Technical innovation in industrial production

New techniques in manufacturing, popularly referred to as mechanization and automation, have been a preoccupation of social and economic theorists since the industrial revolution. A selection of relevant literature is reviewed, including the neoclassical economic treatment of technical change. This incorporates alterations to the mathematical production function and an associated increase in the efficiency with which the factors of production are converted into output. Other work emphasises the role of research and development and the process of diffusion, whereby new production techniques are propagated throughout industry. Some sociological writings attach importance to the type of production technology and its effect on the organisational structure and social relations within the factory. Nine detailed case studies are undertaken of examples of industrial innovation in the rubber, automobile, vehicle components, confectionery and clothing industries. The old and new techniques are compared for a range of variables, including capital equipment, labour employed, raw materials used, space requirements and energy consumption, which in most cases exhibit significant change with the innovation. The rate of output, labour productivity, product quality, maintenance requirements and other aspects are also examined. The process by which the change in production method was achieved is documented, including the development of new equipment and the strategy of its introduction into the factory, where appropriate. The firm, its environment, and the attitude of different sectors of the workforce are all seen to play a part in determining the motives for and consequences which flow from the innovations. The traditional association of technical progress with its labour-saving aspect, though an accurate enough description of the cases investigated, is clearly seen to afford an inadequate perspective for the proper understanding of this complex phenomenon, which also induces change in a wide range of other social, economic and technical variables.

The role of industrial design in technological innovation

This is an exploratory study in a field which previously was virtually unexplored. The aim is to identify, for the benefit of innovators, the influence of industrial design on the commercial success of new science-based products used for professional and industrial purposes. The study is a contribution to the theory of success and failure in industrial innovation. The study begins by defining the terminology. To place the investigation in context, there is then a review of past attempts by official policy-making bodies to improve the competitiveness of British products of manufacture through good design. To elucidate the meaning of good design, attempts to establish a coherent philosophy of style in British products of manufacture during the same period are also reviewed. Following these reviews, empirical evidence is presented to identify what actually takes place in successful firms when industrial design is allocated a role in the process of technological innovation. The evidence comprises seven case studies of new science-based products used for professional or industrial purposes which have received Design Council Awards. To facilitate an objective appraisal, evidence was obtained by conducting separate semi-structured interviews, the detail of which is described, with senior personnel in innovating firms, with industrial design consultants, and with professional users. The study suggests that the likelihood of commercial success in technological innovation is greater when the form, configuration, and the overall appearance of a new product, together with the detail which delineates them, are consciously and expertly controlled. Moreover, uncertainty in innovation is likely to be reduced if the appearance of a new product is consciously designed to facilitate recognition and comprehension. Industrial design is an especially significant factor when a firm innovates against a background of international competition and comparable levels of technological competence in rival firms. The likelihood of success in innovation is enhanced if design is allocated a role closely identified with the total needs of the user and discrete from the engineering function in company organisation. Recent government measures, initiated since this study began, are corroborative of the findings.

Human-computer interaction and innovation in handheld, mobile and wearable technologies

Handheld and mobile technologies have witnessed significant advances in functionality, leading to their widespread use as both business and social networking tools. Human-Computer Interaction and Innovation in Handheld, Mobile and Wearable Technologies reviews concepts relating to the design, development, evaluation, and application of mobile technologies. Studies on mobile user interfaces, mobile learning, and mobile commerce contribute to the growing body of knowledge on this expanding discipline.

Intercultural transfer and artistic innovation:German musicians in Victorian Britain

Throughout the nineteenth century, German classical music production was an aesthetic point of reference for British concert audiences. As a consequence, a sizeable number of German musicians were to be found in Britain as performers, conductors, teachers, musicologists and managers. They acted as agents of intercultural transfer, disseminating performance and organisational practices which had a transformative effect on British musical life. This article moves away from a focus on high-profile visiting artists such as Mendelssohn Bartholdy or Wagner and argues that the extent to which transfer took place can be better assessed by concentrating on the cohort of those artists who remained permanently. Some of these are all but forgotten today, but were household names in Victorian Britain. The case studies have been selected for the range of genres they represent and include Joseph Mainzer (choral singing), Carl Rosa (opera), August Manns, Carl Hallé and Julius Seligmann (orchestral music), and Friedrich Niecks (musicology). On a theoretical level, the concept of ‘intercultural transfer’ is applied in order to determine aspects such as diffusion, adaptation or sustainability of artistic elements within the new cultural context. The approach confirms that ‘national’ cultures do not develop indigenously but always through cross-national interaction. Während des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts war die klassische Musikszene Deutschlands ästhetischer Bezugpunkt für das britische Konzertpublikum. Dies hatte zur Folge, dass vermehrt Deutsche als Musiker, Dirigenten, Lehrer, Musikwissenschaftler und Manager in Großbritannien tätig wurden. Sie fungierten als Vermittler interkulturellen Transfers, indem sie aufführungs- und organisationstechnische Praktiken verbreiteten und damit zu einer Transformation des britischen Musiklebens beitrugen. Vorliegender Artikel konzentriert sich weniger auf bekannte Künstler mit kurzfristigen Engagements (z. B. Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Wagner), und argumentiert vielmehr, dass sich das Ausmaß des Transfers besser über solche Musiker feststellen lässt, die sich längerfristig ansiedelten. Einige davon waren allgemein bekannte Persönlichkeiten im Königreich, sind heute aber vergessen. Die Auswahl der Fallstudien gibt einen Überblick über verschiedene Gattungen und beinhaltet Joseph Mainzer (Chorgesang), Carl Rosa (Oper), August Manns, Carl Hallé und Julius Seligmann (Orchestermusik), sowie Friedrich Niecks (Musikwissenschaft). Auf der Theorieebene wird das Konzept des ‘interkulturellen Transfers’ herangezogen, um Aspekte wie Diffusion, Anpassung oder Nachhaltigkeit künstlerischer Elemente im neuen kulturellen Kontext zu beleuchten. Der Ansatz bestätigt, dass sich ‘nationale’ Kulturen nicht indigen entwickeln sondern immer im Austausch mit anderen Kulturen

Sourcing knowledge for innovation:the international dimension

Drawing knowledge from external sources in the UK, or internationally, has become increasingly important to small and medium-sized firms (SMEs). SMEs cannot generate all they need to know to develop new products and processes within their own companies, they need to look elsewhere for new ideas and expertise. This practice is known as knowledge sourcing. This report provides a detailed review of patterns of knowledge sourcing, and the key factors influencing these patterns, particularly from a small business perspective. We present key findings from a survey of 393 UK companies and analyse the results. We also highlight case studies of UK SMEs that work closely with overseas partners and agents to widen their own knowledge.

Collaborative entrepreneurship:how communities of networked firms use continuous innovation to create economic wealth

Book Review: Raymond E. Miles, Grant Miles and Charles C. Snow Collaborative Entrepreneurship: How Communities of Networked Firms Use Continuous Innovation to Create Economic Wealth, 2005, Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press 144 pages

Teamwork for product innovation in Taiwanese family firms:an indigenous psychology perspective: An indigenous psychology

As the existing team literature mostly excludes context and culture, little is known about how these elements affect real-life team working (Engestrom, 2008; Salas & Wildman, 2009), and how teams work in non-Western settings, such as in Chinese firms (Phan, Zhou, & Abrahamson, 2010).This research addresses this issue by investigating how new product design (NPD) teams use team working to carry out product innovation in the context of Chinese family businesses (CFBs) via an indigenous psychology perspective. Unlike mainstream teamwork literature which mostly employs an etic design, an indigenous psychology perspective adopts an emic approach which places emphasis on understanding real-life phenomena in context through a cultural-insider perspective (Kim, 2000). Compatible with this theoretical position, a multiple qualitative case study approach was used as the research methodology. Three qualitative case studies were carried out in three longstanding family-run manufacturing firms in Taiwan, where family firms have been the pillars of high economic growth in the past five decades (W.-w. Chu, 2009). Two salient findings were established across the three case studies. First, the team processes identified across the three family firms are very similar with the exception of owners’ involvement and on-the-job training. All three family firms’ NPD teams are managed in a highly hierarchical manner, with considerable emphasis placed on hierarchical ranking, cost-effectiveness, efficiency, practicability, and interpersonal harmony. Second, new products developed by CFBNPD teams are mostly incremental innovation or copycat innovation, while radical or original products are rare. In many ways, CFBNPD teams may not be the ideal incubators for innovation. This is because several aspects of their unique context can cast constraints on how they work and innovate, and thus limit the ratio of radical innovation. A multi-level review into the facilitators and inhibitors of creativity or innovation in CFBNPD teams is provided. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings and the limitations of the study are also addressed.

Opinion leaders' role in innovation diffusion:a simulation study

This study investigates the critical role that opinion leaders (or influentials) play in the adoption process of new products. Recent existing reseach evidence indicates a limited effect of opinion leaders on diffusion processes, yet these studies take into account merely the network position of opinion leaders without addressing their influential power. Empirical findings of our study show that opinion leaders, in addition to having a more central network position, possess more accurate knowledge about a product and tend to be less susceptible to norms and more innovative. Experiments that address these attributes, using an agent-based model, demonstrate that opinion leaders increase the speed of the information stream and the adoption process itself. Furthermore, they increase the maximum adoption percentage. These results indicate that targeting opinion leaders remains a valuable marketing strategy.

The innovation value chain and export performance:a study of Taiwanese manufacturing industries

This thesis involves the secondary data of 1806 innovative manufacturing firms derived from the database of 2nd Taiwanese Innovation Survey. Three topics are researched. The first topic investigates the innovation value chain (IVC) in Taiwanese manufacturing firms. Previous IVC studies are all done in developed countries such as UK, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Switzerland, and it leaves the gap of those non-developed countries. The result shows the overall knowledge sourcing pattern of Taiwanese manufacturing firms presenting a complementary relationship which is consistent to the previous IVC studies. The main innovation input is still derived from internal R&D which suggests more utilisation of external knowledge may boost innovation outcome. Product innovation does enhance firm growth while process innovation reduces a firm’s productivity. The second topic uses the lens of IVC to investigate the difference of the innovation process from knowledge linkages to value added between high-tech and low- tech sectors. The findings indicate (1) there are significant differences in the IVC between high- and low-tech sectors, however these are defined; (2) how you define ‘sector’ matters i.e. the nature of the high-tech and low-tech differences varies depending on whether the technology definition is carried out at the industry or firm level; and (3) the high uncertainty of innovation cause the difficulty to predict firm performance especially for those firms with high intensity of innovation. The third topic investigates the innovation-exporting relationship and explores the determinants of export performance. Product innovation enhances export performance once a firm enters international markets while process innovation affects negatively on a firm’s likelihood of being an exporter. Furthermore, IP protection is found to affect directly export performance positively.

How HR can inspire the teamwork that allows innovation to flourish

Innovation is vital if organisations are to deal effectively with social and economic change. Yet few studies have looked at the relationship between teamworking and innovation – or, indeed, other organisational outcomes. Our research aimed to fill this gap by exploring the extent to which team-based working in small- and medium- sized manufacturing organisations predicted product innovation. The results show that levels of innovation are higher in organisations using work-based teams than in those with alternative structural arrangements. We also found that effective HRM practices, such as sophisticated selection, induction, appraisal, training and remuneration management, created an environment that allowed teams to excel. The study drew on a variety of sources, including data on organisational-level innovation gathered through a postal survey. Respondents gave estimates of the number of new or adapted products developed in the past two years. They also detailed the percentage of production workers involved in making the new products; sales turnover accounted for by these products; and how far production processes had been changed to accommodate the innovations. We measured HRM effectiveness and the extent of teamworking via interviews with the relevant HR or production manager. We then rated each organisation on a scale of one to five, according to how effective its HRM practices were. We also examined the percentage of staff at management and shopfloor levels engaged in teamworking. The research design was longitudinal, in that the data on product innovation was collected six months to a year after the main questionnaire on teamworking was conducted. Other studies addressing these questions have tended to be cross-sectional, measuring both variables at the same time. Longitudinal studies generally make a stronger case for causality. Perhaps of most theoretical significance is the finding that teamworking combined with effective HR systems explains more of the variance for product innovation than teamworking alone. This is in line with J Richard Hackman (1990), who argued that organisational context affected team performance in various ways – for example, through offering a framework for the administration of reward and the exchange of knowledge and through promoting learning-oriented beliefs. Our work supports these ideas. This study also has practical implications. Increasing the number of teams may be an important step in determining the extent to which they can innovate on a sustained basis. Organisations should therefore consider what HRM practices are most likely to foster team innovation. They might, for example, explore how helpful it would be to develop team-based appraisal and better designed teamworking training. Developing support structures that enable teams to achieve outstanding performance may present a challenge, but our results suggest that such an approach will be worth the effort. Key points: • The greater the percentage of staff working in teams, the higher the level of innovation. • This applies to both management and production teams. • Where sophisticated and effective HRM practices are in place, the relationship between team-based working and product innovation becomes more pronounced. • Both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses show strong relationships between team-based working and product innovation.

Green innovation management in the automotive industry

Online case studies. Managing Innovation is an established, bestselling text for MBA, MSc and advanced undergraduate courses on management of technology, innovation management and entrepreneurship. It is also used widely by managers in both the service and manufacturing sectors. Now in its fourth edition, Managing Innovation has been fully revised and updated based on extensive user feedback to incorporate the latest findings and techniques in innovation management. The authors have included a new and more explicit innovation model, which is used throughout the book and have introduced two new features – Research Notes and Views from the Front Line – to incorporate more real life case material into the book. The strong evidence–based and practical approach makes this a must–read for anyone studying or working within innovation. An extensive website accompanies this text at www.managing–innovation.com. Readers can browse an online database of audio and video clips, as well as case study material, interactive exercises and tools for innovation, whilst lecturers can find additional support material including instructor slides and teaching guides and tips. "Tidd and Bessant's text has become a standard for students and practitioners of innovation. They offer a lively account on innovation management full of interesting and new examples, but one that at the same is rigorously anchored in what we have learned over the last thirty years on how to manage that ultimate business challenge of renewing products, processes, and business models. Those who want to innovate must read this book." — Professor Arnoud De Meyer, Director, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, UK "Innovation matters and this book by two leaders in the field which is clear and practical as well as rigorous should be essential reading for all seeking to study or to become involved in innovation." — Chris Voss, Professor of Operations and Technology Management, London Business School "...comprehensive and comprehensible compendium on the management of innovation. It is very well organized and very well presented. A pedagogic tool that will work at multiple levels for those wishing to gain deeper insights into some of the most challenging and important management issues of the day." — David J. Teece, Thomas W. Tusher Professor in Global Business, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, USA "Those of us who teach in the field of Innovation Management were delighted when the first edition of this book appeared 11 years ago. The field had long been in need of such a comprehensive and integrated empirically–based work. The fact that this is now the 4th edition is clear testimony to the value of its contribution. We are deeply indebted to the authors for their dedication and diligence in providing us with this updated and expanded volume." — Thomas J. Allen,Howard W. Johnson Professor of Management, MIT Sloan School of Management, USA.

Innovation in outsourcing:towards a practical framework

The outsourcing industry is now up for a new challenge: to understand how innovation can be realized from outsourcing engagements. While innovation has been explored and prized within businesses for decades, it is a relatively new topic in the context of outsourcing. And, as such, the perceptions regarding what innovation in outsourcing is, what inhibits or enables innovation in outsourcing, and what client firms are willing to do to ensure they benefit from innovation in outsourcing are still being defined. This paper provides insight into some of the critical aspects in innovation in which both client firms and vendors have taken interest in recent years. We go beyond the simplistic approach we have seen in some recent reports that advocates for the development of trust and close relationships between client firms and vendors as the main enablers of innovation in outsourcing. In our view, innovation in outsourcing can be properly understood only when both contractual and relational aspects are examined as well as the nature of the innovation, i.e. incremental or radical, is explored. Further, we posit that the sourcing model applied has also an impact on the ability to innovate. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.

New studies in global IT and business service outsourcing:5th global scourcing workshop 2011, Courchevel, France, March 14-17, 2011, revised selected papers

This book contains 11 carefully revised and selected papers from the 5th Workshop on Global Sourcing, held in Courchevel, France, March 14-17, 2011. They have been gleaned from a vast empirical base brought together by leading researchers in information systems, strategic management, and operations. This volume is intended for use by students, academics, and practitioners interested in the outsourcing and offshoring of information technology and business processes. It offers a review of the key topics in outsourcing and offshoring, populated with practical frameworks that serve as a tool kit for students and managers. The topics discussed combine theoretical and practical insights, and they are extensively illustrated by case studies from client and vendor organizations. Last but not least, the book examines current and future trends in outsourcing and offshoring, paying particular attention to how innovation can be realized in global or outsourced software development environments.