Patterns and trends in entrepreneurial network literature: 1993-2003

This paper reflects the increasing interest in entrepreneurial networking. Indeed Monsted (1995) suggests that networking is now a vogue concept in the entrepreneurship field. The popularity of the network theme has resulted in an increasing number of publications. Our study is an attempt to first quantify the growth in network research, as indicated by published papers. It then attempts to provide a guide to developments in network publications

Trust formation processes in innovative collaborations: networking as knowledge building practices

Purpose - This study examines the practices and processes of trust building and use in collaborative networking for product innovation and compares face to face with virtual networking. Design/Methodology/Approach – Guided by a literature review and preliminary participant observation, 16 open ended interviews collected data about the processes in 11 small biotech firms. These data were inductively analysed by the constant comparative method to develop explanatory themes. Findings – Trust was seen as requirement for successful collaborative innovation, but we identified how different dimensions of trust are located in the trust building processes. Trust works by creating a platform of confidence that fosters flows of information and the exchange of tacit knowledge. Two types of trust relationships, the technical and the social, work in different ways to produce different, but complementary, types of trust. Virtual environments suit technical trust building but are less suited to developing deeper, more enduring forms of trust. Originality/Value – The paper contributes conceptually by theorising the trust building process and its role in collaborative innovation. It addresses a gap in the literature in identifying how trust is produced, developed and employed in furthering innovation, in particular the behavioural patterns of using virtual networks in furthering innovation

Innovation in small business: comparing face-to-face with virtual networking

Purpose - The paper aimed to better understand the process of networking by small business with their customers to achieve innovations. In particular the relative roles of face-to-face and virtual interaction were investigated. Design - Initially a week of participant observation was undertaken then 17 in-depth interviews were conducted and analysed. The biotechnology sector was used for the sample. Findings - Networking interaction could be categorised into stages. A deepening of the relationship developed on two fronts: increasing exchanges of technical information but necessarily supplemented by increased sharing of social information to facilitate tacit knowledge exchanges. As the relationship continued to develop, virtual modes could be used in an increasing capacity. The paper developed a stage model and identified the role of face-to face and virtual exchanges at each stage. Research limitations/implications - Generalisability is unproven. However the issues appeared typical of any technology or science-based sector and suggest broader applicability. Practical implications - Business people cannot assume that all steps in the process of generating an innovation with a customer can be achieved virtually. The stage model provides guidance to practitioners on the appropriate interaction modes to avoid wasteful face-to-face meetings and ineffective virtual exchanges. Originality value - While the usefulness of networking by small business is well recognised, little is known about the process of networking and in particular the potential role of virtual communication and what can and cannot be achieved. The paper sheds light on these issues and develops an explanatory framework. Article Classification: Research pape

Mechanisms of inorganic carbon-14 attenuation in contaminated groundwater: Effect of solution pH on isotopic exchange and carbonate precipitation reactions

Radioactive 14C is a significant contaminant associated with nuclear fuels and wastes that is potentially highly mobile in the environment as dissolved inorganic carbonate species. This study investigated the mechanisms by which dissolved inorganic 14C is retained in surface and groundwater environments via precipitation and isotopic exchange reactions. Precipitation of calcite in the presence and absence of nucleation sites is considered along with isotopic exchange with both atmospheric CO2 and solid carbonates. Precipitation occurs at calcite supersaturation values of SICAL > 1.5 in the absence of nucleation sites and SICAL > 0–0.5 in the presence of nucleation sites, suggesting that precipitation of 14C-bearing carbonates is much more likely in subsurface environments where nucleation sites are abundant. The maximum 14C removal in solid isotopic exchange experiments occurred after approximately 2 weeks equilibration. In these experiments the amount of 14C removed from solution was proportional to the amount of calcite surface area present, and removal from solution was equivalent to rapid equalisation of the isotope ratio in an 8–10 Å active surface layer. Although the reactivity of natural carbonates may be lower than the calcite samples used in this study, these results suggest isotopic exchange with solids will be an important 14C retardation mechanism in subsurface environments containing only modest TIC concentrations. These results suggest that if inorganic 14C is released into sub-surface environments, both precipitation and solid phase isotopic exchange can result in non-conservative 14C-DIC transport and 14C contamination may persist in groundwater for decades following accidental releases. In contrast, in experiments open to atmosphere with pH values below 9.3, complete loss of dissolved inorganic 14C was very rapid and occurred with timescales of 10's of hours. 14C loss was due to a rapid exchange of dissolved 14C species with 12CO2 (g) and the kinetics of 14C removal increased as pH values were lowered (i.e. atmospheric isotopic exchange was first order with respect to the concentration of carbonic acid present). Thus these results suggest that release of inorganic 14C to surface waters with pH values <9.3 would result in rapid exchange with 12CO2 (g) and 14C would not persist in the aqueous environment, whereas 14C-DIC released to saturated subsurface environments may persist close to the release site for decades due to precipitation and solid phase exchange reactions preventing/retarding transport with the groundwater

From bits to bites: Advancement of the Germinate platform to support prebreeding informatics for crop wild relatives

Management and distribution of experimental data from prebreeding projects is important to ensure uptake of germplasm into breeding and research programs. Being able to access and share this data in standard formats is essential. The adoption of a common informatics platform for crops that may have limited resources brings economies of scale, allowing common informatics components to be used across multiple species. The close integration of such a platform with commonly used breeding software, visualization, and analysis tools reduces the barrier for entry to researchers and provides a common framework to facilitate collaborations and data sharing. This work presents significant updates to the Germinate platform and highlights its value in distributing prebreeding data for 14 crops as part of the project ‘Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change: Collecting, Protecting and Preparing Crop Wild Relatives’ (hereafter Crop Trust Crop Wild Relatives project) led by the Crop Trust (https://www.cwrdiversity.org). The addition of data on these species compliments data already publicly available in Germinate. We present a suite of updated Germinate features using examples from these crop species and their wild relatives. The use of Germinate within the Crop TrustCropWildRelatives project demonstrates the usefulness of the system and the benefits a shared informatics platform provides. These data resources provide a foundation on which breeding and research communities can develop additional online resources for their crops, harness new data as it becomes available, and benefit collectively from future developments of the Germinate platform