P.K. Kirner, P. Janschek, D. Schubart and K. Borgschulte
Thyssen Umformtechnik Turbinenkomponenten (TUT) in Remscheid is a supplier of turbine components for landbase turbines and for aero‐engines. Customers in the aerospace and…
Abstract
Thyssen Umformtechnik Turbinenkomponenten (TUT) in Remscheid is a supplier of turbine components for landbase turbines and for aero‐engines. Customers in the aerospace and landbase turbine business strive for reductions in costs and weight as well as for the improvement of operating temperatures in order to increase the efficiency of their engines. Next to short‐term activities like continuous improvement for cost reduction, TUT carries out research work as a long‐term investment. The research activities at TUT are numerous and range from the simulation of forging operations to the qualification of advanced materials. Various examples are presented.
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Barry Haworth, John R. Tyrer and Zhou Zhou
There is a requirement to match selective laser melting (SLM) technologies to a wider range of polymeric materials, as the existing market for SLM powders is dominated by…
Abstract
Purpose
There is a requirement to match selective laser melting (SLM) technologies to a wider range of polymeric materials, as the existing market for SLM powders is dominated by polyamide PA12. Drivers include the tailoring of physical properties to individual applications or cost reduction. Polypropylene (PP) currently has limited use in SLM; so, this paper aims to explore the potential use of PP materials of varying molecular weight (Mw).
Design/methodology/approach
PP polymers of differing Mw were characterised using a range of analytical techniques, including differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), rotational rheometry and real-time hot-stage (optical) microscopy.
Findings
The techniques are sufficiently sensitive to distinguish Mw effects, notably in terms of material viscosity. The stable sintering region for SLM has been defined clearly. Some success was achieved in melting parts using all grades of PP, including higher Mw grades, which potentially offer improved mechanical performance.
Research limitations/implications
The range of techniques (DSC, oxidative induction time and TGA) form an effective analytical package with which to consider new polymeric materials for SLM.
Practical implications
High-Mw PP polymers, in tape or powder form, have potential use in SLM processes, providing scope to enhance part properties in future.
Originality/value
This is believed to be the first in-depth study noting the influence of PP Mw on important physical performance in a proprietary SLM process, using holographic beam manipulation.
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Hui Lei, Linnan Gui and Phong Ba Le
Given the important role of frugal innovation for firms in the developing and emerging countries, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of transformational…
Abstract
Purpose
Given the important role of frugal innovation for firms in the developing and emerging countries, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of transformational leadership (TL) on frugal innovation through the mediating roles of tacit and explicit knowledge sharing.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper used a quantitative research method and structural equation modeling to test the relationship among the latent factors based on a sample of 339 participants from 120 Vietnamese firms.
Findings
Findings reveal the significant impacts of TL on aspects of frugal innovation, namely, frugal functionality, frugal cost and frugal ecosystem. Moreover, the paper highlights the mediating roles of tacit and explicit knowledge sharing (KS) in the relationship between TL and frugal innovation in terms of frugal functionality and frugal cost.
Research limitations/implications
To bring a deeper understanding of the benefits and important role of knowledge resources, future research should investigate the potential mediating mechanisms of knowledge management processes in the relationship between specific leadership styles and frugal innovation.
Practical implications
The paper provides a valuable understanding and novel approach for managers and directors of firms in developing and emerging countries to improve their firms’ frugal innovation capability through leadership practice and knowledge resources.
Originality/value
This study contributes to bridging research gaps in the literature and advances the insights of how TL directly and indirectly fosters frugal innovation via mediating roles of tacit and explicit KS.
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Anders Haug, Kent Adsbøll Wickstrøm, Jan Stentoft and Kristian Philipsen
Previous studies investigating the effects of using social media in the innovation processes of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) yield mixed results, and the conditions…
Abstract
Purpose
Previous studies investigating the effects of using social media in the innovation processes of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) yield mixed results, and the conditions for achieving innovation benefits from social media are unclear. The present study seeks to contribute to the understanding of this topic.
