179 research outputs found

    Dynamic enterprise modelling: a methodology for animating dynamic social networks

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    PhD ThesisSince the introduction of the Internet and the realisation of its potential companies have either transformed their operation or are in the process of doing so. It has been observed, that developments in I.T., telecommunications and the Internet have boosted the number of enterprises engaging into e-commerce, e-business and virtual enterprising. These trends are accompanied by re-shaping, transformation and changes in an enterprise's boundaries. The thesis gives an account of the research into the area of dynamic enterprise modelling and provides a modelling methodology that allows different roles and business models to be tested and evaluated without the risk associated with committing to a change

    How to manage SMEs through the transformation from non-innovative to innovative?

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    Denne afhandling er indgivet til ph.d. bedÞmmelse under forskerskolen Viden og Ledelse ved Institut for Ledelse, Politik og Filosofi pÄ Copenhagen Business School. Afhandlingen tager udgangspunkt i danske smÄ og mellemstore virksomheders udfordringer i at tilpasse sig omverdenens uophÞrlige forandringer. En aktuel udfordring og mÄde at overleve pÄ for disse virksomheder er at vÊre innovative. UndersÞgelser i 2004 pegede pÄ, at cirka 50% af alle danske smÄ og mellemstore virksomheder ikke var innovative. PrÊcis der udkrystalliserede mit forskningsspÞrgsmÄl sig, som er: Hvordan leder man smÄ og mellemstore virksomheder fra at vÊre ikke-innovative til at blive innovative? Organisationsteorien er leveringsdygtig i mange bud pÄ en lÞsning til dette problem. Gennem litteraturstudier og mÄlrettede udvÊlgelseskriterier valgte jeg at analysere problemstillingen ud fra 4 organisationsteoretiske perspektiver, nemlig ledelse, HRM, strategi og netvÊrksrelationer. Den forskningsbaserede empiriske undersÞgelse af 5 casevirksomheder viste, at en succesfuld transformation handler om at udvikle en ledelse, der skaber gode rammer for at medarbejderne kan lede og udvikle sig selv gennem arbejde med viden og ny indsigt. Det bÞr stÞttes af en stram styring pÄ de mÄl og ressourcer, der er afsat. Det er ligeledes vigtigt, at HRM perspektivet tager udgangspunkt i at se medarbejderne, som nogen der indeholder et stort potentiale som de gerne benytter til at udvikle virksomheden, hvis de bliver motiveret og udfordret. Disse HRM aktiviteter bÞr ses i tÊt sammenhÊng med virksomhedens strategi. En strategi, der i Þvrigt bÞr vÊre nedskrevet, fokuseret pÄ innovative tiltag og tydelig kommunikeret ud i organisationen. Endelig bÞr smÄ og mellemstore virksomheder, der Þnsker at transformere sig til en innovativ position vÊre aktive i netvÊrksrelationer med alle typer af relevante interessenter. Mine analyser af de data der relaterer sig forskningsprojektet viste, at 2 af virksomhederne have gennemgÄet en transformationsproces, der bragte dem fuldbyrdet ind i en ny ligevÊgtsposition baseret pÄ innovation. 2 virksomheder var tydeligt i gang med en transformation, men var ikke nÄet til en ny ligevÊgtssituation i forhold til at innovative. Den sidste virksomhed var opdelt pÄ den mÄde, at virksomheden var langt fra transformeret i retning af det innovative, hvorimod virksomhedens produktudviklingsafdeling bar tydelig prÊg af en sÄdan ligevÊgt i forhold til den innovative position. I en lÊngere periode ansÄ jeg disse resultater for vÊre noget spredte i den forstand, at der faktisk var en 50-50 fordeling mellem virksomheder der bekrÊftede mine antagelser, og virksomheder der ikke bekrÊftede mine antagelser. Jeg var faktisk begyndt at skrive konklusionen, da jeg pludselig sÄ problemstillingen og mine data forene sig pÄ en ny mÄde. Det var endda en mÄde, der let og entydigt forklarede situationen i alle 5 casevirksomheder, og som bidrager til ny viden pÄ feltet. Det, der styrer smÄ og mellemstore virksomheders transformation generelt (ikke kun mod innovation), er det som ledelsen og medarbejderne adresserer som virksomhedens hovedproblem. Hvis ledere og medarbejdere anser det at udvikle produkter eller processer som det vigtigste problem, vil det fÄ stor indflydelse pÄ ledelse, HRM, strategi og netvÊrksrelationer, og disse omrÄder vil tilpasse sig og stÞtte op om skabelsen af en innovativ ligevÊgtssituation. Hvis ledere og medarbejdere anser optimering af produktionen eller administrationen som det vigtigste problem, sÄ vil det ligeledes fÄ stor indflydelse pÄ ledelse, HRM, strategi og netvÊrksrelationer, som i dette tilfÊlde vil udvikle sig mod en ikke-innovativ ligevÊgtssituation

