Innovation and value : knowledge and technology transfer from university-industry research centres to the forest products industry

Cette thèse présente une vue d'ensemble des processus de transfert des connaissances et de technologie aux centres de recherche université-industrie, sous l'angle de la création de valeur. Spécifiquement, on s'intéresse aux motivations de quatre principaux acteurs pour leur soutien et leur participation au niveau de ces centres (valeur perçue), à la valeur créée par ces centres de recherche pour les différents membres et enfin, à la valeur assimilée par les membres et leurs organisations. On a abordé des études de cas comparatives de trois centres de recherche université-industrie dans le secteur canadien des produits forestiers et de ceux opérant dans la province de Québec. L'objectif principal est d'illustrer la perception de quatre principales catégories d'acteurs jouant des rôles importants dans ce contexte particulier. Les catégories d'acteurs sont les universités, les organisations intermédiaires (Howells, 2006; Kodama et al, 2008), le gouvernement (provincial et fédéral) et les grandes, les moyennes et les petites entreprises oeuvrant dans (et fournissant des services pour) le secteur canadien des produits forestiers. Les recherches suscitent un intérêt croissant sur les notions de création de valeur et de la valeur assimilée dans la gestion des processus d'innovation (Lepak et al, 2007). Cependant, cet intérêt a soulevé plus de questions que de réponses concernant le rôle joué par la valeur perçue, la valeur créée et la valeur assimilée dans le processus de l'innovation. En outre, il n'existe aucune mesure universelle, non-monétaire qui permet aux divers acteurs d'évaluer véritablement les rendements tangibles et intangibles des valeurs perçues, créées et assimilées dans les processus d'innovation. Un défi additionnel se manifeste quand il s'agit du cas des centres de recherche université-industrie. Ces derniers constituent le centre d'intérêt des gouvernements à travers les incitatifs politiques (D'Esté et Patel, 2007). De plus, le rôle des universités et des chercheurs universitaires a évolué. Ils ont dépassé leurs rôles traditionnels d'enseignement et de recherche pour devenir des ±entrepreneurs¿ (Etzkowitz, 2003), et ce grâce à leurs connaissances, leurs compétences et les résultats de leurs recherches. Par ailleurs, comme toutes les industries deviennent de plus en plus basées sur la connaissance, et que les produits, les processus et les systèmes d'entreprise sont de plus en plus complexes, les entreprises se tournent vers les groupes de recherche universitaire afin de les aider dans leur processus d'innovation (Van Horne et al., 2006). Ces collaborations créent de la valeur à travers le développement et le transfert des technologies (nouveaux produits, processus, modèles d'affaires, etc.), des connaissances et des services (sous forme de formation, de conseil, de recrutement de personnel hautement qualifié, de stagiaires, etc) aux entreprises (Adams et al, 2000; Etzkowitz et Leydesdorff, 2000). En outre, la valeur est créée pour les gouvernements grâce au développement économique et social (Etzkowitz, 2003). Quant aux universités et chercheurs, la création de valeur se manifeste par l'obtention des fonds supplémentaires, l'accès aux données et aux problèmes de recherche de l'industrie, la croissance de la réputation, etc. (D'Esté et Patel, 2007). Ces différentes formes de valeur sont présentement mal saisies. Toutefois, il est temps pour les dirigeants de ces centres de recherche et leurs membres, de mieux comprendre cette valeur afin d'être en mesure de mieux gérer leur processus d'innovation (Adams et al., 2006; Rainbird et Walters, 2007). Dans cette thèse, trois principales questions seront abordées: 1. Comment la valeur perçue par les quatre acteurs des centres de recherche université-industrie, opérant dans l'industrie des produits forestiers, permet de motiver ces derniers à participer et à appuyer les actions prises par ces centres? 2. Comment les centres de recherche universitaires oeuvrant dans l'industrie canadienne des produits forestiers, utilisent les processus de transfert formels et informels pour créer de la valeur aux différents acteurs de cette industrie? 3. Comment les acteurs des centres de recherche université-industrie parviennent à capter la valeur créée? Cette thèse est composée de trois articles: deux contributions théoriques qui sont en cours de révision et un troisième article qui sera présenté à la Conférence de Triple Helix en Juin 2009. Ces articles sont soutenus par deux chapitres. Le premier décrit le contexte théorique de la collaboration université-industrie et celui de "l'innovation" dans l'industrie canadienne des produits forestiers. Le deuxième chapitre concerne la méthodologie utilisée dans ce travail

The Development of Arab Women Leaders: An Emirati Perspective

As women become an increasingly powerful force in the Arabian Gulf, increased attention needs to be focused on their leadership development. This chapter looks at the role that lived experience plays in developing these leaders, as opposed to formal interventions, and this study seeks to explore the underlying factors that enable women to learn how to lead. The findings are illustrated in a leader apprenticeship framework, which consists of experiencing influential encounters, dealing and learning from difficult events, and transforming directly following a formal training programme. The findings support claims to treat leadership learning as a form of apprenticeship where learning is embedded in the social fabric in which it transpires, calling for contextualizing leader development as supported by situational learning theory

Challenges in technology transfer: an actor perspective in a quadruple helix environment

