Uncertainty management in engineering-service development: the role of organisational capabilities

PurposeEngineering-service (ES) development is characterised by high uncertainty, the management of which is crucial for the success of the offering during the provision of ESs. This paper studies suitable organisational capabilities to address different uncertainty types.Design/methodology/approachBased on conceptualisation of individual uncertainty types and organisational capabilities, this study investigated their empirical links through six case studies of ES development projects. The data consisted of 64 semi-structured interviews, 10 weeks of observational data and 166 supporting documents describing the projects.FindingsThe findings provide empirical evidence for four distinct uncertainty types (environmental, organisational, technical and relational uncertainty) and the organisational capabilities needed for addressing them. The authors identified unique dominant capabilities for each uncertainty type (commercialisation for environmental uncertainty, coordination for organisational and technical uncertainty, and relational capabilities for relational uncertainty), which were complemented with supporting capabilities, including project management and integration.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the service operations literature by merging previously separate research streams on uncertainty and organisational capabilities in ESs and servitization. Through this merge, this study offers a more coherent understanding by extending previously sporadic insights into specific links between individual uncertainty types and individual capabilities.

Development of an index system for evaluating the organisational capabilities of primary medical institutions: a modified Delphi study in China

ObjectiveThe low performance of primary medical institutions (PMIs) in China is a significant issue. The WHO proposed that the main reason for the failure of the healthcare system in developing countries is poor organisational capabilities. However, there is no international tool for evaluating the organisational capabilities of PMIs. Therefore, this study aimed to develop an index system for evaluating the organisational capabilities of PMIs.DesignWe searched the literature (English and Chinese) published before June 2020 in the PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang databases to conduct a literature review and develop a preliminary indicator pool. Then, two rounds of Delphi expert consultations were conducted by email from June to September 2020, followed by screening, revision and supplementation of the indicators using the boundary value method. Finally, the analytic hierarchy process was used to determine the weight of the indicators.SettingThe Delphi consultation questionnaire was distributed to the leaders of PMIs in districts D, F and S in Beijing, China.ParticipantsNineteen leaders of PMIs who had a profound understanding of PMI operations and management and were able to participate in Delphi research from a professional and comprehensive perspective were included in this study.ResultsThe Cr values were 0.76 (first-level indicators) and 0.78 (second-level indicators), indicating that the expert consultation results were accurate and reliable. The result of the expert coordination coefficient test was significant at the p<0.01 level, suggesting that the experts’ views were consistent. The organisational capability index system includes 3 first-level indicators, 9 second-level indicators and 37 third-level indicators.ConclusionsAn index system for the organisational capabilities of PMIs was developed. This index system is a scoring system that focuses on basic service capabilities, management capabilities and sustainable development capabilities, and it can determine the priority of improvement areas for PMIs.

Support for the Development of Technological Innovations at an R&D Organisation

Effective development of technological innovations requires efficient management at the stages of their generation, realisation, and their implementation. For this aim, concepts such as foresight, technology assessment, and organisational capabilities assessment can be applied; however, so far they have been used mainly individually or sometimes combined but to a very limited extent. Moreover, they are not used comprehensively, but only selectively, e.g., at some stages of the innovation processes. The research problem undertaken in the paper concerns the effectiveness of the integration of these concepts: future research (mainly foresight), technology assessment, and organisational capabilities assessment for the needs of supporting innovation processes. The paper is aimed at presenting an original approach assuming the integration of the aforementioned triad. The proposed approach has been developed individually by the paper’s author on the basis of (1) state of the art analysis comprising both theoretical approaches and practical examples of individual and combined application of the concepts analysed, and (2) the author’s practical experience resulting from research projects conducted collectively. The research result comprises an original matrix approach where the individual concepts of the triad are applied in a way enabling their mutual complementation at all successive stages of the innovation process. The approach proposed comprises modules referring to the succeeding stages of the innovation process, namely generation, realisation and application of technological innovations. The areas of the approach application and possible directions of its further development are presented.

Innovation Management to Sustain Competitive Advantage: A Qualitative Multi-Case Study

The significance of innovative capabilities and new product development (NPD) in marketing and business strategy innovation has been recognised by researchers and management. Researchers and practitioners have explored and evaluated the organisational capabilities and knowledge management, too. This current paper, however, represents inadequacy of connection between organisational capabilities, innovative capabilities, new product development and integrated shared knowledge. Furthermore, there is insufficient knowledge and data on the effect and the involvement of organisational capabilities and integrated shared knowledge to company's success, performance, and sustainability. This paper aimed at determining whether there is a connection between organisational capabilities, innovative capabilities, new product development and integrated shared knowledge. The purpose of this paper is to investigate and explore how organisational capabilities and shared knowledge impact and contribute to innovative capabilities, new product development and innovative management. This paper has empolyed a qualitative multiple-site case study through conducting one-on-one (personal) interviews as well as conducting in-depth interviews with key decision makers from innovative and technology companies located in Texas State in the USA. This paper attempts to answer the following key research question, namely: How do organisational capabilities and shared knowledge that influence innovative capability and new product development contribute to the company’s performance, success, and sustainability? NVivo 11 Qualitative Data Analysis Software was used to import and analyse the respondent interviews. The software (NVivo 11) was also used to determine the study findings through theme analysis. The paper key finding is that organisational capabilities and shared knowledge are linked and crucial for the success of innovative capabilities and new product development. A set of recommendations for future researchers is proposed.

Leren, Balanceren, met Werk en Privé: belangrijker dan ooit!

Deze bijdrage is een bewerking, en in het licht van de Covid-19-pandemie, een update van mijn inaugurele rede 'Leren, Balanceren, met Werk en Privé' die ik op 16 januari 2020 uitsprak bij het aanvaarden van het ambt van hoogleraar Strategisch Human Resource Management (HRM) aan de Nyenrode Business Universiteit. Centraal staat het opkomend paradigma Sustainable HRM (Duurzaam HRM) dat de inspiratiebron vormt voor (mijn) toekomstig onderzoek en onderwijs. In mijn interpretatie heeft Duurzaam HRM betrekking op de strategieën, praktijken en processen (als reflecties van organisational capabilities) die HRM-professionals samen met andere (arbeidsmarkt)partijen ontwikkelen, of die binnen organisaties ontstaan, om financiële, sociale, en ecologische organisatiedoelen te behalen én die tegelijkertijd werknemers steunen bij het ontwikkelen van hun individuele capaciteiten (employability, vitality en workability) die zij nodig hebben om zowel in huidige, als in toekomstige werk- en privésituaties goed te kunnen (blijven) functioneren. In de bijdrage worden vier vragen beantwoord: Waarom is een nieuw paradigma voor Strategisch HRM maatschappelijk noodzakelijk? Waarin verschilt Duurzaam HRM van gangbaar Strategisch HRM? Waarom is Duurzaam HRM als nieuw paradigma voor wetenschappelijk onderzoek, onderwijs en de praktijk van Strategisch HRM noodzakelijk? Hoe inspireert (Humaan) Duurzaam HRM het onderzoek en onderwijs binnen (mijn leerstoel) HRM?