    L'effet de l'entente entre le Grupo Carso et le gouvernement mexicain sur les télécommunications mexicaines et latino-américaines (1989-2006) : du monopole d'état à la «main invisible» du marché

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    À partir des annĂ©es 80, le rĂ©gime international des tĂ©lĂ©communications a subi un grand bouleversement. Le contrĂŽle que les États exerçaient sur les tĂ©lĂ©communications a Ă©tĂ© redĂ©fini avec la privatisation des monopoles publics et la dĂ©rĂ©gulation des monopoles privĂ©s dans ce secteur. Le nĂ©olibĂ©ralisme, qui plaide pour un rĂ©amĂ©nagement du rĂŽle du secteur privĂ© par rapport au secteur public, a affectĂ© de maniĂšre importante les tĂ©lĂ©communications mondiales. Une nouvelle structure du rĂ©gime international des tĂ©lĂ©communications est apparue, ce qui s'est rĂ©percutĂ© sur l'ensemble des pays de l'Ă©conomie mondiale. Cependant, les processus de changements dans le secteur des tĂ©lĂ©communications diffĂšrent d'un pays Ă  l'autre, mĂȘme s'iIs convergent vers l'acception de principes et de rĂšgles similaires. À ce titre, il est intĂ©ressant d'analyser le processus de changements des\ud tĂ©lĂ©communications mexicaines afin d'analyser le processus d'ajustement de l'Ă©conomie nationale en\ud liaison avec le nouveau rĂ©gime des tĂ©lĂ©communications. Ce mĂ©moire examinera ainsi les transformations des tĂ©lĂ©communications mexicaines (1989-2006) afin de comprendre les facteurs qui ont Ă©tĂ© dĂ©terminants dans les changements des tĂ©lĂ©communications mexicaines et qui, aujourd'hui, structurent le fonctionnement actuel du marchĂ© des tĂ©lĂ©communications du pays. Avant de procĂ©der Ă  notre analyse, nous situerons le choix de notre approche, notre cadre thĂ©orique ainsi que notre mĂ©thodologie (chapitre 1). En premier lieu, pour comprendre l'origine des rĂ©formes des tĂ©lĂ©communications mexicaines, nous Ă©tudierons la privatisation de Telmex durant la pĂ©riode 1989-90 (chapitre II). Nous analyserons le rĂŽle jouĂ© par la nouvelle entente que ce gouvernement a Ă©tablie avec le secteur privĂ© en montrant qu'elle a Ă©tĂ© le moteur du processus de privatisation de Telmex. En effet, cette entente a Ă©tĂ© le facteur dĂ©terminant du processus de privatisation. En second lieu, pour comprendre l'Ă©volution des tĂ©lĂ©communications mexicaines, ce mĂ©moire analysera la libĂ©ralisation des tĂ©lĂ©communications (chapitre III). Nous Ă©tudierons le comportement nĂ©o-mercantiliste du gouvernement mexicain dans le secteur de tĂ©lĂ©communications en analysant l'ĂŻnterrelation entre les politiques adoptĂ©es par le gouvernement mexicain dans la rĂ©gulation des tĂ©lĂ©communications et la croissance Ă©conomique du Grupo Carso. Nous examinerons notamment l'impact du comportement first-mover de Telmex et des barriĂšres Ă  l'entrĂ©e Ă©rigĂ©es par le gouvernement mexicain sur la nouvelle structure des tĂ©lĂ©communications mexicaines. Cette analyse nous permettra d'observer la consolidation de l'entente entre le Grupo Carso et le gouvernement mexicain et d'Ă©valuer son impact sur le marchĂ© mexicain des tĂ©lĂ©communications, voire son impact sur l'internationalisation de Telmex et son expansion vers les marchĂ©s d'AmĂ©rique latine. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : TĂ©lĂ©communications, Mexique, LibĂ©ralisation, Entente

    Patent use exception for user-generated inventions

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    The high-tech corner of the user-innovation scene is dominated by makers. The expansion of the maker movement embraced fields such as robotics, electronics, and 3D printing, where makers are not only hobbyists, but true contributors to technological progress. By contesting the classical paradigm of innovation incentivized by IP protection, they question the established principles of patent law. In consequence, we observe friction between two discrepant approaches and philosophies: open communal workings (making) and closed proprietary operations (patents). In addition to that, changes in IP practice and the dynamic of making provokes concerns about the free use of the patented ideas. The fact of public sharing, even in a form of one “innocent” Internet post, e.g. suggesting (instructing) certain patent improvements, can be sufficient to claim indirect patent infringement or inducement to infringe. The research addressed the question of the applicability of patent excpetions (limitations of the patent exclusivity) that enable defence in patent infringement cases. It also examined those measures with regard to the scope of the freedom-to-operate they provide. In the course of the project it was demonstrated that the communitarian profile of the movement and the uncontrollable dissemination of information do not allow for the movement to fit under the protective umbrella of patent limitations. The study proposes a novel solution within the framework of patent limitations to address free tinkering and the public dissemination of information. Its objective is plain and simple: to free makers from infringing patent rights, from being involved in patent puzzles and from decoding patent claims

    Application de l'identification d'objets sur images à l'étude de canopées de peuplements forestiers tropicaux : cas des plantations d'Eucalyptus et des mangroves