Design/methodology/approach
With a basis in the literature on open innovation and SMEs, this study develops a model that explains the role of social media in product innovation processes where technological focus and abilities are converted into product innovations. The model is tested through a survey of 305 Danish manufacturing SMEs.
Findings
Findings show that SMEs with higher technological orientation (TO) are more inclined to use social media in their product innovation processes and that social media use explains 22.4 percent of the relationship between TO and product innovation performance. On the other hand, the data did not support the assumption that SMEs with high TO achieve higher product innovation benefits than low TO SMEs for similar levels of social media use.
Practical implications
The results suggest that SMEs with lower levels of TO could increase their product innovation performance through increased use of social media in their innovation processes.
Originality/value
The study provides new knowledge on the role of social media in SMEs’ product innovation processes. As the level of TO increases, the use of social media in the innovation process becomes an increasingly important mechanism for deriving the full innovation potential from technological focus and abilities.
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Many companies worldwide are currently involved in open innovation processes (OIPs), through which they aim to collect innovative insights and ideas from the crowd. The phenomenon…
Abstract
Many companies worldwide are currently involved in open innovation processes (OIPs), through which they aim to collect innovative insights and ideas from the crowd. The phenomenon has grown – and is destined to continue to grow – massively. As a result, there is strong interest from scholars and practitioners in rebuilding the relevant processes and developing a set of best practices. What seems to be missing from this developing topic of research is a focus on its antecedents and consequences. Since the phenomenon is so new, a focus on its consequences seems untimely. A focus on its antecedents, on the other hand, seems both promising and intriguing.
The fact that more and more companies are involved in OIPs suggests that they have already developed an organizational open innovation (OI) culture. If an OI culture already exists, how widespread is it and to what extent is it shared among those involved in knowledge ecosystems? With this question in mind, it seems worthwhile to investigate whether OI is supported culturally at both social and individual levels.
Finally, this chapter summarizes the state of the art of OI culture at social, organizational and individual levels and considers how an OI culture developed at company level may serve to drive its development at the social and individual levels.
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At Shepparton in the Murray electorate of Victoria in 2007, the Federal Liberal Member, Sharman Stone, announced that under a returned Coalition Government, Shepparton ‘would get…
Abstract
At Shepparton in the Murray electorate of Victoria in 2007, the Federal Liberal Member, Sharman Stone, announced that under a returned Coalition Government, Shepparton ‘would get a stand‐alone technical college’. One year earlier, the Victorian Minister for Education, Lynn Kosky claimed that ‘We lost something when technical schools [the ‘techs’] were closed previously. Yes, the facilities were not great but we lost something that was important to young people’. This article explores the development and demise of ‘South Tech’, Shepparton South Technical School, 1966‐86 to identify the ‘something’ that Kosky claimed was lost, and to argue that technical education is essential in a reconstituted system.
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Jochem T. Hummel and Nima Amiryany
This study focuses on intra-industry determinants of acquisition performance. Seven years of printed research on acquisitions from 10 top-tier business journals is categorized on…
Abstract
This study focuses on intra-industry determinants of acquisition performance. Seven years of printed research on acquisitions from 10 top-tier business journals is categorized on the basis of R&D intensity – that is, per industry classification: high-, medium-, and low-technology – and determinants of acquisition performance. Instead of broadly generalizing acquisition performance determinants across industries, this study focuses on how the practice of enhancing acquisition performance is different per industry classification and what acquiring firms need to take into account.
