Racing for radical innovation:how motorsport companies harness network diversity for discontinuous innovation

The motorsport industry is a significant part of the UK economy. According to industry estimates approximately 4,500 companies are involved in the UK Motorsport and Performance Engineering Industry and its wide-ranging support activities. The industry has an annual turnover of £6.0 billion, and contributes £3.6 billion worth of exports. The Motorsport Industry Association estimates that the support side of the sector alone "involving events management, public relations, marketing, sponsorship and a host of other support functions" accounts for approximately £1.7 billion of the yearly industry total. And in terms of employment, UK Motorsport supports 38,500 full and part-time jobs, including 25,000 engineers.

Racing for radical innovation

How motorsport companies harness network diversity for discontinuous innovation.

Зелёные технологии:что мы о них знаем?

In many nations green technologies are receiving much attention in the fields of industry, agriculture, construction, manufacture of ecologically-friendly materials, and new services, which are all improving living standards. The world is racing for innovations and development of new products that provide high impact on sustainability, the environment, national and regional policies. This Special Issue on Green Technologies is a co-initiative of the International Association for Management of Technology (IAMOT), Journal of Manfacturing Technology Management (JMTM) and the Russian journal , INNOVATIONS. The Special Issue aims to review theoretical and empirical developments in the management of green technologies. The object of the initiative is to study green technologies 'made in Russia' and to understand their perspectives in joining in the global ecosystem.

Meta-analytic model comparisons of surface- and deep-level relational diversity effects on social integration and individual effectiveness

While diversity might give an organization a competitive advantage, individuals have a tendency to prefer homogenous group settings. Prior research suggests that group members who are dissimilar (vs. similar) to their peers in terms of a given diversity attribute (e.g. demographics, attitudes, values or traits) feel less attached to their work group, experience less satisfying and more conflicted relationships with their colleagues, and consequently are less effective. However, prior empirical findings tend to be weak and inconsistent, and it remains unclear when, how and to what extent such differences affect group members’ social integration (i.e. attachment with their work group, satisfaction and conflicted relationships with their peers) and effectiveness. To address these issues the current study conducted a meta-analysis and integrated the empirical results of 129 studies. For demographic diversity attributes (such as gender, ethnicity, race, nationality, age, functional background, and tenure) the findings support the idea that demographic dissimilarity undermines individual member performance via lower levels of social integration. These negative effects were more pronounced in pseudo teams – i.e. work groups in which group members pursue individual goals, work on individual tasks, and are rewarded for their individual performance. These negative effects were however non-existent in real teams - i.e. work groups in which groups members pursue group goals, work on interdependent tasks, and are rewarded (at least partially) based on their work group’s performance. In contrast, for underlying psychological diversity attributes (such as attitudes, personality, and values), the relationship between dissimilarity and social integration was more negative in real teams than in pseudo teams, which in return translated into even lower individual performance. At the same time however, differences in underlying psychological attributes had an even stronger positive effect on dissimilar group member’s individual performance, when the negative effects of social integration were controlled for. This implies that managers should implement real work groups to overcome the negative effects of group member’s demographic dissimilarity. To harness the positive effects of group members’ dissimilarity on underlying psychological attributes, they need to make sure that dissimilar group members become socially integrated.

Community knowledge management (CKM): a framework for community action

Knowledge management (KM) is a developing field that focuses on harnessing knowledge for use by a person or community. However, most KM research focuses on improving decision making capacity in business communities, neglecting applications in wider society and non-decision making activities. This paper explores the potential of KM for rural communities, specifically for those that want to preserve their social history and collective memories (what we call heritage) to enrich the lives of others. In KM terms, this is a task of accumulating and recording knowledge to enable its retention for future use. We report a case study of Cardrona, a valley of approximately 120 people in New Zealand’s South Island. Realising that time would erode knowledge of their community a small, motivated group of residents initiated a KM programme to create a legacy for a wider community including younger generations, tourists and scholars. This paper applies KM principles to rural communities that want to harness their collective knowledge for wider societal gain, and develops a framework to accommodate them. As a result, we call for a wider conceptualization of KM to include motives for managing knowledge beyond decision making to accommodate community KM (cKM).

