Innovation Initiatives in Large Software Companies: A Systematic Mapping Study

To keep the competitive advantage and adapt to changes in the market and technology, companies need to innovate in an organised, purposeful and systematic manner. However, due to their size and complexity, large companies tend to focus on maintaining their business, which can potentially lower their agility to innovate. This study aims to provide an overview of the current research on innovation initiatives and to identify the challenges of implementing the initiatives in the context of large software companies. The investigation was performed using a systematic mapping approach of published literature on corporate innovation and entrepreneurship. Then it was complemented with interviews with four experts with rich industry experience. Our study results suggest that, there is a lack of high quality empirical studies on innovation initiative in the context of large software companies. A total of 7 studies are conducted in such context, which reported 5 types of initiatives: intrapreneurship, bootlegging, internal venture, spin-off and crowdsourcing. Our study offers three contributions. First, this paper represents the map of existing literature on innovation initiatives inside large companies. The second contribution is to provide an innovation initiative tree. The third contribution is to identify key challenges faced by each initiative in large software companies. At the strategic and tactical levels, there is no difference between large software companies and other companies. At the operational level, large software companies are highly influenced by the advancement of Internet technology. Large software companies use open innovation paradigm as part of their innovation initiatives. We envision a future work is to further empirically evaluate the innovation initiative tree in large software companies, which involves more practitioners from different companies

The Real World Software Process

The industry-wide demand for rapid development in concert with greater process maturity has seen many software development firms adopt tightly structured iterative processes. While a number of commercial vendors offer suitable process infrastructure and tool support, the cost of licensing, configuration and staff training may be prohibitive for the small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) which dominate the Asia-Pacific software industry. This work addresses these problems through the introduction of the Real World Software Process (RWSP), a freely available, Web-based iterative scheme designed specifically for small teams and organisations. RWSP provides a detailed process description, high quality document templates - including code review and inspection guidelines - and the integrated tutorial support necessary for successful usage by inexperienced developers and teams. In particular it is intended that the process be readily usable by software houses which at present do not follow a formal process, and that the free RWSP process infrastructure should be a vehicle for improving industry standards

Global innovation generation and financial performance in business-to-business relationships: The case of cross-border alliances in the pharmaceutical industry

The past few decades have witnessed a significant increase in the number of cross-border strategic alliances among firms. We focus on the role of alliance expertise (alliance experience and diversity of partners) and alliance governance (horizontal vs. vertical alliances and joint venture vs. other alliances) in global innovation generation. We also examine the effect of these variables on the financial performance of the focal firm. The conceptual model is tested using an empirical analysis of cross-border alliances formed by U. S. pharmaceutical companies from 1985 to 2008. We find that while prior alliance experience has a positive association with global innovation generation, diversity of partners has a negative relationship. In addition, whether the alliance is horizontal or vertical has no bearing on the innovation generation, but joint ventures are associated with more global innovation generation than other types of alliances. Finally, as global innovation generation increases, financial performance increases up to a point but thereafter exhibits a negative relationship. © 2010 The Author(s).published_or_final_versionSpringer Open Choice, 21 Feb 201

THE PROMOTION OF INNOVATION IN THE EU MARINE EQUIPMENT SECTOR

Growing environmental regulation and calls for the maritime industry to go green are driving the demand to develop and apply green innovative technology on ships to deal with problems such as: ballast water pollution; carbon emissions; and emissions that affect air quality. The shipping industry must prepare for a future with lower external transport costs and therefore must embrace the challenges of implementing alternative measures to reduce its impact on the environment. The IMO and the EU are two institutions that are driving legislation to enforce this. Stricter environmental regulation has led to ship-owners exploring various solutions to comply such as adopting innovative emission abatement technology or using alternative fuels. Innovation in the marine equipment sector is needed to achieve this. The drivers of innovation have been extensively studied but the globalised shipping industry is unique in the way it is impacted by multiple changes in the climate and interactions between people and places across the globe. This study is therefore concerned with discovering the variables that drive green innovation in the marine equipment sector within the European Union (EU). The study aimed to gain a rich and complex understanding of green innovation in the EU ship equipment sector. It started with an explanatory synthesis of IMO and EU air pollution regulation. Questionnaires were then used to guide the formulation of interview questions for deep and rich data gathering. The first questionnaire, aimed at ship-owners within the EU, was employed to identify solutions implemented to comply with stricter air regulations. The second set of questionnaires, aimed at equipment manufacturers in Europe, was employed to identify variables that encouraged or restrict green product innovation. Following that, semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight people who consisted of marine equipment manufacturers and academics, groups, organisations involved in the promotion of marine technological products. The use of low sulphur fuel was found to be the most favourable solution for shipowners to implement to comply with stricter air regulations. The use of technological products such as scrubbers, although not as significant, were also found to be implemented among several ship-owners. As the use of scrubbers indicates a demand for technological products, ship-owners were one of the drivers of innovation in equipment manufacturing companies. Other drivers of green product innovation also include: economic benefit; IMO and EU regulations; proof of concept; competition; profit maximisation and government schemes

Interoperability and Standards: The Way for Innovative Design in Networked Working Environments

Organised by: Cranfield UniversityIn today’s networked economy, strategic business partnerships and outsourcing has become the dominant paradigm where companies focus on core competencies and skills, as creative design, manufacturing, or selling. However, achieving seamless interoperability is an ongoing challenge these networks are facing, due to their distributed and heterogeneous nature. Part of the solution relies on adoption of standards for design and product data representation, but for sectors predominantly characterized by SMEs, such as the furniture sector, implementations need to be tailored to reduce costs. This paper recommends a set of best practices for the fast adoption of the ISO funStep standard modules and presents a framework that enables the usage of visualization data as a way to reduce costs in manufacturing and electronic catalogue design.Mori Seiki – The Machine Tool Compan

