Tag Archives: Innovation

Call for Papers: Knowledge Management and Knowledge Transfer in Start-ups and SMEs (EURAM 2019 Entrepreneurship SIG Track)

Proponents:
Simon Fietze, University of Southern Denmark
Sylvia Rohlfer, CUNEF
Claudio Petti, Department of Engineering for Innovation – University of Salento

Short description:
The survival and growth of an organization depend mainly on the capabilities of its management and its employees; and its ability to ensure knowledge transfer in, from and to the organization. To understand how these processes are organized, it is vital to focus on how input is transformed into innovation and to include the control structure as all activities related to the process have to be coordinated and structured. In a context in which formalized processes are unevenly developed and management knowledge may be more unevenly spread, innovation and knowledge management research need to take several issues into account.

Long description:
Leading views on innovation, from network analysis to innovation systems, often underscore the necessity of firms having access to pioneering technologies and economies creating institutions focused on promoting the transfer of pioneering knowledge (Breznitz, 2007; Owen-Smith & Powell, 2004). However, a recent stream of research focuses on capabilities and knowledge possessed by various employees (from CEOs/managers to non-managerial) in order to create ideas and to implement innovative practices and/or processes with the aim to increase a firm’s innovative capabilities (Teece, 2017; Chowhan, 2016; Lin & Sanders, 2017). In addition, external sources for knowledge and innovation have become the focus in small business management, i.e. the management of open innovation, and are becoming part of national and cross-national innovation networks (Gretzinger et al., 2010).

In order to understand how innovation processes are organized, it is not only important to focus on the “technical” aspects of the transformation process (how input is transformed into innovation output) and the division of labour, but also to include more explicitly the regulatory aspects or the control structure as all activities related to the transformation process have to be coordinated and structured. However, in a context in which formalized processes are unevenly developed and management knowledge may be more unevenly spread, innovation and knowledge management research need to take several issues into account (Gu, Jiang, & Wang, 2016).

We encourage submissions that can address innovation at multiple levels of analysis (strategic, intermediate and operational) as well as comparative analysis of different patterns of firm and institutional strategies across nations and regions. Manuscripts that draw on a variety of theoretical and disciplinary approach to the study of entrepreneurship, innovation and knowledge management in entrepreneurial start-ups and SMEs are welcomed. Suggested topics can include, but are not restricted to:

How exactly is innovation as a process embedded in organizational structures and work practices, including the role and impact of different groups of employees in this process?
At what stage, with what aim, at what intensity and with what organizational support, are employees involved in innovation at different levels?
How is the innovation and knowledge management process at each of these levels supported by management as well as the leadership role?
How does management support, leadership as well as the innovation process differ with respect to formal, top-down initiated innovations, innovations at the intermediate level and employee-led innovative behaviour?
What organizational mechanisms provide the best conduit for knowledge flow within and between SMEs and in innovation-oriented partnerships

For more information contact:
Simon Fietze

AUTHORS GUIDELINES
http://www.euramonline.org/submissions-guidelines-2019/author-s-guidelines.htm

Call for Papers: Sustainable HRM and Human Factors for Innovation

Call for Papers

Sustainable HRM and Human Factors for Innovation

15th Annual EURAM Conference, Track Sustainable HRM
17.-20.6.2015; Warsaw

Ina Ehnert; Sugumar Mariappanadar; Klaus Zink; Andrew Imada

Organizational strategies that rely on technology to gain competitive advantage are dependent upon successfully integrating humans into the solution. This track focusses on research that deals with human factors (HF) and human resource management (HRM) to harmonize human, social, ecological, and economic resources to realize competitive and sustainable success.

The objective of this track is to encourage work on Sustainable HRM and to increase our understanding of the role of HF/HRM in developing more sustainable business organisations. Consequently we call for full papers that provide new theoretical perspectives on and/or empirical insights into HF/HRM and Sustainable Development.

