The impact of networking on innovative performance of new biotechnology firms: a combined econometric and scientometric analysis.

This paper examines the impact of firm resources and network capabilities on innovative performance in a population of 117 biotech companies. After controlling for the traditional size and scope effects, the managerial focus of the firms' R&D activities and their collaboration activities with external partners (in majority universir-ties) become the central variables in ou study. A (unbalanced) panel nalysis of the firms over a twenty-year period shows the highly significant impact of research focus and networking activities on innovative performance.Biotechnology;

On the design of knowledge tranfer mechanism: applying the incomplete contracts model to developments in biotechnology.

This paper proposes a framework on how different mechanisms for knowledge transfer can be linked to the underlying technological life-cycle. Drawing on recent insights from the organizational economics literature, we analyze the design of knowledge transfer mechanisms and structures from an incentive point of view. The basic version of the incomplete contracts model (or property rights model) was adapted to include knowledge as an asset. Several empirical hypotheses can be derived from this model. They are contrasted with other theoretical approaches to model organizational growth and development, as we are specifically interested in the use of new ventures creation as a technology transfer mechanism. Using this framework as a starting point, a limited empirical test is two sub-fields of modern biotechnology : monoclonal antibodies and protein engineering. The results are interesting: the property rights model may add to current insights on spin-offs as a mechanism for knowledge transfer as well as to a better understanding of the incentive structures that influence an organization's decision to enter a technological collaboration with a university or another biotech firm.Model; Knowledge; Biotechnology;

Towards an ecological understanding of firm founding and growth in emergent populations.

Organizational ecology is a fast growing domain in organization theory. During the past few years, the theory has evolved from a collection of rather unrelated concepts towards an integrated model of failure and founding, which has been tested with advanced empirical techniques. Despite this increasing convergence within the ecological boundaries, little integration occurs with other intellectual streams which can either be considered as complementary to a density dependence model or as a challenge to the basic assumptions of this model. This paper presents both a review of the theoretical and empirical methods developed during the past five years and an assessment of future research opportunities : can institutional theory, strategic management and industrial economics enrich and stretch the boundaries of the ecological model?

Advanced bibliometric to model the relationship between entry behaviour and networking emerging technological communities.

Organisational ecology and social network theory are used to explain entries in technological communities. Using bibliometric data on 411 organisations in the field of plant biotechnology, we test several hypotheses that entry is not only influenced by the density of the field, but also by the structure of the R&D network within the community. The empirical findings point to the usefulness of bibliometric data in mapping change and evolution in technological communities as well as to the effects of networking on entry behaviour.Model;

Silencing Indigenous Knowledge Systems: Analysis of Canadian Educational, Legal and Administrative Practice

As a result of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (or TRCC, 2015a, 2015b), calls to action concerning education and law reform have been made. Currently, there is an increase in reconciliation discourse in law, healthcare and education policy, curricula and pedagogy. In Canada, efforts to decolonize institutional structures compel scholars and activists to highlight the imperative of critical analysis of identity and place in answering the calls to action. Although it was developed by the Ministry of Education for the province of Ontario, more than a decade ago, prior to the TRCC, the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Education Policy Framework continues to inform policy and administrative procedures. Informed by Indigenous knowledge systems embedded in restorative justice and peace-building practices, this paper presents a critical analysis of the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Education Policy Framework (2007) and finds evidence resembling discursive settler-colonial patterns of Indigenous erasure through the practice of silencing Indigenous participation and voice. Through this critical analysis, several themes emerged including colonialism, survivance, patriarchy, self-identification, notions of education, assessment, and “us versus them” binary narratives. In response, this paper argues for a trans-systemic and transdisciplinary approach to the critical analysis of discursive patterns of silencing and erasure in policy, law reform, and administrative processes. Further, through deepening interpretations and understandings of Indigenous theory and knowledge systems, it may be possible for settler-colonial stakeholders to more acutely discern the impact of settler-colonialism embedded in education, policy, administration, and legal discourses. These findings have implications for educators and administrators as well as administrative, law and policy reform. 