Scientists, trade unions and labour movement policies for science and technology, 1947-1964

This thesis describes the history of the scientific Left beginning with the period of its most extensive influence in the mid-1940s as a movement for the planning of science and ending with the Labour Party's programme of 1964 claiming to harness science and socialism. Its central theme is the external and internal pressures involved in the project to align left-wing politics, trade unions and social responsibility in science. The problematic aspects of this project are examined in the evolution of the Association of Scientific Workers and the World Federation of Scientific Workers as organisations committed to trade union and science policy objectives. This is presented also in the broader context of the Association's attempts to influence the Trade Union Congress's policies for science and technology in a more radical direction. The thesis argues that the shift in the balance of political forces in the labour movement, in the scientific community and in the state brought about by the Cold War was crucial in frustrating these endeavours. This led to alternative, but largely unsuccessful attempts, in the form of the Engels Society and subsequently Science for Peace to create the new expressions of the left-wing politics of science. However, the period 1956-1964 was characterised by intensive interest within the Labour Party in science and technology which reopened informal channels of political influence for the scientific Left. This was not matched by any radical renewal within the Association or the Trade Union Congress and thus took place on a narrower basis and lacked the democratic aspects of the earlier generation of socialist science policy.

Learning to share knowledge in the Italian motorsport industry

The paper outlines a perspective on learning how to share knowledge in the context of inter-firm networks and highlights the essential role of participation in collaborative activities. This perspective suggests that knowledge sharing is not something achieved through the simple transfer of resources, but rather is an ongoing social accomplishment in which network firms constitute and re-constitute knowledge while engaging in collaborative activities. Empirical support for this view is offered by an in-depth and multiyear study of the development of collaborative relationships between a leading racing car manufacturer and its suppliers in the Italian motorsport industry. The study shows that knowledge is generated over time through the instigation of three knowledge sharing processes: the promotion of a culture of working together, co-location and the use of resident engineers, and shared education and training.

Networks of learning : how motorsport companies collaborate and share knowledge:evidence from the UK and Italian motorsport industries

The motorsport industry is a high value-added and highly innovative business sector. The UK’s leading racing car manufacturers are world class centres of research, development and engineering. However, individual firms in the sector do not have the range and depth of capabilities to compete independently in motorsport’s dynamic and competitive environment. Industry attention has therefore progressively focused on how networks of collaborating firms can work together to develop new products, improve business processes and reduce costs. This report presents findings from a three year Cardiff Business School study which examined the ways in which firms collaborate as part of wider networks. The research involved gathering data from over 120 firms in the UK and Italian motorsport sectors.

Reconfiguration of supply chain network:an ISM-based roadmap to performance

Purpose: Short product life cycle and/or mass customization necessitate reconfiguration of operational enablers of supply chain (SC) from time to time in order to harness high levels of performance. The purpose of this paper is to identify the key operational enablers under stochastic environment on which practitioner should focus while reconfiguring a SC network. Design/methodology/approach: The paper used interpretive structural modeling (ISM) approach that presents a hierarchy-based model and the mutual relationships among the enablers. The contextual relationship needed for developing structural self-interaction matrix (SSIM) among various enablers is realized by conducting experiments through simulation of a hypothetical SC network. Findings: The research identifies various operational enablers having a high driving power towards assumed performance measures. In this regard, these enablers require maximum attention and of strategic importance while reconfiguring SC. Practical implications: ISM provides a useful tool to the SC managers to strategically adopt and focus on the key enablers which have comparatively greater potential in enhancing the SC performance under given operational settings. Originality/value: The present research realizes the importance of SC flexibility under the premise of reconfiguration of the operational units in order to harness high value of SC performance. Given the resulting digraph through ISM, the decision maker can focus the key enablers for effective reconfiguration. The study is one of the first efforts that develop contextual relations among operational enablers for SSIM matrix through integration of discrete event simulation to ISM. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Making memories available:a framework for preserving rural heritage through community knowledge management (cKM)

While most of the research in Knowledge Management (KM) has focused on business communities, there is a breadth of potential applications of KM theory and practice to wider society. This paper explores the potential of KM for rural communities, specifically for those that want to preserve their social history and collective memories (what we call heritage) to enrich the lives of others. In KM terms, this is a task of accumulating and recording knowledge (using KM techniques such as story-telling and communities of practice) to enable its retention for future use (by interested people perhaps through KM systems). We report a case study of Cardrona, a valley of approximately 120 people in New Zealand's South Island. Realising that time would erode knowledge of their community a small, motivated group of residents initiated a KM programme to create a legacy for a wider community including younger generations, tourists and scholars. This paper applies KM principles to rural communities that want to harness their collective knowledge for wider societal gain, and develops a community-based framework to inform such initiatives. As a result, we call for a wider conceptualisation of KM to include motives for managing knowledge beyond business performance to accommodate community (cKM). © 2010 Operational Research Society.

What difference doguidelines make? An observational study of online-questionnaire design guidelines put to practical use

As a new medium for questionnaire delivery, the Internet has the potential to revolutionize the survey process. Online-questionnaires can provide many capabilities not found in traditional paper-based questionnaires. Despite this, and the introduction of a plethora of tools to support online-questionnaire creation, current electronic survey design typically replicates the look-and-feel of paper-based questionnaires, thus failing to harness the full power of the electronic delivery medium. A recent environmental scan of online-questionnaire design tools found that little, if any, support is incorporated within these tools to guide questionnaire designers according to best-practice [Lumsden & Morgan 2005]. This paper briefly introduces a comprehensive set of guidelines for the design of online-questionnaires. Drawn from relevant disparate sources, all the guidelines incorporated within the set are proven in their own right; as an initial assessment of the value of the set of guidelines as a practical reference guide, we undertook an informal study to observe the effect of introducing the guidelines into the design process for a complex online-questionnaire. The paper discusses the qualitative findings — which are encouraging for the role of the guidelines in the ‘bigger picture’ of online survey delivery across many domains such as e-government, e-business, and e-health — of this case study.

Guidelines for the design of online-questionnaires

As a new medium for questionnaire delivery, the internet has the potential to revolutionise the survey process. Online (web-based) questionnaires provide several advantages over traditional survey methods in terms of cost, speed, appearance, flexibility, functionality, and usability (Bandilla et al., 2003; Dillman, 2000; Kwak and Radler, 2002). Online-questionnaires can also provide many capabilities not found in traditional paper-based questionnaires: they can include pop-up instructions and error messages; they can incorporate links; and it is possible to encode difficult skip patterns making such patterns virtually invisible to respondents. Despite this, and the introduction of numerous tools to support online-questionnaire creation, current electronic survey design typically replicates that of paper-based questionnaires, failing to harness the full power of the electronic delivery medium. Worse, a recent environmental scan of online-questionnaire design tools found that little, if any, support is incorporated within these tools to guide questionnaire designers according to best-practice (Lumsden and Morgan, 2005). This article introduces a comprehensive set of guidelines - a practical reference guide - for the design of online-questionnaires.

Review of low-temperature vapour power cycle engines with quasi-isothermal expansion

External combustion heat cycle engines convert thermal energy into useful work. Thermal energy resources include solar, geothermal, bioenergy, and waste heat. To harness these and maximize work output, there has been a renaissance of interest in the investigation of vapour power cycles for quasi-isothermal (near constant temperature) instead of adiabatic expansion. Quasi-isothermal expansion has the advantage of bringing the cycle efficiency closer to the ideal Carnot efficiency, but it requires heat to be transferred to the working fluid as it expands. This paper reviews various low-temperature vapour power cycle heat engines with quasi-isothermal expansion, including the methods employed to realize the heat transfer. The heat engines take the form of the Rankine cycle with continuous heat addition during the expansion process, or the Stirling cycle with a condensable vapour as working fluid. Compared to more standard Stirling engines using gas, the specific work output is higher. Cryogenic heat engines based on the Rankine cycle have also been enhanced with quasi-isothermal expansion. Liquid flooded expansion and expander surface heating are the two main heat transfer methods employed. Liquid flooded expansion has been applied mainly in rotary expanders, including scroll turbines; whereas surface heating has been applied mainly in reciprocating expanders. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.

Low-temperature organic Rankine cycle engine with isothermal expansion for use in desalination

Groundwater salinity is a widespread problem that contributes to the freshwater deficit of humanity. Consequently, where conventional energy supply is also lacking, organic Rankine cycle (ORC) engines are being considered as a feasible option to harness readily available low-grade heat (<180°C) to drive the desalination of the saline water via reverse osmosis (RO). However, this application is still not very well developed, and has significantly high specific energy consumption (SEC). Hence, this study explores the isothermal expansion of the ORC working fluid to achieve improved efficiency for driving a batch-RO desalination process, "DesaLink". Here, the working fluid is directly vaporized in the expansion cylinder which is heated externally by heat transfer fluid, thus obviating the need for a separate external boiler and high-pressure piping. Experimental investigations with R245fa have shown cycle efficiency of 8.8%. And it is predicted that the engine could drive DesaLink to produce 256 L of freshwater per 8 h per day, from 4000 ppm saline water, with a thermal and mechanical SEC of 2.5 and 0.36 kWh/m3, respectively, representing a significant improvement on previously reported or predicted SEC values. © 2014 © 2014 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved.