bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Technological innovation in tyre manufacture
Authors: Jordan M. J.
Published: May 2007

This paper discusses key factors in starting up local production of radials ahead of most other manufacturers, and how this affected comparative profitability. This led to the build‐up of a viable capability for adapting basic overseas innovations to suit local conditions. It will be shown how this capability, in combination with independence in decision‐making, compensated the Australian manufacturer relative to resources available to those manufacturers with overseas affiliations.
Rewarding the employee inventor and the Patents Act (1977)
Authors: Littler D. A. , Pearson A. W.
Published: May 2007

The new Patents Act which came into force on June 1st 1978 contains radical provisions on the remuneration of employee inventors who are now under certain conditions entitled to a share of the benefits flowing from any outstanding inventions they may make. The reaction of industry has in general been unfavourable and as a questionnaire survey of a sample of British industry taken mainly from the Times Top 1000 companies suggests, there appears to have been some lethargy in taking adequate steps to meet the requirements of the new Law. This short note outlines the changes with regard to the reward for employee inventions, examines the possible effects of the new legislation, and discusses the actions that companies should make and are making.
Re‐charging the costs of R&D: when is it appropriate?
Authors: Aked N. H. , Reader R. D.
Published: May 2007

A scheme of recharging the costs of individual R&D projects to internal ‘customers’ in a company is described and its possible advantages discussed. A particular case, recharging in a nationalized industry, is examined and it is concluded that most of the advantages would be difficult to realize; other measures, more suited to individual circumstances, are likely to improve the effectiveness of such corporate R&D. The discussion is generalized to consider which methods of R&D funding are appropriate to different contexts.
Marketing research for new product ideas arising from R&D departments
Authors: Blois K. J. , Cowell D. W.
Published: May 2007

R&D departments often develop products, processes or ideas which they consider might have potential as new products. Such products may have arisen as a result of fundamental research or as a by‐product of research into specific problems rather than as solutions to needs already identified in the market place.

This paper discusses the problems involved in identifying and assessing the needs for product ideas originating within R&D. It indicates the need for understanding and co‐operation between R&D and marketing departments in this particular form of new product development.
Innovation among suppliers to automobile manufacturers: an exploratory study of barriers and facilitators1
Authors: Rubenstein A. H. , Ettlie J. E.
Published: May 2007

This paper reports on an exploratory study of the barriers and facilitators that affect technological innovation by suppliers to the automotive industry and the adoption of such innovations by the industry. The specific focus in the study was on key decision and action points in the life of specific innovations or potential innovations (ideas for new products) which may affect their successful development and marketing. The major source of data for this study was in the form of brief cases obtained from interviews of managers and technical personnel in suppliers to the automotive industry. These cases related to specific projects engaged in or ideas proposed by the responding firms or others in their sector of the industry which were aimed at the introduction of new or improved products, components, systems, materials, designs, etc., to the automotive industry.

The information and data for this study were collected by means of structured interviews with 15 managers in 13 first level supplier firms to the automotive industry. A total of 32 innovations were investigated and a corresponding number of 32 cases and additional information on barriers and facilitators were generated for these 32 innovations.

In general it was found that the most important barriers and facilitators to innovating were federal laws and regulations. Overall, the two types of decisions that are made in the automotive supplier's environment which appear consistently throughout these cases are (1) the automotive customer's decision to accept, encourage development of, or adopt innovations, and (2) the government's decision to mandate changes in safety, environment or energy‐relatedregulations or legislation. The policy implications of the results of this study are discussed as they relate to an evolving model of the effects of potential federal intervention in the R&D/innovation process.
Research & Development management system and profitability method used at Sumitomo Electric
Authors: Nakahara T. , Matsuda Y. , Motoyoshi K.
Published: May 2007

In order to increase R&D efficiency, it is important to establish an R&D management system best suited for the particular enterprise. This paper presents the outline of the R&D management at Sumitorno Electric Industries, the organization of the R&D Group, the project evaluation method used, and the Sumitorno model of the profitability method as applied to project assessment.
Simulating the forces impinging upon the research budgets and organizations of a major firm—a test of a possible method
Authors: McCosh A. M. , Maluste R. D.
Published: May 2007

This paper reports work on one of a series of projects studying the utilization of discretionary funds by managers. The model described here is intended to assist decision makers to study the impact on the financial future of the firm, of policies affecting Research and Development. The factors affecting research, its orientation, and success are several and ill‐defined. The present work draws upon the empirical research of Kesztenbaum and McCosh to illuminate the most important factors. The attempt is made to explore how these factors interact, whether this interaction can be simulated by a cross‐impact procedure; and translates the factors into financial results using a modification of a model developed by McCosh (1975).

The paper shows how the resulting new model, called ‘RDSIM', was received by some major British companies and also considers the sensitivity of the results to some of the input which must necessarily be imprecise.
Notes & Comments: University industrial units: some marketing aspects
Authors: Macrosson W. D. K.
Published: May 2007

All University Industrial Units were visited and information collected on aspects of their activities. The relative importance of promotional devices was ascertained and +he role of the director examined. Some University Industrial Units still have difficulty in obtaining appropriate contracts.
Investigating the Not Invented Here (NIH) syndrome: A look at the performance, tenure, and communication patterns of 50 R & D Project Groups
Authors: Katz Ralph , Allen Thomas J.
Published: May 2007

The study, carried out in a large laboratory, shows that performance increases up to 1. 5 years tenure, stays steady for a time but by five years has declined noticeably. This tendency is best accounted for by the marked decline in communication rate among group members and between them and critical external sources of information. The authors analyse the significance of this finding and suggest means of maintaining the vitality of long‐standing project teams.

The study, carried out in a large laboratory, shows that performance increases up to 1. 5 years tenure, stays steady for a time but by five years has declined noticeably. This tendency is best accounted for by the marked decline in communication rate among group members and between them and critical external sources of information. The authors analyse the significance of this finding and suggest means of maintaining the vitality of long‐standing project teams.
The assessment of Government support for industrial research: lessons from a study of Norway
Authors: Schwarz Michiel , Irvine John , Martin Ben , Pavitt Keith , Rothwell Roy
Published: May 2007

Abstract: This paper summarises the results of a recent study carried out by the Science Policy Research Unit for the Norwegian Royal Commission on Industrial Research (the ‘Industriforskningsutvalget’). We assess in broad terms the effectiveness of existing Norwegian mechanisms for supporting Industrial research in institutes and firms, focussing in particular on the mechanical engineering and electronics sectors. A range of evaluation techniques are utilised in examining (a) research institute performance, (b) the research institute/industry interface, and (c) the general mode of operation of the funding system. It is suggested that the methodology adopted in the study may be of more general value in evaluating national systems for funding R & D.
The use of OR models in the assessment of alternative wave energy devices
Authors: Mytton M. G.
Published: May 2007

Abstract: The author outlines the way in which OR models can be used to aid the development and technical assessment of different technologies for obtaining energy from the wave motion of the seas. The cost of prototype devices would be enormous and their use would be quite impracticable for comparing different technologies. The author's models are sophisticated enough to give an initial assessment of different devices using the input from relatively inexpensive small‐scale physical models. They are capable of varying the design parameters of each device and locating optimum values, thus ensuring that comparisons are made under the most favourable conditions.
Price indices for industrial R&D: A project level approach
Authors: Switzer Lome
Published: May 2007

In this paper a fairty tractable approach which managers could use to infer the rate of increase in relative RBD costs over time using actual RBD expenditure data is demonstrated. Two common measures of relative cost increase which in a sense represent bounds, the Laspeyres and Faaschs indices, are estimated for a firm, based on representative projects performed by the firm. The results which are consistent with rnothear study using company level data indicate that the official R&D statistics tend to exaggwate the increase during 1M9‐79 in industrial RhQ performance. In particular using the GNP deftstor, one would appuently Qwmimate real 1979 R&D expenditures (in 1963 dolfatrs) by almost 20% in the chemical industry atone.
A classification and review of models of the intra‐firm innovation process
Authors: Saren M. A.
Published: May 2007

The recognised complexity of the innovation process not only makes it difficult to manage, explain and study, but also presents problems for the development of a generalised model.

Cooper's recent article in ‘R&D Management’ suggests that the construction of a generalised model is inappropriate because there appear to be a number of different types of innovation processes. However, many of the studies of innovation postulate or assume a general model which represents the stages involved in the firm.

This paper reviews the models of the innovation process which have been proposed and the author classifies them according to his taxonomy of different types:

(a) Departmental‐stage models

(b) Activity‐stage models

(c) Decision‐stage models

(d) Conversion process models

(e) Response models

The advantages and disadvantages of each approach are discussed and the conclusion reached is that still more research needs to be concentrated on the nature of the innovation process within the firm itself. The absence of a definitive model compounds the problems of semantics and definitions when discussing innovation.
Book Reviews
Authors: DEWS J. D. , BERGEN S. A. , BERGEN S. A. , BERGEN S. A. , BAKER A. G.
Published: May 2007

Technical Insights, Inc. Annual report on research and development… 1982: the year that was… 1983: the year to come

Project Management

Industrial R&D Management—the modern issues

Trends in Information Transfer

Information Society, For Richer, For Poorer

Cybernetics and Systems Research
Interdisciplinary research redefined: Multi‐skill, problem‐focussed research in the STRAP framework
Authors: Porter Alan L. , Rossini Frederick A.
Published: May 2007

A new framework for the study of interdisciplinary research processes is presented ‘STRAP’ emphasizes the combination of identifiable skills—substantive knowledge and techniques—that must come together to solve a complex research problem. This framework holds promise of better accommodating non‐academic settings and yielding new insights into the management of complex R&D projects.
Decision Analysis and Strategic Management of Research and Development: A comparison between applications in electronics and ethical pharmaceuticals
Authors: Thomas Howard
Published: May 2007

The process of strategic management of research and development is contrasted through the application of decision analysis in the evaluation of R&D projects—one in an electronics company, and one in a pharmaceutical company.

Issues considered include the different character of applied R&D in each industry resulting from, for example, the shorter product lifecycles that apply to the electronics industry compared to the much longer lifecycles in the pharmaceutical industry. The difference of time horizon between the two industries suggests that different decision criteria might be adopted in project evaluation. Decision‐makers in both industries express a need for flexible decision and performance criteria in relation to strategy dialogue about alternative project‐options.

Implementation problems encountered include: long term discounting, the nature of the preference function for long‐term cash flow streams, issues in making assessments of uncertainty in relation to long‐term future time horizons, and the management of research portfolios.
The action research model applied to the management of interdisciplinary research in university and industrial settings
Authors: Saxberg Borje O.
Published: May 2007

There are problems in managing successful interdisciplinary research when resources must be drawn from across departmental bounds. The action research model provides a means for the interdisciplinary group to explore the problem constellation and introduce change. The application of this model to overall interdisciplinary policy management is illustrated for a group of health research centres in an academic Health Sciences Centre and for the Technology and Engineering area of a technology organization. For both, the application of the action research model introduced an improved basis for conducting interdisciplinary activities in discipline oriented organizational settings.
A note on effective laboratory size
Authors: Noltingk B. E.
Published: May 2007

Surprisingly little attention has been paid to the question of what size is desirable for a whole laboratory as distinct from the groups that comprise it. A semi‐quantitative analysis shows that while very small laboratories are handicapped by restricted common services there is also a heavy penalty paid by very large laboratories in the extended path over which information must flow between the working scientists and the decision makers. It is. not desirable, therefore, to expand research effort by allowing laboratories to grow indefinitely in size.
Knowledge refinement for aircraft design and other processes with long cycle time
Authors: Walkden F. , Heath B. O.
Published: May 2007

This paper is concerned with possible technical processes for collecting and refining knowledge and expertise within the Research and Development and Production and Support functions in the aircraft industry. It is also concerned with processes for facilitating the use of stored knowledge and expertise in providing for example continuity of good practice. Features of humans as processors of information, which will influence the collection and use of relevant knowledge and experience, are considered. The feasibility of ‘solving’ information processing problems with currently available techniques and hardware and software products is assessed. Indications are given of the kinds of developments that seem to be needed in the context of aircraft design and other activities considered in this paper. Human privacy considerations are identified as a possible problem and are discussed briefly.
Some people aspects of knowledge engineering
Authors: Sutton D. C.
Published: May 2007

if an Expert System is to work effectively it must be fitted to its users' needs and preferences, not to its creators' convenience.

The elegance of the programming language or the brilliance of the logical mechanisms will be wasted if the system is difficult to use or irrelevant in action.

The capture of the knowledge when setting up an Expert System, and the use of a working system are both areas which involve Man/Machine interaction. This paper will draw attention to developments in the modelling of Human Learning Styles and Problem Solving Processes which could contribute to Knowledge Engineering methods.

Models drawn from such disciplines can help the designers of Expert Systems to take account of human requirements as well as technical and logical factors. In addition, methods exist whereby the specific needs and objectives of potential users can be incorporated at the design stage, rather than as a result of criticism of systems already provided.

Examples will be given of the contribution these methods are making to the progress of several Man/Machine Interface projects that the author is currently engaged upon.
A methodology for constructing expert systems
Authors: Attarwala F. T. , Basden A.
Published: May 2007

Construction of Expert Systems has so far been seen as a craft or an art, not a science. This paper attempts to improve this situation by deducing some aspects of a methodology for constructing Expert Systems from a model of an expert's expertise. It suggests that the traditional methods, based on extracting problem‐solving rules from an expert and encoding them directly into a suitable knowledge representation have certain disadvantages, while attempting to extract a causal model from the expert overcomes many of these. The simple Plausible Inference Expert System shell, of which several are now commercially available, is often very suited to the construction of causal models, and some practical issues concerning the construction of causal models are discussed.

The suggested methodology has been found to work in several Expert System projects in I.C.I., though it is still being developed in the light of experience. In particular, the importance of the top‐down design of an Expert System is stressed, though it is not yet based on theoretical considerations.
The effect of U.K. incentives on R&D activities in U.S.‐owned electronics companies in Scotland
Authors: Haug Peter , Pizzi Robert E.
Published: May 2007

The British Government provides numerous financial assistance programmes to assist electronics companies in funding investment projects, R&D activities, and applications of new technology. Interviews were conducted at fifteen U.S. electronics subsidiaries in Scotland to determine the effect of these government incentives in promoting technology and innovation. Results indicate that capital investment grants were widely used, but that financial aid schemes to encourage R&D and the adoption of advanced technology have no bearing on technical characteristics and decisions at the affiliates.
Large European manufacturers and the management of R&D
Authors: De Meyer Arnoud
Published: May 2007

At the end of 1984, for the third consecutive year, a research team from INSEAD administered a survey of the largest manufacturers in Europe. This survey attempts to provide an insight into the technological and manufacturing strategy designed and implemented by these large manufacturers.

Each year since 1982 about 150 companies have completed the questionnaire, and of these 150 replies about one third are repeat answers. The database thus covers about 350 companies. As a consequence this allows us not only to analyse the static picture for a single year, but also to draw a dynamic picture of how thinking about technological and manufacturing strategy is changing within the European Manufacturing Industry.

An analysis of the questionnaire's results allows us to assert some hypotheses about:

a. Changes in the length of the product lifecycle.

b. The importance of process engineering and proprietary process know‐how.

c. The interface between manufacturing and research and development as perceived by the manufacturing side.

Since a similar survey is conducted for North America and Japan at the same time, it is possible to posit the European manufacturers vis‐à‐vis their global competitors for some of these issues.
Microcomputer penetration into the corporate environment and its managerial implications
Authors: Han Yael , Levin Dan
Published: May 2007

The authors state that the main need in the microcomputer field is not hardware or applications software but policies for linking microcomputers to company databases and information stores, referred to as communication capability. The paper presents a conceptual framework for the structure and degree of connectivity among the company microcomputer‐based information systems. The management problem is to find the right trade‐offs between the advantages to the individual having an autonomous dedicated microcomputer against the disadvantages to the organization of duplicated effort and data, and a fragmented information system.

To find the optimum trade‐off the management has to take into account five major issues; the desirable degree of compatibility of hardware and software; hidden and obvious costs; impact on the user; change with time; and organizational issues.

The authors analyse two sets of variables, those affecting the system and those affecting the individual, and identify about eight sub‐variables each of which should be taken into account when deciding the desirable level of performance of the total system. They reject a global multi‐criterion decision‐making approach and propose instead the division of the system into three levels each having its own criteria of performance and each its own degree of mutual connectivity. These are respectively, site‐wide applications (maximum connectivity), special applications uniting a sub‐set of individuals, and personal applications exclusively oriented on a single person.

