Alliance capability as mediator between experience and alliance performance: an empirical investigation into the alliance capability development process

alliance, performance, capability

A chain-interactive innovation model for the learning economy: Prelude for a proposal

The implementation of innovation has a central role in the dynamic knowledge economy of the twenty-first century. The ability to assemble new expertise and commercialise new business propositions constitutes one of the central characteristics in today’s globalising, learning-intensive, fast changing economic life. This paper sets out to articulate a stylised understanding of the modern innovation process on the basis of the currently available understanding in the innovation studies tradition. The conceptual model seeks to capture the essential features of organisations engaged in developing dynamic factors of competitiveness.innovation; innovation process; conceptual model

ICT use in the teaching of mathematics: implications for professional development of pre-service teachers in Ghana

Included in the contemporary mathematics curricula in Ghana is the expectation that mathematics teachers will integrate technology in their teaching. However, importance has not been placed on preparing teachers to use ICT in their instruction. This paper reports on a study conducted to explore the feasibility of ICT use in mathematics teaching at senior high school levels in Ghana. Interviews and survey data were used for data collection. Preliminary results showed that mathematics teachers in Ghana do not integrate ICT in their mathematics instruction. Among the major perceived barriers identified were: Lack of knowledge about ways to integrate ICT in lesson and Lack of training opportunities for ICT integration knowledge acquisition. To overcome some of these barriers, opportunities of a professional development arrangement for pre-service mathematics teachers were explored. Findings from the study revealed specific features of a professional development scenario that matters for ICT integration in mathematics teaching in the context of Ghana

[Review of the book \u3ci\u3eSustainable Prosperity in the New Economy? Business Organization and High-Tech Employment in the United States\u3c/i\u3e]

[Excerpt] Best known as a business and economic historian, William (Bill) Lazonick may often escape the view of academics in human resource studies, organizational behavior, and labor relations. This is a mistake. Lazonick\u27s new book, Sustainable Prosperity in the New Economy?, is a must-read for scholars and students in these fields. He has chosen to study an important problem in the real world, has marshaled detailed empirical evidence to support his argument, and has used this evidence to critique conventional theory in economics and management

Alliance capability as mediator between experience and alliance performance : an empirical investigation into the alliance capability development process

This study centers around the way in which firms can enhance alliance performance through the development of an alliance capability. Whereas most research has focused on inter-firm antecedents of alliance performance (i.e. factors influencing the quality of the relationship), research on intra-firm antecedents points to prior experience and internal mechanisms fostering knowledge transfer. As little is known about how firms need to develop an alliance capability, this study aims to uncover the relationships between critical concepts underlying the alliance capability development process. To this end, the results of a worldwide survey among 151 firms and expert interviews yield a number of findings. First, a model of alliance capability development is proposed which is derived from a multitude of theories and links experience, micro-level mechanisms, routines, capabilities and performance. Second, whereas prior research has shown that experience is a key determinant of alliance performance, our study finds that alliance capability mediates between experience and performance. These results provide empirical evidence of the need for firms to leverage prior experience by dispersing and sharing knowledge through micro-level mechanisms. These results extend current understanding of the critical intra-firm determinants of alliance performance and the underpinnings of capability development research in general. Moreover, they also enable firms to take appropriate action at the micro-level

Capabilities for growth

This study explores firm growth and its relation with firm-specific capabilities. Organisations can benefit from growth in many ways, including greater efficiencies through economies of scale, increased power, the ability to withstand environmental change, increased profits and increased prestige for organizational members. The second element of research in this study, firm-specific capabilities, refers to the ability to integrate, build and reconfigure internal and external competencies to address rapidly changing environments. The fields of growth and capabilities seem to be complementary. However, the exact relationship currently seems to be underdeveloped. In this study, an attempt is made to incorporate the development of capabilities in the process of organisational growth. The following issues are addressed: The way organisations strive to grow, the manner in which firm-specific capabilities are incorporated and translated into the corporate strategy and whether these companies have succeeded.

A Logic of Multi-Level Change of Routines

This paper tries to account for endogenous change of multi-level routines in terms of nested cycles of discovery, in a hierarchy of scripts.Higher-level scripts constitute the selection environment for lower level ones.On any level, a cycle of discovery proceeds from established dominant designs.When subjected to new conditions, a script first tries to adapt by proximate change, in differentiation, with novel selection of subscripts in existing nodes in existing script architecture.Next, in reciprocation it adopts new nodes from other, surrounding scripts.Next, it adapts script architecture, in novel configurations of old and new nodes.In this way, lower level change of subscripts can force higher-level change of superscripts.In this way, institutions may co-evolve with innovation.routines;learning;evolution

New Knowledge for Old Regions? The Case of the Software Park Hagenberg in the Traditional Industrial Region of Upper Austria

This paper seeks to enhance our understanding about the opportunities and limits of new path creation in traditional regional innovation systems. Due to their inherited historical legacies, such systems are usually thought of being ill-equipped to give rise to high-tech or knowledge intensive activities. Departing from recent insights on research concerned with the transformation of innovation systems and evolutionary economic geography we identify in a conceptual way enabling and constraining factors for the rise of new development paths in traditional regions. Empirically, we focus on the case of the “Software Park Hagenberg†(SPH) located in the old industrial region of Upper Austria. We examine key events triggering the emergence and subsequent evolution of the SPH and explore the role of the RIS in shaping the development trajectory of the SPH. Moreover, applying social network analysis tools, we investigate the pattern of networking between firms, research organisations and educational bodies within the SPH and we provide some evidence on the diffusion of knowledge and innovation generated though these interactions throughout the regional economy.