Towards Innovation in Multinational Corporation Subsidiaries: Development of an Instrument to Select and Evaluate Value Driven Strategies

This paper examines the complex, interdependent relationship between multinational companies and their subsidiaries. It discusses how subsidiary role development and specific strategic initiatives may add new value to corporations. While previous studies have identified the need for more proactive management practices, there are few practical guides available to managers to help them improve their performance. This paper addresses this deficit and contributes new knowledge on subsidiary role development practices in terms of selection and evaluation. Through an in-depth analysis of extant literature, the research developed and tested an instrument that allows decision makers to assess their company against good practice. This instrument (or audit tool) is an accurate, reliable and valid mechanism to measure a subsidiary’s role development strategies

Best practice project management: an analysis of the front end of the innovation process in the medical technology industry

There are strong motivating factors for more effective project management practices at the front end of the innovation (FEI) process. Shrewd management of these pre-development activities has proven to be one of the greatest differentials for success. This study presents findings from an empirical case study analysis of a large organization operating in the medical technology industry in Ireland. We synthesized the literature to identify five critical success factors (CSFs) known to be effective in the successful management of the FEI process. From this analysis an instrument to assess best practices was developed. Data was collected from 66 engineers in the R&D discipline. The findings of the study show that the organization’s FEI phase aligns well with best practice. However, a difference between the level of agreement about the extent to which the critical success factors are in place in the organization and the level of importance placed on these practices emerged. This paper contributes to knowledge by (a) assessing the relative importance of critical success factors for the FEI in the medical technology industry, (b) examining whether these initiatives are implemented in practice and, if so, to what extent, and (c) providing a series of recommendations to help bridge the gap from theory to practice

Innovation in the 21st century SME manufacturing environments

The environment in which we inhabit is shaped by technology and how as users we use it. This can be seen in the manufacturing SME environment. Manufacturing SMEs are dynamic and flexible but as the business environment is changing at a greater rate than ever before they have to adapt to changes more quickly and efficiently. The ability to adapt to change needs to be reflected in the organisations information management system. The information flows have to be dynamic and flexible to allow for change to occur more efficiently in the organisation not only at management level but throughout the organisation, for the shop floor operator to the managing director. Ambient intelligence (AmI) can assist in the development of more dynamic information flows in the organisation. AmI is a user centred technology concept. In involves including the user, process and environment in the system in a more dynamic way by integrating the various elements to interact together to create an environment that caters to need and requirements of user technologically. This can be achieved by developing an AmI system that can adapt to the different needs and requirements of the users of the system for information related to there specific requirements at any given time. The paper examines the concept of AmI within manufacturing SME. An AmI SME process typology is presented and applied to the manufacturing case study. The solution and implementation are examined through the typology. The business benefits of the system are highlighted

Spinning Out of Control? How Academic Spinoff Formation Overlooks Medical Device Regulations

This paper investigates the impact of the medical device regulatory framework on the academic spinoff formation process and contributes to knowledge in the domain by expanding and deepening our understanding of its underlying routines and capabilities. A detailed case study focusing on academic spinoff formation in the Irish medical device industry was conducted and found that the consideration given to the medical device regulatory framework significantly lags behind that given to other commercialisation activities. This trend has potential to both significantly delay spinoff formation and negatively impact its potential success and survival. Findings indicate that incorporating expert regulatory knowledge earlier within the process may enhance the spinoff activities within universities, particularly funding, research and capital investment

The rise of the prosumer: an analysis of self-service technology adoption in a corporate context