The paper concludes with guidelines for future study, mainly to clarify the issues, and a sketch of a prescriptive framework for organizational policy.
The practice of R&D management: An empirical study of Korean firms
Authors: Lee Jinjoo , Lee Sangjin , Bae Zong‐tae
Published: May 2007

This paper presents an empirical study on the practice of R&D management in a Newly Industrializing Country, Korea. Based on a review of literature, a survey framework has been generated. The data were collected from 73 laboratories of Korean private companies through a structured questionnaire, via mail and additional telephone interviews in some cases. The major findings concerning R&D planning, R&D project management and evaluation, and R&D personnel management are described. In Korea, substantial efforts have been made in order to enhance the efficiency of R&D management, though the practice of R&D management is by now in the unstructured/flexible phase. Beyond this study, more detailed research on the R&D management of Newly Industrializing Countries is needed.
Cabri Project—a Collaborative Research Facility
Authors: Georghiou Luke , Gibbons Michael
Published: May 2007

This paper describes the results of a case‐study carried out within the context of a wider evaluation of the benefits and costs of international collaboration in Europe for the development of fast breeder reactors. The Cabri reactor is a large scale research facility jointly owned and operated by France and Germany, with the UK, USA, and Japan involved as junior partners. The organisation of the collaboration is discussed. Particular issues include problems surrounding barter arrange‐ ments, personnel aspects and the extent to which costs and benefits have been incurred. It is concluded that a substantial saving was achieved compared with performing the work in one country, but at a cost of reduced national control. The collaboration was facilitated by the lack of immediate commercial significance and by the organisational structure.
Management Development for Scientists and Technologists—Opening Address
Authors: Maclean Alasdair
Published: May 2007

The paper, the opening address to the Conference on Management Training for Scientists and Technologists held at Manchester in July 1986, deals with the problems which must be solved by UK industry if it is to survive in the industrial jungle of the next century. The author sees the most serious cause for concern as being the poor communication between top managements and technologists, originating in and aggravated by historically based cultural and social divisions inside UK society.

The first and essential step towards a solution is for top managements to accept that technological change is inevitable and that it will affect their own operations. They must therefore accept the need to continuously review and undertake the replacement of the firm's process, product and management technologies, along with a parallel review and refurbishment of workforce skills. This implies re‐education both of the firm's technical arm, including its R&D personnel and, most importantly, of the non‐R&D functions which commission R&D and use its results. The author sees functional demarcation lines as a particular evil. He also deplores the preference of UK financial institutions for short‐term financial returns to all investment, which reduces its capability to support innovative activities with a long lead‐time. He contends that the solution to the UK's long‐standing economic problems demands at least that technology and its proper management be placed at the very top of top management's agenda.

He concludes the paper by challenging the technological community to play its part in bridging the gap between top managements and technology. Achieving acceptance of this challenge is the most important current task of those engaged in developing the management capabilities of scientists and technologists.

The invitation to give an opening address, with no restrictions other than a loose relationship to the subject to be discussed, to a conference of this kind is one which is very difficult to refuse. Few of us can resist the chance of a platform on which to ride a few hobby‐horses, display a few personal prejudices which can be legitimately exposed, and on which some wild generalisations can be made, which I would not make did I not think them worth further consideration. In this opening few minutes of your conference, I have no intention of examining any single aspect of the comprehensive coverage which will be the feature of the next three days, but I would like to deal personally with a few of the aspects of this most challenging of subjects of which I have had some personal experience. The subject is of crucial importance, not just in the operational sense of how we make the best of what we have, but in helping to formulate better the industrial strategies which the UK must adopt if it is to survive in the industrial jungle of the 21st century.
How can we predict management potential in research scientists?
Authors: Gratton Lynda
Published: May 2007

The success of an R&D operation depends on selecting the right speciailists to occupy management positions. Errors of selection mostly arise because the choice is made on the basis of the candidate's current performance as a scientist or technologist. However, the author makes the point that persons likely to make good Rand D managers differ qualitatively from good researchers. Good scientists adopt an innovative, unconstrained, independent approach to their work, have high self‐esteem, are not much interested in people and, above all, prize technical soundness. R&D managers are interested in people, active, enterprising and want to manage.

The organization's problem is therefore to find reliable ways of predicting management potential with sufficient but not exclusive regard to current performance. The author recommends the use of a Career Aspirations Programme, based on exposure to the processes operating in an Assessment Centre. This is a systematic procedure using an array of personnel evaluation techniques through which a person is made aware of the demands of a management job and managers made aware of the likelihood of that person's meeting them.

