Innovative Capacity of Firms: on why some firms are more innovative than others

In this paper we report a study into innovative capacity of UK SME firms. We argue that the ability of a firm to develop successful innovations is a function of their innovative capacity.We developed the concept in this paper and suggest it is largely determined by four sets of factors including culture, resources, competence and networks. The discussion first focuses on the background to the study.We then move on to characterise the factors influencing innovative capacity at the firm level. We formulate a model of innovative capacity and innovation performance. This allows us to draw a set of propositions regarding the drivers of innovation performance. Discussion then focuses on the research methodology where research design and methods of data collection are revealed. In the results section, we present the output of regression analyses conducted on our data set. This is followed by the discussion section and lastly the conclusion

Narrating the real corporate story

Companies are being pressed to be more transparent in their annual reporting and, at the same time,interest is moving from the formal accounts to the narrative sections, partly in response to the increasing importance of the intangible assets not on the balance sheet. The paper sets out the changes in UK requirements, ummarised in a Framework provided by the Worshipful Company of Marketors, and company practice. The two weakest areas in relation to the Accounting Standards Board Reporting Standard are the provision of forward looking information and non-financial KPIs, especially those to do with customers, competitors and brands. The paper suggests that brand equity, the intangible marketing asset, is the present reservoir of future cash flow. Accordingly, provision of professional measures of brand equity should go some way towards solving both weaknesses at the same time

Incentives and managerial experience in multi-task teams: evidence from within a firm

This paper exploits a quasi-experimental setting to estimate the impact that a multi-dimensional group incentive scheme had on branch performance in a large distribution firm. The scheme, which is based on the Balanced Scorecard, was implemented in all branches in one division, but not in another. Branches from the second division are used as a control group. Our results suggest that the balanced scorecard had some impact, but that it varied with branch characteristics, and in particular, branches with more experienced managers were better able to respond to the new incentives.Incentive design, balanced scorecard, managerial experience

The relationship between management accounting, profitability and operations in an uncertain world : evidence from literature and practice

