Spatial embeddedness and firm performance: an empirical exploration of the effects of proximity on innovative and economic performance

Recent theoretical developments in organisation science and regional economics have emphasised the importance of networks and geographical proximity for the performance of firms. Empirical evidence on these relationships is scarce, though, especially in regional science. In this paper, we address the following research question: to what extent do firm-specific resources, organisational embeddedness, proximity, and industry factors influence innovative and economic outcomes of innovative firms? We used a theoretical synthesis of regional and organisational science to build a research model that enabled us to derive several hypotheses on the influence of proximity on outcomes, taking other important predictors for performance into account. Our empirical findings confirm the importance of proximity especially for innovative outcomes. Moreover, we found that in particular network relations with buyers and suppliers are conducive for firm performance, whereas other indicators of embeddedness and of internal resources have little impact probably due to substitution effects. Finally, regional as well sectoral R&D spillovers influence outcomes in a positive way.

Learning, innovation and proximity. An empirical exploration of patterns of learning: a case study

learning; innovation

Regional systems of innovation from within.An empirical specification of the relation between technological dynamics and interaction between multiple actors in a Dutch region

technological dynamics; interaction patterns; innovation

Linking project-based production and project management temporary systems in multiple contexts : an introduction to the special edition

As organisations in more and more industries look for flexible ways of production in the wake of rapidly changing market environments, project-based organising is becoming anincreasingly important mode of organisation (Eisenhardt & Tabrizi, 1995). Whereas projectbased organisation was traditionally mainly the domain of industries such as film making (Sorenson & Waguespack, 2006), theatre (Goodman& Goodman, 1976), and construction (Gann & Salter, 2000), a project-based mode of operation has recently pervaded many other sectors in the economy, including software development, advertising, biotechnology, consulting, emergency response, fashion, television and complex products and systems (Grabher, 2004; Hobday, 2000).http://www.sajems.org/am201

Project-based production and project management : findings and trends in research on temporary systems in multiple contexts

Globalisation is challenging almost every aspect of the political, economic, social and technological environment. Organisations, whether public or private, have to adapt their strategies and operations to stay competitive and efficient. Historically, organisations adopted project-based operations as a mode to stay competitive, although the applications tended to be the oneoff type of operations such as construction and system development projects (Edum-Fotwe & McCaffer, 2000). As the world changed from an industrially driven to a more knowledge driven economy and the pace of continuous change became more intense, organisations adopted a project-based mode of operations on a broader scale. The knowledge economy lead to the creation of many service orientated industries. Organisations started facing portfolios of projects where the nature of these projects differed in technological complexity, urgency, customer value and social impact (Gutjahr & Froeschl, 2013). Based on their experience with more technically orientated projects, organisations focused their attention more intensely on new project management methods, tools and processes and not necessarily on the human and organisational interfaces. This paradigm changed however, especially since the 1980s and more and more organisations adopted temporary organisational forms (Bakker, 2010) in order to improve their competitiveness. The contributions in this special edition of the South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences have a common focus on the importance of the human and organisational interface of project-based operations on project success. The purpose of this concluding article is to analyse the findings and recommendations in these papers and to detect trends and future research opportunities in the field of project-based operations.http://www.sajems.org/am2014ai201

Do we follow the leader or the masses? Antecedents of the willingness to pay extra for eco-products

This paper reports on an experiment that tests for the existence of peer effects in consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for sustainable products. More specifically, we investigate whether the premium for an eco-labeled laundry detergent is sensitive to receiving information about the premium paid by other members of one’s social group. The information manipulations in the experiment test for two distinct types of social influence, i.e., conformist and payoff-biased transmission. We find strong empirical evidence for a conformist transmission. Participants informed about the positive premium paid by the majority of their peers reported a higher premium than individuals not receiving any information. This result shows that previous studies on the WTP for sustainable products, which explain premiums by attitudinal measures and sociodemographic traits, unwarrantedly provide an under-socialized account. The inclusion of social influence variables significantly increases the explanatory power of the model.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1745-66062018-07-31hb2016Graduate School of Technology Management (GSTM

Single versus multiple project teams and individual performance : do they ask for different leadership behaviors?

