An integrated core competence evaluation framework for portfolio management in the oil industry

Drawing upon resource-based theory, this paper presents a core competence evaluation framework for managing the competence portfolio of an oil company. It introduces a network typology to illustrate how to form different types of strategic alliance relations with partnering firms to manage and grow the competence portfolio. A framework is tested using a case study approach involving face-to-face structured interviews. We identified purchasing, refining and sales and marketing as strong candidates to be the core competencies. However, despite the company's core business of refining oil, the core competencies were identified to be their research and development and performance management (PM) capabilities. We further provide a procedure to determine different kinds of physical, intellectual and cultural resources making a dominant impact on company's competence portfolio. In addition, we provide a comprehensive set of guidelines on how to develop core competence further by forging a partnership alliance choosing an appropriate network topology

Past, present and future of information and knowledge sharing in the construction industry: Towards semantic service-based e-construction

The paper reviews product data technology initiatives in the construction sector and provides a synthesis of related ICT industry needs. A comparison between (a) the data centric characteristics of Product Data Technology (PDT) and (b) ontology with a focus on semantics, is given, highlighting the pros and cons of each approach. The paper advocates the migration from data-centric application integration to ontology-based business process support, and proposes inter-enterprise collaboration architectures and frameworks based on semantic services, underpinned by ontology-based knowledge structures. The paper discusses the main reasons behind the low industry take up of product data technology, and proposes a preliminary roadmap for the wide industry diffusion of the proposed approach. In this respect, the paper stresses the value of adopting alliance-based modes of operation

A robust fuzzy possibilistic AHP approach for partner selection in international strategic alliance

The international strategic alliance is an inevitable solution for making competitive advantage and reducing the risk in today’s business environment. Partner selection is an important part in success of partnerships, and meanwhile it is a complicated decision because of various dimensions of the problem and inherent conflicts of stockholders. The purpose of this paper is to provide a practical approach to the problem of partner selection in international strategic alliances, which fulfills the gap between theories of inter-organizational relationships and quantitative models. Thus, a novel Robust Fuzzy Possibilistic AHP approach is proposed for combining the benefits of two complementary theories of inter-organizational relationships named, (1) Resource-based view, and (2) Transaction-cost theory and considering Fit theory as the perquisite of alliance success. The Robust Fuzzy Possibilistic AHP approach is a noveldevelopment of Interval-AHP technique employing robust formulation; aimed at handling the ambiguity of the problem and let the use of intervals as pairwise judgments. The proposed approach was compared with existing approaches, and the results show that it provides the best quality solutions in terms of minimum error degree. Moreover, the framework implemented in a case study and its applicability were discussed

Social Learning and Networking : How multiple actors can learn through joint analysis, dialogue and co-creation

We are facing complex societal problems such as climate change, human conflict, poverty and inequality, and need innovative solutions. Multi-stakeholder processes (MSPs) are more and more seen as a critical way of coming to such innovative solutions. It is thought that when multiple stakeholders are able to meet, share experiences, learn together and contribute to decisions, new and innovative ways of dealing with problems are found and turned into action. Still, much remains to be understood about the role and effectiveness of social learning in multi-stakeholder settings. This report summarizes the deliberations of the seminar “Social learning and networking: How multiple actors can learn through joint analysis, dialogue and co-creation”, which was held in Wageningen on 16 September 2010

Strange Bedfellows in the Personal Computer Industry: Technology Alliances between IBM and Apple

Until recently technological development in the personal computer industry could be characterized by the competition between two basic designs. The current dominant design in this industry is associated with the IBM and Microsoft personal computing architecture. The other version of personal computing originated in the Macintosh computer from Apple Computer Company. In recent years we also see an increasing number of alliances between IBM and Apple. Joint technological development appears to be a major and somewhat surprising objective of these alliances. This paper analyzes the technology alliances between these companies in the context of recent technological changes, focusing on the timing and the objectives of these alliances. Technology partnering between these proponents of competing basic designs are found to only materialize several years after the DOS-based design of IBM and Microsoft had become dominant. This study is of a qualitative and exploratory nature, using both a small data set and two case studies.management and organization theory ;

Beyond old economy - new economy dualism: Urban embeddedness of current innovation processes

Current research on spatial embeddedness of the "New Economy" clearly demonstrates the use of diverse urban assets for the emerging branch. One frequent shortcoming is, however, a simplified idea of multimedia and internet enterprises as a counter-world to the traditional economy. We argue that the multitude of service companies dealing with Internet- and Multimedia applications should be considered as part of a comprehensive economic innovation process: Small, flexible and venturesome enterprises test new technology applications for economic purposes, sometimes successfully, sometimes without success. Future steps in this innovation process can be observed already: With increasing security about the economic use of new media technologies, more and more "traditional" enterprises integrate multimedia, internet and e-commerce in their daily work. What has been the domain of service enterprises will be more and more integrated in their former clients' corporations. Nevertheless, parts of multimedia and internet application might still require highly specialized skills, thus offering a basis for independent service companies even in the future. During the first phase of the innovation process, specific assets of the city have proved to be useful as research on urban and regional embeddedness of new media enterprises has shown. It seems as if traditional enterprises - instead of undertaking this step of innovation by themselves - have entrusted this trial-and-error process to an urban milieu, characterised by its creativity, its capacity to link diverse experts and its capacity to deal with uncertainty. Thus, an institutional choice has been made in order to externalize insecurity about the economic use of new technologies. The paper aims at linking the Schumpeterian innovation cycle approach and its application to regional development to the emergence of new media based industry and its links to the traditional economy. This approach should permit to go beyond the "new economy"-"old economy" dualism in order to reveal the underlying comprehensive innovative process. The centre of interest remains the urban and regional embeddedness of the current process, that is to say, the contribution of space to innovation. Based on case studies on the Hamburg metropolitan economy, its "new economy" and its increasing links between "new" and "old economy", we intend to illustrate the specific institutional form of the current innovation process in an urban context.

How should a small company interact in its business network to sustain its exchange effectiveness?

This paper investigates the dynamic alignment of network and business\ud development of two small firms in the printing industry. Developments are\ud followed over more than 8 years. The aim of the paper is to understand how\ud small firms can manage their network relations by maintaining both their\ud efficiency in existing business and flexibility to develop new business. The case comparison suggests that different networking approaches drive business\ud development. For successful business development both strong and varied ties\ud as well as the existence of different intermediary functions of partners are\ud necessary