Servitization as an innovation process: Identifying the needs for change

In the past, innovation efforts in industry were focused on tangible product innovations. Debating the topic of servitization has led to an expanded view of innovation. Intangible product innovations are an opportunity to complement innovation strategies. However, the practices and tools that facilitate creating tangible innovations have failed for intangible innovations. Therefore, many manufacturers hesitate to develop new services or Product Service Systems (PSS). With this background, this chapter presents a concept for managing a systematic innovation process with respect to specific challenges of intangible innovations. This managerial innovation model is based on case studies of servitizing manufacturing industries. The insights derived from actively applying industrial servitization processes were bundled into a generic procedure. The presentation of this generic procedure is organised into five sections: After an introduction, the second section provides a literature summary on service innovations in industrial firms. Then, we present the challenges of servitization processes identified in case studies and characterise the new innovation model

What underlies the diversity of brain tumors?

Glioma and medulloblastoma represent the most commonly occurring malignant brain tumors in adults and in children respectively. Recent genomic and transcriptional approaches present a complex group of diseases, and delineate a number of molecular subgroups within tumors that share a common histopathology. Differences in cells of origin, regional niches, developmental timing and genetic events all contribute to this heterogeneity. In an attempt to recapitulate the diversity of brain tumors, an increasing array of genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) has been developed. These models often utilize promoters and genetic drivers from normal brain development, and can provide insight into specific cells from which these tumors originate. GEMMs show promise in both developmental biology and developmental therapeutics. This review describes numerous murine brain tumor models in the context of normal brain development, and the potential for these animals to impact brain tumor research