Strategic framework for commercialisation of fly ash innovations

Numerous innovative applications have been developed to utilise large quantity of fly ash generated at coal fired thermal power plants (TPPs) worldwide. However, this requires power plants to undertake the role of third-party innovation intermediaries, that is, commercialising technological innovations developed by others. As commercialising an innovation requires considerable resources, a well-considered selection and promotion are desired. The paper presents a strategic framework for commercialisation of fly ash innovations. Explanation for step-by-step implementation and generic pointers for strategy formulation for typical problems are suggested. The proposed framework is expected to assist coal-fired TPPs in formulating strategies to commercialise innovative utilisation of fly ash. The study contributes to scarcely addressed aspects of an open innovation paradigm, that is, challenges faced by third-party intermediaries.     

The use and development of indicators for the commercialisation of university research in a national support programme

Governments in most countries have set up specialised programmes to support the commercialisation of academic research. A key challenge is to develop indicators that are able to measure operation and impact. This study shows how different indicators are used to satisfy different stakeholders of a Norwegian support programme. Policy intervention is supposed to lead to additionality related to input, behaviour and output. While the support programme uses input and behavioural measures as strategic tools for its operation, policy makers are mostly preoccupied with output measures. This study illustrates how indicators develop over time, partly co-evolving with the development of the programme and the national commercialisation infrastructure. Indicators serve as incentives for the agents involved, but they may also influence the strategies of the programme that established them. The external signalling effect of indicators remains central, while its use in daily operations becomes less important with time and experience.     

Incubator mediation in commercialising disruptive innovation

One of the parameters supporting an innovation-based economy in an age of technological development is the formation of business incubators. This study focuses on disruptive innovation and the support of a business incubator through network and institutional mediation. Relevant literature shows limited research in this area. This paper brings a deeper understanding of the influences of business incubation on disruptive innovation with an in-depth investigation into four participant companies. Using comparative case analysis, mediation similarities and differences were examined throughout the cases’ innovation identification, planning and development and implementation process. Four themes emerged: mediation influences the disruptive mind-set, interdisciplinary input, financial support and technology and business uncertainty. The findings extend the literature; provide practical guidance for incubator management and allocation of resources in disruptive innovation.     

Was the Green Revolution intended to maximise food production?

The evidence on yields, food-production, food-calories per capita, and declining levels of malnutrition in countries experiencing a Green Revolution are commonly cited in support of the claim that the GR sought to maximise food production. If one looks closely at the actual design of GR programmes (in India and elsewhere), however, it is clear that they were instead intended to boost yields and profitability in a small number of targeted areas. The underlying rationale for targeting was that achieving very high yields in such regions would persuade farmers to abandon subsistence farming in favour of commercial production, relying upon the market for the purchase of inputs as well as the sale of produce. In response to widespread criticism of the Green Revolution ca. 1970 for neglecting the needs of peasant farmers (as well as accentuating rural unrest), the World Bank and other donors began to direct more attention and resources to smallholders, but the aim of commercialising farming remained unchanged.     

Exploring the role of human resources in technology out-licensing:an empirical analysis of biotech newtechnology-based firms

Out-licensing is a technology exploitation option to generate revenues without investing in downstream complementary assets. Despite its increasing strategic relevance, the strong complexity of out-licensing activity determines a substantial discrepancy in firms’ ability to extract monetary benefits from this practice. Searching for determinants of out-licensing performance, the paper focuses in particular on the role of licensing managers. Based on a multiple case study analysis involving 26 out-licensing deals executed in seven Italian biotech NTBFs, the study shows that expert scientific skills, extensive licensing practice and prior employment in multinationals, but not an intense social network, characterise successful licensing managers, while high delegation and powerful intrinsic rewards enable individual capacities of licensing managers to translate into actual economic value.     

Pathways from discovery to commercialisation: using web sources to track small and medium-sized enterprise strategies in emerging nanotechnologies

This paper presents results from a pilot study of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) based on a web-scraping and content analysis of current and archived nanotechnology enterprise websites. We use this approach to explore nanotechnology SMEs transitions from discovery to commercialisation and understand how transitions vary by SME characteristics, technology and market sectors. Our findings suggest that although the idealised linear innovation model is present, important instances of divergence exist. Cluster analysis uncovered sectoral differences but even more distinctions based on the age, funding source, and research intensity.     

Balancing basic and applied research outputs: a study of the trade-offs between publishing and patenting

This study examines the relationship between academic publications and patents. First, we use regression models to investigate those factors that act as potential drivers when considering papers and patents individually. Second, we run a cluster analysis in order to test whether universities follow different patterns in the way they align their resources in regard to research objectives. The empirical application considers the Spanish public higher education system for the period 2006–2010. The overarching conclusion is that cross-fertilisation relationships between academic research and its commercialisation are found. There are, however, important differences in how universities are disseminating research results, particularly when we analyse the resources and capabilities universities possess. Results also stress the need to look at contextual and normative factors.     

Valuing GM technologies using real options: the case of drought tolerant wheat in Australia

ABSTRACT

In this article we seek to estimate the value of a partially-developed crop technology from the perspective of the firm developing the technology. Firms need this value estimation to decide whether their technology will earn a sufficient return in the market to justify investing in it. However, determining the (ex-ante) value of the technology before it is commercialised is challenging as the technology is not yet in the market and hence the demand function has not yet been defined. An alternative valuation method is required. We use risk premiums, Monte Carlo simulation and real options analysis and we demonstrate this combination of valuation tools on wheat that is currently being developed in Australia to be drought tolerant. The results indicate that this drought tolerant wheat variety is likely to be adopted by farmers in most regions and has a pre-commercialisation value that justifies continued investment in its development. We also identified South Australia as a region in which the new variety would not be sufficiently valuable to farmers to see them adopt it and we consider possible explanations for this outcome.     

The role of the market in transforming training and knowledge to superior performance: evidence from the Australian manufacturing sector

Training and development of employees increases the value and breadth of employee capabilities and knowledge, although this improvement, we suggest, cannot drive improved competitive performance in the absence of effective commercialisation of these capabilities. We propose and test a model of training and organisational performance, mediated by effective market engagement and transformation by firms. We find, as we anticipate, no direct link between training and performance, although there is a significant and positive path between training and performance when mediated through effective and contemporaneous market engagement.     

Agricultural Commercialisation and Nutrition in Smallholder Farm Households

Commercialisation of smallholder agriculture is important for rural economic growth. While previous studies have analysed effects of commercialisation on productivity and income, implications for farm household nutrition have received much less attention. We evaluate the effects of commercialisation on household food security and dietary quality with a special focus on calorie and micronutrient consumption. We also examine transmission channels by looking at the role of income, gender, and possible substitution effects between the consumption of own-produced and purchased foods. The analysis uses survey data from farm households in Kenya and a control function approach. Generalised propensity scores are employed to estimate continuous treatment effects. Commercialisation significantly improves food security and dietary quality in terms of calorie, zinc and iron consumption. For vitamin A, effects are insignificant. Commercialisation contributes to higher incomes and increased nutrients from purchased foods, but it does not reduce the consumption of nutrients from own-produced foods. Enhancing market access is important not only for rural economic growth, but also for making smallholder agriculture more nutrition-sensitive.