Proceedings g of the 2nd International Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship The Institute for Knowledge and Innovation Southeast Asia (IKI-SEA) Bangkok University Thailand 6-7 February 2014
Edited by Lugkana Worasinchai & Vincent Ribière Bangkok g University y Thailand
A conference managed by ACI, UK
Proceedings of The 2nd International Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship ICIE‐2014 Hosted by The Institute for Knowledge and Innovation Southeast Asia (IKI‐SEA) Bangkok University, Thailand 6‐7 February 2014 Edited by Dr Vincent Ribière and Dr Lugkana Worasinchai IKI‐SEA Bangkok University Thailand
Copyright © The Authors, 2014. All Rights Reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission may be made without written permission from the individual authors. Papers have been double‐blind peer reviewed before final submission to the conference. Initially, paper abstracts were read and selected by the conference panel for submission as possible papers for the conference. Many thanks to the reviewers who helped ensure the quality of the full papers. These Conference Proceedings have been submitted to Thomson ISI for indexing. Further copies of this book and previous year’s proceedings can be purchased from http://academic‐bookshop.com Book version ISBN: 978‐1‐909507‐93‐7 Book Version ISSN: 2049‐6834 Published by Academic Conferences and Publishing International Limited Reading UK 44‐118‐972‐4148 www.academic‐publishing.org
Contents Paper Title
Author(s)
Page No.
Preface
Iv
Committee
V
Biographies
vii
Factors Influencing Students’ Entrepreneurial Inten‐ tions: The Critical Roles of Personal Attraction and Perceived Control Over Behavior
Afsaneh Bagheri and Zaidatol Akmaliah Lope Pihie
1
Re‐Engaging Learners With Strategic Teaching Approaches to Entrepreneur Learning in Higher Education
Bob Barrett
9
A Model to Study the Influence of Team Psychological Safety and Team Learning on Team Knowledge Creation
Peter Cauwelier, Vincent Ribière and Alex Bennet
16
Describing and Assessing Co‐Design Competences: Some Preliminary Results
Valérie Chanal and Jacques Raynauld
24
Innovation and Enterprise Development: The Case of the Ethekwini Municipality
Anneline Chetty
29
A Model to Study What Knowledge Based Practices Successfully Facilitate Innovation in Supply Chains
Allan Deacon, Alex Bennet and Manasi Shukla
38
Understanding the Impact of Co‐Opetition on Innovation: A Multi‐Level Analysis
Audrey Depeige and André Nemeh
44
Conceptualization of Coopetition Dynamics in Entrepreneurial Clusters:The CIMEE Model (Coopetitive Innovation Modeling in an Entrepreneurial Ecology)
Audrey Depeige and Stavros Sindakis
54
Using Innovation to Stimulate Growth in Owner Managed SMEs
Paul Donaldson
62
Common Culture: A Valuable Prerequisite for Innovation‐Focused Interactions Between Science and Economy
Olaf Gaus, Bernd Neutschel, Matthias Raith and Sándor Vajna
70
Ideas of Potential Users and What They Tell us
Martin Hewing
80
Platform‐Based Ecosystems: Leveraging Network‐ Centric Innovation
Thierry Isckia and Denis Lescop
89
University‐Industry Knowledge Dynamics in Northern Sparsely Populated Areas
Päivi Iskanius, Eija‐Riitta Niinikoski, Harri Jokela and Matti Muhos
96
Do Incubators Actually Help Entrepreneurs in Emerging Markets? The Case of Egypt
Ayman Ismail and Sherif Yehia
106
The Effect of Knowledge Management Practices on Employees’ Innovative Performance
Seyed Mohammadbagher Jafari, Mariyayee Sup‐ piahand Thiaku Ramalingam
112
Innovation’s Dependence on Human Capital in the World’s Most Innovative Countries
Eva Jurickova
120
Teaching Methods to Facilitate Learning Entrepreneurial Competences in Higher Education
Marja‐Liisa Kakkonen
128
Analysis of Innovation Strategies in Hospitality Industry: Developing a Framework for the Evaluation of new Hotel Services in Thailand
Fotis Kitsios and Stavros Sindakis
136
i
Paper Title
Author(s)
Page No.
Entrepreneurial Marketing and Industrial Innovation as Organizational Learning Processes
Stefan Lagrosen
Catalysts and Barriers of Open Innovation for SMEs in Allan Lahi and Tiit Elenurm Transition Economy
142 149
Boosting Innovation and Entrepreneurship: An Ecological Approach in Higher Education
Tara Mann, Karen Oates and Jerry Schaufeld
159
Supporting Innovation in SMEs and MNCs Alliances: A Case Study
Maurizio Massaro and Francesca Dal Mas
165
Linking Market Orientation and Service Relatedness to new Service Development: The Case of Italian Small Accounting Firms
Maurizio Massaro and Gina Rossi
173
Analysis of the Relationship Between the Company's Internal Resources and the Effectiveness of Innovative Activity of SMEs in Poland
Tomasz Norek
181
Entrepreneurship Model for Sustainable Economic Development in Developing Countries
Samuel Oladipo Olutuase
191
A Model to Assess the Influence of Entrepreneurial Leadership on Intrapreneurial Motivation
Sharn Orchard, Stavros Sindakis and Vincent Ribiere
201
Entrepreneurs: Demographic Profile, who has Higher Chances of Survival?
Aneta Ptak‐Chmielewska
209
An in‐Depth Analysis of Professional Tour Guides’ Intercultural Communication in Tourism English
Renan Saylag
217
Prepared to Launch? A Study of Thailand’s new Entrepreneurs’ Creation (NEC) Education Program
Terrence Sebora, Poompichai Tarndamrong, Ronda Smith and Ronald Hampton
224
An Empirical Investigation of Gender Impact on Innovativeness Among Thai Entrepreneurs via GEM Database
Manasi Shukla, Ulrike Guelich and Aurilla Aurelie Bechina Arntzen
232
The Role of Networks in Development of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in Kazakhstan
Gulzhanat Tayauova and Cetin Bektas
240
Exploring Teachers’ Views of Entrepreneurial Peda‐ gogy and Didactics in the Hospitality Management Degree Program: Case JAMK University of Applied Sciences
Minna Tunkkari‐Eskelinen
246
PHD papers
255
Theoretical Background of Knowledge Competence Development in SMEs in Kazakhstan
Diana Amirbekova
257
Influential Characteristics of the CEO That Facilitate an Intrapreneurial Climate
Bidyut Baruah and Anthony Ward
264
Innovation Management Strategy for the IT Industry in Sri Lanka
Shyamalie Ekanayake, Dhammika Abeysinghe and Suren Peter
273
Ergonomic Aspects of Product Development and In‐ novation
Denisa Ferenčíková
283
Entrepreneurial Motivation and Intentions: The Antecedent of Cyber Entrepreneurship
Supreet Juneja Wahee and Broto Bhardwaj
289
ii
Paper Title
Author(s)
Page No.
Is the Organizational Performance of Small Businesses Influenced by HRM Practices and the Governmental Support? A Case of Small Manufacturing Businesses in Malaysia
Yusra Yaseen Lazim and Noor Azlinna Binti Azizan
297
A Resource‐Based View of Entrepreneurial Creativity and its Implication in Entrepreneurship Education
Jing Lin and Anja Svetina Nabergoj
307
Multiple Intelligence Teaching Strategies: An Innovation in Improving Students’ Reading Comprehension
Renetchie Martinez, Joycelyn Bermudez and John Mahusay
314
Academic Entrepreneurship – new age Dictum
Prakash Sharma and Kunal Bhattacharya
323
Masters paper
333
Islamic Bank in Kazakhstan – Curious Experiment or Objective Necessity?
