Organisatorinen oppiminen - tapaustutkimus oppimisprosessien jännitteistä teollisuusyrityksessä

Organisatorinen oppiminen nähdään avainasemassa yrityksen kilpailukyvyn kehittämisessä. Aihepiiristä onkin tehty runsaasti tutkimusta, mutta edelleen näkemykset organisaation oppimisesta, oppimisprosessin luonteesta, tuloksista ja näihin vaikuttavista tekijöistä ovat moninaiset. Dialektisuus kuvaa sekä organisatorisesta oppimisesta käytyä keskustelua että oppimisprosessien luonnetta dynaamisina vastavoimien sävyttäminä organisaation kehitysprosesseina. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on lisätä ymmärrystä organisatorisesta oppimisesta tutkimalla oppimisprosesseihin sisältyviä jännitteitä. Mielenkiinnon kohteena on jännitteiden osallistuminen niin innovatiivista uudistumista ja sopeutuvaa kehittymistä kuin toiminnan vakiinnuttamista tavoittelevaan oppimiseen. Tutkimuksen kohteena on kaksi teollisuusyritystä, joista tiedonkeruu tehtiin teemahaastatteluin. Tutkimuksessa painottui suorittavan tason työntekijän näkökulma. Empiirisestä aineistosta konstruoitiin organisatorisia oppimisprosesseja tulkitsemalla yksilöiden ja organisaation oppimisen välistä vuorovaikutusta. Yrityksittäin konstruoidut oppimisprosessit rinnastettiin yritysten tavoiterakenteen kautta ja analysoitiin jännitteiden osallistumista oppimisprosessien etenemiseen organisaatioissa. Organisatoriset oppimisprosessit - sekä organisaatiota uudistava innovatiivinen ja kehittävä sopeutuva oppiminen että vakiinnuttava mukautuva oppiminen - näyttäytyvät tutkimuksen tulosten valossa erilaisten jännitteiden sävyttäminä. Tulokset osoittavat, että perinteisessä mekaanisessa organisaatiossa aikaisempien tutkimusten luontaisena pitämä vakiinnuttava ja mukautuva oppiminen ei ole ongelmatonta ja itsestään sujuvaa. Myös se on jännitteiden sävyttämä. Organisaation viralliset ja sosiaaliset rakenteet voivat mukauttaa yksilöiden toiminnan. Vakiinnuttavan oppimisprosessin etenemiseen osallistuu kuitenkin jännitteitä, joita syntyy ennen kaikkea työntekijöiden toiminnan ja asenteiden sekä yrityksen tuotanto- ja oppimistavoitteiden välisistä ristiriidoista. Tulokset antavat aihetta pohtia vakiinnuttavan oppimisen asemaa suhteessa uudistavaan ja kehittävään oppimiseen. Vakiinnuttavan oppimisen toteutuminen organisaatiossa pelkästään rakenteiden mukauttavalla voimalla voi heikentää organisaation mahdollisuuksia kehittyä ja uudistua. Työntekijöiden toimimista organisaation oppimisen agentteina ja uudistavan oppimisen käynnistäjinä voisi edesauttaa oppimista tukevin organisatorisin mekanismein, jotka edistävät työntekijöiden käsitteellistä oppimista ja jännitteiden hyödyntämistä vakiinnuttavassa oppimisprosessissa.

Market Orientation in Rapidly Internationalizing Small Companies — Evidence from the Software Industry

