Onno) Omta and Frances T

Abstract This paper aims to analyze the effectiveness of the different cluster organization functions (services, activities and information sources) of Food Valley Organization in the Dutch agifood innovation system, as evaluated by its member companies. It is concluded that, in accordance with cluster organization theory, the networking formation function is the most important one, next demand articulation and innovation process management. However, our findings indicate that also visionary leadership, regional development and internationalization, stimulating entrepreneurial experimentation and providing downstream (market) information should be included in future analyses of cluster organization functions in innovation systems

Toward a Value-Sensitive Absorptive Capacity Framework: Navigating Intervalue and Intravalue Conflicts to Answer the Societal Call for Health

The majority of studies on absorptive capacity (AC) underscore the importance of absorbing technological knowledge from other firms to create economic value. However, to preserve moral legitimacy and create social value, firms must also discern and adapt to (shifts in) societal values. A comparative case study of eight firms in the food industry reveals how organizations prioritize and operationalize the societal value health in product innovation while navigating inter- and intravalue conflicts. The value-sensitive framework induced in this article extends AC by explaining how technically savvy, economic value–creating firms diverge in their receptivity, articulation, and reflexivity of societal values.</p

Probing the Hofmeister Effect with Ultrafast Core Hole Spectroscopy

In the current work, X-ray emission spectra of aqueous solutions of different inorganic salts within the Hofmeister series are presented. The results reflect the direct interaction of the ions with the water molecules and therefore, reveal general properties of the salt-water interactions. Within the experimental precision a significant effect of the ions on the water structure has been observed but no ordering according to the structure maker/structure breaker concept could be mirrored in the results indicating that the Hofmeister effect-if existent-may be caused by more complex interactions

The fit between employee roles and market dynamism: an ecological management perspective / O ajuste entre os papéis dos funcionários e o dinamismo do mercado: uma perspectiva de gerenciamento ecológico

Purpose: Exploring the fit of employee roles and market dynamism, related to performance. Originality/value: In ecology the term ‘fit’ is used for the relation between organisms and their environment. Similarly, we conceptualized the relation between employee roles and markets: the employee-market connection, which may enhance SME’s strategic fit and performance. Design/methodology/approach: The empirical research was conducted at 48 SMEs with 221 respondents from the manufacturing industry (53%) and the service industry (47%) and applied a mixed model analysis. Findings: The employee role-mix is moderated by market dynamism: when market dynamism increases, the impact on performance of internal process roles decreases and the impact of rational goal roles increases. The results enrich the resource-based view with the employee-market-connection: the system is resilient, the roles adapt. A fit between market dynamism and employee roles is positively related to performance. Objetivo: Explorar o ajuste dos papéis dos funcionários e o dinamismo do mercado, relacionados ao desempenho. Originalidade/relevância: Na ecologia, o termo “ajuste” é usado para a relação entre organismos e seu ambiente. Da mesma forma, conceitualizamos a relação entre os papéis dos funcionários e os mercados: a conexão entre o funcionário e o mercado, que pode melhorar o ajuste estratégico e o desempenho das pequenas e medias empresas (PME). Principais aspectos metodológicos: A pesquisa empírica foi realizada em 48 PME com 221 respondentes da indústria de manufatura (53%) e a indústria de serviços (47%) e uma análise de modelo misto foi aplicada. Síntese dos principais resultados: A combinação de funções do funcionário é moderada pelo dinamismo do mercado: quando o dinamismo do mercado aumenta, o impacto no desempenho dos papéis internos do processo diminui e o impacto dos papéis do objetivo racionais aumenta. Os resultados enriquecem a visão baseada em recursos com a conexão funcionário-mercado: o sistema é resiliente, os papéis se adaptam. Um ajuste entre o dinamismo do mercado e os papéis dos funcionários está positivamente relacionado ao desempenho

ALIGNING R&D TO BUSINESS — A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF BU CUSTOMER VALUE IN R&D

In large technology-based firms, especially in long life cycle industries, often a tension exists between corporate R&D and the business unit (BU) customers. The long term R&D orientation needed to come to the more radical (even disruptive) innovations for the long term survival of the prospector firm being at odds with the need of the BUs for more incremental "sustaining" innovations for their day-to-day activities. This paper takes a new approach to this problem by analyzing the corporate R&D to business relationship from a customer value perspective by identifying R&D flexibility, R&D communication, strategic alignment and R&D performance as the main attributes of the value map of the BU customers of corporate R&D. We then present the Cusvalin instrument (Customer Value Learning in INnovation) that was constructed to overcome the R&D to business incongruence by providing feedback on the gaps between the value maps of R&D and their BU customers. This instrument has been tested in a longitudinal survey from 1997 through 2002 (696 respondents) in a large technology-based supplier company (±30 000 employees world wide). It is concluded that the Cusvalin model is an effective instrument to monitor the strategic alignment of R&D and the BUs, and ultimately leads to better R&D performance, as perceived by the BU customers. From the longitudinal analysis it is concluded that a system that balances radical innovation (via Technology Board-funding, in which R&D management, headquarters, and BU directors jointly decide on long-term radical R&D projects) and incremental innovation (via BU unit-funding) is effective in providing strategic alignment between R&D and business.R&D customer value, R&D performance, strategic alignment, gap analysis