Network Competence and Open Innovation Behaviour in the Food Sector: An Empirical Investigation

In today business world where knowledge and resources are increasingly spread among organizations, enterprises often develop a wide variety of relationships with other organizations in order to access new technologies, know-how and resources. Increasingly, the use of external resources for innovation – also referred as inbound open innovation in literature – is seen as a key factor to remain innovative and hence competitive. While the impact of open innovation on the firm’s innovativeness and performance has received quite some attention by scholars, the mechanisms that push firm to open up their innovation process remain under investigated. The aim of this paper is to contribute to fill in this gap by developing and testing empirically a research framework on the firm specific factors impacting the firm’s degree of openness. In order to reach the research objective, an extensive literature review was performed based on which several research hypotheses were developed. A web-questionnaire was then designed and distributed to the CEOs of food SMEs in Europe. A major result of this study is that network competence – defined as the firm’s ability to establish and use relationships with other organization – drives the firm’s openness in terms of ambidexterity (i.e. new versus existing relationships) and breadth (number of external sources or search channels that the firm relies upon in its innovative activities)

The role of network administrative organizations in the development of social capital in inter-organizational food networks

This paper is concerned with the role of network administrative organizations (NAOs) in the development of social capital in interorganizationalnetworks aiming at supporting their members to innovate in the food sector through interacting with one another. A multi-case study approach is used whereby three Belgian interorganizational networks are investigated i.e. Wagralim, Réseau-Club and Flanders Food.Our study shows that there are many options available to NAOs to build social capital within the networks they are responsible for. We propose to categorize these options in three main distinct groups. First, NAOs may nurture the development of social capital within the network through creating ‘space’ boundary objects which appear, in our study, to be an absolute precondition for the development of interactions and hence creation of ties between network members. Second, NAOs may impact the development of social capital by favoring certain members – or set of members – over others due to their characteristics such as good reputation, possession of common past experiences, multidisciplinary  experiences, non-conflicting goals, similarity in terms of sector of activity and/or experience level and common mindset towards information exchange. Third and finally, NAOs may foster social capital development by enhancing effective communication between members on the one hand, and between members and the NAOs’ coordination and decision bodies on the other hand, via a clear mandate, network decision makingbodies composed of members, the use of ex-post evaluations and formal governance mechanisms (e.g. legal contracts), and the selection of staff endowed with a proactive and perspective taking behavior and able to show neutrality when conflict arise.&nbsp

The CADM1 tumor suppressor gene is a major candidate gene in MDS with deletion of the long arm of chromosome 11.

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) represent a heterogeneous group of clonal hematopoietic stem cell disorders characterized by ineffective hematopoiesis leading to peripheral cytopenias and in a substantial proportion of cases to acute myeloid leukemia. The deletion of the long arm of chromosome 11, del(11q), is a rare but recurrent clonal event in MDS. Here, we detail the largest series of 113 cases of MDS and myelodysplastic syndromes/myeloproliferative neoplasms (MDS/MPN) harboring a del(11q) analyzed at clinical, cytological, cytogenetic, and molecular levels. Female predominance, a survival prognosis similar to other MDS, a low monocyte count, and dysmegakaryopoiesis were the specific clinical and cytological features of del(11q) MDS. In most cases, del(11q) was isolated, primary and interstitial encompassing the 11q22-23 region containing ATM, KMT2A, and CBL genes. The common deleted region at 11q23.2 is centered on an intergenic region between CADM1 (also known as Tumor Suppressor in Lung Cancer 1) and NXPE2. CADM1 was expressed in all myeloid cells analyzed in contrast to NXPE2. At the functional level, the deletion of Cadm1 in murine Lineage-Sca1+Kit+ cells modifies the lymphoid-to-myeloid ratio in bone marrow, although not altering their multilineage hematopoietic reconstitution potential after syngenic transplantation. Together with the frequent simultaneous deletions of KMT2A, ATM, and CBL and mutations of ASXL1, SF3B1, and CBL, we show that CADM1 may be important in the physiopathology of the del(11q) MDS, extending its role as tumor-suppressor gene from solid tumors to hematopoietic malignancies

The Role of Network Administrative Organizations in the Development of Social Capital in Inter-Organizational Food Networks

This paper is concerned with the role of network administrative organizations (NAOs) in the development of social capital in inter-organizational networks aiming at supporting their members to innovate in the food sector through interacting with one another. A multi-case study approach is used whereby three Belgian inter-organizational networks are investigated i.e. Wagralim, Réseau-Club and Flanders Food. Our study shows that there are many options available to NAOs to build social capital within the networks they are responsible for; options which we propose to categorize in three main distinct groups: creation of boundary objects, careful selection of members and effective communication

Network performance - What influences it?