Rapid hydration and weakening of anhydrite under stress : Implications for natural hydration in the Earth’s crust and mantle

Acknowledgements JThis research has been supported by an Aberdeen–Curtin Alliance international postgraduate scholarship, by a Curtin publication grant, and by the Natural Environment Research Council (grant no. NE/T007826/1). Enrique Gomez-Rivas acknowledges the “Ramón y Cajal” fellowship RYC2018-026335-I, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MCIN), the State Research Agency of Spain (AEI), and the European Social Fund (ESF)/10.13039/501100011033, as well as the DGICYT research project PID2020-118999GB-I00, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MCIN) and State Research Agency of Spain (AEI)/10.13039/501100011033.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Casting a wide net for innovation: The mediating effect of R&D human and social capital to unlock the value from Alliance Portfolio Diversity

This paper examines the performance effects associated with different alliance portfolio configurations in terms of geographical location and partner type. Based on these distinctions, we hypothesise that more diverse alliance portfolios enable firms to gain and exploit innovation opportunities. Additionally, the mediating effects of R&D human and social capital on the R&D alliance portfolio diversity-innovation performance relationship are explored. We reason that the absorptive capacity of R&D intellectual capital determines a firm’s potential gains from highly diverse alliance portfolios. Using panel data of manufacturing firms in Spain for the period 2008-2013, our results confirm the inverted U-shaped relationship between alliance portfolio diversity and firm innovation performance, implying that both insufficient and excessive alliance portfolio diversity may be detrimental to firm innovativeness. Additionally, R&D human and social capital partially mediates the R&D alliance diversity-innovation performance relationship emphasising the importance of internal capabilities to leverage the benefits of highly diverse alliance portfolios. These findings add a dynamic dimension to the conceptualisation of alliance portfolios and how firms create value by balancing explorative and exploitative alliances

Challenges of creating and capturing value in open eco-innovation : Evidence from the maritime industry in Denmark

Author's accepted version (post-print).Available from 08/02/2021.Developing eco-innovations using open innovation comes with a distinct set of challenges as the dual goals of economic and environmental value creation produce tension that is not easily overcome in a multi-stakeholder network. These incongruent goals are inherent in an open eco-innovation network and potentially involve governmental agencies, regulators, and non-governmental organizations along with suppliers and other partners. Consequently, they add a layer of complexity to the creation and capture of value throughout the innovation network. Thus, in this study, we ask: What are the challenges in creating and capturing value in open eco-innovation networks? Based on an embedded case study of a network developing eco-innovation over a six-year period in the maritime industry in Denmark, this paper identifies challenges and links them to their impact on value creation and value capture. Our findings indicate that firms and partners are less innovative and more conservative in their approaches to innovation than has previously been observed in open-innovation partnerships. This research contributes to the eco-innovation knowledge base by demonstrating how extracting value from open eco-innovation is complicated as value is created at the micro and meso levels of the network, yet, a major goal of value capture is at the environment and social macro level. Thus, our results indicate that firms are less willing to commit resources and knowledge to co-creation, thereby negatively impacting value capture for the entire network, the society and/or the environment. Using open innovation to address “grand” societal challenges requires understanding value creation and value capture within this micro-meso-macro systemic framework of competing goals.acceptedVersio

Landings, vol. 27, no. 11

Landings content emphasizes science, history, resource sustainability, economic development, and human interest stories related to Maine’s lobster industry. The newsletter emphasizes lobstering as a traditional, majority-European American lifeway with an economic and social heritage unique to the coast of Maine. The publication focuses how ongoing research to engage in sustainable, non-harmful, and non-wasteful commercial fishing practices benefit both the fishery and Maine\u27s coastal legacy. Maine Lobstermen’s Community Alliance (MLCA) started publication of Landings, a 24-page newsletter in January 2013 as the successor of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) Newsletter. As of 2022, the MLCA published over 6,500 copies of the monthly newsletter for distribution by mail to all of Maine’s commercial lobstermen, Maine state government agency staff, Maine Legislators, members of Maine\u27s U.S. Congressional delegation, subscribers, and marine businesses. For more information, please visit the Maine Lobstermen’s Community Alliance (MLCA) website. Headlines in this issue include: The MLA Continues to Challenge NMFS Whale Proposal DMR Releases Right Whale Risk Reduction Plan East, West Coast aquaculture plans require similar scrutiny Innovation Part of Maine Aquaculture Growth The MLA Urges Department of Marine Resources to Simplify Proposed Gear Marking Maine Lobstermen’s Association Update EPA Proposal to Site a New Ocean Disposal Area Casco Bay Hydrographic Survey New Model Predicts Downturn in Lobster Landings Offshore Herring Spawning Closures Under Consideration by NEFMC Take steps to prevent a stroke Talbot Promoted to New Position Biggest Object Created by 3-D Printer Unveiled in Orono Stonington Center Wins 3-Year Penobscot River Grant Lobster Season a Mixed Bag Thus Far The MLA’s Steadfast Business Members: Bessy Bait, Seabrook, NH Maine Artist Paints Portrait of Lobster Fisher

The disrupters: Lessons for low-carbon innovation from the new wave of environmental pioneers

We need disruptive forms of innovation 13 cheaper, easier-to-use alternatives to existing products or services, often produced by non-traditional players for previously ignored customers. This report tells the stories of eight such "disrupters" and draws wider lessons for low-carbon innovation. Its recommendations include: 1. Government should provide an enabling policy framework within which low-carbon innovation ca