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    This PhD work aims at providing information on the forest structure through the analysis of canopy properties as described by the spatial distribution and the crown size of dominant trees. Our approach is based on the Marked Point Processes (MPP) theory, which allows modeling tree crowns observed in remote sensing images by discs belonging a two dimensional space. The potential of MPP to detect the trees crowns automatically is evaluated by using very high spatial resolution optical satellite images of both Eucalyptus plantations and mangrove forest. Lidar and simulated reflectance images are also analyzed for the mangrove application. Different adaptations (parameter settings, energy models) of the MPP method are tested and compared through the development of quantitative indices that allow comparison between detection results and tree references derived from the field, photo-interpretation or the forest mockups. In the case of mangroves, the estimated crown sizes from detections are consistent with the outputs from the available allometric models. Other results indicate that tree detection by MPP allows mapping, the local density of trees of young Eucalyptus plantations even if crown size is close to the image spatial resolution (0.5m). However, the quality of detection by MPP decreases with canopy closeness. To improve the results, further work may involve MPP detection using objects with finer shapes and forest data measurements collected at the tree plant scale.La thĂšse s'inscrit dans l'Ă©tude de la structuration des forĂȘts Ă  partir des propriĂ©tĂ©s de la canopĂ©e telles que dĂ©crites par la distribution spatiale ou la taille des houppiers des arbres dominants. L'approche suivie est fondĂ©e sur la thĂ©orie des Processus Ponctuels MarquĂ©s (PPM) qui permet de modĂ©liser ces houppiers comme des disques sur images considĂ©rĂ©es comme un espace 2D. Le travail a consistĂ© Ă  Ă©valuer le potentiel des PPM pour dĂ©tecter automatiquement les houppiers d'arbres dans des images optiques de trĂšs rĂ©solution spatiale acquises sur des forĂȘts de mangroves et des plantations d'Eucalyptus. Pour les mangroves, nous avons Ă©galement travaillĂ© sur des images simulĂ©es de rĂ©flectance et des donnĂ©es Lidar. DiffĂ©rentes adaptations (paramĂ©trage, modĂšles d'Ă©nergie) de la mĂ©thode de PPM ont Ă©tĂ© testĂ©es et comparĂ©es grĂące Ă  des indices quantitatifs de comparaison entre rĂ©sultats de la dĂ©tection et rĂ©fĂ©rences de positionnement issues du terrain, de photo-interprĂ©tation ou de maquettes forestiĂšres. Dans le cas des mangroves, les tailles de houppier estimĂ©es par dĂ©tection restent cohĂ©rentes avec les sorties des modĂšles allomĂ©triques disponibles. Les rĂ©sultats thĂ©matiques indiquent que la dĂ©tection par PPM permet de cartographier dans une jeune plantation d'Eucalyptus la densitĂ© locale d'arbres dont la taille des houppiers est proche de la rĂ©solution spatiale de l'image (0.5m). Cependant, la qualitĂ© de la dĂ©tection diminue quand le couvert se complexifie. Ce travail dresse plusieurs pistes de recherche tant mathĂ©matique, comme la prise en compte des objets de forme complexe, que thĂ©matiques, comme l'apport des informations forestiĂšres Ă  des Ă©chelles pertinentes pour la mise au point de mĂ©thodes de tĂ©lĂ©dĂ©tection

    A Study on Markets and the Natural Environment

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    Denne afhandling fokuserer pÄ konstruktion af markeder for miljÞrigtige produkter gennem et casestudie af, hvordan miljÞvenlighed som produktkvalitet er blevet udfÞrt (enacted) og forhandlet i markedet for urinposer. Afhandlingen bygger pÄ et konstruktivistisk perspektiv pÄ markeder: markeder og produktkvaliteter og egenskaber i urinposer anses sÄledes som emergerende og konstruerede i forskellige markedskonstituerende praksisser. De primÊre teoretiske begreber i afhandlingen er koordinering (coordination)(Mol et al. 2002) og kvalificering- (re)kvalificering (qualification-(re)qualification)(Callon et al. 2002)

    Aesthetic Design as an Element of Service Innovation in New Technology-based Firms

