{"title":"Toolkits for Idea Competitions: A Novel Method to Integrate Users in New Product Development","authors":"F. Piller, Dominik Walcher","doi":"10.1111/j.1467-9310.2006.00432.x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9310.2006.00432.x","url":null,"abstract":"Research has shown that many innovations originate not in the manufacturer but the user domain. Internet-based toolkits for idea competitions (TIC) are a novel way for manufacturers to access innovative ideas and solutions from users. Idea competitions build on the nature of competition as a means to encourage users to participate at an open innovation process, to inspire their creativity, and to increase the quality of the submissions. When the contest ends, submissions are evaluated by an expert panel. Users whose submissions score highest receive an award from the manufacturer, which is often granted in exchange for the right to exploit the solution in its domain. Following the idea of evolutionary prototyping, we developed a TIC in cooperation with a manufacturer of sports goods. The TIC was launched as a pilot in one of the company's markets. Submissions were evaluated using the consensual assessment technique. The evaluation of this study provides suggestions for further research, but also implications for managers willing to explore TIC in their organization.","PeriodicalId":289875,"journal":{"name":"Wiley-Blackwell: R&D Management","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2006-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129341866","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nieves L. Diaz-Diaz, Inmaculada Aguiar-Díaz, P. Saa-Perez
{"title":"Technological Knowledge Assets in Industrial Firms","authors":"Nieves L. Diaz-Diaz, Inmaculada Aguiar-Díaz, P. Saa-Perez","doi":"10.1111/j.1467-9310.2006.00425.x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9310.2006.00425.x","url":null,"abstract":"This research focuses on identifying and measuring the technological knowledge assets that constitute the basis of the knowledge management process and on the study of contextual factors that determine their use. To that end, a longitudinal study of 1,444 Spanish industrial firms between 1998 and 2000 was conducted using information gathered by the Survey of Business Strategies. The results enable us to identify technological knowledge assets with different levels of codification and to have a general view of how age, size and sector affect the use of those assets by Spanish industrial firms.","PeriodicalId":289875,"journal":{"name":"Wiley-Blackwell: R&D Management","volume":"106 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2006-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127530225","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Knowledge Sharing Mechanisms in Industrial Research","authors":"H. Berends, H. Bij, K. Debackere, M. Weggeman","doi":"10.1111/j.1467-9310.2005.00417.x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9310.2005.00417.x","url":null,"abstract":"Previous research has firmly established the importance of knowledge sharing in Research and Development (R&D) settings. However, current theories provide only fragmented insights into the origination of knowledge sharing, and thus offer limited guidance for knowledge management practices in R&D. To integrate and extend these fragmented insights, we undertook two exploratory field studies of knowledge sharing in industrial research organizations. The contributions of this study are the following. First, we introduce three dimensions that differentiate origination mechanisms for knowledge sharing. Second, we show that some of these mechanisms correspond to mechanisms assumed in particular streams of literature, whereas others have been neglected till now. Third, based on our field studies, we show that each of these knowledge-sharing mechanisms have a different value for industrial research practices. Therefore, knowledge management in R&D should facilitate and stimulate a broad portfolio of knowledge-sharing mechanisms.","PeriodicalId":289875,"journal":{"name":"Wiley-Blackwell: R&D Management","volume":"9 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2006-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115238608","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Moehrle, Lothar Walter, Anja Geritz, Sandra Müller
{"title":"Patent-Based Inventor Profiles as a Basis for Human Resource Decisions in Research and Development","authors":"M. Moehrle, Lothar Walter, Anja Geritz, Sandra Müller","doi":"10.1111/j.1467-9310.2005.00408.x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9310.2005.00408.x","url":null,"abstract":"Profiles of inventors' technological competence are a valuable source of information for decision-making in research and development (R&D) management, e.g. concerning inventor assessment, human resource development and R&D team-building. In the following exposition, a new method of inventor profiling will be put forward, which is based in particular on semantic patent analysis and multidimensional scaling. First, in the course of semantic patent analysis, specialized software, equipped with a natural language processor, reads the patent text transferring the contents into a subject-action-object-format (SAO). The extracted SAO