Margaret Bruce and John Langrish
The paper describes a study carried out on Budget Day, 10 March 1981. The behaviour of user groups and the problems encountered in accessing viewdata were observed in four…
Abstract
The paper describes a study carried out on Budget Day, 10 March 1981. The behaviour of user groups and the problems encountered in accessing viewdata were observed in four different libraries. Attitudes of library staff to the service were collected and the Budget News presented by various Information Providers (IPs) was analysed. The findings of the research are discussed. The paper focuses on the changes viewdata has initiated in library organization and in the working practices of librarians, the patterns of user behaviour and the particular ways in which news is structured by different IPs. The role of libraries in promoting viewdata is considered. Variations in methods of presentation by six IPs are discussed.
Recently there has been debate about whether or not academic research and theories in management are ‘relevant’. The discussion has been extended to marketing and we explore…
Abstract
Recently there has been debate about whether or not academic research and theories in management are ‘relevant’. The discussion has been extended to marketing and we explore whether or not there is a disconnection between marketing practice and the methodologies, theories and concepts put forward by marketing academics. The possible explanations for the divide between ‘theory’ and ‘practice’ in marketing are assessed. We then focus on new product development and consider the practical implications of the considerable corps of research aimed at identifying the influences affecting new product success. We continue by discussing the traditional representation of new product development. This assumes a staged process that can be managed, but which ignores in particular the impact of uncertainty. We conclude by suggesting that marketing needs to reappraise its model of the new product development process.
Details
Keywords
George Hayward and John Masterson
This article looks at how capital equipment innovations are adopted. The reception of innovations by adoptors and non‐adoptors provides “profiles” of the characteristics of…
Abstract
This article looks at how capital equipment innovations are adopted. The reception of innovations by adoptors and non‐adoptors provides “profiles” of the characteristics of innovations, which can highlight good selling features and identify markets.
John Bessant and Anna Trifilova
The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, to understand recombinant innovation (RI) as a potentially significant part of an open innovation (OI) strategy and second, to suggest…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, to understand recombinant innovation (RI) as a potentially significant part of an open innovation (OI) strategy and second, to suggest key routines which would underpin a capability for RI, locating these within the context of enhanced absorptive capacity (AC). Finally, the paper considers how such routines could be developed, drawing on some case examples.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors start with a literature review on OI and use the lens of AC to explore challenges in finding, assimilating and deploying external knowledge posed by the emerging knowledge-rich context of OI. The authors then explore one OI route – RI – and suggest a model framework for operationalizing it based on routines for search, acquisition, assimilation and deployment.
Findings
The authors suggest three sets of routines required for RI, around abstract-driven search (ADS), brokerage and cyclic adaptation. As with much of the now widely available toolkit for OI, the challenge is one of moving from potential to realized opportunity and this will require investments in learning and capability building.
Originality/value
The authors suggest that for organizations to enhance their AC around RI, three core routines are needed: ADS, brokerage and cyclic adaptation.
Details
Keywords
The objective, sustenance and reward of research is information. But information does not yet grow on trees nor through the agency of monoclonal antibodies. It requires careful…
Abstract
The objective, sustenance and reward of research is information. But information does not yet grow on trees nor through the agency of monoclonal antibodies. It requires careful harvesting, winnowing and dissemination, albeit with electronic tools.
Ernest A. Stallworthy and Om P. Kharbanda
In the continuing endeavour to work towards ever better management, the project manager has a crucial role to play. This monograph assesses the requirements of project management…
Abstract
In the continuing endeavour to work towards ever better management, the project manager has a crucial role to play. This monograph assesses the requirements of project management in terms of training and experience, demonstrates what sort of person the project manager should be, and also the role that should be played by the project team. In order to illustrate the manner in which the essential qualities in both the project manager and his team are displayed in action a number of completed projects worldwide are reviewed. Both successful projects and disastrous projects are used to demonstrate the way in which the problems encountered in real life can be met and overcome. In conclusion both the prospects and the problems that the future may hold for the project manager are assessed.
Details
Keywords
The area of race in management and management development is one which has received relatively little attention, certainly in comparison with, for example, the attention given to…
Abstract
The area of race in management and management development is one which has received relatively little attention, certainly in comparison with, for example, the attention given to gender issues in organisations. In the UK attention has been directed towards Equal Opportunities legislation and policies at organisational levels rather than at the experience of black managers per se. This article grows from an approach to consider how the developmental needs of black managers could best be met.
The aim of the research is to verify what it is that makes some mature firms innovative and others less so, in the hope that the results will be of use and interest to practising…
Abstract
The aim of the research is to verify what it is that makes some mature firms innovative and others less so, in the hope that the results will be of use and interest to practising managers.
Details
Keywords
Catherine L. Wang and Pervaiz K. Ahmed
This conceptual paper examines the role of knowledge and learning in the quality and innovation process, and proposes a holistic, cross‐disciplinary model of the learning approach…
Abstract
This conceptual paper examines the role of knowledge and learning in the quality and innovation process, and proposes a holistic, cross‐disciplinary model of the learning approach to quality and innovation. It stresses the importance of creativity in the learning process and postulates a higher platform of quality and innovation: creative quality and value innovation. This will be necessary for sustaining competitive advantage in the hyper‐competitive world. The features and essentials in connection to the attainment of such a platform are tentatively constructed through the 5‐S model of creative quality and value innovation.