Perspectives of Integrated “Next Industrial Revolution” Clusters in Poland and Siberia

Rozdział z: Functioning of the Local Production Systems in Central and Eastern European Countries and Siberia. Case Studies and Comparative Studies, ed. Mariusz E. Sokołowicz.The paper presents the mapping of potential next industrial revolution clusters in Poland and Siberia. Deindustrialization of the cities and struggles with its consequences are one of the fundamental economic problems in current global economy. Some hope to find an answer to that problem is associated with the idea of next industrial revolution and reindustrialization initiatives. In the paper, projects aimed at developing next industrial revolution clusters are analyzed. The objective of the research was to examine new industrial revolution paradigm as a platform for establishing university-based trans-border industry clusters in Poland and Siberia47 and to raise awareness of next industry revolution initiatives.Monograph financed under a contract of execution of the international scientific project within 7th Framework Programme of the European Union, co-financed by Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (title: “Functioning of the Local Production Systems in the Conditions of Economic Crisis (Comparative Analysis and Benchmarking for the EU and Beyond”)). Monografia sfinansowana w oparciu o umowę o wykonanie projektu między narodowego w ramach 7. Programu Ramowego UE, współfinansowanego ze środków Ministerstwa Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego (tytuł projektu: „Funkcjonowanie lokalnych systemów produkcyjnych w warunkach kryzysu gospodarczego (analiza porównawcza i benchmarking w wybranych krajach UE oraz krajach trzecich”))

Environmental Innovations: Institutional Impacts on Co-operations for Sustainable Development

A suitable strategy for achieving sustainable development is to foster environmental innovations. Environmental innovations, however, suffer from so-called "double externalities", because apart from innovation spillovers they also improve the quality of public environmental goods, which can be used without cost by free riders. Those innovation spillovers can be avoided through co-operation. Furthermore co-operations can be considered as advantageous because environmental innovations often depend on interaction in research and development, production, selling and disposal. This paper analyzes as to what extent institutional factors impact co-operative arrangements of innovative organizations in the development of new environmental technologies. It applies a multi-dimensional institutional analysis focusing not only on institutional arrangements which exist among organizations but also on opportunities and constraints provided by the institutional environment in which these organizations are embedded. Expanding the existing research we will conclude what kind of policy measure may support the success within networks of environmental oriented innovators.Environmental innovation, Co-operation, Sustainability, Institutional analysis, Policy measures

A framework of justification criteria for advanced manufacturing technology implementation in small and medium enterprises

Today in order to stay in businesses and prosper, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are seeking higher electiveness and competitiveness across the entire cycle of marketing, product design, manufacture, test and sales. SMEs play an increasingly important role in all aspects of competitiveness: both products and production techniques, but also management methods, the organization of the firm and human resources training. One of the ways by which SMEs can achieve a competitive advantage in manufacturing is through the implementation of Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT). An increasing number of them have chosen and are choosing various levels of AMT as the solution. Realizing the importance of SMEs, an attempt has been made in this paper to review the application of AMT in SMEs. Also, a framework has been offered for the implementation of AMT in SMEs. Finally, a summary of findings and conclusions are presented

Talent Management in European SMEs: case analysis between Slovenia and Poland

Organisations are investing significant efforts and resources into recruiting, developing and retaining key talent with the potential to contribute significantly to performance. However, the talent management (TM) process is difficult and despite all the efforts, many organisations struggle to effectively manage these valuable people. The main objective of this research is to examine the implementation of TM in SMEs in Europe. Our research responds to calls for more evidence of how TM is implemented across different contexts and which approaches are more prevalent. Europe is a dynamic collective of countries with distinctive political, social and economic histories that frame the present context in which SME’s operate. We present the findings from two case organisations in post socialist economies, one in Slovenia and the other in Poland. This research shows that in these post socialist contexts there is a strong need to approach TM from the perspective of SMEs, where their size and contextualised knowledge of their internal and external environment elicits local solutions to TM challenges. Furthermore, this demonstrates the value of foregrounding the individual needs and aspirations of talent when designing and implementing TM practices in SME’s, in order to create a sustainable future for all stakeholders

Preparing for the European Structural Funds' next funding period

Chapter 1 addresses central challenges (population and employment developments, innovative capacity) and highlights, in the view of the evaluators, the problem areas for the new funding period. This is followed, in Chapter 2, by an overview of the current funding period and an excursive outline of the adjustments still being recommended for the current funding programme. Chapter 3, which forms the core focus of this paper, discusses the recommendations proposed by evaluators on the cross-national direction of European structural funding from 2007 onwards. Chapter 4 provides the Conclusion for this discussion paper. --

