Exploring social networks of PG students to enhance university learning experience

In the times when the society rapidly moves towards more multidisciplinary knowledge, university graduates strive to meet the challenges faced by economic and social organisations. University education being a ‘set of interacting ecosystems’ (Biggs,1993) is expected to create a learning environment where students can get the optimal opportunity to learn and achieve the best sustainable economic output. The traditional approach to studying at the University is challenged by the new economy. In addition to specialist knowledge graduates are expected to be equipped with such skills such as self-efficiency, effective communication, organisational proficiency and problem solving competences that are the foundations of success in sustainable career development

Interorganizational networks in microfinance - a comparative study

In the last decades the microfinance industry has evolved into a complex ecosystem, where Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) interact with a rich and heterogeneous set of stakeholders. While previous studies privileged an internal focus of analysis, this chapter describes the networks in which MFIs are embedded, taking into account the different types of relationships that MFIs establish with other organizations. Social Network Analysis (SNA) techniques are applied at the interorganizational level of analysis on an original dataset developed from Mix Market data. The microfinance interorganizational networks in Peru, Tanzania and in the regions of Tamil-Nadu (India) are presented. From the comparison of the different networks, several implications are draw

Expect the unexpected: investigating co-creation projects in a Living Lab

Living Labs (LLs) are complex multi-stakeholder environments that enable real-life testing and experimentation of products, services, and systems. Despite increasing attention by practitioners as well as policymakers, and growing scholarly interest in the field, the literature exploring congruency between organisational objectives and outcomes when utilising LLs is still scarce. To fill this gap, a qualitative case study is employed to gain an in-depth understanding of objectives and project outcomes of organisations utilising LLs. The LLJOSEPHS® was chosen as this study’s empirical context, in which 14 different projects were analysed. In-depth interviews revealed eight categories of measurable project outcomes: market acceptance, price acceptability, exposure, product testing, market intelligence, legitimisation, method testing, and networking. This study not only highlights what companies have achieved in comparison to their original project objectives, but also identifies additional unplanned outcomes that they accomplished. The findings offer important project-level insights into the potential and limitations of LLs. The results form a basis upon which to develop a better understanding of how innovation performance can be nurtured in LLs. Insights from the study may also help firms and facilitators by providing a deeper understanding of LLs at an individual project-level, and by articulating potential objectives and outcomes associated with organisations’ involvement in LLs

Competence barriers to innovation: the case of German SMEs

In a world with increased speed of business where companies are confronted with a dynamic environment, innovation plays a significant and decisive role for a company’s competitiveness. However, innovation is a difficult process that involves risks that new products, services and technologies fail in gaining commercial success. Tidd et al. (2005) state that the opportunity of enhancing competitiveness also requires the management to have a contrasting set of knowledge and skills in comparison to what is required for an everyday business administration. Yet, even the innovation leader Germany and its strong Mittelstand face competence barriers to innovation. To efficiently innovate, these barriers have to be identified and overcome. This paper acknowledges the importance of innovation as a survival and growth imperative and investigates competence barriers to innovation and the consequences these barriers might result in. The competence barriers are explored in a sample of 45 German SMEs. The data was gathered through structured online questionnaires and analysed on the basis of regressions. Findings of the research identify that the most significant barriers are associated with management barriers which hinders companies to be innovative. Thus, these firms experience constraints to expand the business and encounter missed opportunities on financial returns. The results derived through this study highlight shortages of qualified personnel and in particular those lacking skills in innovation management as major competence barrier to innovation

Joining up the dots: Using social data to measure the effects of events on innovation

The paper studies the effects of the LeWeb tech conferences using data collected from the social media platform Twitter and the code sharing website GitHub. The extent to which attendance at the conference and other factors determined the patterns of tweeting among participants are examined. A group of attendants of the London LeWeb conference who did not attend the subsequent Paris event is used to assess the effects of LeWeb Paris. Conference attendees are matched to their corresponding profiles on GitHub to allow the effect on code collaboration to be examined. Permutation regression and Stochastic Actor Orientated Modelling (SAOM) are used to undertake a statistical evaluation of the changes in network

