Model of Multilayer Knowledge Diffusion for Competence Development in an Organization

Growing role of intellectual capital within organizations is affecting new strategies related to knowledge management and competence development. Among different aspects related to this field, knowledge diffusion has become one of interesting areas from both practitioner and researchers perspective. Several models were proposed with main goal to simulate diffusion and to explain the nature of these processes. Existing models are focused on knowledge diffusion and they assume diffusion within a single layer using knowledge representation. From the organizational perspective connecting several types of knowledge and modelling changes of competence can bring additional value. In the article we extended existing approaches by using multilayer diffusion model and focused on analysis of competence development process. The proposed model describes competence development process in a new way through horizontal and vertical knowledge diffusion in multilayer network. In the network, agents collaborate and interchange various kind of knowledge through different layers and this mutual activities affect the competences in a positive or negative way. Taking under consideration workers cognitive and social abilities and the previous level of competence the new competence level can be estimated. The model is developed to support competence management in different organizations

Model of Multilayer Knowledge Diffusion for Competence Development in an Organization

Growing role of intellectual capital within organizations is affecting new strategies related to knowledge management and competence development. Among different aspects related to this field, knowledge diffusion has become one of the interesting areas from both practitioner and researcher’s perspectives. Several models were proposed with main goal of simulating diffusion and explaining the nature of these processes. Existing models are focused on knowledge diffusion and they assume diffusion within a single layer using knowledge representation. From the organizational perspective connecting several types of knowledge and modelling changes of competence can bring additional value. In this paper we extended existing approaches by using multilayer diffusion model and focused on analysis of competence development process. The proposed model describes competence development process in a new way through horizontal and vertical knowledge diffusion in multilayer network. In the network, agents collaborate and interchange various kinds of knowledge through different layers and these mutual activities affect the competencies in a positive or negative way. Taking into consideration worker’s cognitive and social abilities and the previous level of competence the new competence level can be estimated. The model is developed to support competence management in different organizations

Venture Capitalism, New Markets and Innovation-led Economic Growth

This paper explores the new market-mediating mechanisms linking SU invention on the one hand and economic growth on the other. Two such mechanisms come to our mind under venture capitalism (of which venture capitalism is directly involved only in the first): 1) a systemic rather than haphazard link between radical inventions and the emergence of new product markets; and 2) a link between new product markets) on the one hand and invention & unbundled technology markets on the other. The first highlights not only the volatility and precariousness of the R&D companies which operated prior to venture capitalism, but also, and related to this, the weak links that existed then between radical invention and the emergence of new markets. There are two aspects of 2) above: 2a) derived demand for improvements in the product and process technology underlying a market (and industry); and 2b) a demand for a substitute, disruptive technology which could replace the existing one. In both cases market size signals the ‘benefits’ to be derived from improving or substituting the underlying technology.

Innovation determinants in manufacturing firms

In this paper the findings of an empirical study concerning the innovation determinants in manufacturing firms is presented. The empirical study covers 184 manufacturing firms located in the Northern Marmara region of Turkey. The types of innovation considered here are product, process, marketing and organizational innovations. An extensive literature survey on innovation determinants is provided. A model is proposed to explore the probable effects and the amount of contribution of the innovation determinants to firm’s innovativeness level. Among all possible determinants considered, intellectual capital has the highest impact on innovativeness followed by organization culture

Investigating the technology catching-up trajectory of Chinese Hi-Tech SMEs: an integrated framework from industry-, resource-, and institution-based view

Accepted for WLICSMB 2010Purpose This paper intends to review the literatures on the technology catching-up trajectory of latecomers in order to understand the innovation strategies of Chinese Hi-Tech SMEs (Gu & Tse, 2010; Xie & White, 2006; Chen & Qu, 2003; Lee & Lim, 2001; Kim, 1997). It also tries to construct an integrated framework to investigate their innovation strategies and the impact on organizational performance from the Industry-, Resource-, and Institution-based view (Peng, Wang, & Jiang, 2008). Design/methodology/approach The authors have reviewed papers published in the leading journals in the R&D field and proposed an integrated conceptual framework of innovation strategies of Chinese Hi-Tech firms based on Peng, Wang and Jiang (2008)’s institution-based view framework to examine the innovation strategy from Industry-, firm-specific Resource-based, and Institution-based View Originality/Value This paper pays attention to the institution factors in shaping Chinese SMEs to develop innovative capabilities. Chinese firms have comparative advantages, such as better comprehending Chinese local market, better understanding of local business environment comparing to MNEs. Our paper argues that by developing effective innovation strategies and improving innovative capabilities, Chinese SMEs will be able to survive from the severe competitions from state-owned enterprises and foreign firms in China