Adlet Aliyev
335
Work in Progress papers
341
The Contribution of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Teerawat Charoenrat and Charles Harvie to Thai SME Manufacturing Performance
343
Integrated Transformations of e‐Health Development Danguole Jankauskiene ‐ the Perspective of Stakeholder Networks
346
Tracking the Influence of Knowledge Sharing on Innovations in Healthcare: The Case of Development of e‐Health in Lithuania
Birute Pitrenaite‐Zileniene, Birute Mikulskiene and Danguole Jankauskiene
349
Indigenous Innovation Options for Latecomer Firms and Countries: The Chinese Telecommunications Experience
Pierre Vialle
353
iii
Preface These proceedings represent the work of researchers participating in the 2nd International Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship – ICIE 2014, which is being hosted by the The Institute for Knowledge and Innovation Southeast Asia (IKI‐ SEA), Bangkok University, Thailand, on the 6‐7 February 2014. The conference will be opened with a keynote from Nadim Xavier Salhani, CEO, Mudman Company Limited, Bangkok, Thai‐ land on the topic of “Being an Entrepreneur in Southeast Asia”. The keynote address on the second day is to be delivered by Prof Cees de Bont, from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China on the topic of “Ignite Innovation: a hu‐ man‐centered model for pre‐incubation in Asia”. The ICIE Conference constitutes a valuable platform for individuals to present their research findings, display their work in progress and discuss conceptual advances in many different branches of innovation and entrepreneurship in business and management. At the same time, it provides an important opportunity for researchers and managers to come together with peers, share knowledge and exchange ideas. ICIE builds on the now well established European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and allows universities outside the European Boundaries the opportunity to host an academic conference on these important topics. Following an initial submission of 110 abstracts that have undergone a double blind peer review process, 34 research papers, 10 PhD research papers ,5 work‐in‐progress papers and 1 Master’s paper published in the ICMLG 2014 Conference Proceed‐ ings, representing research results from Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Iran, Italy, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Malaysia, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, UK, and USA. We hope that you have an enjoyable conference. Dr Vincent Ribière and Dr Lugkana Worasinchai IKI‐SEA, Bangkok University Thailand February 2014
iv
Conference Executive Dr Vincent Ribière, IKI‐SEA, Bangkok University, Thailand Dr Lugkana Worasinchai, IKI‐SEA, Bangkok University, Thailand
Mini Track Chairs Dr Vincent Ribière, IKI‐SEA, Bangkok University, Thailand Christian Walter, IKI‐SEA, Bangkok University, Bangkok, Thailand Dr Tomasz Norek, Faculty of Management and Economics of Services, University of Szczecin, Poland
Committee Members The 2014 conference programme committee consists of key people in the innovation and entrepreneurship community, both from the Europe and around the world. The following people have confirmed their participation: Dr. Kamarulzaman Ab. Aziz (Multimedia University, Malaysia); Dr. Ghassan E. Abuyaghi (The Hashemite University, Amman, Jordan); Prof. Dr. Zafer Acar (Okan University, Istanbul, Turkey); Dr. Bulent Acma (Anadolu University, Turkey); Mo'taz Amin Al Sa'eed (Al ‐ Balqa' Applied University, Amman, Jordan); Mohammad Aladwan (hashemite university, Jordan); Dr. Husam Aldeen Al‐Khadash (The Hashemite University, Amman, Jordan);Prof. Refat Al‐Faouri (The Arab Administrative Development Organization (ARADO), Cairo,, Egypt); Saleh Al‐Jufout (Tafila Technical University, Jordan); Dr. Maher Al‐Mahrouq (The Jorda‐ nian Chamber of Industry (JCI) , Jordan); Ibrahim Al‐oqily (University of Ottawa, Canada); Hussein Al‐Yaseen (Al‐Ahliyya Am‐ man University, Jordan, Jordan); Dr. Khitim Alzughoul (Hashemite University, Jordan); Dr. Talah Arabiat (The German Jordani‐ an University, Jordan); Omid Askarzadeh (Polad Saab Shargh, Tehran, Iran); Prof. Alina Badulescu (University of Oradea, Ro‐ mania); Dr. Daniel Badulescu (University of Oradea, Romania); Dr. Afsaneh Bagheri (University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia); Dr. Vibha Bhandari (College of Applied Sciences,Ministry of Higher Education,Oman, Oman); Eduardo Castro (National University de la Plata, Argentina); Shi‐Jay Chen (National United University, Taiwan); Toly Chen (Feng Chia University, Taichung, Taiwan); Chuang‐Chun Chiou (Dayeh University, Changhua, Taiwan); Costas N. Costa (Cyprus University of Technology, Lemesos, Cy‐ prus); Dr. Leonard Costa (School of Economics and Management, Catholic University of Portugal, Portugal); Fengzhi Dai (Matsue College of Technology, Japan); Armando Carlos de Pina Filho (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro , Brazil); Dr. Aikyna Finch (Strayer University, Huntsville, USA); Prof. Dr. Ramaswamy Ganesan (Asia‐Pacific Institute of Management, New Delhi); Prof. Dr. Adriana Giurgiu (University of Oradea, Faculty of Economic Sciences, Dept. of International Business, Romania); Dr. Sayed Mahdi Golestan Hashemi (Iranian Research Center for Creatology, TRIZ & Innovation Management, Iran); Ebru Gunlu (Dokuz Eylul University Faculty of Business, Turkey); Kaled Hameide (Montclair State university in New Jersey, USA); Dr. Mahmoud Hassanin (Pharos University,Alexandria, Egypt); Dr. Mahmoud Hassanin (Pharos University at Alexandria, Egypt); Dr. Lilin Huang (American University of Madaba, Jordan); Dr. Ayman Ismail (American University in Cairo, Egypt); Prof. Zhang Jianhong (North CHina university of Technology, China); Prof. Konstantinos Kalemis (National Centre of Local Goverment and Administration, Greece); Yusniza Kamarulzaman (University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia); Prof. Rajkumar Kannan (Bishop Heber College Autonomous, India); Dr. Radwan A. Kharabsheh (The Jordanian Chamber of Industry (JCI) , Amman, Jordan); Prof. Jesuk Ko (Gwangju University, Korea); Dr. Yvonne Lagrosen (University West Trollhättan, Sweden); Brent Lane (Kenan‐Flager Business School, University of North Carolina, USA); Angeline Low (University of Technology Sydney, Mosman, Australia); Dr. Ihab K. Magableh (The German Jordanian University, Jordan); Randa Mahasneh (The Hashemite University, Jordan); Prof. Carla Marques (University of Trás‐os‐Montes Alto Douro (UTAD), Portugal); Prof. Maurizio Massaro (Università degli Studi di Udine, Italy); Mohd Shamsuri Md Saad (Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM), Malaysia); Dr. Anne‐Laure Mention (Centre de recherche public Henri Tudor, Luxembourg); Jens Mueller (Waikato Management School, New Zealand); Hafizi Muhamad Ali (Yanbu University College, Saudi Arabia); Desai Narasimhalu (Singapore Management University, Singa‐ pore); Dr. Tomasz Norek (University of Szczeciny, Faculty of Management and Economics of Services, Poland); Prof. Hmoud S. Olimat (The Hashemite University, Amman,, Jordan); Prof. Abdelnaser Omran (Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia); Mohand‐ Said Oukil (King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran,, Saudi Arabia); Dr. Ajit Patil (Pillai‐HOC Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai University, India); Prof. Elisabeth Pereira (University of Aveiro, portugal);Dr. Nguyen Phuc (Asian Institute of Technology and Management, Vietnam); Prof. Dr. Ige Pirnar (Yasar University, Turkey); Dr. Aneta Ptak‐ Chmielewska (Warsaw School of Economics, Poland); Prof. Cristina Rodrigues (University of Minho, Portugal); Jose Carlos Rodriguez (Economic and Business Research Institute ‐ Instituto de Investigaciones Economicas y Empresariales, Mexico); Jonas Rundquist (Halmstad University, Sweden);Umar Sabo (ramat polytechnic , Nigeria); Prof. Chaudhary Imran Sarwar (Mixed Reality University, Pakistan); Dr. Mandy Shi Yuan (South China University of Technology , China); Dr. Carmen Gabriela Sirbu (Danubius University, Romania); Prof. Aelita Skarzauskiene (Mykolas Romeris university, Lithuania); Dr. Roy Soh (Albukhary International University, Malaysia); Dr. Shahryar Sorooshian (University Malaysia Pahang, Malayisa);Padma Srinivasan (Manipal university, Bangalore, India); Khalaf Tarawneh (Hashemite university, Jordan); Dr. Perera Tissa Ravinda (University of Colombo, Sri Lanka); Dr. Hayfaa Tlaiss (University of New Brunswick Saint John, Canada); Prof. Milan Todorovic (union nikola tesla university, Serbia); Dr. Geoff Turner (University of Nicosia, Cyprus); Dr. Jeff Vanevenhoven (University of v