At the heart of many core Management Accounting (MA) practices there is a potential mismatch between the assumption of a materially predictable future operating environment, and the reality of an uncertain and unpredictable world. Practices such as budgets, product costing, investment appraisal and financial projections, aimed at facilitating the achievement of profitability goals, are based on the assumption that the future is sufficiently stable and predictable to benefit from analytical calculation. However, we live in a world where the future can be uncertain, unstable and unpredictable. Does this mean that when operating conditions become unstable, unpredictable and uncertain many MA practices lose their core modus operandi? This thesis addresses this issue through an interwoven mix of a longitudinal case study and literature reviews spread over three projects. The case study was longitudinal and based on in depth participant observation. The firm involved was a £38m UK logistics company. The study benefited from totally unrestricted access to all strategic, financial and operational activities and data, because of the author’s senior role in the firm. The literature review was conducted using a targeted systematic review (Tranfield and Denyer, 2003) supported by additional narrative reviews. This synoptic paper provides a reflective synthesis of the findings and the contribution of the three projects which together constitute the research. Four core interlinked findings emerged from the study, based on the assumption that the achievement of profitability goals is the primary goal of the organisation. First, building on the proposals of (Otley, 1999) a framework showing the relationship between MA, profitability, operations and uncertainty is proposed. It demonstrates how MA financialises operations by creating a parallel financial space to the operational space; how profitability outcomes result from the financial consequences of operational actions; how the role of MA is to inform and control operational actions in a manner that achieves profitability goals; and how uncertainty has a critical impact on MA functionality. Second, the differing dimensions and implications of uncertainty are distinguished. The principal distinction is between external and internal uncertainty. External uncertainties arise from unanticipated changes from customers, suppliers and the market and thus affect the predictability of the future on which plans and targets are based. The data gathered during the course of this research suggests that external uncertainty tends to be typified by pockets of instability oscillating with periods of relative stability. Internal uncertainties occur in relation to management effectiveness, reporting validity and choice of appropriate accounting perspective (five are identified - Product, Customer, Throughout, Process, Financial Accounting). The external uncertainties magnify the impact of the internal uncertainties by potentially changing and thus de-stabilising the requirements of management, the validity of reporting and the appropriateness of the accounting perspective used. Third, Management Accounting Systems (MAS) respond to external uncertainties, and the aspirations of external financial stakeholders for increased profitability, by operating in two differing modes – the first is fixed/control (Fixed), the second is inform/flex (Flex). Fixed is the default mode and assumes conditions of relative certainty; the role is to control the achievement of agreed plans and targets. Flex is intermittently initiated when, signalled by feedback, the impact of external uncertainties or profit pressures trigger the need to change original plans and targets. Calculative analysis informs revised operational plans aimed at maintaining the achievement of profitability goals; targets are flexed to reflect the changes. The intent is to develop a revised position of relative stability in which the achievement of profitability plans and targets can be controlled via reverting back to Fixed. The process is therefore continual, but appears to be typified by an uneven series of oscillations between the two modes. Four, the Financial Accounting (FA) profitability measure, with the goal derived from external financial stakeholders, provides partial responses to the three internal uncertainties by introducing for each an element of certainty. For management effectiveness uncertainty, the profitability goal provides a relatively certain external referent which can be cascaded down the organisational structure, and against which performance can be evaluated. For reporting validity uncertainty, FA standards provide an authoritatively accepted definition of profitability, so that reported profitability is treated as if it were ‘true and fair’. For multiple accounting perspectives uncertainty, four perspectives (Product, Customer, Throughout, Process) make up a range of MA tools for developing actions to achieve target profitability levels, and the fifth (FA) provides the definition of profitability; all five are complementary and compatible as their differing aggregations are composed of the same underlying financial transactions. These responses, however, are only partial as the aspirations of external financial stakeholders are in themselves substantially self referential and liable to change, and the underlying uncertainty of FA reporting validity still exists, even if treated as if it does not. The study contributes to the further development of MA theory. It extends the Otley (1999) framework towards linking operations and profitability through parallel operational and financial spaces, and incorporating the central role of uncertainty. It adds to the debate in MA research on uncertainty by providing a classification of its dimensions, and its impact on triggering a requirement for differing MA modes. It highlights the central role of profitability in providing a stable certainty of purpose as a counterbalance to inherent internal and external uncertainties. It provides a clear identification of the differences and complementarities between MA and FA, FA defining the quantum of profitability achieved, MA facilitating the achievement of profitability goal. Finally the study inputs to a wide range of issues addressed by MA research which at their heart reflect the impact of uncertainty (Budgeting, Accounting Representation, Costing Perspectives). The study contributes to practice by proposing a set of ten tenets designed to provide guidelines for MAS development, implementation and evaluation. These are drawn from a cross sectional deconstruction of the four findings, viewed as a whole, aimed at identifying the specific factors that have direct implications for practice. The intent is that these tenets provide a bridge between theory and practice, based on the premise that, since MA theory was drawn from practice, the test of MA theory development is its applicability and relevance to practice.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

A multi method investigation into the costs and into the benefits of measuring intellectual capital assets

This study sets out to address the question of whether the costs and the benefits of measuring intellectual capital assets differ depending on the driver for that measure. Although pressure is growing on firms to measure and report on their intellectual capital assets no research has yet been published that questions the costs associated with such actions. And although academic research has purported to show links between the management of intellectual capital assets and real business benefits the research carried out thus far'has not focussed specifically on the benefits of measuring intellectual capital assets. Although there are now a variety of intellectual capital asset measurement frameworks there has been no cross comparison as to which intellectual capital asset measures provide the most business insight or where the outcome of that measurement is most effective. Using a multi method approach the thesis is tested in three phases; an extensive literature review covering intellectual capital, performance measurement and organisational effectiveness; a survey and content analysis to explore what and why companies measure; and structured interviewing of six companies to investigate the costs and the benefits of measurement. The thesis is tested through the investigation of thirteen propositions which show that: firstly, there is a difference in the relative cost of measuring intellectual capital assets given the measurement driver, which is explained by the frequency of measurement, the mode of data collection and analysis, and whether the use of the measure is a by product of some other driver, secondly, that the insight provided by an intellectual capital asset measure differs given the measurement driver, thirdly, that the measurement of intellectual capital assets is most effective for planning the future; and lastly, that particular measurement drivers are effective, to differing degrees, in financial, customer, operational, people and future organisational performance domains.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Aerodynamics of a Supersonic Projectile in Proximity to a Solid Surface

Flow around a Mach 2.4 NATO 5.56 mm projectile in close proximity to a ground plane was investigated using computational fluid dynamics for a direct numerical reproduction of live-range experiments. The numerical approach was validated against both the live-range tests and subsequent wind-tunnel experiments. A nonspinning half-model and a full, spinning projectile were examined to clarify the influence of rotation. Multiple ground clearances were tested to obtain clear trends in changes to the aerodynamic coefficients, and the three-dimensional propagation and reflection of the shock waves were considered in detail. The behavior of the flow in the near wake was also studied as ground clearance was reduced. Ground proximity was found to significantly increase the drag force acting on the projectile, as well as generate a force normal to the ground and an increased side force, when ground clearance was less than one diameter. For clearances between approximately 0.4 and 1 diameter, the pitching moment produced was nose-down. For lower clearances, a more distinct nose-up trend was produced. The generated side force was orders of magnitude lower than the normal and drag forces

Moderating effects of performance measurement use on the relationship between organizational performance, measurement diversity and product innovation

This study sets'out to address the question of whether the effect of organizational' performance measurement diversity on product innovation will differ depending on how organizational performance measures are used. There is strong empirical evidence that many companies who are successful today are less likely to be successful in the future because they fail to innovate. It is surprisingly then, that when everyone stresses the importance of innovation, there are many organizations adopting performance measurement systems, which may constrain their innovativeness. Currently, there are three differing perspectives on the effect of measurement on a firm's propensity to innovate. Moreover, each of these has empirical evidence to support its argument. The first perspective views measurement as constraining innovation because it impedes creativity, experimentation, and search in firms. The second perspective views measurement as helping innovation because it triggers search, facilitates decision-making, and increases risk-taking. The third perspective views measurement as having insignificant or little impact on innovation because it is used primarily for signalling. A possible explanation of the contradiction in the empirical findings of these studies is that they generally ignore how measurement is used. Therefore, using the behavioural theory of innovation, I argue that one possible way of resolving the contradictory findings is by incorporating measurement use as a moderating variable. Using data from a cross-sectional, large-scale, probability sample survey of 145 UK manufacturing firms, I show that organizational performance measurement diversity interacts with performance measurement use to determine product innovation. My findings suggest that the extent to which a firm offers new products will be more positively (negatively) associated with performancemeasurement diversity when diagnostic use is high (low) holding interactive use constant and will be more negatively (positively) associated with performance measurement diversity when interactive use is high (low) holding, diagnostic use constant.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Concert recording 2014-04-27a

[Track 01]. Opening from Glassworks / Philip Glass -- [Track 02]. Beneath the canopy for flute and percussion. The forest beckons / Philip Parker -- [Track 03]. Beneath the canopy for flute and percussion. Rivers gently flowing / Philip Parker -- [Track 04]. Beneath the canopy for flute and percussion. Exotic birds of paradise / Philip Parker -- [Track 05]. Beneath the canopy for flute and percussion. Twilight calmness ; Song of the orchid / Philip Parker -- [Track 06]. Beneath the canopy for flute and percussion. Python dance / Philip Parker -- [Track 07]. Sculpture in wood / Rudiger Pawassar -- [Track 08]. Fear cage / Kirk J. Gay -- [Track 09]. Concerto for marimba and strings. Tempo souple / Emmanuel Sejourne

Offset Lock with 440 GHz Range using Electro-Optic Modulation

Offset locking is a popular method for stabilizing laser frequency, which is crucial to many physics experiments. Wide range offset locks are desirable, as they increase the span of usable frequencies in an experiment. Here, we experimentally realize a wide-range offset lock using a beat-note setup combined with electro-optic phase modulation. By using frequency down-conversion of the beat note and locking to sidebands generated by electro-optic modulation, we achieve an offset range of $\pm$ 220.1 GHz with offset frequency fluctuations under 0.1 Hz, enabling an optical heterodyne offset lock with the largest known range of any such lock. The relative simplicity of our setup provides a compelling method for locking at offsets in the hundreds of GHz range.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure