Shifts in Innovation Power to Brazil and India: Insights from the Auto and Software Industries

The global innovation map is changing. Until a few years ago innovation activities were concentrated in the US, Europe and Japan. Not anymore. The rising powers of China, India and Brazil are encroaching on the innovation stronghold of the old powers. This report explores how deep the change goes and how we can explain it. Most of the literature explains this shift in innovation power by concentrating on factors within the rising powers, such as their investment in high-level education, their low labour cost, their big and expanding internal markets and others. This report concentrates on explanatory factors that emanate from the old powers, notably the organisational decomposition of the innovation process (ODIP). The empirical focus is on the global value chains that link Brazilian auto and Indian software suppliers with lead firms in the US and Europe. The report shows that subsidiaries and independent suppliers in Brazil and India were involved in advanced innovation capabilities: they engaged not only in ‘applied’ development, but also in ‘systemic’ development of products and services. In other words, the build-up of innovation capabilities goes further than is generally recognised. Most of the report is then concerned with unravelling the processes through which this occurs, showing that ODIP emanating from US and European lead firms has knock-on effects within Brazil and India. The research also distinguishes between different types of ODIP showing that the biggest organisational and geographical changes occur when innovation and production activities are tightly integrated. The resulting build-up of innovation capability is only partially visible in conventional R&D indicators. The causal connection between ODIP in the old powers and increase of innovation capabilities in the new powers is not one way. The accumulation of innovation capabilities in the new powers increases the possibilities for further rounds of ODIP in the old powers

Current and future challenges in the independent automotive repair industry : a case study

The mega trends that will strongly influence the society over the next decades have also arrived in the automotive industry. New technologies and mobility concepts such as autonomous driving, shared driving concepts and the electrification of cars are affecting companies in the downstream stages of OEMs. This dissertation examines possible outcomes of these macroeconomic events and shines light on the structural problems the independent repair industry is facing. The market is dominated by fierce price competition and increasingly small potential for differentiation. The challenge of creating and maintaining a competitive advantage in today’s independent repair industry is illustrated based on a company that poses as an example. Paradoxically, the solution to many of the problems faced by independent garages lies in a partnership with other major players in the automotive industry. The format of this paper follows a pedagogical approach, as its aim is to encourage students to look more closely at the discipline of strategic management through a case study. The application of several strategic frameworks and tools allows for insights into the company’s external and internal situation. Students are confronted with a real-life scenario and are supposed to identify necessary measures to seize and defend incoming opportunities and threats. The case is complemented with a teaching note that includes a proposal for the implementation in the lecture and a sample solution. The case addresses students and anyone interested in learning about the dynamics of Germany's independent repair shop industry.As megatendências que irão influenciar fortemente a sociedade nas próximas décadas também chegaram à indústria do automóvel. Novas tecnologias e conceitos de mobilidade, como condução autónoma, conceitos de condução partilhada e eletrificação dos veículos, estão a afetar as empresas nas fases a jusante dos OEMs. Esta dissertação examina os possíveis resultados destes eventos macroeconómicos e ilumina os problemas estruturais que a indústria de reparação independente enfrenta. O mercado é dominado por uma forte concorrência de preços e por um potencial de diferenciação cada vez menor. O desafio de criar e manter uma vantagem competitiva na indústria de reparação independente é ilustrado com base no exemplo de uma empresa apresentada. Paradoxalmente, a solução para muitos dos problemas enfrentados pelas oficinas independentes está na parceria com outros grandes intervenientes da indústria automóvel. O formato deste trabalho segue uma abordagem pedagógica, pois tem como objetivo estimular os alunos a aprofundar-se na disciplina de gestão estratégica através de um estudo de caso. A aplicação de várias frameworks e ferramentas estratégicas permite insights sobre a situação externa e interna da empresa. Os alunos são confrontados com um cenário da vida real e devem identificar as medidas necessárias para aproveitar e defender as oportunidades e ameaças que surgem. O caso é complementado com uma nota didática que inclui uma proposta de implementação em aula e um exemplo de solução. O caso é dirigido a estudantes e qualquer pessoa interessada em aprender sobre a dinâmica da indústria de oficinas independentes na Alemanha

Digital Innovation in the Mining, Oil and Gas Extraction, and Construction Industries in Saskatchewan

This thesis discusses the need for a change in perspective in Canadian innovation policy frameworks, explores the innovation ecosystems perspective and what it might add to public policy, and applies this perspective to investigate innovation in the mining, oil and gas extraction, and construction industries in Saskatchewan. The negative multifactor productivity (MFP) growth experienced in these industries over the last two decades suggests that these industries experience significant innovation challenges and public intervention may be merited. The study focuses on digital technology adoption as digital transformation will be key in overcoming several megatrends that threaten to disrupt Canada’s economy. The study is confined to firms in Saskatchewan for feasibility and because the industries of study represent a significant share of the provincial economy. Data was collected in 24 interviews with firms’ representatives. The results provide several directions for policy intervention in the three industries, some of which would not have been identified using conventional approaches. This is most evident for the construction industry where the prevalence of small firms, diversity of technology, and the need for simultaneous adoption of similar technology by many firms create significant financial, capacity, and coordination challenges for the industry

