A Spatial Analysis Of The Knowledge - Based Economy In Poland

The purpose of this article is to identify disparities in the use of knowledge in socio-economic life in the Polish provinces. The study was conducted using a taxonomic measure of development (one of the tools of multidimensional comparative analysis). Classification of provinces was constructed on the basis of KEI (Knowledge Economy Index) and KI (Knowledge Index) which are used by the World Bank in Knowledge Assessment Methodology (KAM). The division into four pillars (i.e. The Economic Incentive and Institutional Regime, The Innovation System, Education and Human Resources, Information and Communication Technology) attempts to explain the relationship between the factors of development

EFORMING THE ELECTORATE: PATTERNS OF TECHNOLOGY USE

This paper discusses research-in-progress on a longitudinal study of technology usage by incumbent members of the U.S. Congress on their official Congressional homepages to “routinely” communicate with the public and with their constituencies as well as technology usage on campaign homepages for the purpose of political campaigning. By examining the types of information technologies embedded on and linked to from both types of homepages, we propose to track technology usage over time in order to study the diffusion and adoption of information technologies within the political arena. Drawing on diffusion of innovation and institutional isomorphism as our theoretical framework, we propose that examining patterns of diffusion of three categories of information technology – Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and Social Networking technologies – will provide us with insights into the changing nature of political communication strategies enabled by information technology, as well as insights into factors underlying institutional technology diffusion

Models of early adoption of ICT innovations in higher education

One of the common dilemmas faced by developers of information communication technology (ICT) initiatives is how to go about identifying potential early adopters of their service. This article outlines background research into this area and details the approaches taken within the JISC-funded Rights and Rewards in Blended Institutional Repositories Project to locate these key individuals within a Higher Education (HE) environment. The concept of an innovation is discussed and the differences between the terms innovation and invention are outlined. Models and frameworks for describing the process of introducing an innovation to an organisation are described. These suggest influential institutional factors, key characteristics of individuals, the innovation, and the organisation that affect the diffusion of an innovation. Together these features create the environment in which new innovations are explored

HOW TO ALLOW FOR USER-CENTERED INNOVATION OVER AN ESTABLISHED INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE WITHIN AN INSTITUTIONALIZED CONTEXT

This paper describes a user-centered innovation process within psychiatric services for children and adolescents, implementing a new decentralized model in rural areas in Norway by using mobile phone technology. We apply theory of information infrastructures as a frame of reference for analysing what enables or constrain user-centered innovation processes within a complex organizational context. We illustrates what roles the various levels of an information infrastructure and its installed base can play in innovation processes, implying a complex interplay between technical, organizational and institutional factors. We argue that as a result of this user-centered innovation, the new model emerged with a larger potential for creating a new innovation path than would have been the case if it had been linked to the existing structures. The aim of this paper is thus to contribute to the understanding of how to allow for user-centered innovation over an established information infrastructure within an institutionalized context

Capacidade de inovação regional: o papel de instituições e empresas de base tecnológica em Juiz de Fora [Regional innovation capacity: the role of institutions and firms in Juiz de Fora]

The starting point of this paper is the interrelation between learning, innovation, regional and local development in the 'Knowledge or Learning Economy'. Along with the traditional economic factors that have been considered in the literature on regional development, other factors such as trust, co-operation, innovative networks, institutions and other elements that are immaterial produce the regional development in the context of the 'Learning Economy'. The main aim of this paper is to investigate the attempts to build a collective and regional learning process by innovative, technology based, small sized enterprises, together with other institutions in the city of Juiz de Fora. It highlights the local institutional environment and the characteristics of some information and knowledge intensive firms, supported by the Regional Center for Innovation and Technology Transference at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora. Moreover, special emphasis is given to some evidence about co-operation, innovative networks and external sources of information that are used to innovate.Learning, knowledge, innovation, regional development, Juiz de Fora

