Collaborative enterprise governance : sustainable management of inter-firm R&D relationships in the German car industry

This research reports on the appropriate governance, i.e. design and management, of inter-firm R&D relationships in order to achieve sustainable competitive success for the whole partnership as well as its individual members. An exploratory study in the German automotive industry using inductive Grounded Theory was conducted. This involved data collection via 28 semi-structured interviews with 16 companies in order to form a set of 35 tentative propositions that have been validated via a questionnaire survey receiving 110 responses from 52 companies. The research has resulted in the consolidation of the validated propositions into a novel concept termed Collaborative Enterprise Governance. The core of the concept is a competence based contingency framework that helps decision makers in selecting the most appropriate governance strategy (i.e. sourcing strategy) for an inter-firm R&D relationship between a buyer and its supplier. Thereby, the concept does not draw on whole company-to-company connectivity. It rather conceptualises an inter-firm relationship to be composed of autonomous cross-functional units of the individual partner companies that contribute value to a particular joint R&D project via the possession of task specific competencies. The novel concept and its elements have been evaluated in a focus group with industrial experts of the German automotive industry and revealed positive effects on the sustainable competitive success of the whole partnership and the individual partner companies. However, it also showed that current practice does not apply the right mechanisms for its implementation and hence guidelines for practitioners and decision makers involved in inter-firm R&D collaboration in the automotive industry are offered on how to facilitate the implementation and usage of the Collaborative Enterprise Governance philosophy

G-stack modulated probe intensities on expression arrays - sequence corrections and signal calibration

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The brightness of the probe spots on expression microarrays intends to measure the abundance of specific mRNA targets. Probes with runs of at least three guanines (G) in their sequence show abnormal high intensities which reflect rather probe effects than target concentrations. This G-bias requires correction prior to downstream expression analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Longer runs of three or more consecutive G along the probe sequence and in particular triple degenerated G at its solution end ((<it>GGG</it>)₁-effect) are associated with exceptionally large probe intensities on GeneChip expression arrays. This intensity bias is related to non-specific hybridization and affects both perfect match and mismatch probes. The (<it>GGG</it>)₁-effect tends to increase gradually for microarrays of later GeneChip generations. It was found for DNA/RNA as well as for DNA/DNA probe/target-hybridization chemistries. Amplification of sample RNA using T7-primers is associated with strong positive amplitudes of the G-bias whereas alternative amplification protocols using random primers give rise to much smaller and partly even negative amplitudes.</p> <p>We applied positional dependent sensitivity models to analyze the specifics of probe intensities in the context of all possible short sequence motifs of one to four adjacent nucleotides along the 25meric probe sequence. Most of the longer motifs are adequately described using a nearest-neighbor (NN) model. In contrast, runs of degenerated guanines require explicit consideration of next nearest neighbors (GGG terms). Preprocessing methods such as vsn, RMA, dChip, MAS5 and gcRMA only insufficiently remove the G-bias from data.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Positional and motif dependent sensitivity models accounts for sequence effects of oligonucleotide probe intensities. We propose a positional dependent NN+GGG hybrid model to correct the intensity bias associated with probes containing poly-G motifs. It is implemented as a single-chip based calibration algorithm for GeneChips which can be applied in a pre-correction step prior to standard preprocessing.</p

Governance architectures for inter-organisational R&D collaboration

Inter-organizational relationships are becoming an increasingly important source of competitive advantage and innovation. This study looks at these relationships in the context of inter-organizational R&D collaborations in the European automotive industry. Previous work led to the proposal of a competence-based portfolio framework that explains the design of the inter-organizational architecture and an indicative relationship strategy. This framework comprises four distinct types of governance architecture and relationship strategy. This paper reports on the first confirmatory transfer study, conducted at Jaguar Land Rover, in the UK. The study illustrates developmental paths and patterns in the evolution of inter-organizational relationships using empirical insights. Their configuration and dynamic evolution is contingent upon the ‘engageability’ of the partner companies’ competences based on their attractiveness, transferability and maturity. The study shows that the contingency framework is transferable and practically useful, as well as yielding further practical narrative about inter-organizational practice

