Strategic positioning and grand strategies for high-technology SMEs

Firm size is found to affect strategic decisions significantly, whereas technology and market stability stimulate product development and innovation.

High technology nanocomposite fibres: Development of melt spun semi-aromatic polyamide nanocomposite fibres

Novel polyamide nanocomposite fibres have been produced by compounding semi aromatic Poly (m-xylene adipamide) (MXD6) and organophilic Montmorillonite (MMT). Partially orientated fibres (POF) of MXD6 nanocomposite were obtained by melt spinning on a multifilament fibre extrusion system at three different speeds. The effect of the drawing velocity
on the mechanical properties of the filaments has been determined. Tensile measurements indicated that the introduction of the nanoparticies by melt intercalation improves the tenacity and toughness of the resulting polyamide fibres. The microstructure of the nanocomposites was examined by X-ray diffraction and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and shown to
be an exfoliated disordered structure. The thermal stability of MXD6 nanocomposites was analysed by thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) suggesting stabilisation of the clay and the polymer systems above 450°C.

Technology and management systems for digital rights and content: the editors friend

Since the late 1980s, when authors began to deliver typescripts to their publishers on disk, the process of editing and publishing books has been in an almost constant state of change. Not only has digital technology enabled a conflation of book production processes, but books themselves are increasingly available in a wider choice of delivery modes. From traditional hard cover and paperback books, to digital files formatted for printing on desktop printers, to files specifically prepared for delivery via hand-held electronic book-reading devices, to text designed to be read on screen (incorporating hyperlinks that facilitate the reader's ability to navigate around the text and between texts), the consumer now has potential myriad choices for delivery of their chosen content. And the publisher, it seems, has myriad ways to deliver content and to seek and satisfy new markets. As well as opportunities, these changes have caused disruption to the traditional supply chain.

This paper focuses on changes to the role of the editor caused by the digitisation of the publishing industry.

Marketing performance measurement : overview of approaches and practices for high technology firms

Um levantamento de 320 executivos de marketing feito pelo Conselho CMO e divulgado em junho de 2004 indicou que poucas companhias de alta tecnologia (menos de 20% das empresas entrevistadas) têm desenvolvido medidas e métricas úteis e expressivas para as suas organizações de marketing. Porém a pesquisa também revelou que companhias que estabeleceram medidas formais e compreensivas atingiram resultados financeiros superiores e tiveram mais confiança do CEO na função de marketing. Esta dissertação provê uma visão geral da informação precisa para executivos de marketing entenderem e implementarem processos para medição de performance de marketing (MPM) em suas organizações. Ela levanta questões para gerentes de marketing na industria de alta tecnologia com respeito às demandas para maior responsabilidade final, valor de medição para o melhoramento dos processos de marketing, iniciativas para determinar a lucratividade dos investimentos em marketing, e a importância das atividades de marketing nos relatórios corporativos. Esta dissertação defende a implementação de MPM, mapeando seus benefícios de medição para ambos gerentes de marketing e as suas empresas. o trabalho logo explora alguns conceitos gerais de medição de marketing e investiga algumas abordagens a MPM propostas pela industria, pela comunidade acadêmica, e pelos analistas. Finalmente, a dissertação descreve algumas práticas que todo gerente de marketing na industria de alta tecnologia deve considerar quando adotando MPM. As sugestões são gerais, mas devem familiarizar o leitor com as informações precisas para habilitar processos e rigor na sua organização com respeito a MPM.

Import substitution in high-tech industries: Prebisch lives in Asia!

Includes bibliography

Fidelity and game-based technology in management education

This study explores educational technology and management education by analyzing fidelity in game-based management education interventions. A sample of 31 MBA students was selected to help answer the research question: To what extent do MBA students tend to recognize specific game-based academic experiences, in terms of fidelity, as relevant to their managerial performance? Two distinct game-based interventions (BG1 and BG2) with key differences in fidelity levels were explored: BG1 presented higher physical and functional fidelity levels and lower psychological fidelity levels. Hypotheses were tested with data from the participants, collected shortly after their experiences, related to the overall perceived quality of game-based interventions. The findings reveal a higher overall perception of quality towards BG1: (a) better for testing strategies, (b) offering better business and market models, (c) based on a pace that better stimulates learning, and (d) presenting a fidelity level that better supports real world performance. This study fosters the conclusion that MBA students tend to recognize, to a large extent, that specific game-based academic experiences are relevant and meaningful to their managerial development, mostly with heightened fidelity levels of adopted artifacts. Agents must be ready and motivated to explore the new, to try and err, and to learn collaboratively in order to perform.

Value added trade and structure of high-technology exports in China

This study focuses on the technological intensity of China's exports. It first introduces the method of decomposing gross exports by using the Asian international input–output tables. The empirical results indicate that the technological intensity of Chinese exports has been significantly overestimated due to its high dependency on import content, especially in high-technology exports, an area highly dominated by the electronic and electrical equipment sector. Furthermore, a significant portion of value added embodied in China's high-technology exports comes from services and high-technology manufacturers in neighboring economies, such as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.