Wisconsin‐Whitewater , USA); Dr. Ismail Wekke(State College of Sorong, Indonesia); Doan Winkel (Illinois State University, USA); Aziz Yahya (Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Malaysia);Mohammad H Yarmohammadian (Health Management & Economic Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences , Iran); Shaker Zahra(University of Minnesota, USA); Dr. Krzysztof Zieba (Gdansk University of Technology, Poland);
vi
Biographies Conference Chair Dr. Vincent M. Ribière After teaching for 10 years in the United States, first at American University (Washington, DC) and later on at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) in New York and in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Vincent joined Bangkok University in 2007 as the Managing Director and co‐ founder of the Institute for Knowledge and Innovation – Southeast Asia (IKI‐SEA). Vincent received his Doctorate of Science in Knowledge Management from the George Washington University, and a Ph.D. in Management Sciences from the Paul Cézanne University, in Aix en Provence, France. Vincent teaches, conducts research and consults in the area of information systems, knowledge management and inno‐ vation management. He is a KM columnist for CIO World & Business magazine (Thailand) and he is part of the editorial board of the International Journal of Knowledge Management (IJKM) and of VINE: The Journal of Information and Knowledge Man‐ agement Systems. Vincent is member of the research PROMISING project managed by the University of Grenoble (UPMF) conducting research on Approaches and tools to develop the creative and innovation capabilities of students and practitio‐ ners.
Programme Chair Asst. Prof. Lugkana Worasinchai, Ph.D. is the Director of the Institute of Research Promotion and Innovation Development (IRID), Bangkok University. In addition, Lugkana Worasinchai is the Co‐ Founder and Co‐Managing Director of the Institute for Knowledge and Innovation South‐East Asia (IKI‐SEA), Bangkok University. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Business Admini‐ stration, and is actively involved in research on the relationship between knowledge management and business strategies. Lugkana Worasinchai is a published scholar, her articles appearing in major academic journals, she gives seminars to firms and public sector organizations, and is regularly invited as a guest lecturer by reputable international universities.
Keynote Speakers Professor Cees de Bont has solid experience and track records in the management and leadership of a sizable and leading design schools in the world. He took up the deanship in the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering of the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands in 2005 and carries respon‐ sibility for the School of Design of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University since February 2012. Professor de Bont has a good mix of academic and industrial experience. He started his academic career in 1993 as Assistant Professor of Economic Psychology at the University of Tilburg. During his appointment in the University of Tilburg, Professor de Bont also acted as a consultant to the Philips Design in Eindhoven of the Netherlands. In 1995, he joined Philips Design to become responsible for the Human Behaviour Research Centre. He was subsequently Head of Marketing Research and Strategy at Philips Domestic Appliances and Personal Care from 1997 to 2005 when he was responsible for generating and utilizing market information for the formulation of the strategy, R&D and marketing plans of the company. Professor de Bont’s research interests are in the areas of early concept testing of consumer acceptance, consumer behaviour, innovation adoption, and networked innovation. From 2009 till 2012 January, Professor de Bont chaired the Dutch Innovation Centre for Electric Road Transport which is a nationwide platform for electric mobility in the Netherlands; meanwhile, he was chairman of the largest research program for the creative industries in the Netherlands (CRISP). He is a member of various key professional boards and bodies related to design, automotive research, industrial innovation and market research. Nadim Xavier Salhani Lebanese from birth, French educated, living in Thailand for the last 37 years, and holding a Thai citizenship, Nadim joined MUDMAN as Group CEO in 2003. Under his leadership, the Group has managed a successful turnaround following the economic crash in 1998, and consistent YOY organic growth for the past 10 years. Nadim has over 30 years experience in the Food & Beverage indus‐ try, ranging from several leading hotels around the globe with chains like Hyatt, Sheraton, Holiday Inn and Dusit Thani, to a number of leading international retail brands that includes Starbucks, Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, Au Bon Pain Bakery Café, and Dunkin Donuts. Prior to joining MUDMAN, Nadim was the start‐up General Manager at Starbucks Coffee Thailand, establishing the brand and opening the first 40 stores in the Thai market. Nadim holds a Hospitality Administration and Management Degree from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell Uni‐ versity and a Hospitality Administration and Management Degree from Florida International University. He has significant experience working in Asia, and is fluent in Thai, English, French and Arabic language. Nadim enjoys sharing his life and work experience with people and therefore is a part time evening instructor at leading Universities in Thailand where he teaches Executive MBA courses related to (1) International Business and the Challenges of Globalization, (2) Retail Business Manage‐ ment and (3) Strategic Brand Management. vii
Mini Track Chairs Dr Tomasz Norek holds a Master's degree in economics from the University of Szczecin and a Ph.D. in economics with a specialization in Corporate Finance and Applied Informatics from the University of Szczecin. Since 1997 he has worked as a lecturer at the University of Szczecin in the Faculty of Econom‐ ics and Management Services. His research and teaching fields include business innovation with par‐ ticular emphasis on innovative behavior models for the SME sector. He is author of numerous publica‐ tions on issues related to the innovation of enterprises. From 2009 to 2012 he was a Board Member of the Academic Business Incubator of the University of Szczecin. From 2009 to 2012 he was a member of the Senate of the University of Szczecin. He is a member of numerous committees both at home and abroad and he has par‐ ticipated in the realization a number of international research projects. He is subject Editor for the Economic Problems of Services Journal, published by the University of Szczecin. He is currently Vice Dean for Student Affairs in the Faculty of Man‐ agement and Economics of Service, University of Szczecin, Poland Christian Walter is a Researcher and Lecturer at Bangkok University, IKI‐SEA. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Cultural Science and a Master of Business Administration (MBA). He is teaching Entrepreneurship and Business Model Innovation. His research interests are in the fields of business model innovation, value networks and Gamification and Creativity.
