Methodology and Tool Support for Adaptive Idea Exploitation in Open Innovation

The lack of efficiency and transparency regarding cross-company collaboration in the field of open innovation often leads to cost intensive and unsuccessful products and services. This is because traditional approaches fail to cope with emerging requirements in innovation projects, e.g., the vertical and horizontal integration of strategic partners within and across the company’s value network. However, to maintain their competitive advantage, companies seek a constant and sustainable development of their product and service portfolio. In this context, knowledge work plays an important role in the collaborative development of innovative product and service ideas. For that reason, knowledge workers need systematic support regarding both methodological and operational challenges. The concept of Adaptive Case Management emerged from the necessity to support knowledge workers in unpredictable and highly creative working environments, especially in the field of Business Process Management. Therefore, the contribution shows, both from a conceptual and technological point of view, how to combine those approaches to support knowledge workers in dynamic innovation projects. To test the validity of the concept, a software prototype serves as the foundation for interviews with experts of the innovation department of a large international industrial company

Economic Resilience of German Lignite Regions in Transition

This paper recalls the development of the German lignite regions Rhineland and Lusatia since 1945 to allow for a better understanding of their situation in 2019. We analyze their economic resilience, defined as adaptive capacity, using Holling’s adaptive cycle model. We find that the Rhineland is currently in the conservation phase, while Lusatia experiences a reorganization phase following the economic shock of the German reunification. Key policy recommendations for the upcoming coal phase-out are to foster innovation within the Rhineland’s infrastructures to avoid overconnection, and to expand digital and transportation infrastructure in Lusatia so that the structurally weak region can enter the exploitation phase. Future policymaking should take into consideration the differences between the two regions in order to enable a just and timely transition during which lasting adaptive capacity can be built.BMBF, 01LN1704A, Nachwuchsgruppe Globaler Wandel: CoalExit - Die Ökonomie des Kohleausstiegs - Identifikation von Bausteinen für Rahmenpläne zukünftiger regionaler StrukturwandelDFG, 414044773, Open Access Publizieren 2019 - 2020 / Technische Universität Berli

Carving out new business models in a small company through contextual ambidexterity: the case of a sustainable company

Business model innovation (BMI) and organizational ambidexterity have been pointed out as mechanisms for companies achieving sustainability. However, especially considering small and medium enterprises (SMEs), there is a lack of studies demonstrating how to combine these mechanisms. Tackling such a gap, this study seeks to understand how SMEs can ambidextrously manage BMI. Our aim is to provide a practical artifact, accessible to SMEs, to operationalize BMI through organizational ambidexterity. To this end, we conducted our study under the design science research to, first, build an artifact for operationalizing contextual ambidexterity for business model innovation. Then, we used an in-depth case study with a vegan fashion small e-commerce to evaluate the practical outcomes of the artifact. Our findings show that the company improves its business model while, at the same time, designs a new business model and monetizes it. Thus, our approach was able to take the first steps in the direction of operationalizing contextual ambidexterity for business model innovation in small and medium enterprises, democratizing the concept. We contribute to theory by connecting different literature strands and to practice by creating an artifact to assist managemen

Market fields structure & dynamics in industrial automation

There is a research tradition in the economics of standards which addresses standards wars, antitrust concerns or positive externalities from standards. Recent research has also dealt with the process characteristics of standardisation, de facto standard-setting consortia and intellectual property concerns in the technology specification or implementation phase. Nonetheless, there are no studies which analyse capabilities, comparative industry dynamics or incentive structures sufficiently in the context of standard-setting. In my study, I address the characteristics of collaborative research and standard-setting as a new mode of deploying assets beyond motivations well-known from R&D consortia or market alliances. On the basis of a case study of a leading user organisation in the market for industrial automation technology, but also a descriptive network analysis of cross-community affiliations, I demonstrate that there must be a paradoxical relationship between cooperation and competition. More precisely, I explain how there can be a dual relationship between value creation and value capture respecting exploration and exploitation. My case study emphasises the dynamics between knowledge stocks (knowledge alignment, narrowing and deepening) produced by collaborative standard setting and innovation; it also sheds light on an evolutional relationship between the exploration of assets and use cases and each firm's exploitation activities in the market. I derive standard-setting capabilities from an empirical analysis of membership structures, policies and incumbent firm characteristics in selected, but leading, user organisations. The results are as follows: the market for industrial automation technology is characterised by collaboration on standards, high technology influences of other industries and network effects on standards. Further, system integrators play a decisive role in value creation in the customer-specific business case. Standard-setting activities appear to be loosely coupled to the products offered on the market. Core leaders in world standards in industrial automation own a variety of assets and they are affiliated to many standard-setting communities rather than exclusively committed to a few standards. Furthermore, their R&D ratios outperform those of peripheral members and experience in standard-setting processes can be assumed. Standard-setting communities specify common core concepts as the basis for the development of each member's proprietary products, complementary technologies and industrial services. From a knowledge-based perspective, the targeted disclosure of certain knowledge can be used to achieve high innovation returns through systemic products which add proprietary features to open standards. Finally, the interplay between exploitation and exploration respecting the deployment of standard-setting capabilities linked to cooperative, pre-competitive processes leads to an evolution in common technology owned and exploited by the standard-setting community as a particular kind of innovation ecosystem. --standard-setting,innovation,industry dynamics and context,industrial automation

Towards a Taxonomy of Firms Engaged in International R&D Cooperation Programs: The Case of Spain in Eureka

El proceso innovador enfrenta una serie de fallos de mercado y por esta razón – y por ser considerado uno de los principales agentes del crecimiento económico en el mundo – un significativo número de políticas gubernamentales y supra-nacionales son diseñadas para promover el progreso tecnológico. En Europa la situación no podría ser diferente y la “Paradoja Europea” es utilizada como principal argumento para la implementación de iniciativas relacionadas a la innovación. Junto con estas políticas hay una creciente preocupación con su continua evaluación, teniendo como objetivo proveer feedbacks para la adaptación y adecuación de estos programas con las necesidades de los agentes involucrados. En este sentido, el presente paper desarrolla una evaluación de los impactos del Programa Eureka para el caso de las empresas españolas participantes en esta iniciativa y con proyectos concluidos entre los años 2000-2005 (a través de análisis de los informes finales de los proyectos). Un total de 77 empresas fueron abordadas con métodos cuantitativos (correlaciones, testes chi-cuadrado, análisis discriminante y análisis de cluster). Los resultados demuestran que la participación española en Eureka suele tener altos niveles de logros tecnológicos. Los logros comerciales parecen estar definidos por la calidad del funcionamiento del proyecto y por la capacidad de las empresas en explotar sus resultados en el mercado ya antes del fin del proyecto. Una tipología introductoria de los participantes es propuesta en 3 conglomerados: (1) Risky Innovators; (2) Inventors; y (3) Consistent Innovators.Innovation is a process that faces several “market failure” situations and for this reason – and for being considered one of the main drivers of economic growth throughout the world – a large number of governmental and supranational policies are designed to foster technological progress. In Europe this situation could not be any different and the “European Paradox” is used as the main argument for the implementation of innovation related initiatives. Along with these policies, there is an increasing concern with their continuous evaluation aiming at providing valuable feedback for these program’s adaptation and adequacy to the player’s needs. In this sense, this paper develops an evaluation of Eureka Programme’s impact for the case of Spanish companies participating in this initiative and that had projects finished in the period 2000-2005 (analysis performed through the information contained in Eureka’s Final Reports). A total of 77 firms were assessed through quantitative methods, namely correlations, chi-square tests, discriminant models and cluster analysis. Findings show that Spain participates in Eureka mainly through SMEs, and that the overall rate of technological achievements is impressively good. Commercial achievements seem to be influenced mainly by the quality of the project’s functioning and the capacity of firm’s exploiting results in the industry by the end of the project. A basic typology of participants is offered in which three clusters are built: (1) Risky Innovators; (2) Inventors; and (3) Consistent Innovators.Innovation Policy; Eureka Programme; Spanish Innovation System; R&D Collaboration, Políticas de Innovación; Programa Eureka; Sistema de Innovación Español; Colaboración en I+D.

Making Adaptive Resilience Real

This publication focuses on developing understanding and debate about adaptive resilience, and increasing sectoral understanding of its importance through experimentation and sharing of best practice

Regional innovation systems as complex adaptive systems: The case of lagging European regions

This article proposes an agent-based model to support the development of self-sustaining regional innovation systems (RIS). The model is the base of a computational laboratory, CARIS (Complex Adaptive Regional Innovation System), which aims at evaluating the self-sustainability of RIS and at investigating what are the resources, competencies and mechanisms able to trigger powerful innovation and economic growth processes. Such a topic is particularly interesting for the so-called lagging regions, which, notwithstanding noticeable policy interventions, have been unable to significantly improve their innovation performances. Results of this study show that the exploration capacity, the propensity to cooperation, and the endowed competencies of actors belonging to a region could be considered as key aspects in affecting the regional innovation performance. This means that policy-makers should (i) incentivize investments in research and development activities both at the public and private levels; (ii) support public-private partnerships; (iii) enhance national and regional university systems; and (iv) increase the number of researchers employed both in the public and private sectors. In the next future, the CARIS laboratory could be adopted as policy support instrument to evaluate how much effective are current innovation policies and what are the most effective ones to reassess the current patterns

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”))