At the end of the process a course of personal development is agreed upon. In concrete terms this means for the potential manager that promotion may follow. Especially important if the verdict is that he or she is to continue as a technical specialist, the job may be re‐designed to give it more scope and impact, or the person concerned may be retrained or placed under the care of a senior colleague acting as a mentor.
Continuous learning and the management of change
Authors: Barrington Harry A.
Published: May 2007

The author deals with the problem faced by Lever Brothers Ltd, a company within the Unilever Group, in training graduate management trainees to manage change in an era in which subordinates increasingly challenge management decisions and those decisions themselves are less confidently made.

One response was to include in the first‐year management training programme a week‐long Study Group, guided but not led by a process consultant, and dedicated to exploring possible changes in the company's personnel management policies necessary to meet expected changes in the social and economic climate.

Over the years the format and detailed objectives of this Study Group have changed but as a result of the flexibility of the format and the openness of the transactions much has been learned on how to manage change. Trainees have learned, for exarnple, that learning must be viewed as part of work and not something added on, that group learning is possible and desirable, that people learn in different ways, and that managing a technical operation involves managing a social group. The paper also discusses the role of the trainer in such free‐ranging group processes and the need to integrate what has been learned in training sessions with the real world of operations.

The author concludes by emphasising that the most important lesson learned by trainees is that managing the process of the Study Group was an essential part of managing its task. From this experience they also learnt the more important lesson that process review is basic to managing in real life.
Problems faced by R&D managers in Canadian federal government laboratories
Authors: Clarke Thomas E. , Reavley Jean
Published: May 2007

The paper conducts a critical review of the problems faced by middle to first‐line managers in managing R&D in Canadian government laboratories. The data come from the published literature, interviews with R&D managers, and information obtained from government employees undergoing training as R&D managers.

The problems are numerous and serious. They arise from a multiplicity of causes related to underfunding and bureaucratic management practices that do not allow for the special nature of R&D. Hiring freezes, staff reductions, travel restrictions and reductions in training budgets are all consequences of underfunding, resulting in an aging workforce and technological obsolescence. Bureaucratic administration rules set by central agencies constrain the freedom of R&D managers to manage effectively, and limit low‐level participation in policy‐making and planning. The result is that too many management posts are filled by under‐achieving scientists and engineers, with resultant consequences for originality and efficiency.

The authors believe that the only cure is to undertake proper funding, recognise the special operational needs of R&D management, and select managers for managerial ability in addition to technical competence.
R&D ‘programmes‐competencies’ matrix: analyzing R&D expertise within the firm
Authors: Durand Thomas
Published: May 2007

The author suggests that the systematic identification of a firm's technologies opens up the possibility of evaluating, protecting, optimizing, enriching and exploiting these technologies to the full. A firm's technologies fall into two parts: those embodied and exploited in current operations and those evolving from the collective competencies of its R&D staff. The author's aim is to evaluate and describe the firm's R&D competencies.

The identification of R&D competencies proceeds in three steps: tracing the background of the current and past programmes, constructing a programmes/competencies matrix, and deriving an expertise profile. The construction of the matrix is the key activity and requires much care in its execution, if competencies are to be properly defined and truly existing, and if it is to be exhaustive. The author sketches a procedure for constructing a matrix and discusses problems of implementation and draws attention to some of its limitations.

The author claims that such an inventory of expertise could improve the efficiency of the use of the R&D resource, identify a laboratory's strengths and weaknesses, direct R&D into hitherto neglected channels, assist individuals to identify and evaluate their own expertise, justify obtaining funding for building expertise in shortage areas. The method should be considered as a starting point to formulate appropriate strategies to gain access to technology.
Information technology impacts on innovation
Authors: Lee Soonchul , Treacy Michael E.
Published: May 2007

In this paper, we propose a model of Information Technology (IT) impacts on innovation. We do not intend to generalize a specific model of innovation. Rather, the objective here is to explain how IT can facilitate innovation in a work group. Review of literature suggests that innovative ability of a work group is dependent on the capabilities of the individuals/group, the structure of the work group or organization, and the group/organizational environments. To explore this conceptual model, data were collected from 136 users who used well‐established information systems. The data supported that IT enhanced innovation significantly by augmenting individual/group capabilities through: 1) motivation support, 2) resource support, and 3) information support. Motivation support was shown to be the most important contributor of innovation. Group interaction variables, standardization, decentralization, and specialization, were shown to be positively related to innovation. However, the effect of group interaction was secondary in nature; the independent contributions to innovation of group interaction variables, controlling for other factors, were not significant. In addition, the data provided support that innovation was positively related to demand pull via motivation and resource support, and to technology push via information support.
Industrywide technical product standards
Authors: Reddy N. Mohan , Cort Stanton G.
Published: May 2007

Technology, by its very nature, creates a high degree of interdependence in the industrial marketplace. Customers buy products for use with other products in a production system. The consequent requirement for technical compatibility constrains managers' freedom in developing products and marketing programmes. lndustrywide product standards, and the process of setting them, play a complex and little discussed role in enabling managers to deal with these constraints. This article provides a market‐based examination of product standards and that role.
New product success factors: A comparison of ‘kills’ versus successes and failures
Authors: Cooper R. G. , Kleinschmidt E. J.
Published: May 2007

The paper reports an analysis of the characteristics of those new projects that are killed, that is, terminated before commercialisation. Such projects constitute the majority of new product projects. The authors' aim was to learn from the differences between ‘kills’ and those that are commercialised. The latter may, of course, turn out to be successes or failures.

Their sample consisted of 250 new projects of which 123 were ultimately successful, 80 failed and 47 were kills. Two hypotheses were tested: that kills and failures had similar characteristics and that kills differed from successes in the way that failures differed from successes. Four groups of multidimensional project characteristics were measured: product advantage, market attractiveness, competitive situation, and synergy/familiarity.

The results showed that neither hypothesis was generally supported, The patterns of characteristics observed were complex but were unravelled through a computer model simulating how managers perform the evaluation process. It showed that the results could be explained on the basis that errors could be made in evaluation. For example, it is difficult to evaluate product advantage. Surprisingly, competitive situation is not a discriminator between successes, failures and kills but managers treat it as if it were. Some characteristics are perceived by managers to be negative although they are, in fact, favourable to project success.

The authors claim that these results should lead to better allocation of R&D resources among proposed projects.
Interdisciplinary research centres — a problem in strategy and management
Authors: Hoch Paul K.
Published: May 2007

Interdisciplinary research centres (IRCs) in the UK were originally set up by the UK Advisory Board for Research Councils (the ABRC) to foster cross‐disciplinary basic research. This activity was seen to be a fruitful way to help British industry overcome some of its current technological shortcomings. The author describes the strategy pursued by the ABRC in setting up the IRCs, their location, staffing policies, relationship to industry and other characteristics.

The author indicates the problems faced by IRC managements in the present situation. There is financial stringency, they have to ensure continuity of expertise, a problem posed by the ABRC's insistence on a very small permanent core staff at each centre, and they have the difficult task of directing basic research, which has its own internal logic, towards externally defined objectives thought to be relevant to the British national interest.

The author believes that only radical change can guarantee a successful future for the IRCs but is pessimistic that the ABRC's present tactics will procure it.
Design, innovation and corporate integration
Authors: Rothwell R. , Whiston T. G.
Published: May 2007

Functional integration is a new trend in corporate organization. By changing the balance between functional differentiation and integration, functional integration gives up some supposed economies of scale and benefits from division of labour in order to increase the degree of interaction and task‐sharing between diverse functions. The aim is to achieve faster response to threats and opportunities in the persistent turbulent business environment of today. The exact location of the new functional boundaries and inter dependencies differs from industry to industry; in some cases external integration, say with customers or suppliers, may be justifiable. Advantage can be taken from new forms of organization such as flatter hierarchies, the building of interfunctional teams, and the adoption of new design and manufacturing control technologies.

The paper gives examples of functional integration and discusses implications and problems generated by its adoption. Some of the implications may eventually induce radical rethinks on a whole range of presuppositions about corporate structure, relationships between the firm and its suppliers and customers, the role of management, industrial relations and the socio‐cultural impact of increasing reliance on automated information systems.
The contribution of manufacturing to shortening design cycle times
Authors: De Meyer Arnoud , Van Hooland Bart
Published: May 2007