The aim of this paper is to examine the literature addressing network performance and the factors influencing it. Design – 29 papers published in 18 different journals were systematically reviewed through a multidimensional classification framework based on the strategy-structure-performance paradigm of strategic management. Findings – Based on the outputs of the literature review, a conceptual framework describing network performance is proposed. Following this framework, it is suggested that network performance is the result of the combination of network strategy, network structure and external environmental factors, and not solely the result of network structure which is characterized by five structural elements i.e. network configuration, network membership, network tie, network management and network governance. Moreover, the framework suggests that, in equal context i.e. same network strategy and same external environment, different combinations of these five structural elements lead to different network performance. Implications – Based on these findings, adequate network performance measurement system should include determinants at the level of the network strategy and network structure but also at the level of the external environment. Scope for future research – This study should be extended in order to further investigate the relationships between network strategy and network structure on the one hand and environmental factors on the other hand, but also to further investigate the network strategy, network structure and environmental factors themselves

Knowledge Exchange in Innovation Networks: How Networks Support open Innovation in Food SMEs

Knowledge exchange is a prerequisite for learning and consequently for innovation. Through open innovation, the innovating firms establish ties with other organizations, in order to innovate. At the baseline, open innovation is thus the exchange of knowledge through in- and out-flows of the knowledge at a company. Formal networks can provide access to other organizations and otherwise unavailable knowledge and resources and are seen as the locus of innovation. Four main categories of knowledge exchange can be distinguished: socialization, combination, articulation, and internalization. Within these categories, distinct but interdependent processes of knowledge exchange take place as described in the innovation production process (IPP) which consists of three main steps, knowledge accumulation, knowledge transformation, and knowledge exploitation (Roper et al., 2008). The objective of this paper is to explore how formal networks contribute to the categories of knowledge exchange and to each of the three steps of the IPP in order to conclude on how networks can facilitate open innovation among their members. Data are collected by means of three case-studies conducted in three Flemish formal networks which focus on enhancing the innovativeness and learning capabilities of micro, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Our findings confirm the importance of networks in the process of knowledge exchange and innovation for SMEs in the food sector. The most important role of the networks is to create the appropriate environment according to the type of knowledge and the step(s) in the innovation production process focused on. Furthermore, it appears to be a very important task of the network to stimulate actively knowledge transformation into innovation outputs such as new or improved technology or product prototypes. Thereby, not only short-term effects should be aimed at, but also long-term effects e.g. for organizational innovation, should be taken into account. In conclusion, all three networks follow very different approaches in order to facilitate, stimulate and support knowledge exchange and innovation among their members. Based on the results, managerial as well as policy implications are posed towards network members, i.e. the SMEs, network coordinators and researchers

The Role of Network Administrative Organizations in the Development of Social Capital in Inter‐Organizational Food Networks

This paper is concerned with the role of network administrative organizations (NAOs) in the development of social capital in inter‐organizational networks aiming at supporting their members to innovate in the food sector through interacting with one another. A multi‐case study approach is used whereby three Belgian inter‐organizational networks are investigated i.e. Wagralim, R&eacute;seau‐Club and Flanders Food. Our study shows that there are many options available to NAOs to build social capital within the networks they are responsible for; options which we propose to categorize in three main distinct groups: creation of boundary objects, careful selection of members and effective communication.</p

Network Competence and Open Innovation Behaviour in the Food Sector: An Empirical Investigation

In today business world where knowledge and resources are increasingly spread among organizations, enterprises often develop a wide variety of relationships with other organizations in order to access new technologies, know-how and resources. Increasingly, the use of external resources for innovation – also referred as inbound open innovation in literature – is seen as a key factor to remain innovative and hence competitive. While the impact of open innovation on the firm’s innovativeness and performance has received quite some attention by scholars, the mechanisms that push firm to open up their innovation process remain under investigated. The aim of this paper is to contribute to fill in this gap by developing and testing empirically a research framework on the firm specific factors impacting the firm’s degree of openness. In order to reach the research objective, an extensive literature review was performed based on which several research hypotheses were developed. A web-questionnaire was then designed and distributed to the CEOs of food SMEs in Europe. A major result of this study is that network competence – defined as the firm’s ability to establish and use relationships with other organization – drives the firm’s openness in terms of ambidexterity (i.e. new versus existing relationships) and breadth (number of external sources or search channels that the firm relies upon in its innovative activities)

Dynamical amplification of the stratospheric solar response simulated with the Chemistry-Climate model LMDz-Reprobus

International audienceThe impact of the 11-year solar cycle on the stratosphere and, in particular, on the polar regions is investigated using simulations from the Chemistry Climate Model (CCM) LMDz-Reprobus. The annual solar signal clearly shows a stratospheric response largely driven by radiative and photochemical processes, especially in the upper stratosphere. A month-by-months analysis suggests that dynamical feedbacks play an important role in driving the stratospheric response on short timescales. CCM outputs on a 10 days frequency indicate how, in the northern hemisphere, changes in solar heating in the winter polar stratosphere may influence the upward propagation of planetary waves and thus their deposition of momentum, ultimately modifying the strength of the mean stratospheric overtuning circulation at middle and high latitudes. The model results emphasize that the main temperature and wind responses in the northern hemisphere can be explained by a different timing in the occurence of Sudden Stratospheric Warmings (SSWs) that are caused by small changes in planetary wave propagation depending on solar conditions. The differences between simulations forced by different solar conditions indicate sucessive positive and negative responses during the course of the winter. The solar minimum simulation generally indicates a slightly stronger polar vortex early in the winter while the solar maximum simulation experiences more early SSWs with a stronger wave-mean flow interaction and reduced zonal wind at mid-latitudes in the upper stratosphere. The opposite response is observed during mid-winter, in February, with more SSWs simulated for solar minimum conditions while solar maximum conditions are associated with a damped planetary wave activity and a reinforced vortex after the initial stratospheric warming period. In late winter, the response is again reversed, as noticed in the temperature differences, with major SSW mostly observed in the solar maximum simulation and less intense final warmings simulated for solar minimum conditions. Due to the non-zonal nature of SSWs, the stratospheric response presents high regional variability during the northern hemisphere winter. As a result, successive positive and negative responses are observed during the course of the winter