Entrepreneurial initiatives as a microfoundation of dynamic capabilities

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to show how entrepreneurial initiatives in organizations serve as a microfoundation of dynamic capabilities and, thus, foster change in organizations. Design/methodology/approach - This paper revises and applies conceptual as well as empirical research on dynamic capabilities, their microfoundations and corporate entrepreneurship. In addition, it develops a model of how entrepreneurial initiatives, operative routines and capabilities interact. Findings - The paper develops a model of how entrepreneurial initiatives in organizations represent a microfoundation of dynamic capabilities. First, the model shows that environmental dynamism reduces fit of operative routines and capabilities. Second, the model states that entrepreneurial initiatives are triggered by operative routines and capabilities in respect of environmental dynamism. Third, the model suggests that entrepreneurial initiatives disrupt operative routines and capabilities and, thus, restore their fit in dynamic environments. The paper contributes to current research on dynamic capabilities, their microfoundations and corporate entrepreneurship. Originality/value - This paper addresses the tension between routinization and the entrepreneurial nature of dynamic capabilities. Considering entrepreneurial initiatives as a microfoundation shows that dynamic capabilities might be entrepreneurial, but still preserve their patterned nature enabling repeated execution. This approach provides a way to reconcile the two sub-streams in dynamic capability research and preserve their ontological assumptions. Moreover, this paper extends the literature on dynamic capabilities by ascertaining how individual and group level entrepreneurial initiatives operate within a broader context

Communal resources in open source software development

Introduction: Virtual communities play an important role in innovation. The paper focuses on the particular form of collective action in virtual communities underlying as Open Source software development projects. Method: Building on resource mobilization theory and private-collective innovation, we propose a theory of collective action in innovative virtual communities. We identify three communal resources (reputation, control over technology and learning opportunities) that appear as a byproduct while developing open source software. Analysis:Constructs are derived from exiting literature. Empirical data from Freenet, an open source software project for peer-to-peer software, illustrates both the levels of involvement and the communal resources. Results & conclusions: Communal resources are able to solve the collective action dilemma for virtual communities. We show that they increase in value for individuals along with their involvement in the community

A blue light receptor that mediates RNA binding and translational regulation

Sensory photoreceptor proteins underpin light-dependent adaptations in nature and enable the optogenetic control of organismal behavior and physiology. We identified the bacterial light-oxygen-voltage (LOV) photoreceptor PAL that sequence-specifically binds short RNA stem loops with around 20 nM affinity in blue light and weaker than 1 µM in darkness. A crystal structure rationalizes the unusual receptor architecture of PAL with C-terminal LOV photosensor and N-terminal effector units. The light-activated PAL–RNA interaction can be harnessed to regulate gene expression at the RNA level as a function of light in both bacteria and mammalian cells. The present results elucidate a new signal-transduction paradigm in LOV receptors and conjoin RNA biology with optogenetic regulation, thereby paving the way toward hitherto inaccessible optoribogenetic modalities

Agilität in wissensintensiven Organisationen : von der Produkt- zur Dienstleistungsorientierung

Agilität gilt heutzutage als Schlüsselfähigkeit, mit der Organisationen erfolgreich in dynamischen Umwelten überleben können. Es ist jedoch bislang unbekannt, wie komplexe, wissensintensive Organisationen Agilität fördern können. Eckpfeiler agiler Organisationen sind die Etablierung ambidextrer Strukturen und deren Vernetzung sowie eine ausgeprägte Dienstleistungsorientierung

Internationale Personalentsendungen als strategischer Erfolgsfaktor

Personalentsendungen haben eine strategische Bedeutung für Unternehmen. Der Buchbeitrag zeigt zunächst auf, worin diese strategische Relevanz begründet liegt. Hierbei wird insbesondere auf Aspekte des Wissensmanagements und des Talent Managements eingegangen. Im Anschluss werden Kriterien eines erfolgreichen Entsendungsmanagements beschrieben. Diese umfassen die Gestaltung des Entsendungsangebots, die Auswahl geeigneter Expatriates, die Vorbereitung, Begleitung und Repatriierung, die Modularisierung der Instrumente sowie Compliance-Themen. Das Buchkapitel schließt mit einer Zusammenfassung und einem Ausblick ab

Medicus Adaptabilis – Wenn Fachwissen alleine nicht mehr ausreichend ist

Dieser Beitrag weist auf die zunehmende Bedeutung der Veränderungsfähigkeit in Organisationen allgemein und im Gesundheitswesen im Besonderen hin. Die zu beobachtenden demographischen Entwicklungen, das steigende Gesundheitsbewusstsein sowie die fortschreitende Digitalisierung erfordern eine rasche Anpassungsfähigkeit auf allen Ebenen des Gesundheitswesens. Es wird aufgezeigt, über welche Kompetenzen die Beschäftigten zukünftig verfügen müssen, um den Trends in der Gesundheitsbranche erfolgreich zu begegnen. Darüber hinaus wird diskutiert, welchen Beitrag das Kompetenzmanagement zum Aufbau dieser Kompetenzen leisten kann

USE OF THE FLIGHT TEST FACILITY MOCK-UPS IN THE EUROPEAN CLEAN SKY 2 PROGRAM

The Clean Sky 2 program unites all major European players in the aeronautical sector to conduct research on future, more energy efficient aircrafts with lower environmental footprint. Besides technologies developments, the demonstration of technologies in dedicated test environments is a key element of this research program. The Fraunhofer Flight Test Facility is such a platform for technology demonstration. Located in Holzkirchen, south of Munich, it hosts several aircraft fuselage structures and allows for indoor environmental tests under realistic temperature, moisture and pressure conditions. In this paper, demonstrations performed within Clean Sky 2 are highlighted. These include an adaptive ECS system, environmentally friendly fire protection, model validation tests for ETOPS considerations and cleaning and disinfection demonstrations

A Dynamic Knowledge Management Framework for the High Value Manufacturing Industry

Dynamic Knowledge Management (KM) is a combination of cultural and technological factors, including the cultural factors of people and their motivations, technological factors of content and infrastructure and, where these both come together, interface factors. In this paper a Dynamic KM framework is described in the context of employees being motivated to create profit for their company through product development in high value manufacturing. It is reported how the framework was discussed during a meeting of the collaborating company’s (BAE Systems) project stakeholders. Participants agreed the framework would have most benefit at the start of the product lifecycle before key decisions were made. The framework has been designed to support organisational learning and to reward employees that improve the position of the company in the market place