A Cinderella Story: The Early Evolution of the American Tractor Industry

The arrival of motorization, from before the beginning of the twentieth century, has changed agricultural production and the whole economy by dramatically reducing work force and improving productivity. Yet the negligence of research on the history of farm mechanization is surprising given that the history of economic growth has been strongly affected by farm mechanization. In this paper we study the evolution of a major agricultural input, and the cause for much of farm development, the farm tractor. We explore the history of the early tractors and the mechanism behind the birth of new technologies that pushed agriculture forward. We use a unique data set of the United States tractor industry through which we analyse the evolution of the tractor industry, its major innovations and identify fundamental breakthroughs. We believe that our paper is the first where the history of the development of tractors is presented in the fundamental context of innovation, where we use the industry life cycle and technology evolution.Agriculture; Industry Life-cycle; Innovation; Tractors; History.

Message in a bottle: process innovations in the cork stopper industry

The simple cork provides a fascinating illustration of an industry that has survived and dominated for over five centuries as the only stopper of choice. This dominance is now however under serious threat from alterative stoppers namely synthetic and aluminium screw caps. This paper analyzes how the cork stopper industry is attempting to resolve the problems of technical efficiency arising from the contamination by TCA and other volatiles. We use the case of Amorim and Irmãos S.A., the single largest cork stopper manufacturer in the world with over one-fourth of the global market share, analyzing it’s process innovations in the battle against contamination. The success of these process innovations could well prove crucial for the entire cork industry not only to stem the rise of alternative stoppers but also in recapturing some of the lost market share

Zeitgeist or chameleon? A quantitative analysis of CSR definitions.

Despite its increasing relevance, corporate social responsibility (CSR) remains hobbled by problems, variously charged as being chameleon, vacuous or an utterly meaningless concept. One reason is the absence of an agreed upon normative basis underpinning CSR. This is in large part due to the concept lacking a universally accepted definition. This paper explores how the concept of CSR has evolved over time drawing from 110 definitions of the construct. Using co-word analysis of definitions from 1953 to 2014, the study maps how the structure of the definitions has evolved during the field's historical development. The research uncovers the key terms underpinning the phenomenon, the centrality of these terms as well as mapping their interrelationships and evolution. The findings suggest that, despite the profusion and definitional heterogeneity over the six decades of the development of the field, there are six recurrent, enduring dimensions that underpin the CSR concept. These dimensions are economic, social, ethical, stakeholders, sustainability and voluntary. This paper makes several contributions to the academic literature. The systematic, quantitative analysis of definitions brings an objectivity that previous qualitative bibliometric analyses of CSR have lacked. The time period selected is substantially longer than previous analyses and captures the complete historical evolution of the concept. Moreover, the analysis provides the basis for the development of a new, comprehensive, yet concise, definition of CSR that captures all six of the recurring dimensions underpinning the concept

A inovação em TIC no sistema educativo: análise do portátil Magalhães

Comunicação apresentada em 14.º Workshop APDR - Empreendedorismo e Desenvolvimento Regional, SetúbalNas últimas três décadas as Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TIC) têm transformado a forma como os professores ensinam e como os alunos aprendem. Durante este tempo, tem existido muita discussão em torno do papel adequado das TIC na educação. Recentemente, tem-se assistido à proliferação de programas e iniciativas que envolvem o fornecimento das TIC nas escolas. Grande parte dessas iniciativas baseiam-se no conceito “one-to-one”, como é o caso das iniciativas One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) e do Classmate PC. O computador Magalhães, baseado no Classmate PC, é outro exemplo do conceito “one-to-one”. O presente estudo pretende analisar o uso do computador Magalhães no 1.º Ciclo do Ensino Básico, na sala de aula e fora da escola, e analisar o seu impacto no ensino dos alunos, assim como no contributo para o desenvolvimento das suas competências. Deste modo, foram aplicados dois questionários, um destinado aos professores e outro destinado aos Encarregados de Educação, em 35 escolas do distrito de Setúbal. Foram obtidas 155 respostas dos professores e 657 respostas dos Encarregados de Educação. Este trabalho de investigação pretende dar um contributo ao sistema educativo português e estimular e orientar futuras investigações na área em estudo.In the last three decades Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have transformed the way how teachers teach and how students learn. During this time, there has been much discussion about the proper role of ICT in education. Recently, there has been a proliferation of programs and initiatives that involve the provision of ICT at schools. Most of these initiatives are based on the one-to-one concept, as is the case of One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) and the Classmate PC. The Magalhães laptop, based in the Classmate PC, is another example of the one-to-one concept. The present study analyzes the use of the Magalhães laptop, in the classroom and outside of school, and analyze its impact on the teaching of 1st Cycle of Basic Education students, as well as contributing to the development of their skills.Thus, two inquiries were applied, one for teachers and another for the parents/caregivers, in 35 schools in the district of Setúbal. Answers were received from 155 teachers and 657 parents/caregivers. This study aims to give a contribution to the Portuguese education system as well as to stimulate and guide future research in this study area

