Architectural Innovation Capability and Performance: The Moderating Role of Absorptive Capacity

Knowledge processing capabilities including knowledge creation and absorptive capacity are required to renew a firm’s knowledge stock. These capabilities keep firms abreast of technological and market changes as they enable a proactive approach in responding to these changes. An outdated knowledge stock and the overlooking of changes in external knowledge are destructive in today’s competitive environment; firms in these circumstances risk being caught in competency traps and rigidities. Hence, knowledge exploitation has an indispensable role in enhancing innovation. This thesis focuses on architectural innovation which is the capability to reconfigure products’ components and so create novel products. It requires the creation of new architectural knowledge while reserving the component knowledge. Although this innovation capability relies profoundly on creating new architectural knowledge, it is also important that firms are competent in absorbing external knowledge. Although the literature on new product development performance captures innovation as a prerequisite of performance, it is yet unclear how architectural innovation capability affects performance. Therefore, this thesis explores the interaction effect of architectural innovation capability and absorptive capacity on firms’ performance. Although knowledge creation coined with organisation’s absorptive capacity drive innovation, the innovation literature over the last two decades emphasises integrating knowledge from external sources, particularly from lead users. Lead users’ contribution to product quality is one of the under-researched areas. In addition to the dearth of empirical research, quality was measured by experts’ judgment; it is possible that this judgment may be a biased evaluation of quality compared with a quantitative scale devoted to measure quality. To overcome the previous research’s limitation in measuring quality, this research examines how lead users’ integration promotes product quality as measured using a validated scale. The developed theoretical framework links knowledge creation with architectural innovation capability; at the same time it explores the interaction effect of architectural innovation capability and absorptive capacity on new product development performance. Furthermore, the theoretical model captures the effect of lead users’ integration on development time and product quality. Empirical findings, based on primary data collected from 196 UK manufacturing companies show that, knowledge creation modes (socialisation and internalisation) have a positive effect on enhancing architectural innovation capability. Also, absorptive capacity interaction with architectural innovation capability affects financial performance. Assimilation and transformation strengthen innovation’s impact on performance, while exploitation weakens this effect. Finally, the analysis shows that the integration of lead users positively affects development speed and product quality. Overall, this study contributes to the literature on knowledge processing capabilities by suggesting that knowledge creation is one of the underlying capabilities needed for innovation. In addition, this research contributes to the sheer amount of literature on absorptive capacity, by suggesting that different capacities have different effects on innovation and performance. The major value added by this research relates to architectural innovation capability; the findings suggest that both knowledge processing capabilities and absorptive capacity affect the capability to create new linkages between product components and technologies

Design and Planning of Manufacturing Networks for Mass Customisation and Personalisation: Challenges and Outlook

AbstractManufacturers and service providers are called to design, plan and operate globalized manufacturing networks, addressing to challenges such as ever-decreasing lifecycles and increased product complexity. These factors, caused primarily by mass customisation and demand volatility, generate a number of issues related to the design and planning of manufacturing systems and networks, which are not holistically tackled in industrial and academic practices. The mapping of production performance requirements to process and production planning requires automated closed-loop control systems, which current systems fail to deliver. Technology-based business approaches are an enabler for increased enterprise performance. Towards that end, the issues discussed in this paper focus on challenges in the design and planning of manufacturing networks in a mass customization and personalization landscape. The development of methods and tools for supporting the dynamic configuration and optimal routing of manufacturing networks and facilities under cost, time, complexity and environmental constraints to support product-service personalization are promoted

Where do games of innovation come from? Explaining the persistence of dynamic innovation patterns

This paper contributes to explaining how and why distinct games of innovation emerge by\ud suggesting that games are nested in innovation systems with persistent innovation dynamics.\ud Dominant lifecycle models focus on how innovation systems transit from an effervescent\ud stage, to product innovation, to process innovation, and so on. They propose specific\ud mechanisms and limiting conditions that affect knowledge production and investment to\ud explain these systematic transitions. Building on these models, we rethink the conditions\ud and mechanisms of innovation to suggest that endogenous renewal cycles can re-create the\ud knowledge and funding necessary to maintain innovation systems for long periods in one\ud stage. We take steps towards developing a theoretical model of innovation dynamics that\ud extends the applicability of lifecycle theories and unifies them with emerging views such as\ud high-velocity innovation and hyper-competition. We also describe three possible types of\ud endogenous renewal cycles, each sustaining a different level of knowledge dynamism and\ud enabling different types of games of innovation

Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED11):Book of Abstracts

The ICED series of conferences is the Design Society's "flagship" event. ICED11 took place on August 15-18, 2011, at the campus of the Danish Technical University in Lyngby/Copenhagen, Denmark. The Proceedings of the conference are published in 10 individual volumes, arranged according to topics. All volumes of the Proceedings may be purchased individually through Amazon and other on-line booksellers. For members of the Design Society, all papers are available on this website. The Programme and Abstract Book is publically available for download

A comparison of processing techniques for producing prototype injection moulding inserts.

This project involves the investigation of processing techniques for producing low-cost moulding inserts used in the particulate injection moulding (PIM) process. Prototype moulds were made from both additive and subtractive processes as well as a combination of the two. The general motivation for this was to reduce the entry cost of users when considering PIM. PIM cavity inserts were first made by conventional machining from a polymer block using the pocket NC desktop mill. PIM cavity inserts were also made by fused filament deposition modelling using the Tiertime UP plus 3D printer. The injection moulding trials manifested in surface finish and part removal defects. The feedstock was a titanium metal blend which is brittle in comparison to commodity polymers. That in combination with the mesoscale features, small cross-sections and complex geometries were considered the main problems. For both processing methods, fixes were identified and made to test the theory. These consisted of a blended approach that saw a combination of both the additive and subtractive processes being used. The parts produced from the three processing methods are investigated and their respective merits and issues are discussed

Reducing risk in pre-production investigations through undergraduate engineering projects.

This poster is the culmination of final year Bachelor of Engineering Technology (B.Eng.Tech) student projects in 2017 and 2018. The B.Eng.Tech is a level seven qualification that aligns with the Sydney accord for a three-year engineering degree and hence is internationally benchmarked. The enabling mechanism of these projects is the industry connectivity that creates real-world projects and highlights the benefits of the investigation of process at the technologist level. The methodologies we use are basic and transparent, with enough depth of technical knowledge to ensure the industry partners gain from the collaboration process. The process we use minimizes the disconnect between the student and the industry supervisor while maintaining the academic freedom of the student and the commercial sensitivities of the supervisor. The general motivation for this approach is the reduction of the entry cost of the industry to enable consideration of new technologies and thereby reducing risk to core business and shareholder profits. The poster presents several images and interpretive dialogue to explain the positive and negative aspects of the student process

Exploration of Building Information Modeling and Integrated Project Cloud Service in early architectural design stages

[EN] In the evolving Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry, the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Integrated Project Cloud Service (IPCS) has become crucial. These tools are particularly essential during the early design stages, as they enable comprehensive management and integration of project information, thus promoting effective decision-making throughout project lifecycles. This combined approach enhances inter-organizational collaborations, improves design and construction practices, and creates a communal data platform for stakeholders. This research explores the effectiveness of the BIM-IPCS system in streamlining data exchange and information flow during early design, suggesting ways to minimize errors, speed up processes, and reduce construction costs through dependable networks. Conclusively, this study underscores the significant impact of the BIM-IPCS system on project management, ensuring well-coordinated and informed construction while advocating for its role in driving innovative and efficient project delivery in the AEC industry.Grateful acknowledgment is extended to the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, the Public Works Information Institute of the Republic of China (CPWEIA), and Luxor Digital Co., Ltd. (LUXOR) for their substantial support and contributions to this research.Wagiri, F.; Shih, S.; Harsono, K.; Cheng, T.; Lu, M. (2023). Exploration of Building Information Modeling and Integrated Project Cloud Service in early architectural design stages. VITRUVIO - International Journal of Architectural Technology and Sustainability. 8(2):26-37. https://doi.org/10.4995/vitruvio-ijats.2023.2045326378