The adoption of self-service technology (SST) has been well researched in consumer contexts but, despite the existing body of work, few studies have investigated in detail the specific determinants for user satisfaction in a corporate context. This study attempts to address this deficit. The goal of our work is to examine employees’ perception of SST. To do this, four dimensions of the SSTQUAL quality scale namely (a) functionality; (b) security; (c) design and (d) customization were adapted to collect data from 182 knowledge workers in a financial services multi-national organization. The findings lead to the following insights. First respondents believe that SSTs can perform the task required in a timely and straightforward manner. They also feel that transactions are safe and secure. However, we learned that, although essential to user satisfaction, respondents have concerns regarding the design and customization of the technology. They believe that the technology employed is not user centric. Furthermore, respondents are not pleased with the layouts or aesthetics of the technology and they feel that the features are not personalized for their specific requirements. The study is important for many reasons. First, it expands the discussion on SST adoption by focusing on the corporate context thus contributing to the body of knowledge in the domain. Second, it captures and analyses real world empirical data and helps bridge the gap between theory and practice. Finally, the findings can help service providers to create effective user driven solutions

Towards holistic goal centered performance management in software development: lessons from a best practice analysis

There are strong motivating factors for more effective performance measurement practices in software development. Astute practices in this domain are lauded to improve efficiency and effectiveness. However previous studies have shown that measurement in software is intricate, complex and fraught with challenges. Consequently it is poorly managed in practice. Our research seeks to better understand performance management in a real world software development setting in order to identify the challenges and generate a roadmap for improvement. This paper presents findings from an inductive analysis of a radical measurement program in a global software organization. Our study investigates the level at which non-compliance with best practice can explain the company’s disappointing results. We found that a narrow focus on projects, rather than on organizational goals, has seriously hindered its success. We also found that the rate of change in the organization as a whole was impinging on the effective implementation of its measurement program. An analysis of the results demonstrates just how challenging software measurement is. The findings provide an evaluation of best practice relative to the literature that is informed by real industry experience

Dietary Nitrate in Decreased Blood Pressure in Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Syndrome: a Series of N-of-1trials

Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) is a consequence of repetitive oropharyngeal airway narrowing/closure during sleep resulting in chronic intermittent hypoxaemia [1]. OSAS is regarded as an independent risk factor for hypertension (HTN) development [2] and is associated with decreased cerebral blood flow [3], leading to daytime neuropsychological sequelae [1]. Blood pressure (BP) follows a circadian rhythm termed dipping and the absence of nocturnal BP dipping is associated with target-organ damage, cerebrovascular disease, myocardial remodelling and increased cardiovascular events/mortality [4]. Abnormal BP in OSAS typically manifests as reduced nocturnal BP dipping [5]. Although continuous positive airway pressure therapy (CPAP) represents the current gold standard treatment of OSAS, its antihyper- tensive effect is limite

Extensive Genomic Diversity among Bovine-Adapted Staphylococcus aureus: Evidence for a Genomic Rearrangement within CC97

peer-reviewedStaphylococcus aureus is an important pathogen associated with both human and veterinary disease and is a common cause of bovine mastitis. Genomic heterogeneity exists between S. aureus strains and has been implicated in the adaptation of specific strains to colonise particular mammalian hosts. Knowledge of the factors required for host specificity and virulence is important for understanding the pathogenesis and management of S. aureus mastitis. In this study, a panel of mastitis-associated S. aureus isolates (n = 126) was tested for resistance to antibiotics commonly used to treat mastitis. Over half of the isolates (52%) demonstrated resistance to penicillin and ampicillin but all were susceptible to the other antibiotics tested. S. aureus isolates were further examined for their clonal diversity by Multi-Locus Sequence Typing (MLST). In total, 18 different sequence types (STs) were identified and eBURST analysis demonstrated that the majority of isolates grouped into clonal complexes CC97, CC151 or sequence type (ST) 136. Analysis of the role of recombination events in determining S. aureus population structure determined that ST diversification through nucleotide substitutions were more likely to be due to recombination compared to point mutation, with regions of the genome possibly acting as recombination hotspots. DNA microarray analysis revealed a large number of differences amongst S. aureus STs in their variable genome content, including genes associated with capsule and biofilm formation and adhesion factors. Finally, evidence for a genomic arrangement was observed within isolates from CC97 with the ST71-like subgroup showing evidence of an IS431 insertion element having replaced approximately 30 kb of DNA including the ica operon and histidine biosynthesis genes, resulting in histidine auxotrophy. This genomic rearrangement may be responsible for the diversification of ST71 into an emerging bovine adapted subgroup