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Entrepreneurship is not limited to managing and creating a business; other diverse domains have been explored by various scholars. The concept has been defined and explored in…
Abstract
Entrepreneurship is not limited to managing and creating a business; other diverse domains have been explored by various scholars. The concept has been defined and explored in various aspects including cultural entrepreneurship (Gupta & Anandaram, 2022) ethnic, feminist, institutional, and various others. To obtain further insights into entrepreneurship, Krueger and Welpe (2014) sought to collaborate on the cognitive and emotional aspects and termed it neuro-entrepreneurship. Literature trends on neuro-entrepreneurship are generally confined to opportunity recognition, risk-taking measures, and decision patterns. It is too early to reach any conclusion as no empirical research has been undertaken on the topic yet. Neuroscience techniques such as fMRI and Magneto-encephalography (MEG) are trying to reveal the hidden phenomenon behind the decision-making process in entrepreneurs. The COVID-19 pandemic forced entrepreneurs to face a new reality: That is not only the crisis in physical resources but also caused a disrupted mental state. Entrepreneurs are seeking new ways to get back on track and potentially neuroscience will assist them. This chapter discusses the background literature on neuro-entrepreneurship and an overview of the rationales of neuro-entrepreneurship in organisational settings. It explains the cognitive and emotional dimensions of the brain controlling decision-making in entrepreneurs. This chapter establishes a connection between decision-making and creativity at the workplace with the help of neuroscience techniques of entrepreneurs and future directions towards achieving a creative entrepreneurial system by amalgamating neuroscience techniques and decision-making for improving entrepreneurial activities.
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This study aims to examine the relationship between market orientation and product innovation and the mediating role of technological capability in this relationship. It also aims…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the relationship between market orientation and product innovation and the mediating role of technological capability in this relationship. It also aims to examine the effect of market orientation on product innovation within the framework of technological intensity classification of the fields of business activity.
Design/methodology/approach
The research data were obtained from 186 senior and mid-level managers of 627 manufacturing firms that are widely considered to be innovative, and that are ranked among Turkey's largest 1,000 manufacturing firms (ISO 1000). The data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling.
Findings
Customer orientation and interfunctional coordination, two distinct dimensions of market orientation, had positive effects on product innovation. Technological capability played a mediating role in the effect of customer orientation and interfunctional coordination on product innovation. In addition, interfunctional coordination positively affected product innovation in firms with low technological intensity, whereas customer orientation positively affected product innovation in firms with medium-high technological intensity.
Practical implications
For the success of product innovations, firms should establish mechanisms to obtain information about customer needs and expectations and to disseminate and effectively use this information among organizational functions. They also need to improve their technological capabilities to effectively transform market knowledge into product innovation.
Originality/value
The relationship between market orientation and product innovation has been examined in previous studies; however, there is an insufficient number of studies on the mediating role of technological capability in this relationship. This study aimed to eliminate the gap in the literature regarding the mediating role of technological capability. In addition, innovation activities of firms vary depending on the technological intensity, but only a limited number of evaluations have been conducted on this subject. This study contributes valuable knowledge to the relevant literature by examining the impact of market orientation dimensions on product innovation according to technological intensity.
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John Pardy and Lesley F. Preston
The purpose of this paper is to trace the restructure of the Victorian Education Department in Australia during the years 1980-1992. It examines how the restructuring of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to trace the restructure of the Victorian Education Department in Australia during the years 1980-1992. It examines how the restructuring of the department resulted in a generational reorganization of secondary schooling. This reorganization culminated in the closure of secondary technical schools that today continues to have enduring effects on access and equity to different types of secondary schooling.
Design/methodology/approach
The history is based on documentary and archival research and draws on publications from the State government of Victoria, Education Department/Ministry of Education Annual Reports and Ministerial Statements and Reviews, Teacher Union Archives, Parliamentary Debates and unpublished theses and published works.
Findings
As an outcome the restructuring of the Victorian Education Department, schools and the reorganization of secondary schooling, a dual system of secondary schools was abolished. The introduction of a secondary colleges occurred through a process of rationalization of schools and what secondary schooling would entail.
Originality/value
This study traces how, over a decade, eight ministers of education set about to reform education by dismantling and undoing the historical development of Victoria’s distinctive secondary schools system.