Fighting Irrelevance: An economic community 'with ASEAN characteristics'

Contrary to expectations at the time, the financial crises of 1997-98 may have strengthened ASEAN. The backlash against a perceived unsympathetic Western response put ASEAN at center stage in new regional cooperative arrangements. Moreover, the rivalry between China and Japan for regional leadership has led them both to seek to negotiate regional partnerships with ASEAN as a whole. ASEAN, however, faces new challenges - particularly from rapid economic growth in China and India, and from the proliferation of preferential trade agreements (PTAs). ASEAN has made only slow progress in economic cooperation, which has fallen further behind schedule. The private sector makes little use of ASEAN's preferential arrangements because they afford little advantage over most-favored-nation tariffs. ASEAN has failed to address 'deeper integration' issues - the removal of 'beyond border' barriers to trade. Some of the bilateral PTAs that ASEAN countries have negotiated with extra-regional partners go further in removing barriers than ASEAN's own arrangements. ASEAN members continue to eschew binding commitments. Liberalization under ASEAN's auspices has not been sufficiently significant to encourage business groups to invest substantial resources in lobbying for deeper integration

Component-based Adaptation Methods for Service-Oriented Peer-to-Peer Software Architectures

Service-oriented peer-to-peer architectures aim at supporting application scenarios of dispersed collaborating groups in which the participating users are capable of providing and consuming local resources in terms of peer services. From a conceptual perspective, service-oriented peer-to-peer architectures adopt relevant concepts of two well-established state-of-the-art software architectural styles, namely service-oriented architectures (also known as SOA) and peer-to-peer architectures (P2P). One major argumentation of this thesis is that the adoption of end-user adaptability (or tailorability) concepts is of major importance for the successful deployment of service-oriented peer-to-peer architectures that support user collaboration. Since tailorability concepts have so far not been analyzed for both peer-to-peer and service-oriented architectures, no relevant models exist that could serve as a tailorability model for service-oriented peer-to-peer architectures. In order to master the adaptation of peer services, as well as peer service compositions within service-oriented peer-to-peer architectures, this dissertation proposes the adoption of component-oriented development methods. These so-called component-based adaptation methods enable service providers to adapt their provided services during runtime. Here, a model for analyzing existing dependencies on subscribed ser-vice consumers ensures that a service provider is able to adapt his peer services without violating any dependencies. In doing so, an adaptation policy that can be pre-arranged within a peer group regulates the procedures of how to cope with existing dependencies in the scope of a group. The same methods also serve as a way to handle exceptional cases, in particular the failure of a dependent service provider peer and, hence, a service that is part of a local service composition. In this, the hosting runtime environment is responsible for detecting exceptions and for initiating the process of exception resolution. During the resolution phase, a user can be actively involved at selected decision points in order to resolve the occurred exception in unpredictable contexts. An exception could also be the reason for the violation of an integrity constraint that serves as a contract between various peers that interact within a given collaboration. The notion of integrity constraints and the model of handling the constraint violation aim at improving the reliability of target-oriented peer collaborations. This dissertation is composed of three major parts that each makes a significant contribution to the state of the art. First of all, a formal architectural style (SOP2PA) is introduced to define the fundamental elements that are necessary to build service-oriented peer-to-peer architectures, as well as their relationships, constraints, and operational semantics. This architectural style also formalizes the above-mentioned adaptation methods, the exception handling model that embraces these methods, the analysis model for managing consumer dependencies, as well as the integrity constraints model. Subsequently, on this formal basis, a concrete (specific) service-oriented peer-to-peer architecture (DEEVOLVE) is conceptualized that serves as the default implementation of that style. Here, the notions described above are materialized based on state-of-the-art software engineering methods and models. Finally, the third contribution of this work outlines an application scenario stemming from the area of construction informatics, in which the default implementation DEEVOLVE is deployed in order to support dispersed planning activities of structural engineers