Standard-Setting and Knowledge Dynamics in Innovation Clusters

Extensive research has been conducted on how firms and regions take advantage of spatially concentrated assets, and also why history matters to regional specialisation patterns. In brief, it seems that innovation clusters as a distinctive regional entity in international business and the geography of innovation are of increasing importance in STI policy, innovation systems and competitiveness studies. Recently, more and more research has contributed to an evolutionary perspective on collaboration in clusters. Nonetheless, the field of cluster or regional innovation systems remains a multidisciplinary field where the state of the art is determined by the individual perspective (key concepts could, for example, be industrial districts, innovative clusters with reference to OECD, regional knowledge production, milieus & sticky knowledge, regional lock-ins & path dependencies, learning regions or sectoral innovation systems). According to our analysis, the research gap lies in both quantitative, comparative surveys and in-depth concepts of knowledge dynamics and cluster evolution. Therefore this paper emphasises the unchallenged in-depth characteristics of knowledge utilisation within a cluster's collaborative innovation activities. More precisely, it deals with knowledge dynamics in terms of matching different agents´ knowledge stocks via knowledge flows, common technology specification (standard-setting), and knowledge spillovers. The means of open innovation and system boundaries for spatially concentrated agents in terms of knowledge opportunities and the capabilities of each agent await clarification. Therefore, our study conceptualises the interplay between firm- and cluster-level activities and externalities for knowledge accumulation but also for the specification of technology. It remains particularly unclear how, why and by whom knowledge is aligned and ascribed to a specific sectoral innovation system. Empirically, this study contributes with several descriptive calculations of indices, e.g. knowledge stocks, GINI coefficients, Herfindahl indices, and Revealed Patent Advantage (RPA), which clearly underline a high spatial concentration of both mechanical engineering and biotechnology within a European NUTS2 sample for the last two decades. Conceptually, our paper matches the geography of innovation literature, innovation system theory, and new ideas related to the economics of standards. Therefore, it sheds light on the interplay between knowledge flows and externalities of cluster-specific populations and the agents' use of such knowledge, which is concentrated in space. We find that knowledge creation and standard-setting are cross-fertilising each other: although the spatial concentration of assets and high-skilled labour provides new opportunities to the firm, each firm's knowledge stocks need to be contextualised. The context in terms of 'use case' and 'knowledge biography' makes technologies (as represented in knowledge stocks) available for collaboration, but also clarifies relevance and ownership, in particular intellectual property concerns. Owing to this approach we propose a conceptualisation which contains both areas with inter- and intra-cluster focus. This proposal additionally concludes that spatial and technological proximity benefits standard-setting in high-tech and low-tech industries in very different ways. More precisely, the versatile tension between knowledge stocks, their evolution, and technical specification & implementation requires the conceptualisation and analysis of a non-linear process of standard-setting. Particularly, the use case of technologies is essential. Related to this approach, clusters strongly support the establishment of technology use cases in embryonic high-tech industries. Low-tech industries in contrast rather depend on approved knowledge stocks, whose dynamics provide better and fast accessible knowledge inputs within low-tech clusters.innovation clusters, standard-setting, knowledge externalities and flows, knowledge alignment, mechanical engineering, biotechnology

Numerical simulation of viscoelastic buckle folds: Implications for stress, fractures, porosity and fluid flow

Over the past several decades, buckle folds have been exclusively studied by numerous methods. However, lots of assumptions and simplifications are made, which may not result in realistic in-situ stress conditions leading to rock failure. This study represents the first numerical simulation of folding under the consideration of gravity and pore pressure to simulate the structural development of buckle folds. The first topic covered in this dissertation is the fracture associated to the single layer fold. It is concluded that burial depth, viscosity, and permeability are critical for the initiation of major fracture sets at the hinge zone with varying degrees. Moreover, this study provides a detail research on the stress and strain distribution in the multilayer folds and it is concluded that the stress/strain state within the folding layer(s) are determined by the buckling process, fold geometry and material parameters. The second topic covered in this dissertation is the numerical simulation of multilayer folds. This study demonstrates that the shapes of the multilayer folds are influenced by the various parameters. In addition, the numerical simulations provide a general understanding of the stress/strain distribution in the multilayer system. The third topic covered in this dissertation is the numerical simulation of parasitic folds. This study demonstrates that the shapes of the parasitic folds depend on the buckling of both the large- and small-scale folds and are influenced by the various parameters. The numerical modeling results show a large variability in porosity changes due to the complex distribution of the volumetric strain. In addition, the numerical simulations provide a general understanding of the influence of the various model parameters on the resulting porosity distribution --Abstract, page iv

The Impact of Subjective and Objective Experience on Mobile Banking Usage: An Analytical Approach

This paper aims to investigate mobile banking (MB) usage through the theoretical lens of UTAUT model with its four pillars. The research model will be tested via a hybrid neural networks-based structural equation modeling (SEM-NN) to reveal significant factors. Universal structural modeling (USM) will be then utilized to find the hidden paths and nonlinearity in our research model. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the role of subjective and objective experience on MB usage using a multi-analytical approach. Neural network (NN) and USM can identify the most significant determinants and hidden interaction effects, respectively. Thus, both techniques would help to complement SEM and increase our understanding of the influential factors on MB usage. Preliminary results are presented and discussed. Potential contribution and conclusion are communicated to both academia and industry