Biographies of Presenting Authors Adlet Shamil'evich Aliev has worked in the Kazakh banking sector since 1994. He is currently working in the treasury area where he is responsible for liquidity management, FX and stock trading, asset management, and developing Islamic banking in collaboration with Regulator and AFK. Diana Amirbekova is a full‐time PhD student in Kazakh‐British Technical University, Almaty, Kazakhstan. Her research inter‐ ests focus on knowledge management, company performance, small and medium sized enterprises and knowledge‐based development. Galina V. Astratova is a Dr of Economics, PhD of Techniques, professor, Director of Life Quality Research Institute, Head of "Quality management" Department of the Ural State Forest Engineering University, Corresponding Member of Management in Education and Culture Academy, Honorable Worker of the Russian Federation Higher Education, Russia, Yekaterinburg. Bob Barrett is a professor for the School of Business at the American Public University in Charles Town, West Virginia, USA. He lectures both nationally and internationally on the topics of Intellectual Capital, Human Capital, Knowledge Management, and Disability in the Workplace, e‐Portfolios, and e‐Learning. He has taught online for the past 12 years, and enjoys teaching students all over the world. Bidyut Baruah is a PhD student in the Engineering Management Research group in the Department of Electronics, University of York. Along with his research work, he also assists in teaching in the department. He has a B.Tech degree in Electronics and an MSc in Engineering Management. His research interests are in organizational innovation and management. Peter Cauwelier is an independent consultant (www.asioconsulting.com), helping teams to learn, grow and innovate to‐ gether, and take ownership of their company’s future. Peter is working towards a doctorate degree in Knowledge and Inno‐ vation. His research interest is in team learning and how this varies between cultures. Peter also has an executive MBA from Boston University. Valerie Chanal is professor of management at University Grenoble Alpes in France. Her teaching and research activities are on innovation management and strategy. She is leading the Promising program, dedicated to pedagogical innovation for in‐ novation training. www.promising.fr Teerawat Charoenrat received his PhD in Economics from the University of Wollongong, Australia. He obtained the Royal Thai Government Scholarship for pursuing a PhD degree. His research interests include enterprise performance, firm produc‐ tivity and technical efficiency, Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA), Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), and Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the context of ASEAN. Anneline Chetty has completed a Masters degree in Town & Regional Planning and more recently a PhD. Her key passions are writing, conducting research, innovation and entrepreneurship and is hoping to make a positive contribution to the con‐ ference. She has authored a book Promoting entrepreneurship in South Africa. viii
Francesca Dal Mas has a master degree in Business Administration from Udine University and a law degree from Bologna University, Italy. She runs three small companies as CEO and CFO. She also teaches finance, law, strategy and accounting at post graduate and undergraduate courses organized by public bodies and private business schools. Allan Deacon is a senior international procurement professional who has worked for diverse organizations. He is researching for a PhD in Knowledge and Innovation Management at Bangkok University. Allan consults and trains in the Middle East and Asia and has represented the profession at recent AIDF/UN conferences and panel debates. Audrey Depeige is Knowledge Management and Innovation Coordinator at Essilor. She is responsible for the development and support of Innovation initiatives and is also in charge of technical expertise growth projects. She is currently pursuing a dual PhD in Knowledge and Innovation Management, with a research focus on coopetition and innovation. Paul Donaldson is an experienced Consultant and CEO, with extensive knowledge of Strategy, Training and Development. He has expertise in SME development and a specific academic interest in growth in owner‐manager companies. These interests are blended through a process of academic research and practical implementation in ongoing consultancy work, on an inter‐ national basis in the University and private consultancy environments. Shyamalie Ekanayake is a Ph.D. candidate attached to the Department of Industrial Management, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. The research study titled “Core Competencies for Competitive Advantage: An Empirical Investigation of Manufactur‐ ing and Service Sector” investigates strategic management concepts for value innovation. The writer holds 17 years of man‐ agement experience in training, skill and technology development initiatives. Denisa Ferenčíková has a Master´s degree in Industrial Engineering and is a PhD candidate at Tomas Bata University in Zlín – Faculty of Management and Economics. Her current research involves advanced methods for production planning and scheduling and their support in business information systems. She also deals with ergonomic aspects of production processes and product development phase. Martin Hewing is a User Experience Researcher at Telekom Innovation Laboratories, a joint R&D department of Deutsche Telekom and Technische Universität Berlin. He received his PhD in economic and social science from Universität Potsdam in June 2013, focusing on Creative Problem‐Solving with Users in Innovation. Ayman Ismail is the Assistant Professor of Management and Abdul Latif Jameel Endowed Chair of Entrepreneurship at the American University in Cairo School of Business, where he leads the School’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program (EIP). Seyed Mohammadbager Jafari has a PhD in Management Information Systems. He is a lecturer in the Faculty of Manage‐ ment and Accounting and also the director of the Center of e‐Learning in the College of Farabi, University of Tehran, Iran. His current research interests include information systems, knowledge management, e‐government and e‐governance, e‐ commerce, e‐business models and business process reengineering. Danguolė Jankauskienė is a Professor at Mykolas Romeris University in Lithuania and Vice – Dean of Politics and Manage‐ ment Faculty. Areas of research interest: health policy and management, public health, health technology assessment, e health, quality of life. She is a medical doctor, health care manager and expert in health policy in European Commission and WHO. Eva Jurickova is Senior Lecturer at Tomas Bata University in Zlin, Faculty of Management and Economics. She studied Indus‐ trial Engineering and also received her PhD in Doctoral Degree Programme, namely Economics and Management. Her major research is on industrial engineering, innovation and patent information. She has published a number of articles and she co‐ operates in several innovation projects. Marja‐Liisa Kakkonen has two doctor’s degrees (Econ. & Educ.). Her research interests have been related to creativity, en‐ trepreneurship education, entrepreneurship, and family business. She worked as a principal lecturer of entrepreneurship in 2003 ‐ 2011 and has taught various topics of business and entrepreneurship in Finnish and English. Nowadays works as head of the department. Fotis Kitsios is a lecturer in Strategic Management and Innovation at the Department of Applied Informatics, University of Macedonia, Greece. For his PhD received from the Technical University of Crete, he studied the process of new service de‐ velopment in hotel services. His research interests lie in strategic and innovation management, new product development and customer statisfaction. Stefan Lagrosen holds a Ph.D. from Stockholm University. He is active as a professor and head of the marketing department at Linnaeus University, Sweden. His research interests include entrepreneurial marketing, social media marketing and health and fitness marketing as well as quality management. ix
Allan Lahi, a doctoral student of Estonian Business School and an innovation manager of Estonian Innovation Institute, has been active in the SME‐centred technology innovation since 2007. He has participated in more than 20 open innovation pro‐ jects. The research, initiated by the practical issues of those projects, focuses on SME’s in transition economy. Yusra Yaseen Lazim had received Bachelor degree from Baghdad University in 2003. She had received Master degree from Baghdad University in 2007. Presently she is PhD. researcher at University Malaysia Pahang, Pahang, Malaysia. Now she is working part time as lecturer In University Malaysia Pahang. Jing Lin got his Master’s Degree of Management Science in China, and is currently a PhD student in the Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, with main research interests in the topics of creativity, innovation and their connection with entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education. Zaidatol Akmaliah Lope Pihie is a lecturer at the faculty of educational studies, Univerisiti Putra Malaysia. She has many pub‐ lished papers in entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship education, leadership and educational administration. She has also pre‐ sented papers on entrepreneurship education at Malaysian and international conferences. Her research interests are: entre‐ preneurship development among university students, educational leadership, school entrepreneurial leadership and school improvement. Renetchie Martinez is a resident of Poblacion, Malungon, Sarangani Province, Philippines. I finished my Master of Arts in Ed‐ ucation major in Reading at Mindanao State University, General Santos City. Presently, a third year part time PhD student of the said institution and a public school teacher for 14 years. Maurizio Massaro is aggregate professor at Udine University. He was visiting scholar at the Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida, USA, in 2010. His academic interests are primarily in the field of measurement of business performance, intangible assets and entrepreneurship. He has written several publications on these topics, and has some more forthcoming. Andre Nemeh is Doctoral Researcher in Strategic Management at Montpellier Research in Management (MRM) at University of Montpellier. His thesis is focusing on the relationship between coopetition strategy and innovation in large firms. His re‐ search interests are InterOrganizational Relations (IOR),Strategic R&D collaborations, clusters, Poles of competitiveness. Bernd Neutschel studied mechanical engineering with a