WP 96 - An overview of women's work and employment in Belarus

*Management Summary* This report provides information on Belarus on behalf of the implementation of the DECISIONS FOR LIFE project in that country. The DECISIONS FOR LIFE project aims to raise awareness amongst young female workers about their employment opportunities and career possibilities, family building and the work-family balance. This report is part of the Inventories, to be made by the University of Amsterdam, for all 14 countries involved. It focuses on a gender analysis of work and employment. History (2.1.1). Belarus, severely hit by the German occupation, after the second 1945 emerged as emerged as one of the major manufacturing centres of the Soviet. It suffered heavily from the Chernobyl disaster. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, from 1994 on under president Lukashenko the country kept a command economy, though central planning disappeared. Its growth rates have been considerably throughout the 2000s, though the economy continues to be dependent on heavy discounts in oil and natural gas prices from Russia. Governance (2.1.2). Belarus is a republic with power concentrated in the presidency. The government’s human rights record remains very poor. The judiciary is not independent. Corruption continued to be a problem. Authorities harassed independent trade unions and dismissed their members. Women’s participation in politics and governance is low, except for the Chamber of Representatives. The law protects women well within the family context and protects the physical integrity of women to a relatively high degree. Prospects (2.1.3). Belarus’s economy has been moderately hit by the global economic crisis. The government had to accept loans from the IMF, Russia and China. It undertook some steps to open up the country for foreign investors. In 2009, the country’s GDP fell slightly and real wages by 1 to 5%. Energy-intensive and inefficient production may become the largest hindrance for recovery. Communication (2.2). The coverage of fixed telephone connections has recently increased, but coverage of cellular telephone connections is with over 0.9 cell phones per inhabitant much higher. By 2008, the share Internet users was with 321 per 1,000 of the population rather high, but the government is growingly restricting access to the Internet. Nearly all households have a TV set. The government censored the media and repeatedly harassed and arrested independent journalists The sectoral labour market structure (2.3.1). The sectoral labour market structure is difficult to trace. State employees constitute about 80% of the working population. With nearly 68%, women’s Labour Participation Rate (LPR) in 2008 was 91% of men’s. Official unemployment is low and decreasing, in particular for women. Since 1995, considerable wage increases have been allowed in Belarus, largely outpacing increases in labour productivity. Legislation (2.4.1). Belarus has ratified the eight core ILO Labour Conventions. Yet, the Trade Union Law 2000 and presidential decrees contain serious violations of trade union rights. Specific regulations and benefits for women, including maternity benefits and paid leave on childcare, are comparatively good. Labour relations and wage-setting (2.4.2). The independent trade union movement in Belarus is small. The law provides for the right to organize and bargain collectively; however, government authorities and managers of state-owned enterprises routinely interfered with union activities. ILO recommendations to improve the situation are not acted upon. The statutory minimum wage (2.5.1). In December 2009 the monthly minimum wage, set by law, was BYR 229,700, or 23% of the country’s average monthly wage. Inequality and poverty (2.5.2). Directly after independence, inequality and poverty started to increase, but since 2000 the share under the official poverty line fell rapidly till 6% in 2007. However, this poverty line is set quite low, and depending on other yardsticks poverty in 2007 is estimated at 13 to 43%. Income inequality developed simultaneously with poverty, and is currently at low-to-medium level in international perspective. Population and fertility (2.6.1). Since the 1980s Belarus is in a demographic crisis, with reduced fertility rates and high death. Between 1999 and 2009 the population decreased by over 6%. The total fertility rate, less than 1.3 children per woman, is quite low; the adolescent fertility rate is with 22 per 1,000 low. Health (2.6.2). In 2007 there were an estimated 13,000 persons with HIV/AIDS in Belarus, which is below the regional level. The levels of public awareness of HIV/AIDS seem rather low. The life expectancy at birth for women is recently increasing. The Belarusian health care system aims to provide the entire population with universal access to care and health care benefits are extensive. Women’s labour market share (2.6.3). Women make up half of the country’s labour force. In 2009 women made up majorities in wholesale and retail, restaurants and hotels, education, and public administration et cetera, and in the occupational groups professionals and clerks. At the level of legislators, senior officials and managers, the female share of 45% is high in international perspective. Literacy (2.7.1). The adult literacy rate –-those age 15 and over that can read and write—in 1999-2006 was 98.9%, with hardly a gender gap: 99.0% for men and 98.8% for women. In 2007 the literacy rate for 15-24-year-olds stood at 99.8% for females and 99.7% for males. Education of girls (2.7.2). In 2006, the combined gross enrollment rate in education was nearly 100%, divided in 99% for females and 100% for males. Net enrollment in primary education was for 2005 set at 87.9% for girls and 90.8% for boys. In 2007 women to men parity in secondary education was 102%. With 45% gross enrollment in tertiary education in 2007 and women to men parity reaching 141%, women’s participation at this level of education is high. Female skill levels (2.7.3). Women in the employed population have on average a slightly higher educational level than their male colleagues. More women employed are educated at tertiary level, with women to parity at 118%. We estimate the current size of the target group of DECISIONS FOR LIFE for Ukraine at about 95,000 girls and young women 15-29 of age working in urban areas in (the Belarusian equivalent of) commercial services. Wages (2.8.1). We found for 2008 a considerable gender pay gap, totaling 25%. The pay gap seems to have grown in particular between 1996 and 2004. Women in Belarus have profited considerably less than men from their better education. Moreover, horizontal segregation has taken place with women leaving well-paid sub-sectors of manufacturing like the ICT sector , while many of them entered low-wage jobs like in education and health. The “glass ceiling“ obviously widely remains in place. Working conditions (2.8.2). Especially men in heavy manufacturing still seem often exposed to bad health and safety conditions, though the incidence of reported occupational injuries and casualities is rapidly decreasing. Unfortunately, working hours cannot be detailed by industry and gender.