Autonomic Protocol-based Coordination in Dynamic Inter-Organizational Workflow

International audienceGiven the maturity of Internet standards, inter-organizational workflow is expected to be deployed in environments that are more dynamic and open than before. This paper addresses Inter Organizational Workflow (IOW) coordination in such a context, mainly investigating autonomic coordination managed at run-time. It is based on the idea that an agent-based approach is suitable to deal with this issue. More precisely, this paper introduces a framework for dynamic IOW in which involved processes are encapsulated into agents, called Process Agents (PA) in order to give them the capability to autonomously decide with whom, when and how to cooperate, and in which involved processes can access protocol components for their coordination needs. Our approach is based on the capability of PAs in playing different coordination protocols in order to take part in new business opportunities. This solution has numerous advantages. First, it provides extendable and reusable coordination components. Then, it supports run-time protocol integration. Finally, it eases openness since it imposes very few constraints

Close Encounters: Evidence of the potential benefits of proximity to local industrial clusters

Local clusters of high technology small businesses are of increasing interest to politician and academics. This papers draws on a study of 237 high tech small businesses located throughout the UK. Combining information on activity and location, firms were grouped according to their potential degree of embeddedness in local industrial clusters. Businesses with differing levels of cluster involvement were then examined in terms of market structure, supportiveness of local cluster and their performance. The findings lend support to the role of untraded rather than traded interdependencies in the dynamics of localised high tech clusters. Research indicating compensating behaviour by high tech businesses disadvantaged by location is also supported, emphasising the need to consider not only the location and activity but also entrepreneurial objectives.high technology small firms, business clusters, rural locations, untraded interdependencies

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Perceptions of Subcontracting Training Within the Department of Defense

Veteran-owned small businesses that possess ratings as service-disabled companies (i.e., service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses [SDVOSB] are 1 of 5 socioeconomic small business contracting goals that U.S. government agencies seek to comply with U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) set-aside goals. Little is known about collaborative strategies for improving training regarding single point of entry into Department of Defense (DOD) subcontracting. The research questions in this study focus on how veteran-owned small businesses pursue acquisition opportunities from training opportunities. Sabatier\u27s advocacy coalition theory was used as the theoretical foundation for this study. This qualitative study was employed using 6 semistructured interviews of small business owners who possessed SDVOSB status and a content analysis of training policies from corporate supplier diversity offices, procurement assistance centers, small business development centers, and DOD Office of Small Business programs from a midwestern city. The emergent themes were (a) availability of training from procurement support assistance agencies is of limited value to mature small businesses; (b) additional support and training are needed for subcontractors desiring to enter the DOD subcontracting market; (c) significant obstacles are present in gaining access to federal subcontracting opportunities, including complex acquisition strategies and selection of contract type; and (d) understanding and enforcement of SDVOSB regulations were perceived as insufficient. SDVOSB entities can use these findings to comprehend what questions to ask about subcontracting training

The Internationalization of Small and Medium Enterprises in Regional and Global Value Chains

Production networks and the regional division of labor have been established in East Asia resulting in massive vertical intra-industry trade in parts and components within the region. This phenomenon is known as cross-border production sharing or the fragmentation of production processes into many stages across different countries. New development strategies claim that participation in international production and distribution networks is the key to accelerating economic development in the era of globalization. This process suggests that vertical input-output linkages between local firms and multinational corporations are the most powerful channels to accelerate technology transfers and spillovers. Given the trends of globalization and economic integration in East Asia, there is significant potential for the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector to increase its contribution to the region's development through greater participation in global value chains. However, multiple market failures exist with regard to the development of SMEs and local entrepreneurship. These risks can be mitigated by proper policy measures such as strengthening technological and human resource capabilities through better networking and facilitating access to financing for SMEs. Despite many distortions and inefficiencies in implementing regional economic integration schemes in East Asia, there are many cumulative positive effects contributing to the emerging trend internationalization of SMEs in the region. This process can be significantly strengthened by creating a positive business environment through the standardization of products and services, rules and regulations, and a seamless market infrastructure in the region.internationalization SMEs; regional development policies; regional market failure

A Longitudinal Study on the Effects of Network Capabilities of Firms and SME Policies

학위논문 (박사) -- 서울대학교 대학원 : 공과대학 협동과정 기술경영·경제·정책전공, 2021. 2. Jorn Altmann.South Korea's rapid growth from the 1970s to the early 1990s is largely due to the industrial structure centered on conglomerates that mainly export high-tech products with supports by the government. However, as the problem of the unbalanced industry structure emerged, support for SMEs has been strengthened, including SME-friendly public procurement policies. Public procurement in the software industry is also regulated by the Software Promotion Act, separate from the National Contract Act or the Procurement Business Act. A major issue pointed out in this public software procurement market was especially for conglomerates' extreme domination. Accordingly, the government has prevented conglomerates from participating in the public software procurement market since 2013, and prohibited multi-layered subcontracting practices from 2016. This study focused on the structural characteristics representing the network capabilities of firms, which have been frequently used in strategic management theory and organizational ecology, but difficult to systematically track dynamic changes over time. From 2008 to 2018, financial data of 2,665 major software firms with annual sales of more than 5 billion won and tax invoice transaction data had been consolidated. In the present study the effect of network capabilities on firm growth was dynamically analyzed, the net effect of the restriction system on participation of conglomerates (2013) on labor productivity was analyzed, and the net effect of the multi-layered subcontracting prohibition system (2016) on labor productivity and revenue growth was analyzed. As a result, it was found that integration, brokerage, and hierarchical trading network capabilities had a positive effect on revenue growth, but collaboration capabilities had a rather negative effect on the short term growth. In addition, in the software industry, unlike the manufacturing industry such as the automobile industry, the horizontal cooperation structure has a positive effect on productivity increase rather than the multi-layered vertical cooperation structure. Demand is important to the growth of a firm, but excessive measures such as excluding specific participants in a market may be poisonous to SMEs' productivity improvement and further growth. When creating a public procurement market environment that is the foundation for fostering target industries and firms, a government should concern not only the unique characteristics of the industry, but also the fact that roles and capabilities of firms are heterogeneous and their collaboration structure is important.한국의 집약적인 1970~1990년대 고도 성장은 정부가 조성하고 지원한 하이테크 제품을 주로 수출하는 대기업 중심의 산업구조 덕택이었다. 하지만 재벌에 편중된 산업 구조에 대한 문제점이 더 부각되면서 정부는 중소기업 친화적인 공공 조달 정책과 같은 중소기업 지원 정책을 강화해 왔다. 소프트웨어 분야 공공 조달 시장은 국가계약법, 조달사업법, 소프트웨어진흥법 등의 규율 하에 있는데, 그간 대기업의 독점적 참여가 중대한 이슈였다. 그에 따라 정부는 2013년부터 재벌 기업의 공공 소프트웨어 조달 시장 참여를 금지하고, 2016년부터 다단계 하도급을 금지하는 재 하도급 제한 제도를 실시했다. 소프트웨어 산업에서는 중소기업 뿐 아니라 모든 참여기업들의 협업 구조가 중요하기 때문에, 네트워크 역량을 나타내는 구조적 특성의 동태적인 변화를 면밀히 분석할 필요가 있다. 이를 위해, 이 연구는 2008~2018년까지 연 매출 50억 원 이상인 2,665개의 주요 소프트웨어기업의 재무 데이터를 구성했다. 또한 네트워크 역량을 구성하는 네 가지 지표를 조작적으로 정의하고 세금계산서 거래 데이터에 기초하여 분석한 후 통합 패널을 구축하였다. 그리하여 네 가지 서로 다른 네트워크 역량이 기업 성장에 미치는 영향을 동적으로 분석하고, 대기업 참여 제한 제도(2013)가 노동생산성과 수익성에 미치는 순 효과와 다단계 하도급 제한 제도(2016)가 노동 생산성 변화와 매출 성장에 미치는 순 효과를 분석하였다. 분석 결과, 통합·매개·계층적 거래 네트워크 역량은 연 매출 성장에 긍정적인 영향을 미치지만, 중장기적 협업 역량은 오히려 부정적인 영향을 미쳤다. 기업의 성장에 수요는 중요하지만, 해당 분야에 유효한 사업 권리를 갖고 있는 특정 기업군의 참여를 전면 제한하는 과도한 조치는 오히려 중소기업의 노동생산성 향상에 부정적인 영향을 미칠 수도 있다. 또한 소프트웨어 산업에서는 자동차 산업과 같은 제조업과 달리 수직적, 혹은 다층적 협력 구조 보다 수평적 협력 구조가 매출 성장에 보다 긍정적인 영향을 미친다. 산업과 기업 육성에 마중 물이 되는 공공 조달 시장 환경을 조성할 때, 우리는 산업 고유의 특성뿐 아니라, 기업 규모별로 역할 및 역량이 이질적이라는 점을 고려하여 사업의 기간 및 규모, 참여 기업 조건 등을 조화롭게 계획할 필요가 있다.Contents Abstract iii Contents vii List of Tables x List of Figures xii Chapter 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Research Background and Objectives 1 1.2 Outlines of the Overall Integrated Research Framework 3 Chapter 2. The Impact of Network Capabilities on a Firm's Growth 10 2.1 Literature Review 10 2.1.1 Penrosian Resource-Based View Theory 10 2.1.2 Organisational Economics Theory 11 2.1.3 Theory of Network Capabilities and Firm Performance 13 2.2 Research Model and Hypothesis 14 2.2.1 Operational Definition of Network Capabilities and Hypothesis Setting 14 2.2.2 Extended Model of Firm Growth 18 2.3 Variables and Data 23 2.3.1 Definition of Variables 24 2.3.2 Data 25 2.4 Result of Empirical Analysis 27 2.4.1 Descriptive Statistics 27 2.4.2 Analysis Result 28 2.5 Academic and Policy Implications 32 Chapter 3. The Policy Effect of Excluding Conglomerates' Participation on Labour Productivity of Target SMEs 36 3.1 Literature Review 36 3.1.1 Roles of the Korean Government: SME Policy and Public Procurement 36 3.1.2 Public Procurement and Firm Productivity 41 3.1.3 Public Procurement for Software Landscape Changes in Korea 43 3.2 Research Model and Hypothesis 47 3.3 Data and Analysis Method 49 3.3.1 Variables and Data 49 3.3.2 Analysis Method 52 3.4 Result of Empirical Analysis 55 3.4.1 Descriptive Statistics 55 3.4.2 Results of Analysis 56 3.5 Academic and Policy Implications 60 Chapter 4. Subcontracting Structure Matters: Innovation Performance in Software Industry 64 4.1 Literature Review 64 4.1.1 The Nature of Subcontracting 64 4.1.2 Software Industry and Multilayered Subcontracting Prohibition Policy 69 4.2 Research Model and Hypothesis 71 4.3 Data and Analysis Method 74 4.3.1 Variable and Data 74 4.3.2 Analysis Method 76 4.4 Analysis Results 80 4.4.1 Descriptive Statistics 80 4.4.2 Results of Empirical Analysis 81 4.5 Academic and Policy Implications 85 Chapter 5. Conclusion 89 5.1 Summary 89 5.2 Limitations and Future Research 96 Bibliography 98 Abstract (Korean) 117Docto

Decision support framework for supply chain planning with flexible demand

The most challenging issue of today’s production management is certainly to manage networked organisations under an uncertain demand so that to provide a good service to the customer at low cost. In this article, a model of the decision making parameters involved in this management process is suggested, on the base of case studies. A mixed integer linear planning model embedded in a framework simulating a rolling horizon planning process is described on the base of this analysis. The model takes into account the capabilities of reaction of the planned system and of its environment (suppliers, subcontractors and customers), as well as the corresponding costs. The suggested simulation framework may assist the decision maker for coping with an uncertain or flexible demand, using various planning strategies. Some possible applications of this simulation framework are given in order to illustrate how it can help to solve various types of practical planning problems

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) Participation in Public Procurement

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) dominate the Single Market contributing to local employment generation and innovative supplies and services development. Yet, SMEs are continuously disproportionately underrepresented in public markets. On average EU member states spend approximately 14% of their gross domestic product (GDP) concluding public supplies, services and works contracts. EU rules aim to promote cross-border trade in the Single Market by removing the barriers faced by suppliers when tendering for public contracts. This research questions whether the inclusion of social criteria and innovative procedures facilitates SME participation in public contracts. The research questions what impact “the division of large contracts into small ‘lots’; the use of community benefit clauses; the use of subcontractor considerations; and the use of pre-commercial procurement (PCP) procedures” has on SME participation. A cross-border comparative case-study approach is adopted to examine the inclusion of social criteria and innovative procedures in four case studies. The case studies scrutinise the inclusion of social criteria in; a €1.7 billion works contract for the construction of a New Children’s Hospital in Ireland, a £27 million catering, cleaning and ancillary services contract conducted by Northern Ireland’s Central Procurement Directorate, and two PCP competitions conducted by Smart Dublin and Smart Belfast. The findings show how; the use of community benefit clauses and the use of lots facilitated a social enterprise in winning a proportion of a £27 million services and supplies contract; the use of subcontractor considerations resulted in the awarding of €500,000 of subcontracts to SMEs on a €1.7 billion contract within six months of contract commencement, and the use of PCP facilitated the participation of nine SMEs in public contracts. The thesis argues that public procurers should not to treat SMEs as a homogenised group and should design appropriate and proportionate policies for different forms of businesses, including social enterprises and innovative start-ups