Design, product development, innovation: all the same in the end? A short discussion on terminology

The spectrum of terminology to describe the professional and academic field “design” is manifold. Terms like design, engineering design, product development, and innovation are widely accepted and used. Whereas some of these terms are common in the business area, others are rather used in the engineering field. Based on the terminologies from exponents of the design science as well as other communities, the paper tries to broaden the view on what “design” means. Additionally, the paper highlights the accordance and differences between the terms design, product development and innovation, and attempts to derive implications for organising research practice in such a broader context. The paper should be seen as starting point for a wider discussion

Identification of entrepreneurial opportunities : a conceptual model of cognitive-motivational mechanisms

The identification of entrepreneurial opportunities is a fundamental process in entrepreneurship. This process starts with creative cognition, where individuals identify an opportunity to start a business that they find attractive. Two cognitive mechanisms—divergent thinking and convergent thinking—are central to the identification of novel and commercially viable opportunities, yet neither the interplay of both mechanisms during the opportunity-identification process nor the individual cognitive flexibility that drives that process have been explained. How these cognitive mechanisms are linked to other factors, such as entrepreneurial motivation, also remains unclear. We investigate the literature on underlying cognitive mechanisms and related factors and, based on theoretical conclusions, we develop a conceptual model with cognitive mechanisms and motivational factors

Technology acquisition through convergence: the role of dynamic capabilities

In recent cases of industrial dynamics and technological change, the acquisition of technologies is often not based on strategic choice, but can rather be regarded as a required operation in order to tackle risks in emerging phases of consolidation. In particular, the phenomenon of technological convergence is examined as a special case for acquisition of technologies. Introduced by a discussion of drivers for such a convergence, its implications on technology and innovation management practices are investigated. Special focus is laid onto the resulting impact in terms of business model convergence, where creative destruction might lead to severe disruptions in the competitive environment. Based on these reflections, two scenarios for acquisition approaches are introduced. In the first scenario, the convergence causes the current internal competencies to be merged with external ones, resulting in an emerging dominant design, from of which the firm holds a critical resource stake. In the second scenario, the firm's internal competencies remain outside the emerging dominant design. Especially in the latter scenario, the relevance of dynamic capabilities in managerial actions is underlined. The argumentation is illustrated by using the case of telecommunication industry actors in tackling convergence challenges, and in implementing practices for acquisition of technologies and related competencies

Strategic venture partner selection for collaborative innovation in production systems: A decision support system-based approach

Collaborative innovation and product development projects can be regarded as an emerging challenge in innovation management, being partly reflected by the currently observable industry demand for support from strategic planning tools serving this purpose. A software tool for providing operationalized decision support has been developed, based on previous research in the area of collaborative innovation success factors. By applying experience of coaching a public research organization in finding a suitable partner for joining forces in the research and development of a future energy technology, this paper presents a solution taking into account the given competitive restrictions. Being designed for usage within a coaching framework, the tool provides a multi-perspective and interactive overview of potential venture partners to the decision-makers. Furthermore, the adoption of an integrated partner selection process for supporting technology-intensive organizations in their preparation and implementation of successful collaborative ventures is suggested

Sponsored, contract and collaborative research: a framework for science-industry knowledge transfer

Using the knowledge-based view of the firm, this paper contributes to improving our understanding of science-industry interaction. Based on research in the Swiss biotech sector, it provides a categorisation of three forms of interaction – sponsored, contract and collaborative research. Taking the process of knowledge transfer, interaction context, and knowledge context into account, the results indicate that these forms of interaction involve distinct ways of organising science?industry knowledge transfer. Arguing that the management of these interactions involves finding a delicate balance between structure and freedom, we suggest that the optimal managerial approach is contingent upon the form of interaction

MEASURING THE SCIENCE-TO-MARKET GAP — THE CASE OF NEW ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES

With the aim of improving our understanding of the factors that affect the commercialization of new energy technologies (NET), this paper investigates the NET science-to-market gap for the European context. The results from interviews as well as a survey indicate that there is substantial disagreement regarding the importance of intellectual property rights and venture capital. We also found strong evidence that the stakeholders have low faith in each other. Arguing that science-industry interaction is a key ingredient for bringing NET to the market, we suggest that the science-to-market gap is rooted in different stakeholder preferences and expectations.University-industry interaction, technology transfer, new energy technologies