specialization in Integrated Product Development at Otto‐von‐ Guericke‐University Magdeburg, Germany. In 2010 he became a research associate at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Since 2011 he has been coordinating the technology‐oriented start‐up supporting project “Senior & Juniorpreneurship” (Seju), funded by ESF and the Ministry of Science and Economics of Saxony‐Anhalt, Germany. Karen Kashmanian Oates is a nationally recognized scientist, science educator, and higher education leader and serves as Dean of Arts & Sciences at WPI. Previously Dr Oates served as a deputy director of the Division of Undergraduate Studies at the National Science Foundation supporting innovative programs to strengthen undergraduate education and help revitalize American entrepreneurship and competitiveness. Samuel Oladipo Olutuase is a lecturer in the Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Management Sciences Uni‐ versity of Jos, Jos, Plateau, Nigeria, from 2007 till date. He has taught and researched in the area of Management, Business competition and Safety Issues. He currently focuses his research on entrepreneurship and innovation. Sharn Orchard is an Industry Executive with over 25 years’ experience in the Automotive and Oil & Gas sectors. She holds a Masters Degree in Managing Change, and is currently studying for her PhD in Knowledge Innovation Management. Her spe‐ cific field of research interest is Intrapreneurship. Seema Pissaris is a Professor at Florida International University. She is also an avid entrepreneur having founded numerous companies, one of which went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange. She teaches social entrepreneurship, strategy, and leadership and empowers students to design and launch social, sustainable entrepreneurial ventures. Aneta Ptak‐Chmielewska is Associate Professor at the Institute of Statistics and Demography at Warsaw School of Economy. Her main research fields include applied statistics, event history methods and models, multivariate statistics and advanced statistics application in economy and life sciences. She has been a member of the Network of Excellence RECWOWE project. She has published in high‐quality national journals. Gina Rossi, Ph.D. is currently Researcher in Business Economics at the University of Udine, Department of Economics and Statistics. Her research covers different topics, with a special emphasis on governance and accountability in non‐profit organ‐ izations. More specifically, she works in the areas of accounting and governance in bank foundations and accounting in reli‐ gious institutions under an historical perspective. x
Renan Saylag is an English language instructor and researcher with a PhD education in the field of EFL at Bahcesehir Universi‐ ty in Istanbul,Turkey. Her aim is to help institutions develop an educational vision in terms of educational pedagogy and new trend in all aspects of foreign language education. Terrence Sebora is an Associate Professor of Management at the University of Nebraska, USA. Prior to receiving his doctor‐ ate in strategic management, he was a co‐owner of a supermarket business and a Director of Religion Education. He holds degrees in Theology, Business Administration, and Classical Languages in addition to strategy. His research interests include entrepreneurship, corporate governance, and strategic decision‐making. Prakash Ramesh Sharma has handled multiple startups and mentored entrepreneurs and students to build their career. He is pursuing his PhD in Marketing from Dr. D Y Patil Vidyapeeth, Pune, India, under the guidance of Dr Kunal Bhattacharya. He is presently assisting many academic institutes and corporations to build incubators to promote entrepreneurship. Dr. Manasi Shukla, obtained her MBA (FMS:from top five B‐schools in India), PhD in Knowledge management services indus‐ tries (Delhi University) has around seven years each of industry and academic experience. In total, she has around 9 publica‐ tions and 17 conference acceptances. She is currently an Assistant Professor and KM Strategist at IKI‐SEA, Bangkok Universi‐ ty, Thailand. Omirserik Tayauov is a Masters student at Kazakh‐British Technical University (www.kbtu.kz), Almaty, Kazakhstan. Gulzhanat Tayauova is an associate professor, director of the Department of doctoral programs at the International Acade‐ my of Management (www.iab.kz), Almaty, Kazakhstan. She has a PhD. in Management from Istanbul University and an MBA from Bosphorus University, Turkey. Minna Tunkkari‐Eskelinen (Ph.D. in Econ.) works as a principle lecturer of Tourism and Hospitality degree program at JAMK University of Applied Science, Finland. She was a co‐founder of the family business consulting firm. She teaches entrepre‐ neurship, research methods and strategic thinking, and facilitates SME’s product development. She conducts research about tourism customer insights, sustainable tourism and entrepreneurship education. Pierre Vialle is Professor at Telecom Business School (Institut Mines Télécoms) in France. He holds a PhD in Economics and accreditation to supervise PhDs in Business Administration. He is specialized in innovation, strategy and marketing in the ICT Industry. He is also interested in strategies of latecomer firms and countries, in particular in China.
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Factors Influencing Students’ Entrepreneurial Intentions: The Critical Roles of Personal Attraction and Perceived Control Over Behavior Afsaneh Bagheri1 and Zaidatol Akmaliah Lope Pihie2 1 Faculty of Entrepreneurship, Tehran University, Iran 2 Faculty of Educational Studies, University Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia
[email protected] [email protected] Abstract: Many researchers and educators across the world have recently attempted to explore the factors that motivate and enable some individuals and not others to pursue an entrepreneurial career path. The growing attentions given to entrepreneurial intention is partially due the fundamental roles that entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial activities play in fostering economic and social development of developed and developing countries, including Malaysia. Research has highlighted the influence of both personal and environmental factors on one’s selection into entrepreneurship. More recent studies emphasized on the impact of a combination of the factors that affect entrepreneurial intention. However, our knowledge about interactions among the factors that construct entrepreneurial intention is limited particularly among university students. This study attempts to narrow the gap in the literature by measuring the factors that affect Malaysian university students’ entrepreneurial intentions using the theory of planned behavior. More specifically, it examines the relationships between personal attraction, perceived control over behavior, entrepreneurial skills, subjective norms, valuation of entrepreneurship in the social and close environment and students’ entrepreneurial intentions. The sample consisted of 722 students from public and private universities. Structural Equation Modeling was employed to test the hypothesized relationships between the variables. The results emphasized the critical roles that personal attraction and perceived control over behavior play in shaping students’ intentions to become an entrepreneur. A system of valuation and support of entrepreneurship consisting of subjective norms and valuation of entrepreneurship in the social and close environment emerged which highly influences students’ personal attraction toward entrepreneurship. Specifically, subjective norms affect students’ entrepreneurial intentions through its impact on their perceived control over the performance of entrepreneurial tasks and personal attraction toward entrepreneurship. Furthermore, entrepreneurial skills have a low contribution to subjective norms and perceived behavioral control. Implications of these findings for entrepreneurship research and education are discussed. Keywords: entrepreneurial intention, entrepreneurial skills, personal attraction, control over behavior
1. Introduction Many researchers and educators across the world have recently attempted to answer the critical question why some individuals select to enter the challenging process of establishing a new venture but others do not (e.g., DeClercq et al. 2012, in Canada; Guerrero et al. 2008, Spain; Wu and Wu 2008, China; Fayolle et al. 2006, France; Souitaris et al. 2007, the UK; Mastura and Abdul 2008, Malaysia; Gürol and Atsan 2006, Turkey). The increasing interest in exploring the factors that build one’s entrepreneurial intention is due to the critical role that entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial activities play in fostering economic and social growth of developed and developing countries, including Malaysia (Matlay 2006). Some researchers attributed the intention to become an entrepreneur to personal characteristics (e.g., locus of control, need for achievement and tolerance for ambiguity) and cognitive abilities (Hansemark 1998; McClelland 1961). While, others related the challenging decision to environmental factors such as education and training that inspire and prepare students for establishing a new venture (Krueger et al. 2000; Chen et al. 1998). More recent studies adopted an integrated approach that examines both personal and environmental factors that influence students’ decision to establish their own ventures (Wu and Wu 2008; Souitaris et al. 2007; Fayolle at al. 2006) and how interactions among these factors affect the decision (Fitzsimmons and Douglas 2011; Liñán 2008). However, despite the tremendous amount of research conducted in this area, there exists many unaddressed questions on the factors that shape students’ entrepreneurial intentions (Chen and He 2011; Liñán 2008; Man and Yu 2007; Fayolle et al. 2006; Kuratko 2005). This study attempts to narrow the gap in the literature by examining the factors that affect Malaysian university students’ entrepreneurial intentions using the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen 1991). The findings provide a better understanding of the factors that construct and the path in which these factors influence students’ entrepreneurial intentions. The remaining of this paper is organized in four sections. We first describe the theoretical framework and the
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Afsaneh Bagheri and Zaidatol Akmaliah Lope Pihie model to be tested in this study. Next, we explain the methodological design applied for the empirical analysis and testing the hypothesized relationships between the constructs. Consequently, we present the results and finally we discuss the findings in light of implications for entrepreneurship research and education.