structures are then used to create similarity matrices for patents or patent sets, respectively, according to a specific similarity value. Subsequently, an inventor competence map can be produced by means of multidimensional scaling. The benefits of this method for R&D-related issues in human resource management will be illustrated by the example of a German mechanical engineering company. Two distinct types of profiles were generated and tested: (i) the profile of a single key inventor and (ii) a profile of key inventor sets. The single key inventor profile gives information on the range of competence, i.e. the homogeneity or heterogeneity of a certain inventor's competences, providing far more detailed insights than resorting to bibliographic data like international patent classification (IPC) classes or citations, whereas the latter kind of profile establishes the position of a certain key inventor in relation to others, helping to highlight specific groups of inventors and their domains. These results are clearly apt to support human resource management.","PeriodicalId":289875,"journal":{"name":"Wiley-Blackwell: R&D Management","volume":"64 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2005-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122151223","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Innovating Region: Toward a Theory of Knowledge-Based Regional Development","authors":"H. Etzkowitz, M. Klofsten","doi":"10.1111/J.1467-9310.2005.00387.X","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1467-9310.2005.00387.X","url":null,"abstract":"This paper sets forth a model of knowledge-based regional development conceived as a set of multi-linear dynamics, based on alternative technological paradigms. Utilizing longitudinal data from a Swedish region, and international comparisons, four stages of development are identified: Inception, Implementation, Consolidation and Renewal. Innovation policy is created 'bottom-up' as an outcome of 'collective entrepreneurship' through collaboration among business, government and academic actors - the 'triple helix'. The key event is the creation of an entrepreneurial university, whether from an existing academic base or a new foundation, which takes initiatives together with government and industry to create a support structure for firm formation and regional growth. The result of these initiatives is a self-sustaining dynamic in which the role of academia and government appears to recede as industrial actors come to the fore and a lineage of firms is created. Nevertheless, as one technological paradigm is exhausted and another one is needed as the base for new economic activity, the role of academia and government comes to the fore again in creating the conditions for the next wave of innovation.","PeriodicalId":289875,"journal":{"name":"Wiley-Blackwell: R&D Management","volume":"35 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2005-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133009550","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Maximising the Potential of University Spin-Outs: The Development of Second-Order Commercialisation Activities","authors":"Claire M. Leitch, R. Harrison","doi":"10.1111/J.1467-9310.2005.00388.X","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1467-9310.2005.00388.X","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines the dynamics of university spin-out company development, based on an in-depth, longitudinal case study of some of the spin-out activities of one of the longest established technology transfer organisations in the UK. The different types of resource flows between this organisation and some of the companies in which it has a stake are discussed. Specifically, the paper considers the efficacy and appropriateness of the university technology transfer office (TTO) becoming involved in what we term second-order spin-out activities. These are spin-out companies that have been formed on technology developed in a spin-out company, or by people working in that spin-out, but which have no substantive connection with the research or personnel base of the university. We argue that in a peripheral non-technology intensive regional economy, the role of the TTO may be more wideranging than has been commonly assumed and may include a focus on regional economic development as well as the commercialisation of university-based research.","PeriodicalId":289875,"journal":{"name":"Wiley-Blackwell: R&D Management","volume":"6 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2005-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114359938","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"How Combinations of TRIZ Tools are Used in Companies - Results of a Cluster Analysis","authors":"M. Moehrle","doi":"10.1111/J.1467-9310.2005.00390.X","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1467-9310.2005.00390.X","url":null,"abstract":"Many engineers and natural scientists in companies are using tools directly or indirectly related to the theory of inventive problem solving (abbreviation derived from the Russian title: TRIZ) by Altshuller (1984, 1996). Some of the TRIZ tools are based on the application of condensed technical knowledge, others are special techniques for directed creativity. The usage of TRIZ and its