Linking project-based production and project management temporary systems in multiple contexts:An introduction to the special edition

As organisations in more and more industries look for flexible ways of production in the wake of rapidly changing market environments, project-based organising is becoming an increasingly important mode of organisation (Eisenhardt & Tabrizi, 1995). Whereas project-based organisation was traditionally mainly the domain of industries such as film making (Sorenson & Waguespack, 2006), theatre (Goodman & Goodman, 1976), and construction (Gann & Salter, 2000), a project-based mode of operation has recently pervaded many other sectors in the economy, including software development, advertising, biotechnology, consulting, emergency response, fashion, television and complex products and systems (Grabher, 2004; Hobday, 2000). This increasing prevalence is reflected in an exponentially growing body of research (Bakker, 2010), which has made marked progress in areas such as project-based learning (Prencipe & Tell, 2001), project-based innovation (Eisenhardt & Tabrizi, 1995) and project-based careers (Jones, 1996). As a consequence, research on project organisation has moved from being a narrow specialty domain toward being a broad research paradigm, attending to a broad audience in organisation science and beyond (Sydow et al., 2004). In a fairly recent review paper, Bakker (2010) shows that in the period 1988–2008 scholarly attention, as indicated by publications in books and ISI-indexed journals, grew exponentially (see Figure 1). Comparing the number of publications in the period 1988-1998 with the period 1998–2008, he observed an increase of almost 340%

The Franki Committee (1976 Report) and Statutory Licensing

Contains fulltext : 140337.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)We focus in this study on sets of inter-organizational relationships (IORs) by applying a configurational approach that includes both the diversity and the intensity of knowledge transfer IORs. We use a latent class cluster analysis to empirically explore the kinds of IORs configurations. We then use antecedents derived from the IOR literature to explain firm membership in those configurations. Our tests allow us to identify four configurations ranging from isolated innovators to innovating firms embedded in diverse and deep sets of IORs. We show that internal knowledge use by firms, and the types of innovative activities in which they engage, are strong predictors of firm membership in different configurations.19 p

R&D cooperation in a transaction cost perspective

R&D collaboration is a mode of governance of inter-firm relationships through non-market mechanisms. The objective of this paper is to present a theory-based empirical investigation of R&D co-operation. A framework is developed to analyse the odds of R&D cooperation between buyers and suppliers, drawing both on transaction cost theory and the resource-based theory of the frrm. Several hypotheses are formulated and tested, using data from 689 industrial firms located in the Dutch region of North Brabant. In general, the results of logistic regression analyses support the assumptions of transaction cost theory. Frequent knowledge transfer and moderate and high levels of dependency ('asset specificity') increase the odds of R&D cooperation. In particular, Williamson's assumptions concerning the moderating influences of uncertainty on bilateral governance structure are confrrmed. The extension of the original transaction cost model with several indicators derived from the resourcebased theory of the firm appears to significantly increase the performance of the model

National innovation systems

no abstract