Cluster Complexes: A Framework for Understanding the Internationalisation of Innovation Systems

The literature on clustering that has developed over the last two decades or so has given us a wealth of information on the formation and competitiveness of places in the global economy. Similarly, the systems literature on innovation has been valuable in moving the debate around technology from a focus on the entrepreneur to one than encompasses institutions, government, suppliers, customers and universities. However, there remains an important limit to this research; the borders of political jurisdictions, usually nation states, typically delineate the studies. It is argued in this paper that during an era when the international architecture of production relationships is changing, this view of systems is hindering its further development. This paper briefly examines what we have learnt of innovation systems, including clustering and also explores the limitations of this work. From this foundation it is proposed in this paper that a framework which understands clusters as nodes within extra-territorial networks is a promising approach for internationalising the systems of innovation perspective. The advantage of the approach presented here is that it can simultaneously capture regional specialisations and be disaggregated enough to apply on a technology / sectoral basis. Another principle advantage is that such a framework goes someway towards an understanding of interregional and international trade that is consistent with what other studies have shown of the development of innovation within particular geographic locations. The paper draws from extensive data analysis of industrial interdependencies that cross national borders to support the case for cluster complexes that transcend regional and national borders.innovation systems; clusters; internationalisation

An aesthetic for sustainable interactions in product-service systems?

Copyright @ 2012 Greenleaf PublishingEco-efficient Product-Service System (PSS) innovations represent a promising approach to sustainability. However the application of this concept is still very limited because its implementation and diffusion is hindered by several barriers (cultural, corporate and regulative ones). The paper investigates the barriers that affect the attractiveness and acceptation of eco-efficient PSS alternatives, and opens the debate on the aesthetic of eco-efficient PSS, and the way in which aesthetic could enhance some specific inner qualities of this kinds of innovations. Integrating insights from semiotics, the paper outlines some first research hypothesis on how the aesthetic elements of an eco-efficient PSS could facilitate user attraction, acceptation and satisfaction

Sustainability in design: now! Challenges and opportunities for design research, education and practice in the XXI century

Copyright @ 2010 Greenleaf PublicationsLeNS project funded by the Asia Link Programme, EuropeAid, European Commission

The economic rise of China and the transformation of Vietnam's motorcycle industry

This submission consists of a collection of four papers. Each paper stands on its own and makes a specific contribution to knowledge. However, the four papers are also closely connected, each providing a building block for understanding how China’s economic rise has affected Vietnam’s industrial development. Taken together, these papers show that the conclusion reached on how China’s rise affects its neighbours depends fundamentally on understanding the changing dynamics over time. So as to unravel these dynamics, this collection focuses on the motorcycle industry and covers a period of a decade. At the beginning of that decade China’s economic rise seemed to be a disaster for Vietnam’s industrial development. By the end the decade, it turned out to have transformed Vietnam’s industrial development and production capabilities. At the heart of this intriguing dynamic is the competition between two models of industrial organisation. The first paper conceptualises the two contrasting models of industrial organisation that underlie the Japanese dominance and the Chinese catch-up in the Asian motorcycle industry. The second and third papers present the findings of the empirical research on Vietnam’s motorcycle industry covering a period of a decade. The second paper shows that China’s economic rise brought about repeated rounds of competition between the Japanese and Chinese models of industrial organisation attempting to gain supremacy in the third country market of Vietnam. The third paper shows that local component suppliers were able to build up considerable production capabilities in the course of the decade as the changes in industrial organisation created new learning opportunities for these suppliers. Drawing together the findings of the research, the fourth paper argues that the impact of China’s economic rise on the development of Vietnam’s motorcycle industry changed over a decade and that the changing impact can be explained in terms of successive changes in industrial organisation

Innovation of product modularity development through the integration of a formal Industrial Design framework