2. Theoretical background and models of entrepreneurial intention In less than half a century, various theories and models have been developed to explain the complex decision to establish a new venture (Trevelyan 2011). The theory of planned behaviour (Ajzen 1991) has been one of the most applied theoretical frameworks to describe students’ entrepreneurial intentions (Fayolle at al. 2006). Scholars argue the theory is appropriate to explain entrepreneurial intention as a conscious and deliberate behaviour that can be enhanced by education and training (Guerrero et al. 2008; Krueger et al. 2000). According to the theory, intention to become an entrepreneur is a result of dynamic interactions between attitude toward entrepreneurship (awareness of the importance and positive or negative value of a new venture creation and its consequences), control over entrepreneurial behaviour (perceived competencies to perform the tasks and roles of an entrepreneur and persistence in the face of problems) and subjective and social norms (the value of entrepreneurship for significant people and the extent to which individuals comply with the values). Entrepreneurial intention, therefore, takes shape through a cognitive process of evaluating personal values and abilities as well as social support and resources that guides one’s motivation, emotions, thoughts and behaviour throughout the process of entrepreneurship and performing entrepreneurial tasks (Liñán 2008; Ajzen 1991). Unlike personal characteristics of entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial intention can be influenced and directed by various personal and environmental factors such as knowledge, skills, experiences and socioeconomic assistants and barriers (Souitaris et al. 2007). Scholars argue that students require a great sense of determination and persistence to decide on pursuing an entrepreneurial career (Fayolle et al. 2006). Liñán (2008) has recently developed and tested a model for university students’ entrepreneurial intentions in Spain. The model highlights personal attraction (attitude toward entrepreneurship) and perceived control over entrepreneurial tasks as the most significant factors influencing university students’ entrepreneurial intentions. The model also indicates the influential impact of entrepreneurial skills on entrepreneurial intention through their effect on personal attraction, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control. Furthermore, the model measures valuation and support of students’ decision to become entrepreneurs by both their close (family, friends and colleagues) and social (people in the community) environments. However, the researchers failed to find a significant relationship between social valuation of entrepreneurship and students’ entrepreneurial intentions and called for further investigations on how social values influence students’ selection into entrepreneurship. Chen and He (2011) recently examined how valuation and support of the family and friends affect Chinese university students’ entrepreneurial intentions. Although value and support of entrepreneurship by the close environment (family and friends) significantly affected entrepreneurial intention through its impact on students’ perceptions toward their abilities to perform entrepreneurial tasks (entrepreneurial self‐efficacy), there was no direct relationship between the value and support of entrepreneurship in the social environment and students’ entrepreneurial intentions. The researchers also emphasized the urgent need for further investigations on how these factors affect entrepreneurial intentions of students. In response, this study adopted the students’ entrepreneurial intention model proposed by Liñán (2008) to measure the factors that influence Malaysian university students’ entrepreneurial intentions.
3. Research hypotheses The main purpose of this study was to examine the impact of four personal (personal attraction, control over entrepreneurial tasks, entrepreneurial skills and subjective norms) and two environmental (valuation of entrepreneurship by the close environment and social valuation of entrepreneurship) factors on students’ entrepreneurial intentions. Personal attraction, control over behaviour and subjective norms play critical roles in shaping students’ entrepreneurial intentions since they both directly and indirectly affect their entrepreneurial intentions. However, entrepreneurial skills and close and social valuation of entrepreneurship have indirect relationships with entrepreneurial intentions through their impact on other factors. These relationships are proposed in the following hypotheses: Hypothesis 1a: Personal attraction will positively affect entrepreneurial intentions. Hypothesis 1b: Personal attraction will positively affect control over behaviour.
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Afsaneh Bagheri and Zaidatol Akmaliah Lope Pihie Hypothesis 2a: Control over behaviour will have a positive influence on entrepreneurial intentions. Hypothesis 2b: Control over behaviour will positively affect personal attraction. Hypothesis 3a: Subjective norms will positively affect entrepreneurial intentions. Hypothesis 3b: Subjective norms will positively affect control over behaviour. Hypothesis 3c: Subjective norms will positively affect personal attraction. Hypothesis 4a: Entrepreneurial skills will positively affect personal attraction. Hypothesis 4b: Entrepreneurial skills will positively affect control over behaviour. Hypothesis 4c: Entrepreneurial skills will positively affect subjective norms. Hypothesis 5a: Close valuation of entrepreneurship will positively affect personal attraction. Hypothesis 5b: Close valuation of entrepreneurship will positively affect control over behaviour. Hypothesis 5c: Close valuation of entrepreneurship will positively affect subjective norms. Hypothesis 6a: Social valuation of entrepreneurship will positively affect personal attraction. Hypothesis 6b: Social valuation of entrepreneurship will positively affect control over behaviour. Hypothesis 6c: Social valuation of entrepreneurship will positively affect subjective norms.