For more than a decade, researchers have been aware of the increased pace of small-firm internationalization and the greater effect of these rapidly growing small businesses on the wealth, international trade, and job-creation opportunities of countries. Due to the small size of the home market, Finnish companies have been generally considered highly interested in internationalization. One particular domain in which rapid internationalization has been considered feasible is the global software business, with its knowledge-intensive nature and high growth potential. However, over time the failure rate of small entrepreneurial firms has remained especially high in high-technology markets. One of the reasons for this seems to lie in the fact that these companies are often formed by people with a strong technological background but limited competences in other areas. Further, research on the marketing capabilities of rapidly internationalizing high-tech firms has been scarce thus far. In addition, while there is much research on the first years of operations of rapidly internationalizing companies, it is not well known what becomes of them later on. Therefore, there is a need for more investigation into the managerial mindset, competences and decision-making in these small companies, especially from the perspective of how they acquire and exploit market knowledge, and enhance their networking capabilities in order to promote international expansion. The present study focuses on market orientation in small software firms that internationalize their operations rapidly in global software markets. It builds on qualitative data to illustrate how these companies develop their market-oriented product-market strategies during the process of increasing international commitment. It also shows how they manage their network relationships in order to be able to offer better customer service and to thrive in the fierce global competition. The study was conducted in the empirical context of Finnish small software companies, and the main data consists of interviews with top managers in these businesses. The interviews were designed to cover a minimum period of five years of the company's international operations, thus offering a retrospective in-depth perspective on market orientation, internationalization and partnerships in the given context. One particular focus is on less successfully internationalized software companies, and the challenges they face when approaching international markets. This study makes a significant contribution to the literature on market orientation for several reasons. First, building on data from the software industry, it clarifies the existing theory in the context of rapid internationalization and network relationships. Secondly, it provides a good body of evidence on market orientation in both successfully and less successfully internationalized companies, and identifies the key related differences between the two company groups. Thirdly, it highlights the importance of inter-firm networks in the rapid internationalization of small software firms, providing companies with important market knowledge and, in some cases, management challenges. Fourthly, this investigation clarifies market orientation in the context of different software-product strategies, thus, combining the perspectives of market orientation in both manufacturing and services. In sum, the results of the study are significant for both small software firms and public-policy makers since they shed light on the market-oriented managerial mindset and the market-information gathering and sharing processes that are needed in successful rapid internationalization.

The polymorhism of crime scene investigation: an exploratory analysis of the influence of crime and forensic intelligence on decisions made by crime scene examiners

A growing body of scientific literature recurrently indicates that crime and forensic intelligence influence how crime scene investigators make decisions in their practices. This study scrutinises further this intelligence-led crime scene examination view. It analyses results obtained from two questionnaires. Data have been collected from nine chiefs of Intelligence Units (IUs) and 73 Crime Scene Examiners (CSEs) working in forensic science units (FSUs) in the French speaking part of Switzerland (six cantonal police agencies). Four salient elements emerged: (1) the actual existence of communication channels between IUs and FSUs across the police agencies under consideration; (2) most CSEs take into account crime intelligence disseminated; (3) a differentiated, but significant use by CSEs in their daily practice of this kind of intelligence; (4) a probable deep influence of this kind of intelligence on the most concerned CSEs, specially in the selection of the type of material/trace to detect, collect, analyse and exploit. These results contribute to decipher the subtle dialectic articulating crime intelligence and crime scene investigation, and to express further the polymorph role of CSEs, beyond their most recognised input to the justice system. Indeed, they appear to be central, but implicit, stakeholders in intelligence-led style of policing.

Evolution of Ba and Role of Absorptive Capacity in Collaboration between MNCs and Chinese Universities in China

During the recent years, collaboration with Chinese universities has aroused growing interest among multinational companies (MNCs). Cross-cultural university-industry (U-I) collaboration creates various challenges in collaborative knowledge creation and innovation due to the differences e.g. between university and company motivation, objectives and activities. Also different values, norms, and means of actions result often in collisions and misunderstandings. This thesis examines the establishment of the relationships and the evolution of the collaboration between MNCs and Chinese universities. Empirical findings underscore that the partners in collaboration are required to possess research interest as well as capability to acquire, assimilate and exploit new external knowledge. Time and communication have a critical role in the evolution of the collaboration. In China the personal relationships, guanxi, play an important role. Collaborative knowledge creation requires a platform, Ba, which enables the creation of common understanding, commitment, trust and mutual respect. Empirical data has been collected through interviewing company experts and academe of Chinese universities from ICT and forest industries as well as attending panel discussions and meetings with the experts from the field of study.

Targeting the undruggable: immunotherapy meets personalized oncology in the genomic era.

Owing to recent advances in genomic technologies, personalized oncology is poised to fundamentally alter cancer therapy. In this paradigm, the mutational and transcriptional profiles of tumors are assessed, and personalized treatments are designed based on the specific molecular abnormalities relevant to each patient's cancer. To date, such approaches have yielded impressive clinical responses in some patients. However, a major limitation of this strategy has also been revealed: the vast majority of tumor mutations are not targetable by current pharmacological approaches. Immunotherapy offers a promising alternative to exploit tumor mutations as targets for clinical intervention. Mutated proteins can give rise to novel antigens (called neoantigens) that are recognized with high specificity by patient T cells. Indeed, neoantigen-specific T cells have been shown to underlie clinical responses to many standard treatments and immunotherapeutic interventions. Moreover, studies in mouse models targeting neoantigens, and early results from clinical trials, have established proof of concept for personalized immunotherapies targeting next-generation sequencing identified neoantigens. Here, we review basic immunological principles related to T-cell recognition of neoantigens, and we examine recent studies that use genomic data to design personalized immunotherapies. We discuss the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead on the road to improving patient outcomes by incorporating immunotherapy into the paradigm of personalized oncology.

Älykkäiden energiamittareiden mahdollistamat palvelut

Sähkönmittaus suoritetaan enenevissä määrin älykkäiden energiamittareiden avulla niin Suomessa kuin muuallakin maailmassa. Älykkäät energiamittarit mahdollistavat huomattavasti monipuolisemman mittaustiedon saannin kuin tavanomaisilla mittareilla saatavan pelkän kulutetun energian määrän. Mittauksesta vastuussa olevalle taholle syntyy kuluja mittareiden asennuksesta uusien tehokkaampien tietojärjestelmien ylläpitoon siirryttäessä uuteen älykkäämpään mittausjärjestelmään. Kulujen kattamiseksi olisi hyödyllistä, jos monipuolisempaa mittaustietoa voitaisiin käyttää laajemmin kuin pelkästään asiakkaiden laskutukseen. Tästä johtuen mittaustiedon tehokasta hyödyntämistä varten tulee kehittää uusia palveluja esimerkiksi raportoinnin, mittaustietojen analysoinnin sekä kysyntäjouston saralla. Tässä työssä esitellään älykkäisiin energiamittareihin liittyvää tekniikkaa ja syitä miksi älykkäämpiin sähkönmittausjärjestelmiin ollaan siirtymässä. Mittaroinnin nykytilannetta käydään läpi niin Suomen kuin eräiden muidenkin Euroopan maiden osalta. Työssä esitetään myös muutamia käytännön palvelumahdollisuuksia ja pohditaan millaiseksi sähkönmittausjärjestelmät tulevaisuudessa muotoutuvat.

Structured sparsity through reweighting and application to diffusion MRI

We consider the problem of multiple correlated sparse signals reconstruction and propose a new implementation of structured sparsity through a reweighting scheme. We present a particular application for diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging data and show how this procedure can be used for fibre orientation reconstruction in the white matter of the brain. In that framework, our structured sparsity prior can be used to exploit the fundamental coherence between fibre directions in neighbour voxels. Our method approaches the ℓ0 minimisation through a reweighted ℓ1-minimisation scheme. The weights are here defined in such a way to promote correlated sparsity between neighbour signals.

BD-US: les comics vus par l'Europe

Cet ouvrage réunit des spécialistes de l'étude de la bande dessinée qui proposent une série d'éclairages sur la manière dont les productions culturelles européennes ont diffusé, exploité, reformulé ou détourné l'imaginaire et le langage des comics venus d'outre-Atlantique. L'approche se veut résolument comparative, interculturelle et intermédiale : les chercheurs abordent autant Edgar P. Jacobs ou les récents albums de Serge Lehman que les séries TV de science-fiction britanniques ou les films d'Alain Resnais, et se proposent d'interroger la réception et les réappropriations de motifs et genres populaires situés au croisement d'influences et de références diverses. La production américaine est ainsi discutée dans toute sa richesse, des super-héros à l'underground, à travers des (re)lectures proposées en Europe.

Os DNA sintéticos anti-sentido

One old dream of the chemist in the field of the drug research is to create molecules capable of reaching their target with the precision of a missile. To accomplish it these molecules must have the propriety of distinguishing qualitative differences between healthy and diseased cells. A therapy based on this principle, able of eradicating specifically defective cells, or cells affected by a pathogen has an enormous advantage with the regard to the classical approach in which the cytotoxic drugs merely exploit quantitative biochemical and kinetic differences between abnormal and normal cells. We present in this article a review on the chemical synthesis of analogues of desoxyribonucleotides and on results obtained on the specific and irreversible inhibition of undesired genetic expression using the antisense principle.

Human Capital Composition and Economic Growth at a Regional Level

With this paper we build a two-region model where both innovation and imitation are performed. In particular imitation takes the form of technological spillovers that lagging regions may exploit given certain human capital conditions. We show how the high skill content of each region’s workforce (rather than the average human capital stock) is crucial to determine convergence towards the income level of the leader region and to exploit the technological spillovers coming from the frontier. The same applies to bureaucratic/institutional quality which are conductive to higher growth in the long run. We test successfully our theoretical result over Spanish regions for the period between 1960 and 1997. We exploit system GMM estimators which allow us to correctly deal with endogeneity problems and small sample bias.

Molluscan radiations and landscape evolution in Miocene Amazonia

This PhD study aims to exploit the rich archive provided by the Miocene mollusc fauna of the Pebas Formation and other inland Miocene Amazonian formations to reconstruct landscape evolution and biotic development in lowland Amazonia during the Neogene. Over 160 samples from more than 70 Pebas Formation outcrops mostly collected by the author were processed for this study. Additional samples were collected in Andean areas of Colombia and Venezuela and further material from other northwestern South American basins was studied in museums. Pebas Formation samples and well log data made available by Occidental Peru from three wells in the Marañon Basin in Peru were also investigated. During this study four genera and 74 species from the Pebas Formation have been described and a further 13 species have been introduced in open nomenclature, and several species were reported for the first time. The number of mollusc species attributed to the Pebas fauna has increased from around 50 to 156. The Pebas fauna is characterised as aquatic, endemic and extinct, and is a typical representative of a long-lived lake fauna. Fluvial taxa are not common, (marginal) marine taxa are rare. An additional molluscan fauna from the Miocene Solimões Formation of Brazil, containing 13 fresh water species was also described. The newly documented fauna was used to improve biostratigraphic framework of Miocene Amazonian deposits. Twelve mollusc zones were introduced, the upper eleven of which cover a time interval of approximately seven million years covered previously by only three pollen zones. An age model calculated for the borehole data indicates that the Pebas Formation was deposited between c. 24 and 11 Ma. The areal distribution of the outcropping mollusc zones uncovered a broad dome structure, termed here the Iquitos-Araracuara anteclise in the study area. The structure appears to have influenced river courses and also contributed to edaphic heterogeneity that may have been in part responsible for the current high biodiversity in the study area. The Pebas system was a huge system (> one million km2) dominated by relatively shallow lakes, but also containing swamps and rivers. The system was fed by rivers draining the emergent Andes in the west and lowlands and cratons to the east. The Pebas system was located at sea level and was open to marine settings through a northern portal running through the Llanos Basin and East Venezuela Basin towards the Caribbean. Cyclical baselevel changes possibly related to Mylankhovitch cycles, have been documented in depositional sequences of the Pebas Formation. The composition of the Pebasian mollusc fauna implies that the system was mostly a fresh water system. Such an interpretation is matched by strontium isotope ratios as well as very negative δ18O ratios found in the shells, but is at odds with oligohaline and mesohaline ichnofacies found in the same strata. The mollusc fauna of the Pebas Formation diversified through most of the existence of the lake system. The diversification was mostly the result of in-situ cladogenesis. The success of some of the Pebasian endemic clades is explained by adaptation to fresh water, low oxygen, common unconsolidated lake bottoms (soup grounds) as well as high predation intensity. Maximum diversity was reached at the base of the late Middle to early Late Miocene Grimsdalea pollen zone, some 13 Ma. At the time some 85 species co-occurred, 67 of which are considered as Pebasian endemics. A subsequent drop in species richness coincides with indications of elevated salinities, although a causal relation still needs to be established. Apparently the Pebas fauna went (almost) entirely extinct with the replacement of the lake system into a fluvio-tidal system during the Early Late Miocene, some 11 Ma.

