Measurement of the economic impact of visual impairment from age-related macular degeneration in Australia

The purpose of this report was to: (i) outline the potential value of health economic studies into age-related macular degeneration (AMD); (ii) provide an overview of health economic studies pertinent to AMD; and (iii) outline the basic frame work of cost-of-illness studies (a useful first step in applying economic methods). The detection and management of sensory loss in the elderly plays a key role in the Australian Government's Healthy Ageing Strategy. Age-related macular degeneration is currently the leading cause of blindness in elderly Australians. Although a large proportion of AMD cases remain untreatable, the introduction of photo­dynamic therapy provides a relatively expensive and possibly cost-effective innovation for others. Antioxidant therapy has also been proven effective in reducing progression of early to late disease. The discipline of economics can contribute to an understanding of AMD prevention and treatment through: (i) describing the current burden of disease; (ii) predicting the changes in the burden of disease over time, and (iii) evaluating the efficiency of different interventions. Cost-of-illness studies have been performed in many fields of medicine. Little work, however, has been done on describing the economic impact from AMD. A number of different economic evaluation methods can be used in judging the efficiency of possible interventions to reduce the disease burden of AMD. Although complementary in nature, each has specific uses and limitations. Studies of the economic impact of eye diseases are both feasible and necessary for informed health care decision-making.

Measuring the performance of a regional cluster in innovation facilitation

Regional industry clusters have been promoted for several years as effective mechanisms to assist firms become more innovative and more competitive. But do they really achieve this goal, and more importantly, just how should an assessment of cluster performance in supporting and facilitating innovation within its members, be undertaken? In this paper we report on a study of a regional IT cluster in Western Sydney, Australia, develop some criteria for assessing the innovation facilitation performance of industry clusters, and discuss the cluster in relation to these criteria. We suggest that engagement with a cluster may enhance the innovation capacity of a firm, and the type of required innovation support varies significantly with the maturity and absorptive capacity of individual firms.

Continuous product innovation : a comparison of key elements across different contingency sets

This paper discusses results from an international study of continuous improvement in product innovation. The empirical research is based upon a theoretical model of continuous product innovation (CPI) that identifies contingencies, behaviours, levers and performances relevant to improving product innovation processes. As successful knowledge management is widely recognised as a key capability for firms to successfully develop CPI, companies have been classified according to identified contingencies and the impact of these contingencies on key knowledge management criteria. Comparative analysis of the identified groups of companies has demonstrated important differences between the learning behaviours found present in the two groups thus identified, and in the levers used to develop and support these behaviours. The selection of performance measures by the two groups has highlighted further significant differences in the way the two groups understand and measure their CPI processes. Finally, the paper includes a discussion of appropriate mechanisms for firms with similar contingency sets to improve their approaches to organisational learning and product innovation.

Construction capital productivity measurement using a data envelopment analysis

During the past few decades, the construction industry has experienced a series of changes including the innovation of construction technologies and the enhancement of management strategies. These improvements should have had a considerable effect on industrial efficiency and productivity performance, but research is needed to address whether the capital productivity levels of the construction industry have in fact shown such a huge improvement. This paper aims to develop an analysis procedure to measure capital productivity changes and to reasonably quantify factors affecting productivity levels in the construction industry. Based on the data envelopment analysis method, this research has developed a novel model measuring capital productivity and has applied it to the Australian construction industry. The numerical results indicate that the average annual capital productivity levels of the construction industry are slowly growing in all the Australian states and territories except for Queensland and Western Australia. In addition, construction technologies are shown to have a close relationship with the changes in capital productivity according to the temporal-spatial comparisons of productivity indices. The research findings are expected to be beneficial for making policy and strategic decisions to improve the capital productivity performance.

The mediating role of innovation in strategic international marketing

© 2014 by IGI Global. All rights reserved. The purpose of this chapter is to empirically examine the mediating role of innovation in strategic international marketing. The theoretical model consists of four variables: firm commitment, innovation, promotion strategy, and firm performance. It is conceptualized that firm commitment influences innovation that mediates the promotion variable, which in turn affects firm performance. A mail-out survey to Australian firms involved in international marketing gathered 315 useable responses. The whole theoretical model was tested using the structural equation modelling, partial disaggregation method. The findings confirm significant relationships among the variables in the theoretical model. All major fit indices from structural equation modelling analysis show satisfactory results for both the measurement model and the structural model. The findings shed light on the deployment of resources and capabilities such as human and financial resources, innovation, and promotion strategy to enhance firm performance. The major contributions of this chapter are the establishment of the mediating role of innovation on promotion strategy and the variables from the resources and capabilities perspective affecting firm performance.