Shortening design cycle times, without increasing design costs or sacrificing quality has become an important management goal. In this paper, we will provide a short overview of the literature on shortening design cycle times. Building on this, we want to establish how manufacturing and the manufacturing/R&D interface can contribute to shorter development cycle times. The European Manufacturing Futures database will be used to test some of the literature findings on a sample of large European Manufacturers.
Organizational strategy and resource allocation for technological turnaround
Authors: Moenaert Rudy K. , Deschoolmeester Dirk , De Meyer Arnoud , Barbé Jan
Published: May 2007

Abstract

A major issue for organizations planning for technological turnaround concerns the question of how to internalize the new technology. This article reports the findings of an exploratory research that addressed this problem. A multiple case study approach has been used to study and analyze the different strategies and organizational approaches to absorb alien technologies (in‐house development, intercompany co‐operation, purchase of technology, contract research, joint‐venture, acquisition). On the basis of the results, a propositional framework has been developed which offers managers a perspective to develop a strategy with respect to the appropriate organizational design to ‘de‐mature’ technologically mature business units.
Financial planning issues concerning funding, pricing and organization of corporate R&D activity: A case study
Authors: Rao P. M.
Published: May 2007

This paper is a case study of financial planning issues concerning funding, pricing, and the organization of corporate research and development (R&D) activity faced by American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) after the break up of the Bell System. The paper concludes that from the standpoint of financial planning, and in the context of firms similar to AT&T, a variant of the predivestiture model, rather than a profit centre model or a market model, appears to be the most efficient way of funding, pricing and organizing corporate R&D activity.
Ordinal quantification of the concept of technology through pooled consensus
Authors: Nimgade Ashok , Sonk Joseph
Published: May 2007

This paper explores the possibility of combining multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis with the Delphi method to allow for the ordinal quantification of important attributes of technology. To demonstrate implementation of this method, 18 scientists and managers, with 227 pooled years of relevant industrial experience, were asked to assess the application of several pharmaceutical drug delivery technologies to particular prescription (Rx) and over‐the‐counter (OTC) products. Study participants were only asked to think about variables intrinsic to the concept of technology (here, differentiation, sophistication, and development cost) and to assume exogenous variables such as price as background constant. For comparable sets of technology‐product combinations participant evaluations were used to assess the following pilot MLR model in which:

Market share = a +βd Differentiation +βS Sophistication +βc Development Cost.

For OTC products, Differentiation, and to some extent Sophistication, were found to be the most important significant independent variables. For Rx products, Sophistication was the major significant independent variable. These findings make sense considering that OTC products are sold directly to end users whereas Rx products are dispensed through physicians or pharmacists.

Further studies are warranted to see if given the statistical superiority of pooled consensus over individual forecasts, the method described here might also be used to help choose revenue‐maximizing products and to discover relevant product development principles.
New product process activities and project outcomes
Authors: Dwyer Larry , Mellor Robert
Published: May 2007

The new product process comprises the set of activities that move the product from idea to launch. The authors investigated the new product process activities of firms in Australia, England and Belgium. Objectives of the research were to determine—what activities are undertaken in the new product process? How proficiently are these activities performed and what improvements are needed? whether the sorts of activities undertaken and their proficiency affect project success or failure. Since these activities are largely under the control of management, the deeper is our understanding of new product process activities, the greater the scope for improved product innovation management.
An assessment of science parks: Towards a better understanding of their role in the diffusion of technological knowledge
Authors: Van Dierdonck Roland , Debackere Koenraad , Rappa Michael A.
Published: May 2007

This paper examines the role of university science parks in fostering interorganizational technology transfers and technological development. We first try to contrast the development of science parks with the theoretical and empirical findings from scholarly work in the area of the management of technology. This theoretical context allows us to interpret and to discuss empirical data collected from Belgian and Dutch science park firms. The data collection mainly focused on the interactions of park‐based firms with their external R&D environment. This analysis leads to two important findings: (1) the level of R&D activity at the tenants is rather moderate for most of the parks studied, and (2) the tension between ‘regionalism’ and ‘internationalism’ in contemporary R&D management.

In the wake of this second finding, arguments are presented to complement and even to change the focus from the ‘miniature’ R&D network which might develop on university science parks toward the ‘R&D community’ network holding together researchers working on a particular, interrelated set of scientific and technological problems wherever they may be located around the globe. Moreover, it is argued that a unified theory on the emergence and the development of new technologies is badly needed. Only if the dynamics underlying the development of a new technology are unravelled and better understood can technology policies, such as the ones involving the creation of science parks, be targeted more effectively.