Strategiatyö pienissä ja keskisuurissa kasvuyrityksissä Kouvolan seudulla

Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli kuvata ja ymmärtää, millaista strategiatyö on pienissä ja keskisuurissa kasvuyrityksissä ja miten sitä voitaisiin kehittää. Strategiatyötä ovat ne toimet, joita yritysten strategit tekevät strategiaprosessissa. Kirjallisuuskatsauksessa määriteltiin käsitteet ja teoreettinen viitekehys. Empiriassa kerättiin Kouvolan seudun kasvuyritysten strategeilta aineistoa lomakekyselyllä. Kahdeksan yrityksen strategeja, yrittäjäomistajia, haastattelemalla syvennettiin aineistoa. Aineiston laadullisella analyysillä tuotettiin vastaukset tutkimuskysymyksiin. Kahdessa kolmesta kohdeyrityksestä strategiatyö oli melko vakiintunutta. Strategiatyön avulla yrittäjät pyrkivät löytämään keinot hyödyntää markkinoilla havaitut mahdollisuudet ja muodostamaan tarvittavat resurssiyhdistelmät. Strategiatyö ei noudattanut selkeää, määritettyä prosessia. Strategian muotoutuminen, jalkauttaminen ja arviointi olivat strategiatyön osat, jotka olivat vuorovaikutuksessa strategin strategiajärkeilyn kautta. Strategiaa pidettiin yrityksen menestymisessä ja kasvussa tärkeänä tekijänä. Pk-kasvuyritykset ovat seudun tulevaisuuden kannalta niin tärkeä yritysryhmä, että niiden strategiatyötä olisi perusteltua kehittää yrityspalvelun toimesta ja panostuksilla.

Decay of linkage disequilibrium within genes across HGDP-CEPH human samples: most population isolates do not show increased LD

Background It is well known that the pattern of linkage disequilibrium varies between human populations, with remarkable geographical stratification. Indirect association studies routinely exploit linkage disequilibrium around genes, particularly in isolated populations where it is assumed to be higher. Here, we explore both the amount and the decay of linkage disequilibrium with physical distance along 211 gene regions, most of them related to complex diseases, across 39 HGDP-CEPH population samples, focusing particularly on the populations defined as isolates. Within each gene region and population we use r2 between all possible single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) pairs as a measure of linkage disequilibrium and focus on the proportion of SNP pairs with r2 greater than 0.8. Results Although the average r2 was found to be significantly different both between and within continental regions, a much higher proportion of r2 variance could be attributed to differences between continental regions (2.8% vs. 0.5%, respectively). Similarly, while the proportion of SNP pairs with r2 > 0.8 was significantly different across continents for all distance classes, it was generally much more homogenous within continents, except in the case of Africa and the Americas. The only isolated populations with consistently higher LD in all distance classes with respect to their continent are the Kalash (Central South Asia) and the Surui (America). Moreover, isolated populations showed only slightly higher proportions of SNP pairs with r2 > 0.8 per gene region than non-isolated populations in the same continent. Thus, the number of SNPs in isolated populations that need to be genotyped may be only slightly less than in non-isolates. Conclusion The 'isolated population' label by itself does not guarantee a greater genotyping efficiency in association studies, and properties other than increased linkage disequilibrium may make these populations interesting in genetic epidemiology.

Intermunicipal cooperation and privatization of solid waste services among small municipalities in Spain

The aim of this paper is to analyze the effects of intermunicipal cooperation and privatization on the delivery costs of urban solid waste services. The results of our empirical analysis, which we conducted among a sample of very small municipalities, indicate that small towns that cooperate incur lower costs for their waste collection service. Cooperation also raises collection frequency and improves the quality of the service in small towns. By contrast, the form of production, whether it is public or private, does not result in systematic differences in costs. Interestingly, the degree of population dispersion has a significant positive relation with service costs. No evidence of scale economies is found because, it would seem, small municipalities exploit them by means of intermunicipal cooperation.

Local privatization, intermunicipal cooperation, transaction costs and political interests: Evidence from Spain

Several empirical studies have analyzed the factors that influence local privatization. Variables related to fiscal stress, cost reduction, political processes and ideological attitudes are the most common explanatory variables used in these studies. In this paper, we add to this literature by examining the influence of transaction costs and political factors on local governments’ choices through new variables. In addition to this, we consider the role of additional aspects, such as intermunicipal cooperation as a potential alternative to privatization in order to exploit scale economies or scope economies. We consider two relevant services: solid waste collection and water distribution. Results from our estimates show that privatization (that is, contracting out to a private firm) is less common for water distribution than for solid waste collection. Higher transaction costs in water distribution are consistent with this finding. Furthermore, we find that municipalities with a conservative ruling party privatize more often regardless of the ideological orientation of the constituency. This shows that those political interests able to influence local elections are more important in determining the form of delivery than is the basic ideological stance of the constituency. Finally, we find that intermunicipal cooperation is an alternative to local privatization.