Multiple project team membership is a prevalent phenomenon in modern organizational life. However, is any leadership behavior in such a setting beneficial to individual team members' performance? Our study suggests that working in a multiple project team setting requires particular types of leadership. In an experimental design, we manipulated charismatic and boundary-spanning leadership behaviors in single and multiple team project settings and we studied their effects on project members’ performance. When workers are part of a single team, charismatic leadership enhances their performance to a greater extent than a boundary spanning leader. When members are part of two project teams concurrently, boundary-spanning leadership behavior becomes more beneficial for individual performance compared to charismatic leadership. The main theoretical contribution lies in the insight that different organizational project forms ask for different leadership behaviors to nurture individual performance. Practically, (future) project leaders must be prepared for operating in different project settings.https://www.elsevier.com/locate/ijpromanhj2024Graduate School of Technology Management (GSTM)SDG-08:Decent work and economic growt

The impact of multiple project team membership on individual and team learning : a micro-meso multi-level empirical study

In this paper, we investigate the effects of multiple project team membership on individual and team learning. Data from 435 members of 85 project teams shows that, at the individual level, membership variety has a positive impact on individual learning. Moreover, this positive relationship is stronger for individuals with an average need for cognition, in comparison to individuals with a high or a low need for cognition. At the project team level, the simultaneous inter-organizational memberships of a project team have a positive impact on the team's external learning. However, the simultaneous intra-organizational project team memberships negatively moderate this positive relationship. Furthermore, cross-level analyses show that individual learning has a positive impact on both internal and external team learning. Our findings are relevant for project management practice as they suggest ways in which work design can be configured to increase individual and team learning.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ijpromanhj2022Graduate School of Technology Management (GSTM

A relational view of knowledge transfer effectiveness in small new technology-based firms : an empirical analysis of a South African case

The open innovation model often neglects the frictions that external knowledge flows could encounter when crossing organisational boundaries. This study recognises such barriers and investigates the impact of these barriers on knowledge transfer effectiveness by using data on small new technologybased firms (NTBFs) located in the emerging South African economy. The empirical results show that the characteristics of inter-organisational knowledge exchange relationships (organisational and technological similarity and contact frequency) do have an impact on the effectiveness of knowledge transfer. The findings stress the relevance of a relational approach, as factors derived from it act as barriers to effective knowledge transfer for small firms.http://www.academicjournals.org/AJBMai201

Continuity and change in interorganizational project practices : the Dutch shipbuilding industry, 1950-2010

The Dutch shipbuilding industry has a longstanding tradition in project-based production. Recently, industry actors have acknowledged a serious misfit between interorganizational project practices, defined as behaviors related to collaboration, and interorganizational project demands, defined as environmental conditions. This misfit leads to a weaker competitive position due to higher communication and production costs, and longer production times. However, the causes of this misfit remain unclear. Among project researchers there is a growing awareness that history has a major influence on contemporary practices in interorganizational projects, suggesting that some of the causes of the present-day misfit may be rooted in the past. This paper studies historical developments of interorganizational project practices in Dutch shipbuilding projects, in order to understand to what extent contemporary misfit in project practices is rooted in the past and results from path dependencies and lock-ins. We answer the following research question: How did interorganizational project practices and demands in the Dutch shipbuilding industry develop between 1950 and 2010 and to what extent do these developments help us understand the current misfit between project practices and demands? Our results show that a web of self-reinforcing mechanisms at least partially explains the current misfit in the Dutch shipbuilding industry. This paper answers to the conceptual call by Sydow et al. (2009) and supplements path dependence literature by showing that self-reinforcing mechanisms causing path dependence can be separated analytically, but are intertwined empirically.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ijpromanhb2013ai201