108,316 research outputs found
Non-hierarchical Collaboration in Dynamic Business Communities
Abstract. A business community where communication can be streamlined, information shared and trust can be built can be considered as a collaborative network promoting SMEs long term sustainability by assuring quick response, fast time to market, differentiated offerings and competitive prices. This collaboration could be orchestrated both in hierarchical and non-hierarchical forms depending on the firms size, capacity and objectives. In this research, we have considered non-hierarchical networking among firms, especially for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), where the basic requirements are related with choosing appropriate business partners, building trust and sharing valuable information among them. In order to articulate the concept of this nonhierarchical collaboration, six pilot SMEs were analyzed and a methodological approach to manage these environments is proposed. A generic overview of different variables or factors necessary to build such business collaboration are presented and discussed critically in this study
A Model of Collaboration Network Formation with Heterogenous Skills
Collaboration networks provide a method for examining the highly
heterogeneous structure of collaborative communities. However, we still have
limited theoretical understanding of how individual heterogeneity relates to
network heterogeneity. The model presented here provides a framework linking an
individual's skill set to her position in the collaboration network, and the
distribution of skills in the population to the structure of the collaboration
network as a whole. This model suggests that there is a non-trivial
relationship between skills and network position: individuals with a useful
combination of skills will have a disproportionate number of links in the
network. Indeed, in some cases, an individual's degree is non-monotonic in the
number of skills she has--an individual with very few skills may outperform an
individual with many. Special cases of the model suggest that the degree
distribution of the network will be skewed, even when the distribution of
skills is uniform in the population. The degree distribution becomes more
skewed as problems become more difficult, leading to a community dominated by a
few high-degree superstars. This has striking implications for labor market
outcomes in industries where production is largely the result of collaborative
effort
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How collaborative innovation and co-creation can deliver value: a stakeholder approach
This project explores how collaborative innovation and co-creation between stakeholders
can deliver value for firms. In today’s increasingly competitive and fast-changing global
marketplace, firms must seek to develop more frequent and higher quality innovations
(Ngugi et al, 2010). In addition, customers, employees and other stakeholders are
demanding opportunities to co-create and collaborate with businesses more and more. As
Ramaswamy (2010) comments:
“Providers of products and services are challenged by customers who are increasingly
informed, connected, networked and empowered. Customers, employees and stakeholders
are demanding higher quality interactions and experiences from businesses and a deeper
engagement in the value-creation and service delivery processes” (Ramaswamy, 2010, pp.
22).
Given this increasing need to collaborate, innovate and co-create, firms need a better
understanding of how they can engage in these activities in a way that maximises the value
created for all stakeholders; this project, through exploratory, qualitative research interviews
and a wide-ranging literature review, seeks to make a contribution in this area
It's complicated: apprentice leaders on the edge of chaos
A view from the dance floor of ALICSE participants showed that the integrated children's services remain under pressure to become multi-dimensional with the rhetorical push to a joint working becoming increasingly complex and difficult to navigate. This was the view of a 360 degree questionnaire to a number of ALICSE participants and reflections from an in-depth dialogue. The main findings suggested collective professionalism requires collaborative relationships between organisations and individuals, and this collaboration poses the most significant challenge for educational leadership and management. The participants on the dance floor often reciting phrases like: letting go of control, no hierarchy, self-organising. The main conclusion being an individual needs to be self-organised and it takes a leader to be confident to manage ambiguity and complexity. Using complex adaptive systems theory and blended leadership styles theories, we will assert that distributional leadership is required to navigate the complex environment. Futures thinking suggests that we could use complex adaptive systems theory to help build an effective communication strategy for individuals, teams and services allowing them to self-organise
Using stakeholder dialogue as a source for new ideas. A dynamic capability underlying sustainable innovation
This paper attempts to gain a deeper understanding of the firm's ability for integrating stakeholder insights into the process of organisational innovation within the context of sustainable development. Given the early stage of empirical research on the topic, we used an exploratory case study method of two Spanish companies that have successfully learned from stakeholder dialogue and have generated innovations that are both beneficial for the company and for sustainable development in general. The evidence from the two case studies suggests the existence of two simple capabilities - stakeholder dialogue and stakeholder knowledge integration - for generating innovations in accordance with stakeholder needs. Whereas stakeholder dialogue leverages organisational resources that promote two-way communication, transparency and appropriate feedback to stakeholders, stakeholder knowledge integration relies on non-hierarchical structures, flexibility and openness to change. The paper sheds some light on the under-researched issue of linking stakeholder dialogue and sustainable innovation, and contributes to opening the 'black box' of dynamic capabilities and advancing in the understanding of this fundamental organisational concept.sustainable development; stakeholders; innovation; capabilities;
Designing Scalable Business Models
Digital business models are often designed for rapid growth, and some relatively young companies have indeed achieved global scale. However despite the visibility and importance of this phenomenon, analysis of scale and scalability remains underdeveloped in management literature. When it is addressed, analysis of this phenomenon is often over-influenced by arguments about economies of scale in production and distribution. To redress this omission, this paper draws on economic, organization and technology management literature to provide a detailed examination of the sources of scaling in digital businesses. We propose three mechanisms by which digital business models attempt to gain scale: engaging both non- paying users and paying customers; organizing customer engagement to allow self- customization; and orchestrating networked value chains, such as platforms or multi-sided business models. Scaling conditions are discussed, and propositions developed and illustrated with examples of big data entrepreneurial firms
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