A process view on managing quality during the creation of technical innovations : lessons from field research.

Quality Management (QM) principles have left their marks on business practice for more than a decade. Amongst the many business functions that have faced the widespread introduction of QM standards and methodologies, the R&D function has been amongst the last to undergo their pervasive influence. The uncertain and ambiguous nature of the technical innovation not to introduce 'traditional' QM approaches in R&D settings. These arguments are often based on a rather rigid and mechanistic view on QM. As recent insights show, this need not to be the case. QM can offer an avenue to fundamentally scrutinise and re-think-functional interaction strategies in innovative contexts. Therefore, the process of introducing QM principles is an R&D environment deserves close attention. This paper offers a field-based insight into these fundamental organisational and managerial issues.Innovations; Knowledge;

Publication and patent behaviour of academic researchers: conflicting, reinforcing or merely co-existing?.

Increasing entrepreneurial activity within academia has raised concerns that the amount of publications added to the scientific commons might become reduced or that academic research would become directed exclusively towards the application-oriented needs of industry. In the case of academic inventions, the potential conflict between public and private oriented considerations seems most salient. With this contribution, we examine whether the publication behaviour of academic inventors (at K.U.Leuven) differs from their colleagues (non-inventors) working within similar fields of research. Our analysis reveals that inventors publish significantly more. Moreover, no empirical evidence was found for the 'skewing problem'. These findings not only suggest the co-existence of both activities; they may actually reinforce one another.Academic investors; Field; Industry; Knowledge; Knowlegde interactions; Research; University-industry relations; Working;

National scientific capabilities and technological performance: An exploration of emerging industrial relevant research domains.

Today's theories and models on innovation stress the importance of scientific capabilities and science-technology proximity, especially in new emerging fields of economic activity. In this contribution we examine the relationship between national scientific capabilities, the science intensity of technology and technological performance within six promising industrial fields. Our findings reveal that national technological performance is positively associated with scientific capabilities. Countries performing better on a technological level are characterized both by larger numbers of publications and by numbers of involved institutions that exceed average expected values. The latter observation holds for both companies and knowledge generating institutes actively involved in scientific activities. As such, our findings seem to suggest beneficial effects of scientific capabilities shouldered by a multitude of organizations. In addition, higher numbers of patent activity coincide with higher levels of science intensity pointing out the relevance of science 'proximity' when developing technology in newer, emerging fields. Limitations and directions for further research are discussed.Performance; Research; Theory; Models; Model; Innovation; Field; Science; Intensity; Technology; Country; Expected; Value; Companies; Knowledge; Effects;

A systematic literature review of the use of social media for business process management

In today’s expansion of new technologies, innovation is found necessary for organizations to be up to date with the latest management trends. Although organizations are increasingly using new technologies, opportunities still exist to achieve the nowadays essential omnichannel management strategy. More precisely, social media are opening a path for benefiting more from an organization’s process orientation. However, social media strategies are still an under-investigated field, especially when it comes to the research of social media use for the management and improvement of business processes or the internal way of working in organizations. By classifying a variety of articles, this study explores the evolution of social media implementation within the BPM discipline. We also provide avenues for future research and strategic implications for practitioners to use social media more comprehensively

Traces of prior art. An analysis of non-patent references found in patent documents.

Research in the area of innovation has pointed out the relevance of conceiving innovation as processes in which a multitude of actors and a variety of interactions play a role. Integrative notions like (national) innovations systems, (techno-scientific) networks, or the triple helix metaphor, have been widely accepted as relevant to grasp the complexities entailed. This development highlights the need for indicators that mirror the dynamics involved. This contribution presents an in-depth examination of the role of 'Non-Patent references', found in patents. After examining the occurrence of these references in the USPTO and EPO patent systems, the precise nature of these references is delineated by means of a systematic content analysis of two samples of non-patent references (n=10.000). Our observations reveal the relevance of 'non-patent references' for developing indicators to depict the proximity of technological and scientific developments. Application areas, limitations and directions for future research are discussed.Academic investors; Field; Industry; Knowledge; Knowlegde interactions; Research; University-industry relations; Working; Area; Innovation; Processes; Innovations; Systems; Networks; Triple-helix; Complexity; Indicators; Dynamics; Patents;

Africa and China: a strategic partnership?