Deadline for submission of full papers: 13.1.2015

Further Information

Call for Papers: Organizing mindfulness across organizations, networks, and clusters (EURAM 2015)

T_06-01: Organizing mindfulness across organizations, networks, and clusters
SIG: Innovation

Organizing mindfulness across organizations, networks, and clusters

The concepts of mindfulness and mindful organizing have proved to be beneficial for explaining how to manage unexpected events as a specific domain of uncertainty (Argote, 2006; Weick & Sutcliffe, 2007). Mindfulness seems to enhance change readiness and the capacity to sense and seize opportunities in an uncertain environment (Gärtner 2011, 2013). Existing research on mindfulness has mostly studied the individual or group level and is rooted in psychological accounts of mindfulness. This literature conceives of mindfulness as cognitive differentiation and conceptualizes knowledge and learning in terms of mental cognition (Vogus & Sutcliffe, 2012). Only a few studies take the level of organizations as collectives of groups or interorganizational networks as unit of analysis (Sydow, Müller-Seitz, & Provan 2013). While there is apt evidence that individuals, groups and organizations do not work in isolation, there is little research about the interrelations between organizations and the ‘higher’ analytical levels of networks and clusters (Gittell & Weiss 2004). Thus, we know little about how mindfulness can be established across organizations, networks and clusters in order to harness the opportunities of uncertainty.

Considering other forms of ‘knowledge’ (e.g., rules, routines, tools and technology) seems to be useful in order to explain how organizations, networks and clusters screen their environment and benefit from uncertainty (see Becker & Knudsen 2005; Salvato & Rerup 2011; Antonacopoulou et al. 2012). For example, research in the field of innovation management advocates tools like technological forecasting or roadmapping to remain sensitive about technological trends and developments that might impact corporate, network, or cluster strategies (e.g., Reger 2001). Other research has documented the importance of regional embeddedness for knowledge creation, spillovers, learning and harnessing opportunities of temporary or permanent disruptions (Cooke 2001; Audretsch, Hülsbeck, & Lehmann 2012; Berthod, Müller-Seitz, & Sydow 2014).

The aim of this track is to foster exchange of theoretical ideas and empirical insights that might be conducive to further understand multi-level mechanisms of organizing for mindfulness. It seeks to bring together researchers who study organizational and interorganizational sensemaking, distributed knowledge and learning, as well as mindful decision making in organizations, networks, and clusters.

Possible topics for contributions include, but are not limited to, the following issues:

Conceptual and/or empirical analyses of multi-level perspectives on mindful organizing, for example, building an overarching theoretical framework for how mindfulness emerges across multiple levels of analysis and how this differs from mindfulness on the individual- or group-level
The interplay among sensemaking and/or decision making processes between different levels of analysis
The role of socio-cultural and economic institutions as initial conditions for coping with and harnessing opportunities of uncertainty
Forms of organizational, inter-organizational and inter-cluster responses to unexpected events and their development over time
The role of (distributed) knowledge and knowledge flows between (organizational) actors in a cluster in order to harness opportunities of uncertainty
The different types of tools and their role in mindful organizing and managing uncertainty

Literature

Antonacopoulou, E., Güttel, W., Kaiser, S., Macpherson, A., Mèric, J.; Müller-Seitz, G. (2012).: Strategic Organizational Learning in Turbulent Times: Ambidexterity and Absorptive Capacity (book), Publisher: International Journal of Knowledge Management Studies, 5 (1/2), 2012

Argote, L. (2006). Introduction to mindfulness. Organization Science, 17(4), 501-501

Audretsch, D. B., Hülsbeck, M., & Lehmann, E. E. (2012). Regional competitiveness, university spillovers, and entrepreneurial activity. Small Business Economics, 39(3), 587-601.

Becker, M. C. & Knudsen, T. (2005). The role of routines in reducing pervasive uncertainty. Journal of Business Research, 58(6), 746-757.

Berthod, O., Müller-Seitz, G., Sydow, J. (2014). Out of nowhere? Interorganizational assemblage as the answer to a foodborne disease outbreak. sbr, 16.

Cooke, P. (2001). Regional innovation systems, clusters, and the knowledge economy. Industrial and Corporate Change, 10(4), 945-974.

Gärtner, C. (2011): Putting new wine into old bottles: Mindfulness as a micro-foundation of dynamic capabilities. Management Decision, 49(2), 253-269.

Gärtner, C. (2013). Enhancing readiness for change by enhancing mindfulness. Journal of Change Management, 13(1), 52-68.