Editors' Introduction for SHIFT 2021 Special Edition

Special edition: SHIFT Conference Proceedings 2021. Editors' Introduction for SHIFT 2021 Special Edition

Engagement in Online Learning: A Case Study on MBA Students Undertaking Professional Internships

This study is a critical evaluation of the online interactions of learners registered on a professional development course which will contribute to the general academic debate and assist in the design of a specific course. From a theoretical point of view, existing studies reported that one of the major obstacles to successful online learning is the isolation of learners (McDonald et al., 2005). A detailed visualization and analysis of online engagement and communication is discussed through the use of appropriate methodologies. The course under investigation was recently reviewed and stronger emphasis was puton online activities to leverage the properties of Moodle. An analysis of students engagement and performance is deemed extremely relevant for the course and the improvement of the overall learning experience of its participants

Virtual collaborative spaces: a case study on the antecedents of collaboration in an open source software community

Collaboration enables the sharing amongst individuals of resources and knowledge required to innovate. In recent years, this phenomenon has increasingly manifested in virtual collaborative spaces such as open-source software communities because of the advancement in the use of online technologies and the heightened need for distance work. However, it is still unclear which underlying mechanisms foster collaboration in these spaces. By using the Linux kernel open-source software community as a case study, we analyze data from the [email protected] mailing list to model the influence of proximity on the likelihood of collaboration between individuals. Our dataset is composed of 10,513 message replies to the PCI mailing list posted by its 654 active members in the years 2013 to 2015. Our results show that geographical proximity does not have a direct impact on collaboration, while organizational features defined by institutional and organizational proximity do significantly affect collaboration. Cognitive and social proximity also significantly, and positively, affects collaboration, but these relationships show an inverted u-shaped form. Our results confirm the need to develop specific theorizing about virtual spaces, as they present unique features when compared to traditional physical environments.Peer reviewe

Family firm network strategies in regional clusters: evidence from Italy

Plain English SummaryFamily firms are key in supporting local development, especially in regional clusters. However, while it is well established that their strategies differ from other (non-family) firms, it is still unclear what is their networking behaviour for supporting knowledge exchange-and thus innovation. This paper provides an empirical overview of this phenomenon, by analyzing an Italian case study: the Parabiago footwear cluster. The results show that (a) family firms are more proactive in establishing network relationships; (b) family firms tend to exchange knowledge with other family firms, while non-family firms do not show the same homophilous approach. Overall, this indicates that policies for clusters need to balance support for distinct business types and recognize the familiness characteristics of regional productive structures.Knowledge networks in regional clusters are fundamental to support innovation and local development. Within clusters, family firms are key in creating business opportunities and supporting the establishment of inter-organizational networks. Yet, their role within regional clusters for knowledge transfers is still not well understood, especially in comparison with non-family firms. This paper applies Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGMs) to network data collected from the Parabiago cluster, one of the most important Italian footwear clusters, to contribute to a better understanding of the network strategies of family firms. We identify distinct network strategies associated with the cluster firms, accounting for different knowledge exchange types: technological, market, and managerial. In our modelling, we control for firm-level attributes and dyadic-level attributes, such as geographical distance and cognitive proximity between cluster firms. Our results suggest that the proneness of family firms to grow networks is highly robust relative to non-family firm relationships, irrespective of knowledge types being exchanged. Moreover, family firms tend to establish connections with other family firms, showing the presence of homophily in their networking approach; however, non-family firms are rather different, since they do not have the same homophilous approach when it comes to exchange knowledge with other non-family firms. These results indicate that the nature of ownership is driving knowledge exchange differences. This key feature of family-only relationships in clusters may help managers and policymakers in devising more effective and targeted cluster strategies.Peer reviewe