A value oriented conceptual model for innovation in local government

The political rhetoric that accompanied the introduction of eGovernment expected it to produce innovation in the way government agencies conducted themselves with citizen and business alike. It was assumed that innovation was both "good" and inevitable. This paper challenges these assumptions and presents a more realistic model of how innovation might occurs in UK local government. The model is supported by anecdotal evidence, literature and a recent study of eGoverment achievement in the UK - VIEGO. A key element in the model is the notion of innovation value

Innovative public governance through cloud computing: Information privacy, business models and performance measurement challenges

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze challenges and to discuss proposed solutions for innovative public governance through cloud computing. Innovative technologies, such as federation of services and cloud computing, can greatly contribute to the provision of e-government services, through scaleable and flexible systems. Furthermore, they can facilitate in reducing costs and overcoming public information segmentation. Nonetheless, when public agencies use these technologies, they encounter several associated organizational and technical changes, as well as significant challenges. Design/methodology/approach: We followed a multidisciplinary perspective (social, behavioral, business and technical) and conducted a conceptual analysis for analyzing the associated challenges. We conducted focus group interviews in two countries for evaluating the performance models that resulted from the conceptual analysis. Findings: This study identifies and analyzes several challenges that may emerge while adopting innovative technologies for public governance and e-government services. Furthermore, it presents suggested solutions deriving from the experience of designing a related platform for public governance, including issues of privacy requirements, proposed business models and key performance indicators for public services on cloud computing. Research limitations/implications: The challenges and solutions discussed are based on the experience gained by designing one platform. However, we rely on issues and challenges collected from four countries. Practical implications: The identification of challenges for innovative design of e-government services through a central portal in Europe and using service federation is expected to inform practitioners in different roles about significant changes across multiple levels that are implied and may accelerate the challenges' resolution. Originality/value: This is the first study that discusses from multiple perspectives and through empirical investigation the challenges to realize public governance through innovative technologies. The results emerge from an actual portal that will function at a European level. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Between vision and reality: promoting innovation through technoparks in Kazakhstan

A common motivation for the technopark movement is the belief that technoparks promote innovation and economic growth at regional and/or national levels. The paper analyses the role of technoparks as instruments of innovation promotion in Kazakhstan using data from a firm survey and interviews. Our results suggest that, unlike what is assumed in the innovation policy literature, technoparks do not house firms dealing with the commercialisation of innovations that are ready for introduction to the market. Technopark firms are no more innovative than other firms. They are oriented largely towards the local market, and operate in traditional sectors; the frequency and intensity of their external links are more developed than are their internal links. The key motivations for relocating to a technopark seem to be lower rents and the possibility of accessing finance. Overall, Kazakh technoparks seem to be successful in terms of facilitating business incubation, but much les so in terms of innovation promotion and diversification of the economy. Currently, Kazakh industry does not make any demands for local R&D, and its sources of competitiveness lie in non-R&D activities. This suggests that innovation policy should focus on assisting companies to upgrade their technological capabilities to the level that they can articulate their R&D demands. Focusing on technoparks as the main mechanism to improve competitiveness and diversify the economy is an ineffective and uncertain a policy option at this stage of the country's economic development. However, there seems to be significant scope for supporting business incubation. These conclusions are of relevance to other emerging economies

Changing Times at Cuban Universities: Looking into the Transition towards a Social, Entrepreneurial and Innovative Organization

Since the 1990s, the socialist higher education system has faced several reforms oriented to satisfy the social, economic, and technological demands. However, little is known about the transformation process of the socialist university system over the past two decades. This study provides a better understanding of the entrepreneurial and innovative transition of universities located in socialist economies. By adopting mixed theoretical approaches, we proposed a conceptual model to understand the social, the innovative and the entrepreneurial transformation of socialist universities. We revised/tested this model in the context of the Cuban University by implementing a prospective case study approach. Our findings show insights about the transition towards a business model innovation within the Cuban university. The determinants have been the state regulations, the closing of the complete cycle from teaching to the commercialization of results and the creation of hybrid structures to manage knowledge. Consequently, the university is facing managerial challenges related to its ability to explore/exploit its activities to generate social, innovative and economic outcomes. Our results provide practical implications for the university managers and actors involved in the transformation process of the Cuban Universit

The Analysis of Entrepreneurship Education Profile For Educatioanal Institutions of Hihger Education in Yogyakarta