4. Method The participants were 722 Malaysian students enrolled in two private (n= 391, 54.2%) and three public (n= 331, 45.8%) universities during the 2011 to 2012 academic year. The majority of the students aged between 16 and 25 years (76.9%). Of the students, 377 (52.2%) were male and 342 (47.4%) were female. Most of the students were pursuing their Bachelor degrees (n= 541, 74.9%). The students had different educational backgrounds: agricultural science (n= 104, 14.4%), information technology (n= 82, 11.4%), accounting and finance (n= 41, 5.7%), and others (n= 495, 68.5%). Majority of the participants had no business experiences (n= 491, 68%) and had never taken an entrepreneurship course (n= 363, 50.3%). We utilized the Entrepreneurial Intention Questionnaire (Liñán 2008) to measure students’ entrepreneurial intentions. The questionnaire contains 34 items measuring four dimensions of the theory of planed behaviour (Ajzen 1991), including entrepreneurial intention (six items), personal attraction (five items), perceived control over entrepreneurship (six items), and subjective norms (three items). Three items in the questionnaire also measure the valuation and support of students’ entrepreneurial intentions by their close environment (family, friends and colleagues) and five items measures social valuation and support of entrepreneurship (by the people and the whole country). The questionnaire also measures specific skills required for managing a new venture (opportunity recognition, creativity, problem solving, leadership and communication, innovation and networking) by six items. Liñán (2008) reported high reliability and validity values for all of the constructs in the questionnaire to measure entrepreneurial intention and its antecedents among university students in Spain (all of the constructs scored a Cronbach's Alpha higher than 0.80). Students’ responses were scored on a five‐point Likert type scale, with response options ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agreed). We conducted a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to test factor loadings of the individual items, convergent and discriminate validity of the constructs and validity and reliability of the overall measurement model using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). SEM has been applied in previous studies to examine students’ entrepreneurial intentions (Liñán and Chen 2009; Liñán 2008; Guerrero et al. 2008). Table 1 shows reliability and validity statistics for the constructs of the questionnaire in this study. Of the six items measuring students’ entrepreneurial intentions, three were deleted (IN8, IN16, IN18) because their loadings were less than the 0.50 threshold (Hair et al. 2010). Three items from personal attraction and two items from social valuation of entrepreneurship were also eliminated due to their low loadings to the factors. Convergent validity of each factor was assessed by average variance extracted (AVE). All of the constructs scored greater than the 0.50 threshold (Table 1). This indicates the items were valid to measure the factors. Analysis of the measurement model developed with the remaining items implied that the model fits the data well because all of the 2 goodness of fit indices were higher than 0.90 and RMSEA was less than the 0.05 threshold [x =479.197; DF=188; p=000; GFI=.941; AGFI=.921; CFI=.957; NFI=.931; TLI=.947; and RMSEA=.046]. Analysis of the
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Afsaneh Bagheri and Zaidatol Akmaliah Lope Pihie consistent validity of the factors also indicated that all of the constructs of the questionnaire scored an acceptable level of Cronbach's Alpha (>0.50). Table 1: Validity and reliability statistics for entrepreneurial intention scale Constructs Personal attraction Control over behavior
Subjective norms
Closer valuation
Social valuation
Entrepreneurial skills
Entrepreneurial intention
Items IN14 IN17 IN1 IN6 IN19 IN3 IN7 IN10 IN21 IN24 IN27 IN25 IN26 IN28 OP29 CR30 PS31 LC32 NP33 NC34 IN4 IN5 IN12
Mean 3.97 3.64 3.62 3.44 3.60 3.73 3.69 3.71 3.36 3.40 3.46 3.33 3.46 3.39 3.60 3.65 3.70 3.67 3.54 3.54 3.75 3.44 3.49
SD 0.77 0.87 0.76 0.82 0.67 0.73 0.79 0.75 0.75 0.73 0.67 0.72 0.75 0.78 0.98 0.94 0.90 0.96 0.94 0.97 0.73 0.82 0.90
Factor loadings 0.73 0.66 0.69 0.91 0.60 0.74 0.83 0.74 0.68 0.71 0.62 0.67 0.86 0.66 0.75 0.75 0.78 0.72 0.68 0.64 0.83 0.90 0.58
α 0.520
AVE 0.70
0.595
0.56
0.692
0.77
0.659
0.67
0.611
0.73
0.863
0.72
0.711
0.77
5. Results To test the hypothesized relationships among the constructs and the extent to which each factor influences entrepreneurial intentions, we first examined the direct effects of the six constructs on entrepreneurial intentions. Personal attraction and control over behaviour positively affected students’ entrepreneurial intentions (β=.71, C.R= 5.23, p=.000; β=.82, C.R= 5.97, p=.000 respectively). Therefore, H1a and H2a that hypothesized positive impact of personal attraction and behavioural control on entrepreneurial intentions were supported by the data (Table 2). The hypothesis about positive impact of personal attraction on control over behaviour (H1b) was not supported by the data (β=.16, C.R= 1.25, p=.21). Control over behaviour also had no significant influence on personal attraction (H2b) because (β =.99, C.R= 1.23, p=.21). Students’ perceived behavioural control carried the weight of subjective norms to entrepreneurial intention since there was no significant relationship between subjective norms and entrepreneurial intention (β= ‐.001, C.R= ‐.006, p=.995) but the direct relationship between subjective norms and control over behaviour was significant and positive (β=.64, C.R= 12.07, p=.000). Therefore, Ha3 was not confirmed but H3b was supported by the data. There was also a positive and significant relationship between subjective norms and personal attractions as proposed by H3c (β=.70, C.R= 11.59, p=.000). Entrepreneurial skills did not have a significant direct effect on entrepreneurial intentions (β=‐.108, C.R= ‐2.95, p=.008). Furthermore, the skills had a low significant impact only on behavioural control (β=.181, C.R= 6.404, p=.000) and subjective norms (β=.246, C.R= 6.701, p=.000). But the relationship between entrepreneurial skills and personal attraction was not significant (β=.075, C.R= 2.003, p=.45). Therefore, H4a that hypothesized a positive impact of entrepreneurial skills on personal attraction was not confirmed but H4b and H4c that proposed positive relationships between entrepreneurial skills and control over behaviour and subjective norms were supported by the data. The direct relationship between close valuation of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intentions was not significant (β=‐.262, C.R= ‐2.92, p=.003). Furthermore, the positive contribution of close valuation of entrepreneurship to personal attraction as hypothesised by H5a was not significant (β=.135, C.R= 2.85, p=.004). Close valuation of entrepreneurship had also no significant direct impact on control over behaviour (β=.081, C.R=.37, p=.71). Therefore, H5b was not also supported. Tests of mediation effect between these variables was conducted and the results indicated that close valuation of entrepreneurship fully mediated the relationship between social valuation and subjective norms because the direct relationship between the constructs was not insignificant (β=.179, C.R= 2.407, p=.016) but social valuation significantly influenced close valuation (β=.676, C.R= 11.192, p=.000) and subjective norms (β=.392, C.R= 4.995, p=.000). Therefore, the data supported H5c but did not
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Afsaneh Bagheri and Zaidatol Akmaliah Lope Pihie support H6c that proposed a positive effect of social norms on subjective norms. H6a and H6b that hypothesized positive contributions of social valuation of entrepreneurship to personal attraction and behavioural control were not also confirmed (β=.032, C.R=.72, p=.46; β=.021, C.R=.47, p=.63 respectively). Table 2: Summary of hypotheses test results Hypothesis H1a: Personal attraction will positively affect entrepreneurial intentions. H1b: Personal attraction will positively affect control over behaviour. H2a: Control over behaviour will have a positive influence on entrepreneurial intentions. H2b: Control over behaviour will positively affect personal attraction. H3a: Subjective norms will positively affect entrepreneurial intentions. H3b: Subjective norms will positively affect control over behaviour. H3c: Subjective norms will positively affect personal attraction. H4a: Entrepreneurial skills will positively affect personal attraction. H4b: Entrepreneurial skills will positively affect control over behaviour. H4c: Entrepreneurial skills will positively affect subjective norms. H5a: Close valuation of entrepreneurship will positively affect personal attraction. H5b: Close valuation of entrepreneurship will positively affect control over behaviour. H5c: Close valuation of entrepreneurship will positively affect subjective norms. H6a: Social valuation of entrepreneurship will positively affect personal attraction. H6b: Social valuation of entrepreneurship will positively affect control over behaviour. H6c: Social valuation of entrepreneurship will positively affect subjective norms.