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    The goals of this thesis are to examine new technology-based firms’ use of aesthetic design as an element of service innovation and to explore potential relationships between aesthetic design and performance in this same context. There is a scarcity of research on aesthetic design as an element of service innovation, particularly in new technology-based firms. Because of this scarcity, a hybrid research strategy is appropriate and the empirical basis for this research encompasses multiple case studies, longitudinal quantitative data and evaluations by expert panels. The first phase of the research involves developing an operationalization of design that enables evaluation of aesthetic design as an element of innovation in technology-based firms. The second phase uses case research to explore the role and organization of aesthetic design in service innovation in new technology-based firms. The final phase explores relationships between aesthetic design and performance in the research context. Hypotheses are developed based on existing research, on one hand, and the results of the case research, on the other, and these hypotheses are tested using longitudinal survey-based data. The operationalization of design developed is a three-dimensional model consisting of functional design, visceral design and experiential design. Functional design is concerned with utility, features and delivery; visceral design is concerned with appealing to the human senses; and experiential design is concerned with message, symbols, culture, meaning, and emotional and sociological aspects. Visceral design and experiential design are combined to yield a formative measure of aesthetic design. The findings of the research are that new technology-based firms emphasize functional design over aesthetic design. Emphasis on aesthetic design is related positively with the importance of design in a firms’ sector and founders’ experience of sales and marketing, while it is negatively related with founders’ technical education. In new technology-based firms, aesthetic design can be characterized as being used to exploit or counteract the characteristics that distinguish services from products, namely intangibility, inseparability, heterogeneity and perishability. The application of aesthetic design to counteract these characteristics is more prevalent than exploitation. Aesthetic design in new technology-based firms is found to be primarily silent, meaning that those performing design activities are mostly managers and technical staff engaged in design activities as part of their development efforts and without these activities necessarily being acknowledged as design. The findings regarding the relationship between aesthetic design and performance are that aesthetic design is positively related with competitive advantage, but that this relationship is dependent upon moderating factors. The effectiveness of aesthetic design in achieving competitive advantage through differentiation is found to differ depending on the current stage of commoditization. The greater the level of commoditization of a service the more effectively aesthetic design can be employed to improve competitive advantage. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the objectives underlying managers’ decisions to use aesthetic design in service innovation are attracting new customers, improving firm image and/or retaining existing customers, and doing so at lower cost. Hypothesis testing using longitudinal survey-based data confirms that by and large these benefits are realized by new technology-based firms. This research makes a number of important contributions. The research focus lies in an area where there is little existing research and, thus, the operationalization of aesthetic design developed and the characterization of aesthetic design as an element of service innovation in new technology-based firms constitute important contributions. The characterization provides a picture of the prevalence, roles, organization and actors of aesthetic design in the research context. The research also contributes insight about the relationship between aesthetic design as an element of service innovation and performance of new technologybased firms. The research shows that various positive relationships exist but that they can be contingent upon existing conditions, which act as moderating factors

    The Winning Hybrid - A case study of isomorphosm in the airline industry

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    The deregulated scheduled passenger airline industry is in a constant state of motion as managers continually adapt their business models to meet the challenging market environment. Such adaptation has led to a variety of airlines populating the industry; from the birth of low-cost carriers to the transformation of state-owned behemoths to lean and successful carriers. These dynamics challenge airline managers to continuously acclimate their business models and to understand industry evolution. This doctoral dissertation addresses the issue of industry evolution and attempts to propose future airline business models based on airline behavior. The intention is to improve understanding of industry evolution, propose a method for constructing future business models, and aid airline management in future strategic decisions. Three central themes are raised in the research: business model heterogeneity and its impact on airline performance, innovation and imitation as a justification for business model heterogeneity, and future business models grounded on airline innovation and imitation. Each theme forms the basis for the project’s three analyses. The research is categorized according to the customary industrial segmentation of full-service carriers, low-cost carriers, and regional carriers. The findings show that business model heterogeneity is evident at varying degrees in the industry, and that there is a positive relationship between the level adherence to a strategic group’s traditional business model and financial performance. This indicates that airlines that abide by their strategic group’s traditional business model perform better than those that differentiate themselves form the traditional business model. The low-cost carrier group is the most heterogeneous while the full-service carrier group is the most homogenous, which one may attribute to the historical emergence of these two groups. Results from a global survey distributed to airline CEOs show that business model differentiation is predicated on both innovation and imitation. The research shows that all airlines innovate, however business model changes based on this phenomenon may only afford an airline an advantage for a limited time period as imitation is prolific in the industry. Airline behavior indicates that airlines that populate the periphery of their strategic group are more prone to imitate other strategic groups. In addition, it is shown that airlines that closely adhere to their strategic group’s traditional business model are more likely to imitate airlines populating their own strategic group. The final analysis is based on the presence of innovation and imitation in the industry and incorporates these concepts in algebraic analyses which determine the unique combinations that continuously lead to a positive operating margin. The business model results suggest that the clear, historical distinctions between the strategic groups in the industry are becoming blurred, and that a winning hybrid may emerge
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