scholarly journals A STRUCTURED PROCESS FOR TRANSFERRING ACADEMIC RESEARCH INTO INNOVATION PROJECTS – PIMES CASE STUDY

2014 ◽  
pp. 248-256
Author(s):  
Carsten Wolff ◽  
Burkhard Igel ◽  
Uwe Lauschner

Academic research is promoting the free mind. The intention is to discover new findings in early phases of the innovation process. The researchers consider their creativity to be dependent on freedom and openness. Nevertheless, today’s research institutions are large and many of them conduct a business projects requiring a constant flow of projects and results. The challenge is to use professional innovation processes without destroying creativity and freedom. Ideas need to have a chance to result into a research project and scientists need to be protected from too much administration. Innovation processes for academic research need to be lean, simple, efficient and effective. This paper presents processes and tools for the early phase of transferring an innovative idea into a funding project. They are based on an IT platform which allows web based access from any place at any time. Results from the application in a research group are evaluated.

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joyce Zwartkruis ◽  
Ellen Moors ◽  
Jacco Farla ◽  
Harro van Lente

The agri-food sector is under pressure to move towards sustainability and broad socio-technical changes are needed. In such encompassing innovation processes that concern the whole agri-food chain, actors with different institutional backgrounds are confronted with each others interests, ideas and perspectives. Framing, then, may both support and hinder the alignment of actors and interests. In this paper we investigate how framing occurs in multi-actor innovation projects and how it facilitates or hinders the continuity of these projects. We first review the broad literature on framing, which leads to a typology of three levels of framing: face-to-face interaction (between individuals), global discourse (within society) and localised collective (in projects). In addition, we add a third category to the traditional distinction between ‘cognitive’ and ‘interactional’ framing. We argue that in socio-technical innovations also ‘material’ framing occurs. In an empirical case study, based on in-depth interviews and document analysis of the Roundel project (2004-2010), a Dutch innovation project aimed at sustainable egg production and marketing, we trace and analyse these different forms of framing. The project survived several critical episodes, due to changes in framing. Our study yields general lessons about framing in complex innovation projects, both conceptual and practical.


2008 ◽  
Vol 12 (04) ◽  
pp. 597-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
TUGRUL U. DAIM ◽  
ABRAHAM HERNANDEZ

Technological innovation is used by many companies as a means of sustaining their competitive advantage. The environments in which this innovation occurs is usually uncertain, therefore, many companies perform technological forecasting in association with their technological innovation processes. While many researchers have studied the innovation process and many more forecasting methods, there is little research connecting the two within the strategic context of the firm. To do this, a model of the forecasting process is needed. The purpose of this paper is to present a model based on a literature review. Previous models which formed the basis for the proposed model will be discussed followed by an explanation of the model and conclusion. Finally, a case study is presented to observe and test the proposed model.


2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 364-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiwei Gong ◽  
Marijn Janssen

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demystify Lean for service innovation by investigating its benefits and risks. Lean innovation is a relatively new approach which is advocated in management literature. Little scientific work about its practice exists in the field. Although the Lean innovation principles are clear, there is limited evidence about their impact on service innovation processes. Design/methodology/approach – From the knowledge-based view (KBV) of the firm, a framework for understanding Lean innovation is developed. Using this framework, the benefits and risks of Lean innovation are analyzed in a case study. Findings – The case study not only shows that Lean service innovation can have many advantages, but also draws attention to the risks. The risks might result in the inability to follow Lean principles and might hamper the realization of the benefits. Using the case studies, study mitigation mechanisms are identified. Originality/value – This research offers a new knowledge perspective and a better understanding of Lean service innovation. There are two main contribution of this paper. First of all, it reports on the impact of Lean innovation on a bank’s innovation processes, both its benefit and risks. This has a contribution to understanding the innovation process in service organizations. Second, this paper extends Lean innovation to a service context and contributes to the knowledge basis of Lean innovation.