The evolution of business incubators: comparing demand and supply of business incubation services across different incubator generations

Business incubators (BIs) have been established around the world to stimulate new business creation. Whilst it is accepted that incubation models have evolved, little is known about whether existing incubators have adjusted their value proposition to incorporate recent incubation paradigms or have simply remained operating as originally founded. We present data collected within seven BIs and their tenants regarding service provision and selection criteria. Our findings show that whilst BIs of all generations offer similar support services, tenants in older generation BIs make less use of the BI's service portfolio. We suggest this is a consequence of slack selection criteria and the absence of clearly defined exit policies. These results imply that older generation BIs should update their service portfolio while simultaneously imposing stricter selection criteria and introducing exit policies. Finally, we discuss the wider implications this raises for BIs' managers, prospective tenants and policy makers.\ud \u

Simultaneous segmentation of the left and right heart ventricles in 3D cine MR images of small animals

New high resolution image techniques allow to capture the anatomy and movement of the heart of small animals. The availability of these in vivo images can be very useful for medical research, however the amount of generated data for large animal studies makes manual analysis a very tedious task. To cope with the problem of automatic analysis of these images, we propose the use of the Deformable Elastic Template method to perform automatic segmentation of the ventricles. To adapt the method to the specificities of high-resolution MRI, several improvements are presented, including an image-context dependent scheme for more robust segmentation. Qualitative results show that our method is able to correctly retrieve the heart’s contours in 3D. 1

A dynamic 3-D cardiac surface model from MR images

Cardiac 3D + time segmentation and motion estimation are recognized as difficult prerequisite tasks for any quan-titative analysis of cardiac images. Some recent algorithms aim to consider a temporal constraint to increase the ac-curacy of results. To improve the temporal consistency, prior knowledge about cardiac dynamics can be used. In this paper, we propose to build a new Statistical Dynamic Model (SDM) of the heart by learning through a popula-tion of healthy individuals. This SDM is composed by a set of semi-landmarks which describe the heart surfaces. For each of them, a mean trajectory and variability around it are derived. The SDM provides a reasonable constraint for a temporally regularized segmentation and motion track-ing algorithm. 1

Creating value in ecosystems: Crossing the chasm between, knowledge and business ecosystems

Policy makers take initiatives to stimulate knowledge ecosystems in technology hotspots. It is implicitly assumed that these ecosystems will lead to value networks through which the participating companies can realize a competitive advantage. Value networks refer to business ecosystems where the value proposition is offered by a group of companies which are mutually complementary. The strategy literature suggests that business ecosystems lead to competitive advantages for each of the partners in the ecosystem. Based on a unique hand-collected database of 138 innovative start-ups in the region of Flanders, we analyze the knowledge and business ecosystem and the financial support network. We find that the knowledge ecosystem is well structured and concentrated around a number of central actors while the business ecosystem is almost non-existent at the local level. Further, we find that the financial support network is almost 100% publicly backed and fails to bridge the knowledge and business ecosystem. The implications for policy makers who tend to focus on the development of local ecosystems are discussed

Wetting of a symmetrical binary fluid mixture on a wall

We study the wetting behaviour of a symmetrical binary fluid below the demixing temperature at a non-selective attractive wall. Although it demixes in the bulk, a sufficiently thin liquid film remains mixed. On approaching liquid/vapour coexistence, however, the thickness of the liquid film increases and it may demix and then wet the substrate. We show that the wetting properties are determined by an interplay of the two length scales related to the density and the composition fluctuations. The problem is analysed within the framework of a generic two component Ginzburg-Landau functional (appropriate for systems with short-ranged interactions). This functional is minimized both numerically and analytically within a piecewise parabolic potential approximation. A number of novel surface transitions are found, including first order demixing and prewetting, continuous demixing, a tricritical point connecting the two regimes, or a critical end point beyond which the prewetting line separates a strongly and a weakly demixed film. Our results are supported by detailed Monte Carlo simulations of a symmetrical binary Lennard-Jones fluid at an attractive wall.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev.