Curriculum innovation in teacher education : exploring conceptions among Tanzanian teacher educators

The focus of the study is to understand curriculum innovation from the perspective of Tanzanian teacher educators. It is argued that the deterioration of quality of education in schools is partly to be attributed to the way in which teachers are educated. Curriculum innovation is considered as an essential strategy for bringing about improvement in teacher education. Therefore, in 2000 a new curriculum was introduced; however, right from the inception the curriculum was criticised by teacher educators. The overall aim of the study is to investigate teacher educators’ conceptions of curriculum innovation. In the theoretical framework the main focus is on discussion about different curriculum approaches for teacher education and innovation. In order to achieve the aim of the study, a phenomenographic approach is employed. This approach is used in order to identify similarities and variation in educators’ conceptions of curriculum innovation. The empirical basis of the study consists of interviews with thirty teacher educators working in eight teachers’ colleges situated in various parts of Tanzania. The findings, in brief, reveal variation in teacher educators’ conceptions of the dominant domains of innovation. Two broad conceptions of teaching with six aspects are identified. Conceptions of educational studies are presented in four broad categories of description with four aspects. Similarly, in methodology subjects two conceptions are described with four aspects. On the integration of subject matter studies and subject methods, two broad conceptions are presented with six aspects. Conceptions of textbook prescription policy are characterised in two broad categories of description with four aspects. With the use of modules two broad conceptions are identified with six aspects. In addition, the study identifies four broad conceptions of future curriculum approaches with eight aspects. Looking across the categories of description, the results indicate that educators cope with innovation individually. Three character types of teacher educators are presented: loyal, creative and critical. Furthermore, four types of phenomena suggesting critical areas about teacher educators’ conceptions of innovation are described: educators’ prior educational background, technical factors, student teachers’ factors and shifting from teaching to learning. On the whole, educators express a number of frame factors in the process of change towards the aim of curriculum innovation. This indicates that the new curriculum (2000) is not implemented as intended by curriculum developers. Constraints to the implementation are presented and discussed in detail. From these findings, two models of educators’ stance towards curriculum innovation are presented and can be used as a framework for planning successful curriculum innovations and analysing practice in teachers’ colleges.

Finnish Institutional Innovation Support Policies from Russian Entrepreneurs' Perspective: Establishing Cross-Border Technology Oriented Start-Up Firm

The purpose of this thesis is to study how Russian entrepreneurs perceive Finnish institutional environment and innovation support policies provided in the country, as well as to present a practical example in form of a case study of one technology oriented start-up firm which was established in Finland by Russian entrepreneurs. The empirical research of the thesis is conducted qualitatively in two parts. First part is conducted through online questionnaire with open questions in order to review the perceptions of Russian entrepreneurs in general. Second part is based on personal interviews with case company’s founders with the focus on the process of establishing the company in Finland. In the first part of the empirical research, five Russian start-up firms were contacted, and four responses were received. All of these responses were qualified for further analysis. The findings of the first part of the research reveal that Russian entrepreneurs have rather positive attitudes towards Finnish institutional innovation support policies. However, most of the entrepreneurs stated that they are unlikely to create their presence in Finland. As an outcome of the second part of the research, the process of establishing a case company in Finland is illustrated. In order to be able to establish companies in Finland, Russian entrepreneurs who have a permanent residence outside European Economic Area (EEA) are required to apply for a permission to perform business operations in the country. In addition, the established company must engage in improving the economical stand of the country by creating new work places, raising tax revenues, develop technologies and generate innovations in the country.

Improvement of open innovation processes: case Nokia

Open innovation is becoming increasingly popular in academic literature and in business life, but even if people heard about it, they might not understand what it really is, they may over-estimate it thinking that it is savior or underestimate it, concentrating on limitations and risks. Current work sheds light on most important concepts of open innovation theory. Goal of current research is to offer business processes improvement for both inbound and outbound modes in case company. It is relevant as open innovation proved to affect firms‘ performance in general case and in case company, and Nokia planned to develop open innovation implementation since 2008 but still competitors succeed in it more, therefore analysis of current situation with open innovation in Nokia and recommendations how to improve it are topical. Case study method was used to answer the question ―How open innovation processes can be improved?‖. 11 in-depth interviews with Nokia senior managers and independent consultants were used to reach the goal of the thesis, as well as secondary sources. Results of current work are as-is and to-be models (process models of today and best practices models) of several open innovation modes, and recommendation for case company, which will be presented to company representatives and checked for practical applicability.

Reflexive model of research-based theatre – processing innovation at the crossroads of theatre, reflection and practice-based innovation activities

Contemporary organisations have to embrace the notion of doing ‘more with less’. This challenges knowledge production within companies and public organisations, forcing them to reorganise their structures and rethink what knowledge production actually means in the context of innovation and how knowledge is actually produced among various professional groups within the organisation in their everyday actions. Innovations are vital for organisational survival, and ‘ordinary’ employees and customers are central but too-often ignored producers of knowledge for contemporary organisations. Broader levels of participation and reflexive practices are needed. This dissertation discusses the missing links between innovation research conducted in the context of industrial management, arts, and culture; applied drama and theatre practices (specifically post-Boalian approaches); and learning – especially organising reflection – in organisational settings. This dissertation (1) explores and extends the role of research-based theatre to organising reflection and reflexive practices in the context of practice-based innovation, (2) develops a reflexive model of RBT for investigating and developing practice-based organisational process innovations in order to contribute to the development of a tool for innovation management and analysis, and (3) operationalises this model within private- and publicsector organisations. The proposed novel reflexive model of research-based theatre for investigating and developing practice-based organisational process innovations extends existing methods and offers a different way of organising reflection and reflexive practices in the context of general innovation management. The model was developed through five participatory action research processes conducted in four different organisations. The results provide learning steps – a reflection path – for understanding complex organisational life, people, and relations amid renewal and change actions. The proposed model provides a new approach to organising and cultivating reflexivity in practice-based innovation activities via research-based theatre. The results can be utilised as a guideline when processing practice-based innovation within private or public organisations. The model helps innovation managers to construct, together with their employees, temporary communities where they can learn together through reflecting on their own and each others’ experiences and to break down assumptions related to their own perspectives. The results include recommendations for practical development steps applicable in various organisations with regard to (i) application of research-based theatre and (ii) related general innovation management. The dissertation thus contributes to the development of novel learning approaches in knowledge production. Keywords: practice-based innovation, research-based theatre, learning, reflection, mode 2b knowledge production

The Role of Universities in the Triple Helix model of innovation management within the biotechnology industry, Case example: Turku Science Park Network

Biotechnology has been recognized as the key strategic technology for industrial growth. The industry is heavily dependent on basic research. Finland continues to rank in the top 10 of Europe's most innovative countries in terms of tax-policy, education system, infrastructure and the number of patents issued. Regardless of the excellent statistical results, the output of this innovativeness is below acceptable. Research on the issues hindering the output creation has already been done and the identifiable weaknesses in the Finland's National Innovation system are the non-existent growth of entrepreneurship and the missing internationalization. Finland is proven to have all the enablers of the innovation policy tools, but is lacking the incentives and rewards to push the enablers, such as knowledge and human capital, forward. Science Parks are the biggest operator in research institutes in the Finnish Science and Technology system. They exist with the purpose of speeding up the commercialization process of biotechnology innovations which usually include technological uncertainty, technical inexperience, business inexperience and high technology cost. Innovation management only internally is a rather historic approach, current trend drives towards open innovation model with strong triple helix linkages. The evident problems in the innovation management within the biotechnology industry are examined through a case study approach including analysis of the semi-structured interviews which included biotechnology and business expertise from Turku School of Economics. The results from the interviews supported the theoretical implications as well as conclusions derived from the pilot survey, which focused on the companies inside Turku Science Park network. One major issue that the Finland's National innovation system is struggling with is the fact that it is technology driven, not business pulled. Another problem is the university evaluation scale which focuses more on number of graduates and short-term factors, when it should put more emphasis on the cooperation success in the long-term, such as the triple helix connections with interaction and knowledge distribution. The results of this thesis indicated that there is indeed requirement for some structural changes in the Finland's National innovation system and innovation policy in order to generate successful biotechnology companies and innovation output. There is lack of joint output and scales of success, lack of people with experience, lack of language skills, lack of business knowledge and lack of growth companies.

Roles of leadership in complex environments : Enhancing Knowledge Flows in Organisational Constellations through Practice-Based Innovation Processes

Global challenges, complexity and continuous uncertainty demand development of leadership approaches, employees and multi-organisation constellations. Current leadership theories do not sufficiently address the needs of complex business environments. First of all, before successful leadership models can be applied in practice, leadership needs to shift from the industrial age to the knowledge era. Many leadership models still view leadership solely through the perspective of linear process thinking. In addition, there is not enough knowledge or experience in applying these newer models in practice. Leadership theories continue to be based on the assumption that leaders possess or have access to all the relevant knowledge and capabilities to decide future directions without external advice. In many companies, however, the workforce consists of skilled professionals whose work and related interfaces are so challenging that the leaders cannot grasp all the linked viewpoints and cross-impacts alone. One of the main objectives of this study is to understand how to support participants in organisations and their stakeholders to, through practice-based innovation processes, confront various environments. Another aim is to find effective ways of recognising and reacting to diverse contexts, so companies and other stakeholders are better able to link to knowledge flows and shared value creation processes in advancing joint value to their customers. The main research question of this dissertation is, then, to seek understanding of how to enhance leadership in complex environments. The dissertation can, on the whole, be characterised as a qualitative multiple-case study. The research questions and objectives were investigated through six studies published in international scientific journals. The main methods applied were interviews, action research and a survey. The empirical focus was on Finnish companies, and the research questions were examined in various organisations at the top levels (leaders and managers) and bottom levels (employees) in the context of collaboration between organisations and cooperation between case companies and their client organisations. However, the emphasis of the analysis is the internal and external aspects of organisations, which are conducted in practice-based innovation processes. The results of this study suggest that the Cynefin framework, complexity leadership theory and transformational leadership represent theoretical models applicable to developing leadership through practice-based innovation. In and of themselves, they all support confronting contemporary challenges, but an implementable method for organisations may be constructed by assimilating them into practice-based innovation processes. Recognition of diverse environments, their various contexts and roles in the activities and collaboration of organisations and their interest groups is ever-more important to achieving better interaction in which a strategic or formal status may be bypassed. In innovation processes, it is not necessarily the leader who is in possession of the essential knowledge; thus, it is the role of leadership to offer methods and arenas where different actors may generate advances. Enabling and supporting continuous interaction and integrated knowledge flows is of crucial importance, to achieve emergence of innovations in the activities of organisations and various forms of collaboration. The main contribution of this dissertation relates to applying these new conceptual models in practice. Empirical evidence on the relevance of different leadership roles in practice-based innovation processes in Finnish companies is another valuable contribution. Finally, the dissertation sheds light on the significance of combining complexity science with leadership and innovation theories in research.

Open innovation model for a large company in the ICT industry: Case Ericsson LMF

Open innovation paradigm states that the boundaries of the firm have become permeable, allowing knowledge to flow inwards and outwards to accelerate internal innovations and take unused knowledge to the external environment; respectively. The successful implementation of open innovation practices in firms like Procter & Gamble, IBM, and Xerox, among others; suggest that it is a sustainable trend which could provide basis for achieving competitive advantage. However, implementing open innovation could be a complex process which involves several domains of management; and whose term, classification, and practices have not totally been agreed upon. Thus, with many possible ways to address open innovation, the following research question was formulated: How could Ericsson LMF assess which open innovation mode to select depending on the attributes of the project at hand? The research followed the constructive research approach which has the following steps: find a practical relevant problem, obtain general understanding of the topic, innovate the solution, demonstrate the solution works, show theoretical contributions, and examine the scope of applicability of the solution. The research involved three phases of data collection and analysis: Extensive literature review of open innovation, strategy, business model, innovation, and knowledge management; direct observation of the environment of the case company through participative observation; and semi-structured interviews based of six cases involving multiple and heterogeneous open innovation initiatives. Results from the cases suggest that the selection of modes depend on multiple reasons, with a stronger influence of factors related to strategy, business models, and resources gaps. Based on these and others factors found in the literature review and observations; it was possible to construct a model that supports approaching open innovation. The model integrates perspectives from multiple domains of the literature review, observations inside the case company, and factors from the six open innovation cases. It provides steps, guidelines, and tools to approach open innovation and assess the selection of modes. Measuring the impact of open innovation could take years; thus, implementing and testing entirely the model was not possible due time limitation. Nevertheless, it was possible to validate the core elements of the model with empirical data gathered from the cases. In addition to constructing the model, this research contributed to the literature by increasing the understanding of open innovation, providing suggestions to the case company, and proposing future steps.

The early activities of front end of innovation in oem companies using a new fei platform as a framework for renewal

The main goal of this study is to create a seamless chain of actions and more detailed structure to the front end of innovation to be able to increase the front end performance and finally to influence the renewal of companies. The main goal is achieved through by the new concept of an integrated model of early activities of FEI leading to a discovery of new elements of opportunities and the identification of new business and growth areas. The procedure offers one possible solution to a dynamic strategy formation process in innovation development cycle. In this study the front end of innovation is positioned between a strategy reviews and a concept creation with needed procedures, tools, and frameworks. The starting point of the study is that the origins of innovation are not well enough understood. The study focuses attention on the early activities of FEI. These first activities are conceptualized in order to find out successful innovation initiatives and strategic renewal agendas. A seamless chain of activities resulting in faster and more precise identification of opportunities and growth areas available on markets and inside companies is needed. Three case studies were conducted in order to study company views on available theory doctrine and to identify the first practical experiences and procedures in the beginning of the front end of innovation. Successful innovation requires focus on renewal in both internal and external directions and they should be carefully balanced for best results. Instead of inside-out mode of actions the studied companies have a strong outside-in thinking mode and they mainly co-develop their innovation initiatives in close proximity with customers i.e. successful companies are an integral part of customers business and success. Companies have tailor-made innovation processes combined their way of working linked to their business goals, and priorities of actual needs of transformation. The result of this study is a new modular FEI platform which can be configured by companies against their actual business needs and drivers. This platform includes new elements of FEI documenting an architecture presenting how the system components work together. The system is a conceptual approach from theories of emergent strategy formation, opportunity identification and creation, interpretation-analysis-experimentation triad and the present FEI theories. The platform includes new features compared to actual models of FEI. It allows managers to better understand the importance of FEI in the whole innovation development stage and FEI as a phase and procedure to discover and implement emergent strategy. An adaptable company rethinks and redirects strategy proactively from time to time. Different parts of the business model are changed to remove identified obstacles for growth and renewal which gives them avenues to find right reforms for renewal.

Lean Innovation in Large Companies: a Case of Implementation in R&D

The main objective of the study is to evaluate the impact of Lean Innovation management philosophy on the creativity potential of the large multinational enterprise. A theory of Lean Innovation indicates that the modern company in any industry can successfully combine both waste-decreasing approach and innovative potential promotion through creativity cultivation or, at least, preservation. The theoretical part of the work covers the main factors, pros and cons of Lean thinking and Innovation management separately, along with generalized new product development overview. While the modern international market becomes more accessible for entrepreneural initiatives, small enterprises and start-ups, large international corporations are more subject to adopt the Lean Innovation approach in both operational and product development sectors due to extended resources and capabilities. Moreover, a multinational enterprise is a highly probable pioneer in Lean innovation implementation. The empirical part of the thesis refers to a case of large European enterprise, operating in many markets around the globe, that currently undergoes innovation management adjustments and implementations in product development while already have related themselves with operational process optimization process through Lean thinking. A goal of the work is to understand what kind of difficulties and consequences a large international firm faces when dealing with Lean Innovation to improve own performance, if they can be sealed for generalized approach.

The underestimated role of universities for the Brazilian system of innovation

Conventional wisdom usually underestimates the important role of public research institutes and universities in successful cases of Brazilian economy. History of science and technology institutions shows a long-term process of formation of these institutions and their interactions with industrial firms, agricultural producers or society. This paper investigates historical roots of successful cases of Brazil. First, we present the late onset of National Innovation System (NSI) institutions and waves of institutional formation in Brazil. Second, we describe the history of three selected successful cases, which spans from a low-tech sector (agriculture), a medium-tech sector (steel and special metal alloys), to a high-tech sector (aircraft). These findings present new challenges for present-day developmental policies.

Design thinking framework of experience innovation

Innovation remains one of the key drivers of sustainable and successful business. The variety of innovation approaches such as open models, intersectional thinking and co-creation tackles the challenge of viable novel offerings across the world. These approaches have certain similarities and their elements constitute design thinking. Recent market and society trends such as technological advances and globalization have intensify companies’ interaction with customers. Emotional engagement, pleasing communication and delight have gained equal to functionality importance. The complex of these components constitutes consumer experience. Academic research conceptualizes these changes by introducing customer-centered innovation, which replaces product-oriented approaches. However, both methods omit experience concept and provide fragmented explanation of experience innovation. Experience is an essential process of offering perception, which drives customer decisions. Therefore, an agenda of experience innovation development can systemize and explain the mechanisms of experience innovation. The purpose of this study is to create and explain the stage process framework of experience innovation by the means of design thinking approach. The research proceeds in accordance with the following sub-objectives: 1. Conceptualization of consumer experience through customer value. 2. Creation of experience innovation framework by the means of design thinking. This study is conducted by the means of conceptual research methods. The main theoretical contribution of the study is creation of the integrated framework of consumer experience innovation. The elaboration of design thinking agenda and methods applied to experience design builds the guidelines of experience innovation development. This research synthesizes the conceptual elements of the framework that resolves inconsistencies and duplications of theories. This essential clarification simplifies application of the experience innovation agenda, which can be useful for the wide range of specialists, from marketing to strategists, and from managers to entrepreneurs, willing to offer compelling experience to customers. The study highlights the crucial role of consumer experience in maintaining customer loyalty and designs the roadmap of innovating experience through the communication with customers.

Factors of innovation creation within functional heterogeneous project teams Case study: ABB Group

The research topic of the work is: “Factors of innovation creation within functionally heterogeneous project teams”. The research question is “What are the factors of innovation creation within functionally heterogeneous project teams?” The subject of this research is to explore the teams of projects, aimed at creating innovations, and understand how innovation is generated through project team work within them in term of factors. In line with the purposes of this study, firstly, it was analyzed what factors of such teams’ work are affecting creating innovation positively and negatively on the base of chosen literature and a preliminary conceptional framework was formulated, and secondly, the research of the work of project teams in one of the divisions of ABB company has been done and other factors and interdependencies between them have been added to the conceptional framework. This final conceptional framework constitutes the essense of the work findings and can be used as a tool to analyze the innovation creation process in functionally heterogeneous project teams

Fostering product innovation by learning through exporting in Eastern Europe

This study discusses the importance of learning through the process of exporting, and more specifically how such a process can enhance the product innovativeness of a company. The purpose of this study is to investigate the appropriate sources of learning and to suggest an interactive framework for how new knowledge from exporting markets can materialize itself into product innovation. The theoretical background of the study was constructed from academic literature, which is related to concepts of learning by exporting, along with sources for learning in the market and new product development. The empirical research in the form of a qualitative case study was based on four semi-structured interviews and secondary data from the case company official site. The interview data was collected between March and April 2015 from case company employees who directly work in the department of exporting and product development. The method of thematic analysis was used to categorize and interpret the collected data. What was conclusively discovered, was that the knowledge from an exporting market can be an incentive for product innovation, especially an incremental one. Foreign customers and competitors as important sources for new knowledge contribute to the innovative process. Foreign market competitors’ influence on product improvements was high only when the competitor was a market leader or held a colossal market share, while the customers’ influence is always high. Therefore, involving a foreign customer in the development of a new product is vital to a company that is interested in benefiting from what is learned through exporting. The interactive framework, which is based on the theoretical background and findings of the study, suggests that exporting companies can raise their product innovativeness by utilizing newly gained knowledge from exporting markets. Except for input, in the form of sources of learning, and product innovation as an output, the framework contains a process of knowledge transfer, the absorptive capacity of a firm and a new product development process. In addition, the framework and the findings enhance the understanding of the disputed relationship between an exporting experience and product innovation. However, future research is needed in order to fully understand all the elements of the framework, such as the absorptive capacity of a firm as well as more case companies to be processed in order to increase the generalization of the framework

User Experience Patterns for/of Innovation by Design: A Survey on Design Practices in the Software Development and Innovation Lifecycle

The User Experience (UX) designers are undoubtedly aware of how many UX design methods currently exist and that sometimes it becomes a problem to choose an appropriate one. What are all of methods that designers have in their “arsenal”? When can they use them? This thesis presents the research on the design methods in the contemporary context of User Experience (UX) and Innovations by using a survey approach. The study is limited to cover the domain of consumer mobile services development and provider companies around the world. The study follows 2 clear objectives: (1) to understand what design methods are currently used in that context and to what extent they are used (2) to identify at what stage according to the UX design thinking process for creating innovations they are placed. The study contributes to the research in the field of UX design and Innovations and extends the knowledge in that field together with communities’ (UXPA, SIGCHI, SIGSOFT) members’ cooperation. The research is vital due to lack of information on design practices and their application in the chosen context.

Impact des TIC sur le sentiment d’auto-efficacité des enseignants du secondaire au Niger et leur processus d’adoption d’une innovation

Cette recherche porte sur le renforcement des sentiments de compétence professionnelle et d’auto-efficacité des enseignants du secondaire envers les habiletés techniques dans la formation aux TIC. Elle fait suite à un projet d’intégration pédagogique des TIC au lycée initié par le Campus numérique de Niamey. Après une formation des enseignants de lycée participant au projet d’alphabétisation informatique, notre étude est venue par la suite pour apprécier l’impact de cette formation aux TIC, via le CNF, sur le processus d’adoption de ces technologies par les enseignants. Les objectifs de la recherche sont les suivants : 1) évaluer l’impact de la formation aux TIC des enseignants du secondaire sur le processus d’adoption de ces technologies ; 2) décrire et analyser le cheminement parcouru par les enseignants ayant atteint un niveau élevé d’adoption des TIC ; 3) mieux comprendre l’impact de la formation aux TIC sur le sentiment de compétence professionnelle des enseignants (sentiments de compétence personnelle et générale) ; 4) Valider le Computer Self-Efficacy Scale (CSE) en français ; 5) Comprendre l’impact de la formation aux TIC sur le sentiment d’auto-efficacité à l’égard de l’utilisation de l’ordinateur des enseignants. Une enquête par questionnaires auprès de 69 enseignants représentant l’ensemble des enseignants de trois lycées de Niamey, et par des entrevues semi-dirigées auprès de six enseignants a permis de réaliser les objectifs de recherche. La thèse se fonde sur un mode de présentation par articles. Chaque article est en lien avec un ou deux objectifs de la recherche, suivant l’ordre précité. Les résultats révèlent une absence de relation entre la formation aux TIC des enseignants dispensée par le Campus numérique et les niveaux de l’innovation technologique en milieu scolaire de la typologie de Hall et Hord (1987). Les disparités dans les utilisations que font les enseignants des TIC témoignent de ce manque d’association. Par ailleurs, il apparaît que l’adoption des TIC dans l’éducation est embryonnaire au Niger. Cela fait que seuls quelques-uns de nos participants ont atteint les niveaux de sensibilisation et d’utilisation professionnelle constituant les deux premiers stades de l’usage pédagogique de la typologie de Raby (2005) qui en compte quatre. À la lumière des résultats, le sentiment de compétence personnelle est différent dans les deux groupes (enseignants formés et non formés), mais celui de compétence générale est apprécié de la même façon. Entre les enseignants formés aux TIC par les soins du campus numérique de Niamey et les autres, les résultats montrent une différence significative dans les niveaux d’habiletés techniques à l’égard de l’usage de l’ordinateur. Les forces et les limites de la recherche sont analysées et différentes recommandations sont proposées aux responsables éducatifs.