Governing inter-organisational R&D supplier collaborations:a study at Jaguar Land Rover

This article discusses the importance of collaboration with suppliers and partners during research and development (R&D) technology projects. It details how this can be accomplished using the collaborative enterprise governance (CEG) concept to manage a technology project. CEG is based on the premise that parts of companies work with parts of other companies, which are reconfigured on dynamic bases according to a variety of different internal and external factors. This article presents an overview of the founding literature, the CEG and its methodology, and examples based at Jaguar Land Rover in the UK. CEG has been used here to explain why some technology projects have succeeded while others have done less well. This article concludes by offering new propositions, inducted through grounded theory, relating to the successful management of R&D projects, which should be picked up by future research studies in the area

High-speed IPM Motors with Rotor Sleeve: Structural Design and Performance Evaluation

This paper deals with the structural design of sleeves for high-speed interior permanent magnet (IPM) synchronous machines. Wrapped IPM (WIPM) motors are a new player in the field of high-speed e-machines for traction, where a retaining sleeve is used to hold the magnetic poles in place against centrifugal forces, replacing the role of conventional iron bridges. The wrapping technique, originating from surface-mounted permanent magnet rotors, is believed to push speed limitations to new heights, as demanded by the increasing requirements of the automotive industry. By developing an equivalent rotor geometry of the WIPM rotor, an analytical model is formulated to evaluate the stress in the rotor and to provide a quick and intuitive tool for the sleeve design. The results are successfully validated by structural finite element analysis. Also, the output figures of a WIPM machine are compared to those of an equivalent IPM machine with iron bridges

Sodium Cyclopentadienide as a New Type of Electrolyte for Sodium Batteries

Owing to the low cost and high abundance of sodium, sodium‐based batteries, especially those employing metallic sodium anodes, are considered for post‐lithium energy storage. In order to develop high‐performance and long‐lasting sodium‐metal batteries, however, the reversible Na‐metal stripping and plating challenge must be addressed. Most organic electrolytes suffer from non‐uniform and continuous formation of the solid electrolyte interphase as well as unfavorable dendritic growth. The use of sodium cyclopentadienide dissolved in tetrahydrofuran as the electrolyte reveals an improved reversibility of sodium dissolution and electrodeposition combined with an electrochemical stability window of around 2.2 V vs. Na/Na+ and an ionic conductivity of 1.36 mS cm−1 at 25 °C. Furthermore, the plated electrodes showed a remarkable morphology of the Na deposits, that is, no dendrite formation, whereby the above‐mentioned electrolyte could overcome the aforementioned cycling issues, thus suggesting suitability for further studies

Percolation and Cluster Formalism in Continuous Spin Systems

The generalization of Kasteleyn and Fortuin clusters formalism is introduced in XY (or more generally O(n)) models. Clusters geometrical structure may be linked to spin physical properties as correlation functions. To investigate percolative characteristics, the new cluster definition is analytically explored in one dimension and with Monte Carlo simulations in 2D and 3D frustrated and unfrustrated n-clock models. In these models (also in unfrustrated cases for large n) the percolative transition temperature is higher than the usual thermodynamical critical one.Comment: 12 pages and 4 figure

Thermodynamic pathways to genome spatial organization in the cell nucleus

The architecture of the eukaryotic genome is characterized by a high degree of spatial organization. Chromosomes occupy preferred territories correlated to their state of activity and, yet, displace their genes to interact with remote sites in complex patterns requiring the orchestration of a huge number of DNA loci and molecular regulators. Far from random, this organization serves crucial functional purposes, but its governing principles remain elusive. By computer simulations of a Statistical Mechanics model, we show how architectural patterns spontaneously arise from the physical interaction between soluble binding molecules and chromosomes via collective thermodynamics mechanisms. Chromosomes colocalize, loops and territories form and find their relative positions as stable hermodynamic states. These are selected by “thermodynamic switches” which are regulated by concentrations/affinity of soluble mediators and by number/location of their attachment sites along chromosomes. Our “thermodynamic switch model” of nuclear architecture, thus, explains on quantitative grounds how well known cell strategies of upregulation of DNA binding proteins or modification of chromatin structure can dynamically shape the organization of the nucleus