2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (01) ◽  
pp. 121-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
TINA B. AUNE ◽  
ESPEN GRESSETVOLD

For many companies, suppliers play an important role in innovation processes. One key issue concerns the degree of cooperation, such as an arm's length approach versus the use of relationships. Another issue concerns the scope of company involvement on the supply side, such as involvement of one supplier versus involvement of a network of companies. This article presents a taxonomy of supplier involvement in innovation processes. The empirical data consists of a case study of Norske Skog Skogn, a paper mill that is part of the world's second largest producer of newsprint, and one of its suppliers, ABB, a global engineering company. The article directs attention towards a variety of approaches to organising supplier involvement in innovation processes. The taxonomy may be useful in initiatives to increase awareness of the organisation of innovation processes and improve innovation process performance.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (01) ◽  
pp. 2050008 ◽  
Author(s):  
JANINA MILENA GOLDBERG ◽  
HOLGER SCHIELE

Traditionally, manufacturers could usually choose from several suppliers who would be more than willing to engage in innovation processes with them. However, more often the situation arises that a supplier has a dominant position because of a clear leadership or even exclusivity in a certain technology. How should the buying companies handle such situations when a supplier can choose the customer to collaborate with, rather than cueing in front of the customer’s door? This paper focuses on how a buying company may best handle this situation of innovating with dominant suppliers. The methodology used is a case study that compares, from an original equipment manufacturer’s perspective, two implemented supplier innovations with different expirations — a success case and a failure. Findings lead to three main propositions: First, firms may benefit from carefully analysing and designing the buyer–supplier constellation in innovation processes and not only the quality of the innovation. Drawing back on attractiveness theory grounded in social exchange theory may provide clues on how to do so. Second, in case of a dominant supplier situation, traditional innovation management processes may fail and need to be amended by a dedicated innovation process with a different order of steps. In the case of supplier dominance, it is essential to first analyse the supplier constellation, and then make the decision for the innovation path to follow — and not the other way around. Third, in the fight for getting access to a supplier’s innovation, a speed-up process with the buying company may be a tool for outperforming other buyers competing for the same supplier.


2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (02) ◽  
pp. 1650024 ◽  
Author(s):  
FLEMMING SØRENSEN ◽  
JAN MATTSSON

Minimisation of time-to-market strategies can provide companies with a competitive advantage in dynamic and competitive environments. Using parallel innovation processes has been emphasised as one strategy to speed up innovation processes and consequently minimise the time-to-market of innovations. Much innovation today takes place in open structures in which networks play an important role. However, little is known about how innovation networks can facilitate parallel innovation processes. This paper discusses how innovation network structures develop and support exploration and exploitation in parallel innovation processes and in this way sustain speedy innovation processes. A case study of an innovation network is carried out by analysing communication structures and the information contents of emails related to a particular innovation process. The analysis shows how certain characteristics of the network facilitate the parallel innovation process but also how such processes place new requirements on such networks and their management.


2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zenia Barnard ◽  
Chris Rensleigh

Background: A very small percentage of all the research generated by universities is commercialised. The article is a case study of the transformation from action research to a spin-off company. It looks at the practical implications of such a transformation. Objectives: The aim of this article is to provide a holistic view of what the process entailed to leap from academic research to the commercialisation of the research into a company as was the case for Gradnet. Method: A case-study approach was used to document the conceptualisation and development of the research-based, spin-off company, Gradnet. This includes the background of the original research that formed the basis of the innovation process. Results: It was found that the commercialisation process of academic research is not necessarily a natural process for the researcher in the absence of an appropriate supporting infrastructure. Conclusion: All academic disciplines have the potential for establishing commercially viable research projects. This potential should be actively explored and pursued by the institution.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aya Rizk ◽  
Anna Ståhlbröst ◽  
Ahmed Elragal

PurposeWithin digital innovation, there are two significant consequences of the pervasiveness of digital technology: (1) the increasing connectivity is enabling a wider reach and scope of innovation structures, such as innovation networks and (2) the unprecedented availability of digital data is creating new opportunities for innovation. Accordingly, there is a growing domain for studying data-driven innovation (DDI), especially in contemporary contexts of innovation networks. The purpose of this study is to explore how DDI processes take form in a specific type of innovation networks, namely federated networks.Design/methodology/approachA multiple case study design is applied in this paper. We draw our analysis from data collected over six months from four cases of DDI. The within-analysis is aimed at constructing the DDI process instance in each case, while the crosscase analysis focuses on pattern matching and cross-case synthesis of common and unique characteristics in the constructed processes.FindingsEvidence from the crosscase analysis suggests that the widely accepted four-phase digital innovation process (including discovery, development, diffusion and post-diffusion) does not account for the explorative nature of data analytics and DDI. We propose an extended process comprising an explicit exploration phase before development, where refinement of the innovation concept and exploring social relationships are essential. Our analysis also suggests two modes of DDI: (1) asynchronous, i.e. data acquired before development and (2) synchronous, i.e. data acquired after (or during) development. We discuss the implications of these modes on the DDI process and the participants in the innovation network.Originality/valueThe paper proposes an extended version of the digital innovation process that is more specifically suited for DDI. We also provide an early explanation to the variation in DDI process complexities by highlighting the different modes of DDI processes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first empirical investigation of DDI following the process from early stages of discovery till postdiffusion.


2017 ◽  
Vol 02 (04) ◽  
pp. 1750016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald C. Beckett ◽  
Hardik Vachhrajani

Transdisciplinary innovation — what is it and how does it work? In this paper, the way disparate professional and community actors may work together is considered, drawing on case study data from three different Australian–Indian academic research collaborations. One considered food sector SME innovation practice in the two countries and the other two considered the deployment in India of radical technologies developed by international teams to deliver social benefits. The collection of knowledge artifacts from disparate sources was the norm. Implementation of an innovative idea or technology application commonly involved interactive learning from parallel testing of possible combinations. Six themes to be explored further emerged from this exploratory study. These related to social networking, interaction protocols, the use of boundary objects, knowledge sharing and modes of research.


2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 1384-1405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter M. Bican ◽  
Carsten C. Guderian ◽  
Anne Ringbeck

Purpose As firms turn their innovation activities toward collaborating with external partners, they face additional challenges in managing their knowledge. While different modes of intellectual property right regimes are applied in closed innovation systems, there seems to be tension between the concepts of “open innovation” and “intellectual property rights”. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how firms best manage knowledge via intellectual property rights in open innovation processes. Design/methodology/approach Following a mixed methods approach, the authors review relevant literature at the intersection of knowledge management, intellectual property rights, strategic management of intellectual property rights and the open innovation process. The authors identify success drivers through the lenses of – but not limited to – intellectual property rights and classify them in five distinct groups. Expending the view on open innovation beyond its modus operandi, the authors develop the Open Innovation Life Cycle, covering three stages and three levels of the open innovation process. The authors apply their findings to a case study in the pharmaceutical industry. Findings The authors provide four key contributions. First, existing literature yields inconclusive results concerning the enabling or disabling function of intellectual property rights in open innovation processes, but the majority of scholars detect an ambivalent relation. Second, they identify and classify success drivers of successful knowledge management via intellectual property rights in open innovation processes. Third, they advance literature on open innovation beyond its modus operandi to include three stages and three levels. Fourth, they test their findings to a case study and show how management leverages knowledge by properly using intellectual property rights in open innovation. Practical implications The findings support firms in managing knowledge via intellectual property rights in open innovation processes. Management should account for the peculiarities of open innovation preparation and open innovation termination to prevent unintentional knowledge drain. Originality/value This is one of the first studies to view open innovation as a process beyond its modus operandi by considering the preparations for and termination of open innovation activities. It also addresses the levels involved in managing knowledge via intellectual property rights in open innovation from individual (personal) to project and firm level.


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