Government Intervention in SMEs E-Commerce Adoption

Institutional involvement has been determinant in the diffusion of technological innovations, however little attention has been given to institutional intervention in the adoption and diffusion of e-commerce in SMEs. This study investigates the role of government in the adoption and diffusion of e-commerce in small and medium size enterprises. King et al. (1994) framework of institutional factors in information technology innovation is used to analyze the wishes expressed by SMEs regarding intervention to foster the adoption and diffusion of e-commerce among small businesses. The findings show that the government could mostly influence adoption and diffusion through knowledge deployment, subsidies and mobilization

Effects of the internet on the spatial structure of innovation networks

Research on innovation systems and innovative milieux has shown that the innovation process of companies is strongly interrelated with other firms and organisations. Internet is a new information and communication technology with a considerable potential to change such relationships and networks. An often held expectation is that the Internet will allow firms to interact with distant partners more easily and that as a consequence innovation networks become independent from geographical space. A contrasting view argues that local and regional networks and innovation systems will keep their importance, due to the fact that tacit knowledge, face to face communication and institutional factors are still of key relevance. In the paper we are going to investigate to which extent and how the Internet changes innovation network of companies. Do firms using the Internet intensively have other innovation partners at wider spatial scales than firms which hardly use this communication technology? We have analysed the effects of the Internet on the innovation-related knowledge flows of firms by conducting a telephone survey, personal interviews and a WWW-survey of Austrian firms. Preliminary analysis shows that there is significant variance between firms depending on the relative importance of different types of knowledge communicated and the type of firm (e.g., science-based firms versus traditional manufacturing firms). Overall, there is evidence that the Internet made relations to innovation partners more efficient. However, the configuration of networks (types and location of partners) did not change as much as is often expected in the literature.

Information technology governance maturity and technology innovation in higher education: factors in effectiveness

Prior research has explored many facets of innovation, provided models of governance maturity, and analyzed the impact of corporate decision-making on innovation. However, there is little research on IT governance maturity in higher education or on IT innovation in organizations outside of the IT industry. Findings from previous research were ambiguous regarding whether a mature IT governance process helps or hinders innovation. This study fills a gap in existing knowledge by reviewing the literature and examining the interaction of IT governance and information technology innovation at five major U.S. universities. It provides insights into the structures and processes necessary for IT governance to facilitate technology innovation and the factors required for effective IT governance in higher education. Highly effective IT governance processes focused on collaboration and communication were associated with greater integration of radical innovation into institutional processes than effective IT governance processes that focused primarily on the prioritization of large enterprise projects. Incremental technology innovations were pervasive among all schools studied. IT governance was found to be more effective under a delegated model of decision-making authority that empowers IT governance bodies than under a CIO-centric model. The inclusion of a faculty, students and business units in IT governance committees was associated with a stronger innovation culture

The process of RFID assimilation by supply chain participants in China: A technology diffusion perspective on RFID technology

RFID technology is recently an emerging technology that is being used in many echelons of supply chain participants. Mostrecent IS research on this technology focus on factors which will impact its organizational adoption. However, adoption isjust one part of assimilation process which cannot make sure that RFID can be full-scale deployed in an organization.Assimilation theories also suggested that most information technologies exhibit an “an assimilation gap” which meanswidespread usage tends to lag behind their adoption. Therefore, a stage-based model is necessary for us to understand theassimilation process of RFID technology.In this paper, we will draw on innovation diffusion theory, institutional theory and stage-based model to investigate whichinnovation factors play significant roles during three assimilation stages: initiation-adoption-routinization. Factors under eachcategory of TOE (technological, organizational, and environmental) framework will be potential antecedents of the stagebasedassimilation process and their impacts on each stage will be investigated

Comparing Innovations: Educational and Institutional Issues

Based on the analysis of 83 case reports developed from the Module 2 of the Second International Information Technology in Education Study (SITES M2), this paper explored the contextual factors influencing change at the institutional level within which innovation took place. We identified six contextual factors including initiation, school background, principal leadership, school strategies, government and community support, and school ICT infrastructure. We then characterized patterns of findings on such contextual factors in association to the innovative pedagogical practices that had been in place in classrooms through cluster analysis and qualitative comparison, with the aim of examining the contextual factors contributing to the emergence and sustainability of the innovations to inform policy decision makers at all levels as a support for their policy and strategic planning.published_or_final_versio