Gittell, J. H. & Weiss, L. (2004). Coordination networks within and across organizations: A multi-level framework. Journal of Management Studies, 41(1), 127-153.

Müller-Seitz, G. (2014). Practising uncertainty in the face of large-scale disease outbreaks. Journal of Management Inquiry, 23(3), 276-293.

Weick, K. E. & Sutcliffe, K. M. (2007). Managing the unexpected: Resilient performance in an age of uncertainty. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Reger, G. 2001. Technology foresight in companies: From an indicator to a network and process perspective. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 13(4), 533-553.

Salvato, C. & Rerup, C. (2011). Beyond collective entities: Multilevel research on Organizational routines and capabilities. Journal of Management, 37(2), 468-490.

Sydow, J., Müller-Seitz, G., & Provan, K.G. (2013): Managing uncertainty in alliances and networks – From governance to practice. In: Das, T.K. (eds.): Managing knowledge in strategic alliances. IAP. Greenwood, Conn., 1-43.

Vogus, T. J. & Sutcliffe, K. M. (2012). Organizational mindfulness and mindful organizing: A reconciliation and path forward. Academy of Management Learning & Education 11(4), 722-735

Proponents

Christian Gärtner (Helmut-Schmidt-University)
Iain Munro (Newcastle Business School)
Gordon Müller-Seitz (TU Kaiserslautern)
Marcel Hülsbeck (University of Witten/Herdecke)

Further information

SDU: PhD position in Business Administration/Global Business Economics

The Department of Border Region Studies (IFG) at the University of Southern Denmark, Faculty of Business & Social Sciences, invites applications for a PhD position in Business Administration/Global Business Economics. The position is vacant from 1. February 2013 or soon after. The position is located in Sønderborg.

Job description

This position is one of six full-time academic positions that form the newly established Danfoss Center of Global Business (DCGB) at the Department of Border Region Studies.
The Center is co-financed by a donation from the Bitten & Mads Clausen Fund and funds from the University of Southern Denmark.

The vision of the DCGB is to build a high profile, high quality research and teaching pole in the field ofglobal business (business administration and marketing). Formal and informal relations to similar international research centers are currently being established. The Center’s research focuses on the growing complexity and interdependence of global business tasks and decisions – involving customers, suppliers, government agencies and other actors in different markets and cultures.

Since the center focuses on global business and marketing issues that are related to international business-to-business markets (in contrast to consumer markets), you are expected to be interested in a thesis topic in this area. More specifically, one or several of the following areas should be of interest to you:

New ways to configure value chain activities and new types of international business models in a knowledge-based economy/ novel approaches to B2B marketing.
Innovation and customer relations/ innovation drivers in B2B markets.
Managing global distribution channels and sales forces in B2B markets.
Behavioral/ experimental economics applied to B2B markets.

The department is located in Sønderborg and rooted in the unique history of the Southern Danish border region. It has lively relationships with the business community and the cultural institutions of the region. The department constitutes of an international and interdisciplinary unit with scholars organised around three research groups focusing on (a) regional economics, (b) people & society in border regions and (c) global business relationships (GBR). The DCGB is hosted within the Department of Border Region Studies and is most closely related to the GBR research group. See also this website.

The Department offers teaching at all levels within Business administration, Business Relationship Management, European Studies and Regional Economics. There are approximately 800 students from about 50 countries enrolled at the department. Teaching is conducted in English. The department offers one of the most modern office and research facilities in Denmark. For information about Campus Sønderborg, please click here.

Once the PhD project is initiated, you would be enrolled in the relevant PhD programme at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU). As part of the PhD study, an individual education programme within the relevant discipline of the candidate has to be completed. You would be expected to complete a six-month stay at a research institution abroad and/or at a project partner, and over the period of the programme, to acquire experience of teaching or dissemination activities. You would also be expected to participate in the various activities at the department and – apart from your stay abroad – to be regularly present at the department.

Further information can be obtained from Professor Bodo Steiner, phone: +45 6550 1221, www.sdu.dk/staff/bsteiner, or e-mail bsteiner@sam.sdu.dk.

Application, salary, etc.

Your employment as a Salaried PhD Research Fellow is governed by the agreement of October 1, 2008 on Graduate Employees in government appendix 5 – protocol on PhD Research Fellows. The scholarship runs for three years.