tools should lead to improvement of efficiency within the innovation process as well as to more and smarter problem solutions. More than 40 reported applications of TRIZ in companies show that usually not the whole set of TRIZ tools is used. This is surprising, because in the original TRIZ literature all the tools are recommended for usage in a classified order named ARIS (Russian acronym for 'algorithm for inventive problem solving'). A cluster analysis of the applications reveals that there are three subsets: (i) basic TRIZ, (ii) resource and ideality-based TRIZ, and (iii) substance-field based TRIZ. This leads to important consequences: TRIZ training and TRIZ implementation should be structured according to the three subsets.","PeriodicalId":289875,"journal":{"name":"Wiley-Blackwell: R&D Management","volume":"21 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2005-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129523519","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Spatial Configuration of the Entrepreneurial Support Network for the Semiconductor Industry","authors":"D. Patton, M. Kenney","doi":"10.1111/J.1467-9310.2005.00368.X","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1467-9310.2005.00368.X","url":null,"abstract":"This study is the first to examine the spatial location of different actors in the entrepreneurial support network for high-technology start-up firms. The actors included in this study are lead venture capitalists, independent members of the board of directors, investment bankers, and law firms. Using data based on 44 semiconductor initial public offerings, the geographical location of these newly public firms and the actors in their support network is mapped, and the spatial relationships between these firms and their network are examined. It was found that the geographical proximity between these actors and the firms they support varied significantly, with a firm's legal counsel being the most proximate, followed by investment bankers, venture capitalists, and independent directors.","PeriodicalId":289875,"journal":{"name":"Wiley-Blackwell: R&D Management","volume":"31 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2005-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125557865","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Talented Suppliers? Strategic Change and Innovation in the UK Aerospace Industry","authors":"David J. Smith, D. Tranfield","doi":"10.1111/J.1467-9310.2005.00370.X","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1467-9310.2005.00370.X","url":null,"abstract":"The 1990s marked the start of extensive re-structuring in the aerospace industry throughout the world. While the ensuing consolidation among prime contractors has been widely researched, the changes affecting the aerospace supplier base have received less attention. This exploratory study focuses on the supplier base and points to extensive re-structuring. Unlike many earlier studies, the lean supply model was found to be a rather powerful influence, with suppliers moving away from subcontractor status and taking on the mantle of 'talented' suppliers. However, the bolder predictions of lean supply, in terms of the dynamics of innovation, were less apparent, although there were signs that some suppliers, who genuinely warranted the title 'talented', were engaging in valuable process innovations.","PeriodicalId":289875,"journal":{"name":"Wiley-Blackwell: R&D Management","volume":"44 1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2005-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126879584","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Analysing Disruptive Potential: The Case of Wireless Local Area Network and Mobile Communications Network Companies","authors":"S. Hüsig, C. Hipp, Michael J. Dowling","doi":"10.1111/J.1467-9310.2005.00369.X","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1467-9310.2005.00369.X","url":null,"abstract":"In this article, we analyse the prediction that wireless local area network (W-LAN) technologies will be disruptive for incumbent mobile communications network operators. For this purpose, we develop a methodology of guided interviews to assess technologies for their disruptive characteristics based on theory of disruptive technology developed by Christensen (1997) and recent extensions. The application of our comprehensive step-by-step method improves the precision of the disruptive technology concept and its usability for practitioners to make ex ante distinctions between disruptive technologies and other phenomena caused by emerging technologies. Our method predicts that contrary to common assumptions, W-LAN is not likely to represent a disruptive technology for the established mobile communications network firms in terms of Christensen's concept. This research was conducted in close collaboration with Vodafone Pilotentwicklung, an R&D and technology monitoring unit of the Vodafone Group. Vodafone provided part of the empirical data through expert interviews and market reports.","PeriodicalId":289875,"journal":{"name":"Wiley-Blackwell: R&D Management","volume":"15 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2005-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125635746","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}