Choosing the most effective networking strategy and practice for open innovation

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019.In today’s world, innovation is a very important force to enable companies to survive. It is no longer enough for companies to develop products or services using only their internal resources. For this reason, companies are receiving support from external sources in order to save time and cost while continuing innovation activities. This approach is an open innovation approach that includes customers, suppliers, consumers and other firms. In recent years it has been observed that companies that adopt open innovation are ahead of the competition. Choosing effective strategies and practices when networking with external partners plays an important role for success. In this study, 20 large companies interested in open innovation in America were selected and criteria they consider when creating their open innovation networks and strategies and practices they use were investigated. After reviewing the literature on open innovation, eight criteria and fifteen strategies and practices have been identified that are effective in creating networks of companies. TOPSIS method was used as a multi criteria decision-making methods to determine the most effective strategies and practices. While the importance level of the criteria was determined, the opinions of the employees of the companies within the scope of the research were taken. Based on the results, the most effective strategies and practices when creating a network, were discussed and future work directions were highlighted

Maintenance Strategy Selection for Critical Shipboard Machinery Systems using a Hybrid AHP-PROMETHEE and Cost Benefit Analysis: A Case Study

The engine rooms of ships accommodate different machinery systems that are critical to ship operations. For these critical machinery systems to continue delivering the high level of service, operators are required to select and apply the best maintenance interventions. Currently, the selection of appropriate maintenance strategies for different engine room’s machinery systems is handled in a traditional way, regardless of in what condition such systems are. The aim of this paper is to propose a semi-qualitative model integrating AHP and PROMETHEE to select appropriate maintenance strategies for different critical machinery found in the engine rooms of ships. The proposed model consists of three maintenance alternatives among which decision-makers must select the best strategy according to four comparison criteria. The model is applied to select the best maintenance strategies for 17 different shipboard machinery systems in the engine room of a barge operating within West African waters. Finally, the results are compared with those obtained from a cost-benefit analysis approach (quantitative) as well as a survey of the experienced marine engineers who operate these machinery in the engine rooms of ships (qualitative). The results of the case study indicate that the proposed semi-qualitative method is a more robust approach for selecting maintenance strategies of shipboard machinery systems