An application must include:

Detailed CV
A certified copy of your master’s degree certificate including all examination results
Application form (please see below)
A project description (max 5 pages)
An abstract for the above project description of no more than 250 words
List of publications
MSc Thesis
At least two references

When applying for a PhD scholarship, please fill in the application form available on our web page. On the webpage of the PhD-school, you can find the guidelines for preparing your project proposal within the PhD programme in Business Administration.

Certificates for national exams based on a national grade system should be associated by a document that translates the national grade system into the European Credit Transfer System. For further information please click here.

All non-Danish documents must be translated into English.

Applications will be assessed by a committee. When the evaluation committee has submitted its report, the applicant will receive the part of the evaluation that concerns him/her. Applications that are incomplete with regard to the above requirements will not be assessed by the committee. The University encourages all interested persons to apply, regardless of age, gender, religious affiliation or ethnic background. As part of the overall assessment of the applicant’s qualifications, an interview may be applied. Applications must be submitted electronically using the link below. Uploaded files must be in Adobe PDF (unlocked) or Word format. Read the guideline for applicants. Each field can only contain a single file of max 10 Mb.

Application deadline: 06/12/2013

Further information: http://www.sdu.dk/en/servicenavigation/right/ledige_stillinger

Call for Papers: Field-Configuring Events as Arenas for Innovation and Learning

Call for papers for a special issue of Industry and Innovation on

“Field-Configuring Events as Arenas for Innovation and Learning“

The aim of this Special Issue is to analyze field-configuring events (FCEs) explicitly as arenas for innovation and learning from an interdisciplinary perspective. It aims to analyze the specific parameters that allow different kinds of FCEs to bring about novelty in different contexts and to specify the innovation and learning processes that take place at these dynamic arenas. The deadline for complete manuscript submissions is October 1, 2013. Further Information

[Neuer Wochenbericht] DIW Berlin: Mittelstand forschungsstark dank Förderung

Innovationspolitik für den Mittelstand hat sich bewährt
Heike Belitz, Alexander Eickelpasch, Anna Lejpras

Die Innovationspolitik des Bundes und der Länder bietet dem Mittelstand ein breites Spektrum an Programmen zur Stärkung von Forschung und Entwicklung der kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen und ist besonders auf den Wissenstransfer ausgerichtet. In den letzten Jahren wurden die Programme gestrafft und die Fördermittel im Zuge des Konjunkturpakets II deutlich ausgeweitet. Der Mittelstand hat davon profitiert: Die Zahl der forschenden kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen stieg, sie stockten ihre Forschungsund Entwicklungsaufwendungen auf, und der Wissensaustausch mit Universitäten und Forschungseinrichtungen wurde intensiviert. Die technologieoffene Förderung des Bundes sollte auf dem aktuellen Niveau – etwa zehn Prozent der Forschungsaufwendungen der kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen – fortgeführt und dabei der Wissenstransfer zielgenauer unterstützt werden.

DIW Wochenbericht 79(2012) Heft 49 ; S. 3-11

Mittelstandsförderung : Wissenstransfer stärkt Innovationen
Alexander Eickelpasch

Die Innovationspolitik für den Mittelstand ist insbesondere auf den Wissenstransfer zugunsten der geförderten kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen ausgerichtet, einmal durch die Förderung von Projekten mit mehreren Partnern, zum anderen durch die Förderung von Netzwerken. Damit soll der Wissensfluss in kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen erleichtert und deren Innovationsaktivitäten gestärkt werden. Dieser Bericht untersucht, in welchem Umfang Wissenstransfer von Unternehmen, von Hochschulen oder von Forschungseinrichtungen zugunsten der geförderten kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen stattfindet, welche Rolle dabei die Teilnahme an geförderten Innovationsnetzwerken spielt und ob kooperierende kleine und mittlere Unternehmen innovativer sind als andere. Die Untersuchung zeigt, dass die meisten geförderten kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen einen breiten Wissenstransfer mit Unternehmen, Hochschulen und Forschungseinrichtungen durchführen. In der Regel sind kleine und mittlere Unternehmen mit Wissenstransfer innovativer als andere. Die mittelstandsorientierte Innovationspolitik der Bundesregierung weist damit in die richtige Richtung. Eine ungerichtete Pauschalförderung von FuE scheint vor dem Hintergrund dieser Befunde weniger erfolgreich zu sein.

DIW Wochenbericht 79(2012) Heft 49 ; S. 13-19

Innovationsfinanzierung im Mittelstand : Zugang zu Krediten erleichtern!
Heike Belitz, Anna Lejpras

Viele kleine und mittlere Unternehmen (KMU) können Forschung und Entwicklung (FuE) nicht allein aus Eigenmitteln finanzieren. Die Fremdfinanzierung risikoreicher FuE-Projekte mit Krediten ist ihnen aber auch nur begrenzt möglich. Die Förderprogramme des Bundes, der Länder und der EU sind deshalb eine wichtige zusätzliche Finanzierungsquelle für FuE sowie Innovation im Mittelstand. In einer Analyse von rund 1 500 innovativen KMU im verarbeitenden Gewerbe konnten drei Unternehmensgruppen identifiziert werden, die in unterschiedlichem Maße staatliche Fördermittel zur Finanzierung von FuE-Aktivitäten nutzen. Es zeigt sich, dass mittelgroße KMU, die neben der staatlichen Förderung auch auf private Fremdmittel angewiesen sind, am ehesten Schwierigkeiten mit externer Finanzierung von FuE und Innovation haben. Deshalb sollte der Zugang von KMU zu günstigen Krediten für FuE-Aktivitäten erleichtert werden. Die externen Rahmenbedingungen werden von den geförderten KMU im Großen und Ganzen positiv bewertet. Hemmnisse sehen sie vor allem beim Fachkräfteangebot sowie mit deutlichem Abstand bei den Wettbewerbsbedingungen und der Marktregulierung.

DIW Wochenbericht 79(2012) Heft 49 ; S. 20-27

Der Link zum Heft

[Neuer Wochenbericht] DIW Berlin: Netzwerke stärken Innovationskraft

Kooperationen – Triebkraft der Innovationsfähigkeit von Spin-offs aus Forschungseinrichtungen
Anna Lejpras

In den letzten Jahren haben sich die Ausgründungen aus wissenschaftlichen Einrichtungen zu einem beachtlichen ökonomischen und innovationspolitischen Phänomen entwickelt. Akademische Spin-offs gelten – neben Lizenzen, Patenten, Kooperations- und Beratungstätigkeiten – als ein wichtiger Mechanismus für den Wissenstransfer, da sie aus der Forschung stammende Expertise in die Wirtschaft überführen. Über die Forschungs- und Innovationaktivitäten von bereits etablierten Ausgründungen aus Forschungseinrichtungen ist jedoch – anders als bei denen in der Gründungsphase – bislang wenig bekannt. Die Daten über ostdeutsche Unternehmen zeigen, dass forschungsbasierte Spin-offs auch in den späteren Entwicklungsphasen innovativer sind als andere Gründungen. Dies ist nicht auf ihre besondere Gründungssituation zurückzuführen, sondern auf ihre hohe Kooperationsintensität. Diese Beobachtung bestätigt den Ansatz der Forschungs- und Technologiepolitik auf der Bundes- und der regionalen Ebene, Netzwerke und Cluster zwischen verschiedenen Wirtschaftsakteuren zu fördern.

DIW Wochenbericht 79(2012) Heft 36 ; S. 3-7
http://www.diw.de/documents/publikationen/73/diw_01.c.407674.de/12-36-1.pdf

Der Link zum Heft: http://www.diw.de/documents/publikationen/73/diw_01.c.407672.de/12-36.pdf

Call for Papers: “The Role of Trust in Business Economics”

The Organizing Committee of the first CASiM Conference “The Role of Trust in Business Economics” (on June 28, 2012, in Leipzig) invites submissions of original research papers for a special issue on

“The Role of Trust in Business Economics”

of the Schmalenbach Business Review (sbr). The special issue of the Schmalenbach Business Review will cover the following three topics: 1) Trust and the Theory of the Firm; 2) Trust and Markets; 3) Trust in Innovation. The deadline for pre-submission of an abstract is June 10, 2012 and the deadline for submission of the full paper is August 31, 2012.