The moral muteness of managers: an Anglo-American phenomenon? German and British managers and their moral reasoning about environmental sustainability in business

Several studies in the Anglo-American context have indicated that managers present themselves as morally neutral employees who act only in the best interest of the company by employing objective skills. The reluctance of managers to use moral arguments in business is further accentuated in the now common argument presented as a neutral fact that the company must always prioritise shareholder value. These and other commercial aims are seen as an objective reality in business, whilst questions about sustainability, environmental problems or fair trade are seen as emotional or moral ones; a phenomenon described as ‘moral muteness’. This research explores whether this ‘moral muteness’ is an Anglo-American phenomenon and/or whether managers in other countries - in this case Germany - might express themselves in a different way. The focus is on moral arguments around environmental sustainability and the implications of this study for cross-cultural management. This article is based on a qualitative, comparative cross-cultural study of British and German managers in the Food Retail and Energy Sectors. In line with the studies mentioned above, British managers placed a strong emphasis on their moral neutrality. In contrast, German managers tended to use moral arguments when discussing corporate greening, often giving such arguments more weight than financial arguments. Overall, the study suggests that the ‘moral muteness’ of managers is a British phenomenon and quite distinct from the German approach. The article ends in a short exploration of how this understanding can help managers better manage people, organisations and change across cultures

How can SMEs benefit from big data? Challenges and a path forward

Big data is big news, and large companies in all sectors are making significant advances in their customer relations, product selection and development and consequent profitability through using this valuable commodity. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have proved themselves to be slow adopters of the new technology of big data analytics and are in danger of being left behind. In Europe, SMEs are a vital part of the economy, and the challenges they encounter need to be addressed as a matter of urgency. This paper identifies barriers to SME uptake of big data analytics and recognises their complex challenge to all stakeholders, including national and international policy makers, IT, business management and data science communities. The paper proposes a big data maturity model for SMEs as a first step towards an SME roadmap to data analytics. It considers the ‘state-of-the-art’ of IT with respect to usability and usefulness for SMEs and discusses how SMEs can overcome the barriers preventing them from adopting existing solutions. The paper then considers management perspectives and the role of maturity models in enhancing and structuring the adoption of data analytics in an organisation. The history of total quality management is reviewed to inform the core aspects of implanting a new paradigm. The paper concludes with recommendations to help SMEs develop their big data capability and enable them to continue as the engines of European industrial and business success. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Partnerships for Women's Health - Striving for Best Practice within the UN Global Compact / United Nations University Research Brief 1/2009 (www.unu.edu)

Every minute, at least one woman dies from pregnancy and childbirth complications; a further 20 suffer injury, infection or disease. Despite medical advances, and years of policy declarations, this tragic situation remains particularly severe in developing countries, violating a fundamental human right. Is a new approach possible, one that looks beyond common project paradigms and standards? What could such an approach look like, how might it operate, and what might be its effect? The Women’s Health Initiative, an innovative public private partnership that drew reference from the UN Global Compact, provides a possible model.Women's maternal mortality, women's health, reproductive health, Millennium Development Goals, human right to best attainable health care, India, endoscopy, minimal invasive surgery, access to health, SME, PPP, UN Global Compact, corporate social responsibility, costs, infrastructure, medical training, capacity building, poverty.

Industry 4.0 Scenario Planning: How will the industry 4.0 transformations affect SMEs in Germany by 2030?

Digitalization is invading every aspect of our lives and modern technologies are at the helm of much disruptive change in all spheres of life. Hailed as the 4th industrial revolution every company has a mind to understand the implications of the Industry 4.0 suit of technologies and their multiple innovative applications for its operations. In this paper, we explore how the industry 4.0 transformation might affect Small and Medium sized enterprises in Germany over a 15-year horizon. We focus on SMEs because they play a significant role in ensuring the prosperity of Germany as a global industrial and economic powerhouse. We develop alternative pictures of the possible futures using the foresight technique of Scenario planning in which the factors that shape the business environment SMEs and indeed all companies operate in are identified and used to build the most plausible alternative realities. The outcome is four distinct scenarios that reflect the possible growth trajectories regarding the impending transformation for SMEs