Doing more with less - How frugal innovations can contribute to improving healthcare systems

The dominance of an innovation discourse laden with cutting edge and expensive technologies, may be preventing us from recognizing alternative and complementary perspectives, which could help cut healthcare costs while improving worldwide access to health services. One such complementary approach is that of frugal innovation. Frugal innovation, as a way to produce efficacious and affordable products using fewer resources to reach the underserved customers, has received increasing attention in the social sciences literature. Although frugal innovation is commonly associated with emerging economies, there is now a rising interest from healthcare providers in developed countries, to find and apply effective, and lower-cost solutions. Nonetheless, knowledge on frugal innovation and its role in healthcare is dispersed across different literatures which hampers researchers and practitioners to access a fuller, and integrated picture of the phenomenon. In this study, by synthesizing extant knowledge, we tackle the fragmentation of the phenomenon. We elucidate on who the actors are, what is being done, how are such innovations being developed, and what the outcomes are, providing a framework that lays out the underlying mechanisms of frugal innovation in healthcare (FIH). The midrange theory that we develop, provides a conceptual framework for researchers to undertake empirical observation and models to guide managerial practices. Furthermore, by providing a more unified perspective of frugal innovation in healthcare, we hope to initiate conversations on the development, adequacy and adoption of these innovations in healthcare services, which could increase affordability and access for the population while maintaining quality

Intrapreneurial behavior and in-role job performance across organizational ecosystems in tourism and hospitality

Despite its potential, corporate entrepreneurship, and its related concept, intrapreneurial behavior (IB), is a relatively recent area of interest for researchers in tourism and hospitality. In addition, the attention given to the contribution of IB to individual-level performance is surprisingly scarce due to extant research focusing largely on firm-level performance. We address those gaps using a sample of 95 tourism and hospitality firms. Results suggest that in-role job performance is high when IB is also high. Theoretically, results highlight the role of internal agency. Practical implications give additional evidence for managers to consider the strategic role of IB

Knowledge Transfer in the Precommercialization Phase of a New Industry: Star Scientists’ (im)Mobility in the Presence of a Potential Lead User

We extend prior research on industry evolution by focusing attention to knowledge transfer in the precommercialization phase of a new industry. Specifically, we build on research that highlights the role of star scientists’ mobility as a mechanism of knowledge transfer to mitigate technological uncertainty and the role of potential lead users as the mechanism for knowledge transfer to reduce demand uncertainty. Using the image sensor industry's precommercialization phase as our context, we find that the star scientists of Texas Instruments, Tektronix, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Bell Laboratories, and other organizations were largely immobile, that is, rooted to the same organization. Our article not only uncovers the role of star scientists’ mobility and the potential lead user as complementary mechanisms of knowledge transfer, but also highlights the boundary condition of the benefits of star scientists’ mobility in the precommercialization phase of a new industry

Value creation using minimal resources – A meta-synthesis of frugal innovation

The practice of frugal innovation (FI) has been garnering great research interest in recent years. Although initially focused on emerging economies, the idea is now more global, gaining adepts in developed economies. FI shows potential to effectively provide valuable products for underserved communities while sparing resources globally and contributing for social and environmental change. To reconcile a fragmented literature and provide a useful basis for evidence-based entrepreneurship and management, we conducted a meta-synthesis of 36 studies comprising 95 FI cases. We draw on our evidence-based analysis to present a phenomenological overview of FI through the sequential and interrelated relationships of the who-why-where-how-what of the practice. We then structure the evidence into a typology of archetypes, establishing the building blocks for future research to focus on the less investigated elements and explore additional interrelationships. Our conclusions contribute to the FI literature by providing a broader view of the concept, constituting a foundation for future theory and practice

Delivered nonlinear pricing by duopolists

This paper presents a model of delivered nonlinear pricing by duopolists operating in a linear city with two types of consumers and having incomplete information. At each location, the higher cost firm offers a uniform price equal to its delivered marginal cost while the lower cost firm offers a nonlinear tariff. For nearby locations, the lower cost firm may charge monopoly nonlinear prices, but as the distance increases the quantity consumed by the low valuation consumer becomes less inefficient than under monopoly. In the market region closest to the competitor’s market we get an efficient outcome. If firms choose locations, before choosing tariff schedules, they will locate at the median of their equilibrium sales distribution

Innovation in services – how different from manufacturing?

Using standardised firm data a comparative analysis of the determinants of product and process innovation in manufacturing and services is performed. Results show that in services there are significant differences in innovation behaviour, in terms of intramural and extramural R&D. It is also found that size matters less in services than in manufacturing. Although youth has a positive effect in both cases, young service firms are more likely than young manufacturing of being pioneer innovators. The results reveal the importance of learning by doing in service process innovations, as young service firms are less likely to introduce process innovations