ABSTRACT Purpose: This study aims to describe entrepreneurship education profile (EE Profile) of the five LPTKs in DIY. The research based on strategic role of EE in generating creative entrepreneurs who meets 21st century skills. The main target of the study was to describe; (1). Characteristics of lecturers and students, (2) Competencies to be developed, (3). Learning process, (4). Assessment to be used, (5). Needs of improvement. Methods: The study used quantitative approach this type of survey. The populations were lecturers and students participating in the course come from five LPTK. Data was collected by questionnaire and group discussions (FGD). This study used primary and secondary data collected from 48 lecturers of enterpreneurship and 246 students who joined in the entrepreneurship course. Data was analyzed using simple frequency analysis technique for quantitative data and descritive analysis for the qualitative data. Findings: The results revealed that: (1). Lecturers have minimum teaching experience (on average, 3.45 years). Most of the lecturers hold master degree but 33% of the total lecturers said not match to teach entrepreneurship related with their qualification. Only half of them who have had a certificate in entrepreneurship, but the training was less than 33 % of the total lecturers. Majority of the students (78%) has had appropriate background to be trained on entrepreneurship; unfortunately there are only a few who got training seriously. A few of students (19%) hold a certificate on entrepreneurship but most of them felt less adequate (2). Competencies tend to more focused on creativity and innovation, but less concerned to 21st centuryespecially on collaboration and communication. (3). Majority of students felt impressed that the learning occur innovatively, but students said the learning material was still out of date. ICT was not sufficiently integrated in the learning process to enrich learning materials and process. EE was still taught separately between theory and practice in an average composition of about 57% of theory and 43% of practice, (4). Assessments were still dominated by written tests, even used to assess skills as creativity and innovation that were not appropriate (5). Lecturers and students expressed need to learning model that emphasizes the practice more and reduces the theory. Project based learning tended to be developed and raised as alternative model for EE

Managing the interface between public sector applied research and technological development in the Chinese enterprise sector

China's technological capabilities are emerging rapidly and the country will become a major challenger to established nations in terms of R&D and innovation in the near future. For the moment, however, contradictory signals emerge from the Chinese economy leaving experts pondering about the country's true potential for technological upgrading on a broad scale. The integration of the domestic research system, international technology transfer, and technological development remains limited to a few high-tech companies, while large segments of the domestic private sector have limited access to knowledge and technologies to upgrade their activities. --China,Guangdong,interface,knowledge supply,knowledge demand,regional innovation system,science-industry relations

Beyond knowledge brokerage: an exploratory study of innovation intermediaries in an evolving smallholder agricultural system in Kenya

The recognition that innovation occurs in networks of heterogeneous actors and requires broad systemic support beyond knowledge brokering has resulted in a changing landscape of the intermediary domain in an increasingly market-driven agricultural sector in developing countries. This paper presents findings of an explorative case study that looked at 22 organisations identified as fulfilling an intermediary role in the Kenyan agricultural sector. The results show that these organisations fulfill functions that are not limited to distribution of knowledge and putting it into use. The functions also include fostering integration and interaction among the diverse actors engaged in innovation networks and working on technological, organisational and institutional innovation. Further, the study identified various organisational arrangements of innovation intermediaries with some organisations fulfilling a specialised innovation brokering role, even as other intermediaries take on brokering as a side activity, while still substantively contributing to the innovation process. Based on these findings we identify a typology of 4 innovation intermediation arrangements, including technology brokers, systemic brokers, enterprise development support and input access support. The results indicate that innovation brokering is a pervasive task in supporting innovation and will require policy support to embed it in innovation support arrangements. The paper is not normative about these arrangements

Investigating the technology catching-up trajectory of Chinese Hi-Tech SMEs: an integrated framework from industry-, resource-, and institution-based view

Accepted for WLICSMB 2010Purpose This paper intends to review the literatures on the technology catching-up trajectory of latecomers in order to understand the innovation strategies of Chinese Hi-Tech SMEs (Gu & Tse, 2010; Xie & White, 2006; Chen & Qu, 2003; Lee & Lim, 2001; Kim, 1997). It also tries to construct an integrated framework to investigate their innovation strategies and the impact on organizational performance from the Industry-, Resource-, and Institution-based view (Peng, Wang, & Jiang, 2008). Design/methodology/approach The authors have reviewed papers published in the leading journals in the R&D field and proposed an integrated conceptual framework of innovation strategies of Chinese Hi-Tech firms based on Peng, Wang and Jiang (2008)’s institution-based view framework to examine the innovation strategy from Industry-, firm-specific Resource-based, and Institution-based View Originality/Value This paper pays attention to the institution factors in shaping Chinese SMEs to develop innovative capabilities. Chinese firms have comparative advantages, such as better comprehending Chinese local market, better understanding of local business environment comparing to MNEs. Our paper argues that by developing effective innovation strategies and improving innovative capabilities, Chinese SMEs will be able to survive from the severe competitions from state-owned enterprises and foreign firms in China