Growing numbers of global manufacturers are not only adopting the modularity concept, but integrating design methodologies that explicitly focused on achieving a range of competitive advantages through the enhancement of product appearance and utilities designs. The rising interest in industrial design is also an interesting symptom of changes in the approach to new product development, hence, integrating industrial design in modular product design posed a new challenge. In meeting these challenges, a formal Industrial Design framework known as InDFM (Industrial Design Framework for Modular Product Design/Development) was developed to support the innovation of design in modular product development. Within the InDFM, a methodology is developed for modular product design realisation. This research embarked with identifying the appropriate range of product as the focus of the investigation, followed by qualitative surveys on the design and development processes relevant to the selected product. The surveys were conducted in modular product companies within a range of industries related to the product, in the U.K., Belgium and Malaysia. Literatures reviews were also conducted on related domains across a range of application to understand the fundamentals of modularity and industrial design processes that are relevant to the domains. Data findings from these exercises were used to identify InDFM construction components, which were also vital to develop a technical standard for implementation of the InDFM. To evaluate its practicability, the InDFM was retrospectively applied in an existing modular product design process of a selected company. The evaluation focused on process compatibility of industrial design and modular design processes. Validation of the process compatibility emphasised the quality of integration at all stages of the design and development process. In conclusion, industrial design applications in a highly technical process of modular product design provide a design-driven innovation to complement the engineering driven innovation in the process. The combinations were proven to enhance the visual, interactive, and the feasibility contents of a modular product apart from providing a broader perspective to the objective of product modularity. InDFM also provides design practitioners with systematic design methodology to integrate both processes, thus performed as a tool for innovation that facilitate the revision of object identity, break away from the existing design rules and generating new rules. Additionally, as InDFM is a flexible methodology, innovation of modular product design through industrial design is accessible to any product company, small scale or big organisation that would want to acquire an advanced interactive version of the InDFM in the future

Cluster Complexes: A Framework for Understanding the Internationalisation of Innovation Systems

It is argued in this paper that during an era when the international architecture of production relationships is changing, this view of systems is hindering its further development. It draws from extensive data analysis of industrial interdependencies that cross national borders to support the case for cluster complexes that transcend regional and national borders

Process assessment for the extended enterprise during early product development using novel computational techniques

Manufacturing practices have evolved over the last quarter of a century in the light of changes to manufacturing technology and demand. To sustain this growth companies are increasingly focused on better design and quicker time to market, to stay one step ahead of the competition. Expanding technology capabilities have included microcomputers and telecommunications. In particular the Internet has allowed businesses to trade with an extended customer base, resulting in a greater demand and perpetuating the cycle. To mirror this statement, businesses are looking increasingly far and wide for suitable suppliers. This work identifies a need in the market for an Internet based supplier selection function, during early product development. The development of this work differs significantly from other process selection methods by the use of the Internet to link companies. It has advantages for product development relating to the scope of the opportunities, diversity of possible manufacturing operations and rapid assessment of processes. In particular the system can be broken down into two main functions. Process Selection (PS) and Factory Selection (FS). The PS method presented enables many processes to be modelled, in multiple organisations for a single product. The Internet is used to gain access to supplier facilities by adopting the same principles as on-line banking, or shopping, for data input and access. The results of these assessments are retained by the system for later analysis. The FS method utilises this data to model and compare supplier attributes, allowing the user to manipulate the data to fit their requirements. Testing of the system has proved encouraging for many operations, including Injection Moulding and CNC Machining. It can be concluded that the identification of manufacturing operations outside the remit of companies' normal scope will create further opportunities for supplier integration

Business process and technology lessons learned, recommendations and best practices for new adopters

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2006."June 2006."Includes bibliographical references (leaves 117-118).This thesis focuses on documenting learnings from a RFID data exchange pilot in the fast moving consumer goods industry. The pilot we studied is a collaborative effort between two of the largest retailers in the world and five of their major suppliers, facilitated by EPCglobal and the MIT Auto-ID labs. Currently, manufacturers and suppliers are building the infrastructure to exchange EPC data to validate standards and proof of concepts for RFID adoption. The outcome of these pilots will essentially set the stage for large scale RFID adoption worldwide. Our thesis attempts to document issues relating to data exchange from business process, organizational and technical perspectives. We have synthesized the findings and consolidated the lessons learned during the pilot in an attempt to form a set of actionable recommendations for new companies looking to start on RFID pilot projects.by Rida Chan [and] Sangeeth Ram.M.Eng.in Logistic

ICS Materials. Towards a re-Interpretation of material qualities through interactive, connected, and smart materials.

The domain of materials for design is changing under the influence of an increased technological advancement, miniaturization and democratization. Materials are becoming connected, augmented, computational, interactive, active, responsive, and dynamic. These are ICS Materials, an acronym that stands for Interactive, Connected and Smart. While labs around the world are experimenting with these new materials, there is the need to reflect on their potentials and impact on design. This paper is a first step in this direction: to interpret and describe the qualities of ICS materials, considering their experiential pattern, their expressive sensorial dimension, and their aesthetic of interaction. Through case studies, we analyse and classify these emerging ICS Materials and identified common characteristics, and challenges, e.g. the ability to change over time or their programmability by the designers and users. On that basis, we argue there is the need to reframe and redesign existing models to describe ICS materials, making their qualities emerge