© 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York. This article presents and tests a knowledge and technology transfer framework in a quadruple helix environment, from an actor perspective. The Canadian forest products industry provides a unique opportunity for data collection through case studies as it is an industry built on a triple bottom line, which is managed for sustainable progress. By confronting the new framework to 31 professionals, we highlight the role and challenges faced by each helix. Several factors such as culture, time horizon management and the adaption of theory to practice appear to be determinant to improve technology transfer. We see in our work an important contribution to the generalization of knowledge and technology transfer processes in a quadruple helix environment

Individual Ambidexterity and Antecedents in a Changing Context

© 2019 World Scientific Publishing Europe Ltd. People and organisations should align their current goals and adapt to change to maintain and sustain their competitive advantages. That is the idea behind ambidexterity. Extant research has largely focused on ambidexterity at the organisational and unit levels, although individual ambidexterity is perhaps equally important to organisational success. To shed some light on the issue, this paper argues that two antecedents, handling work stress and trust building, influence individual ambidexterity and individual performance. Two hundred forty-five paired questionnaires were collected, and a construct of four items of ambidextrous behaviour was used to measure individual ambidexterity. The empirical findings indicate that an individual\u27s skills in handling work stress in performance management, building trust for social support and practicing individual ambidexterity, result in high performance. Individual ambidexterity mediates two of these positive relationships, between handling work stress and performance, and between trust building and performance. The research and practical implications are also discussed

Measuring value in the innovation processes of university-industry research centres

There is increasing interest in new research relationships in the form of university-industry partnerships, by governments, universities, intermediary organisations and industry. These collaborations create value, however the value perceived, created and captured by the different actors in the innovation value network are different. However, based on the literature we can say that these values have to be present for all actors, at each phase, for the innovation process to continue. This paper presents a framework that illustrates a multi- actor view of the innovation process and associated values. It is hoped that this matrix can lead to new insight for researchers, practitioners and policy makers to manage better the innovation value network by facilitating the five phases of the innovation value network: policy making and grant process, idea generation and basic research, knowledge and technology development, knowledge and technology transfer and application of knowledge and technologies created by these research centres. Copyright © 2010 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd

Innovation and value creation in university-industry research centres in the canadian forest products industry

As the forest products industry evolves into a modern industry based on cutting-edge industrial and management research, the prevalence and importance of university research centres have gained importance. Although there has been increased funding and attention given to university-industry research centres from policy makers and researchers, little is still known about the benefits or value that these collaborations provide and create for firms. Applied academic research requires the active participation of researchers and practitioners. In the Canadian forest products industry, there are other important actors that need to be considered, the federal and provincial governments as owners and regulators of the resource and funders of research and development projects and intermediary organisations who are often charged with transforming academic results into tools and methods able to be implemented into industry firms. This paper presents the results of three comparative case studies of university-industry research centres operating in the Canadian forest products industry through an exploration of their knowledge and technology transfer processes. The goal is to better understand the value that has been created for the four main groups of actors involved though informal and formal transfer processes and which processes are best suited for different types of knowledge

Composition of networks around entrepreneurs: Cross-national comparisons in the Middle East and North Africa

This paper investigates the composition of networks around entrepreneurs in the MENA region and how this composition differs amongst the 14 countries with regards to the size and diversity of the networks used at various stages of venture development. The findings indicate significant difference between entrepreneurs at various stages of venture development for network size and network diversity. The empirical results show that the more the network is diversified, the shorter the duration of the launch of the venture. The investigation also reveals that entrepreneurs with relative large networks are more likely to launch their business in a short time. Copyright © 2013 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd

Technological Innovation in the United Arab Emirates: Process and Challenges

© 2013, © 2013 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC. The purpose of this paper is to enhance our understanding about the current state of R&D in the UAE and its challenges through an exploratory case study of a technological innovation. The innovation process of the Emirati entrepreneur is similar to processes in other parts of the world, but there is no access to government research centers or public research available. The findings suggest that support is needed to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of technological innovation processes in the UAE

Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV: Mapping the Milky Way, Nearby Galaxies, and the Distant Universe

We describe the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV), a project encompassing three major spectroscopic programs. The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) is observing hundreds of thousands of Milky Way stars at high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratios in the near-infrared. The Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey is obtaining spatially resolved spectroscopy for thousands of nearby galaxies (median $z\sim 0.03$). The extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) is mapping the galaxy, quasar, and neutral gas distributions between $z\sim 0.6$ and 3.5 to constrain cosmology using baryon acoustic oscillations, redshift space distortions, and the shape of the power spectrum. Within eBOSS, we are conducting two major subprograms: the SPectroscopic IDentification of eROSITA Sources (SPIDERS), investigating X-ray AGNs and galaxies in X-ray clusters, and the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS), obtaining spectra of variable sources. All programs use the 2.5 m Sloan Foundation Telescope at the Apache Point Observatory; observations there began in Summer 2014. APOGEE-2 also operates a second near-infrared spectrograph at the 2.5 m du Pont Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, with observations beginning in early 2017. Observations at both facilities are scheduled to continue through 2020. In keeping with previous SDSS policy, SDSS-IV provides regularly scheduled public data releases; the first one, Data Release 13, was made available in 2016 July