribution to learning.     

The dynamic evolution and technological diffusion in Taiwan's TFT-LCD industrial cluster: a network perspective

Industrial clusters evolve dynamically as the external environment changes. To better understand the nature of cluster evolution, which has nurtured economic growth in early 2000s, strategy and organisation scholars have attempted to unpack contributors to cluster evolution from the perspective of the ‘environmental uncertainty’ and ‘resource abundance’ effects. The paper adopts and extend an earlier extant model through empirical testing of the thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) industrial cluster in Taiwan, a developing country. This study modifies the extant network model by adding a diffusion of technological innovation index to cluster evolving. Using the extended case study, the study examines the dynamic evolutionary process in the TFT-LCD industrial cluster. It was found that the evolution of the TFT-LCD industrial cluster resembles the theoretical argument in some respects. The characteristics of network change are modified according to these results. Implication for policymakers and decision-makers of developing countries are also discussed.     

Economists on Darwin's theory of social evolution and human behaviour

Abstract

This article analyses Darwin's image among economists with a specific focus on his theory of social evolution as presented in the Descent of Man (1871). We propose an analysis of the way and context in which economists refer to Darwin, mention his name and quote his writings. It then appears that Darwin is most of the time viewed as a biologist only, who never developed his own theory of social evolution. He is thus quoted as a biologist who either borrowed concepts from economists who developed a theory of social evolution, or laid the basis for biological theory of social evolution developed by others, Spencer, in particular. It is only recently that eventually the twofold dimensions—biological and social—of Darwin's general theory of evolution are considered together by bioeconomists.     

中心镇推进城乡一体化的时空演进模式研究:理论与实证

重点发展大城市和农村剩余劳动力向城市转移的传统城市化道路越来越受到内外发展环境的制约而困难重重,改革与发展中心镇日益成为破除城乡二元结构和推进城乡一体化的重要路径.在充分阐述中心镇作为城乡一体化战略节点的内涵及其战略意义的基础上,文章理论和实证地研究了中心镇推进城乡一体化的阶段性特征和空间模式化特征.研究发现,中心镇推进城乡一体化主要经历了初始阶段、成长阶段及成熟阶段三个发展时期,在不同的发展阶段,中心镇自身的产业结构、基础设施发展水平以及政府政策重点与导向等各不相同,中心镇推进城乡一体化发展具有十分明显的阶段性特征.同时,从生产力空间布局形态来看,推进城乡一体化的中心镇空间模式主要包括了产业平台集散驱动型和城镇功能优化带动型两种.最后,提出了分阶段分层次的中心镇改革发展政策建议.     

My American Cousin: A Comparison Between Indian and the U.S. Malls

Malls came into existence because of changing patterns of urbanization and ways of living. The concept has traveled from the United States to the world over. Initially, the acceptance and awareness of malls was moderate in India, but there has been a spur in the proliferation of malls during recently. Indian malls are not an exact replica of the U.S. malls: the U.S. model has been modified resulting in development of India-specific prototypes. Indian malls differ from U.S. malls in terms of financing, location, size, expansion, architecture, stage of evolution, choice of anchor tenant, entertainment-mix, and mall management practices.     

The Modeling Process for Stage Models

The purpose of this paper is to present and test a modeling procedure because researchers have struggled for decades to develop stages-of-growth models that are both theoretically founded and empirically validated. This article presents the concept and hypothesis of stages, the history of stage models, and a procedure that may serve as a useful tool in modeling stages of growth. Based on previous research and lessons learned from case study experience of the government sector in Norway, a procedure for the stages of growth modeling process is suggested and demonstrated. The procedure is used for developing a stage model for e-government interoperability. This article provides new insight into issues and challenges faced when engaging in stages of growth research. The paper proposes a new approach to stages of growth modeling. The utility of the suggested procedure is to improve theory building and empirical validation. The contribution to academia is the modeling process that can be applied in future developments of stages of growth. The contribution to practice lies in the stage hypothesis of organizational development over time.     

企业社会责任价值创造的机理模型研究

本文提出一种新的企业社会责任价值创造机理模型。该模型分为内生机制和外生机制两个部分,内生机制在外生机制的影响下,通过责任意识-责任心理-责任能量-责任力量-责任行为-责任绩效-责任智慧形成闭环,在责任主体与利益相关方的动态博弈过程中,依靠责任管理,最终实现了责任价值创造。该机理模型构建了一种新的理论框架,有助于进一步厘清企业社会责任对企业价值的影响,提高企业履行社会责任的积极性,取得经济效益和社会效益的全面提升。     

我国企业技术创新选择分析——基于国际生产折中理论视角

经济全球化逐渐加强,我国企业面临国内外对手的竞争,需要从国际视角进行经营决策。国际生产折中理论从所有权、内部化和区位三个维度为企业提供了国际经营决策思想。改革开放以来,我国企业所有权、内部化和国内区位优势发生了巨大变化,为我国企业带来了新的挑战和机遇。通过收集大量数据对企业三个维度优势的分析,结合技术创新组合模式,提出了我国企业技术创新路径建议,如强化研发以掌握核心技术、树立自己品牌以深化市场占领、实行多种经营合作以拓宽资源供应、培育企业文化以求夯实竞争基础等。     

体面劳动问题研究的新进展与未来研究展望

全球化加剧了劳资关系的不平衡状态,强资本弱劳工的局面得以维护并日益加强,资方为追求利益最大化而忽视劳动者利益的事情屡屡发生。随着转型时期经济社会改革的深入推进,劳资关系问题也越来越引起人们的关注并成为社会的焦点问题之一,全面实现体面劳动成为各级政府的重要方针,企业、各类劳动组织以及劳动者都对实现体面劳动发出了强烈的呼声。金融危机后体面劳动研究有了新进展,未来体面劳动问题研究也大有可为。     

SEO领导风格对绩效影响的研究——基于创业导向视角的实证分析

近些年,采用创新方法解决社会问题的社会创业组织(SEO)不断在全球兴起,并引起国内外社会科学有关学者们的关注和研究兴趣.其中,社会创业组织领导风格对SEO价值创造过程以及绩效的影响问题成为重要的研究课题之一.目前,国外在这一方面的研究取得初步成效.但是,在中国,该方面的实际研究处于空白.本文研究试图对此做一些弥补:一方面以Covin和Slevin(1991)开发的量表为基础,再借鉴H.Morris(2011)对创新性、超前行动和风险承担在社会创业情境下的界定,对创业导向的测量题项进行了修订,以反映社会创业与传统创业相区别的特征;另一方面,选取中国开展社会创业一年以上的个体或非营利组织为研究对象与样本开展中国本土化的实证研究.本研究发现,变革型领导对创新、风险承担和超前行动三个变量具有积极影响,以及创新和超前行动与社会创业组织绩效具有正向关系.