Relations between Africa and China have increased over the years and become more dominated by China's economic interests. With an annual growth rate of 8-9 per cent, and a booming economy, China's dependency on accessing natural resources is a top priority and has accordingly expanded its horizons. Africa, with all its seemingly unlimited natural resources, is an ideal partner. In addition, the African continent as a whole offers a potential market for China's low-value manufactured commodities. This paper is an attempt to present an overview of contemporary Sino-African relations and the state of trade relations, with special emphasis on natural resources and the export market for Chinese products and investments in Afric

Africa and China: a strategic partnership?

In the 1990s, increasing numbers of Chinese companies developed connections with African countries with the aim of increasing trade between China and the African continent. This development of Sino-African relations has not gone unnoticed, but the discussion in the West has not been well informed. In order to fill this lacuna, the present paper gives an overview of Sino-African relations, China's aid programme to Africa, and the state of trade relations between China and African countries, with special emphasis on African exports of natural resources, the export market for Chinese products in Africa, and Chinese investments in Africa. [ASC Leiden abstract]ASC – Publicaties niet-programma gebonde

Parents' Degree and Style of Restrictive Mediation of Young Children's Digital Gaming: Associations with Parental Attitudes and Perceived Child Adjustment

Objectives As young children increasingly grow up in a digital environment, parents are confronted with the question whether and how to regulate young children's digital gaming effectively. The goal of this study was to examine correlates of parents' degree of restrictive mediation and their (autonomy-supportive or controlling) style of doing so. Specifically, we tested associations of parents' degree and style of restrictive mediation with parents' attitudes about digital gaming, parental perceptions of children's defiance and problematic gaming, and their interest in social play. Methods A sample of 762 parents of children between 3 and 9 years filled out questionnaires on their degree and style of restrictive mediation, their attitudes about gaming, and their perceptions of children's oppositional defiance, problematic gaming, and interest in social play. Results We found that parents who hold more negative attitudes about digital gaming were more likely to use a controlling style when mediating their child's gaming. Further, a higher degree of restrictive mediation generally related to more adaptive child outcomes (i.e., lower levels of perceived defiance and problematic gaming, higher levels of perceived interest in social play), whereas the opposite pattern was found for parents' controlling style of mediation. Finally, these associations were not moderated by children's age or gender, nor by parents' gender or educational level. Conclusions Also in the context of children's digital gaming, it seems important for parents to set clear rules. Yet, when doing so, it is equally important to refrain from using controlling strategies, as they seem to be counterproductive

Acritarches du Cambrien moyen de la vallée de Tacheddirt (Haut-Atlas, Maroc) dans le cadre d'une nouvelle zonation du Cambrien

The limestones and siltstones which crop out in the Tacheddirt Valley of the High Atlas Mountains (Morocco), have provided 13 acritarch localities yielding 16 species, including two new ones, viz. Multiplicisphaeridium chakor and Timofeevia tacheddirtensis. Two different associations have been distinguished. The older one is the most diversified and is characterised by the constant presence of Cristallinium cambriense (Slavikova) Vanguestaine, 1978, Eliasum llaniscum Fombella, 1978 and Timofeevia lancarae (Cramer & Diez) Vanguestaine, 1978. The younger one is only composed of sphaeromorphs and Micrhystridium. Trilobite remains reported in the present paper date the older association as the Paradoxides oelandicus "stage" or early Paradoxides paradoxissimus "stage" of the Middle Cambrian. The younger assemblage is also associated locally with Middle Cambrian trilobites.A biostratigraphic zonation for the entire Cambrian shows that 7 acritarch Zones or Superzones may be distinguished. This zonation allows the rocks at Tacheddirt to be assigned biostratigraphically. The chronostratigraphic implications are dealt with in the conclusions