β .71 .16 .82
p .000 .210 .000
Accept/Reject Accept Reject Accept
.99 .‐00 .64 .70 .07 .18 .24 .13
.210 .995 .000 .000 .450 .000 .000 .004
Reject Reject Accept Accept Reject Accept Accept Reject
.08
.710
Reject
.44 .03
.000 .460
Accept Reject
.02
.630
Reject
.17
.016
Reject
2
Figure 1 shows the structural model that best fitted the data [x =467.354; DF=200; p=000; GFI=.943; AGFI=.928; CFI=.961; NFI=.933; TLI=.954; and RMSEA=.043]. As the figure shows, personal attraction and perceived control over behaviour contribute 76% of the variance in students’ entrepreneurial intentions (personal attraction 54% and control over behaviour 49%, p=000). Subjective norms and its antecedents explain 58% of variance in control over behaviour. Social valuation has a substantial impact on close valuation of entrepreneurship (68%, p=000). In turn, close valuation of entrepreneurship explains a substantial proportion of the variance in subjective norms (44%, p=000). This indicates that social valuation of entrepreneurship indirectly affects subjective norms through close valuation of entrepreneurship and thereby influences students’ entrepreneurial intentions. Subjective norms also contributed 64% variance of students’ personal attraction toward entrepreneurship. The specific entrepreneurial skills measured in this study accounted for a low extent of subjective norms and students’ perceived behavioural control (28% and 25% respectively). These results partially confirmed the structural model for students’ entrepreneurial intention proposed by Liñán (2008). These findings are discussed in the next section.
6. Discussion This study aimed to examine the factors that influence Malaysian university students’ entrepreneurial intentions. Of the 16 hypothesized relationships among students’ entrepreneurial intention and its antecedents, seven were accepted. More specifically, personal attraction and control over the process of entrepreneurship had direct and positive impact on entrepreneurial intentions and entrepreneurial skills, subjective norms, close and social valuation of entrepreneurship had significant indirect contributions to the formation of students’ entrepreneurial intentions. Our results emphasized the critical role that personal attraction (attitude toward entrepreneurship) and control over entrepreneurship play in shaping students’ entrepreneurial intentions (Liñán 2008). Therefore, students’ decision to become an entrepreneur is more affected by their perceptions toward the value of entrepreneurship and their perceived abilities to perform entrepreneurial tasks. The higher effect of personal attraction on entrepreneurial intentions also confirms that students’ decision to pursue an entrepreneurial career is highly determined by their desire and interest to do so (Guerrero et al. 2008).
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Afsaneh Bagheri and Zaidatol Akmaliah Lope Pihie
Figure 1: Structural equation model with standardized regression weights for students’ entrepreneurial intentions According to Liñán’s (2008) model for students’ entrepreneurial intentions, close valuation of entrepreneurship has both direct and indirect relationships with entrepreneurial intention and social valuation of entrepreneurship has an indirect impact on entrepreneurial intention through entrepreneurial skills. While, our findings indicated that subjective norms and valuation of entrepreneurship in the social and close environments create a system of valuation and support for students’ entrepreneurial intentions which highly influences their attitude toward entrepreneurship and consequently enhances their intentions to become entrepreneurs. This supports Shapero and Sokol’s (1982: 83) assertion that “social and cultural factors that enter into the formation of entrepreneurial events are most felt through the formation of individual value systems”. The indirect relationship between subjective norms and entrepreneurial intentions through personal attraction highlights the key role that individuals play in evaluating and weighting the values of entrepreneurship in their social and close environments and their tendency to complying with them. Subjective norms had a great contribution to students’ perceived control over behavior (Liñán 2008). Subjective norms also highly influenced the extent to which students considered establishing their own business as valuable and thereby enhanced their entrepreneurial intentions (Liñán 2008; Liñán and Santos 2007). Additionally, subjective norms were affected by valuation of entrepreneurship by students’ family, friends and colleagues. In other word, the higher these significant people encouraged and supported the students to become an entrepreneur, the greater they valued entrepreneurship as a career choice and perceived themselves as capable of performing entrepreneurial tasks. This finding supports the significant impact of close environment on students’ entrepreneurial intentions (Che and He 2011) but through its contribution to subjective norms and perceived control over behaviour. Interestingly, social valuation of entrepreneurship had a high impact on constructing the valuation of entrepreneurship in students’ close environment and thereby the extent of support they received from their family, friends and colleagues to realize their intention to establish their own venture. Our findings support the indirect impact of social valuation of entrepreneurship on students’ entrepreneurial intention (Liñán 2008), however, through its contribution to shape the valuation and support of entrepreneurship in the close environment. It also emphasises the difference in the path through which social valuation of entrepreneurship affect students’ entrepreneurial intentions across cultures (Che and He 2011; Liñán 2008). To improve students’ personal attraction towards and their interest in entrepreneurship, therefore, there should be a strong culture of entrepreneurship in the country, family and community which highly valuates and supports entrepreneurship. Furthermore, there should be great reinforcing linkages between the values and support of entrepreneurship in the family and the social environment in order to highly encourage students to establish their own businesses.
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Afsaneh Bagheri and Zaidatol Akmaliah Lope Pihie In contrast to previous research findings that entrepreneurial skills have a high significant relationship with students’ entrepreneurial intentions through personal attraction, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control (Liñán 2008; Chen et al. 1998), we found a negative relationship between entrepreneurial skills and students’ entrepreneurial intentions and a low significant impact of entrepreneurial skills on subjective norms and control over behaviour. In better words, the more Malaysian students learn specific entrepreneurship skills, the less they intend to become an entrepreneur. This negative relationship can be a reflection of students’ awareness of the complexities and challenges of performing entrepreneurial tasks as they learn the skills. It can also indicate that entrepreneurship education was not effective in developing such skills in students (Ramayah and Zainon 2005). The negative and low relationships between the variables may also be because of our sample which includes students who had not taken entrepreneurship courses and had no knowledge and experiences on specific entrepreneurial skills. They can also be due to inappropriateness of the set of entrepreneurial skills measured in this study for university students. McGee et al. (2009) argue that an instrument that measures the required skills for the process of establishing a new venture can better assess students’ capability to perform entrepreneurial tasks. Therefore, a more reliable scale should be developed to measure students’ entrepreneurial skills.
7. Conclusion Based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that intention to become an entrepreneur is a complex and personal decision that is highly shaped by students’ attitudes (attraction) toward entrepreneurship and perceived behavioural control. However, the paths in which students’ entrepreneurial intentions take shape may vary in different contexts. Social and close valuation of entrepreneurship create a mechanism of valuation and support for Malaysian university students’ intentions to become entrepreneurs which highly affects their attitudes toward entrepreneurship and their perceived ability to successfully perform the challenging tasks in the process of entrepreneurship. Despite their great desire, perceived ability and intention to establish their own businesses, university students in Malaysia do not perceive themselves as capable of performing the specific skills of managing a new business. Our findings have several implications for entrepreneurship research and education. First, entrepreneurship research which has been criticized for lacking robust theoretical foundations for research (Man and Yu 2007; Fayolle et al. 2006) can use the theory of planned behaviour as a theoretical framework. Second, students’ entrepreneurial intention questionnaire (Liñán 2008) can be applied to measure students’ entrepreneurial intentions and its antecedents. However, there is still a need for revising some of the items of the questionnaire due to their low loadings to the constructs and developing a standardized instrument to measure students’ entrepreneurial intentions. Third, the entrepreneurial intention model emerging from this study can be applied to measure students’ intentions to become an entrepreneur in other contexts. Furthermore, the high contribution of social valuation of entrepreneurship to the support students receive for their decision to become an entrepreneur in their close environment provides a better understanding of how values and supports provided for entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial activities can enhance their intentions to establish new ventures. This may also assist policy makers and educators to develop a strong culture and support system for entrepreneurship through offering public courses and training and removing the impediments in the process of establishing new ventures specifically by university students (Liñán 2008; Fuchs et al. 2008). This study found a negative relationship between entrepreneurial skills and students’ entrepreneurial intentions and limited impact of the skills on control over behaviour and subjective norms. This highlights the necessity and importance of identifying the entrepreneurial skills that improve students’ entrepreneurial intentions. It also emphasises the urgent need for providing Malaysia university students with appropriate learning opportunities such as experiential entrepreneurship learning activities in order to improve their skills in specific tasks of entrepreneurs (Cheng et al. 2009). To do so, educators may need to involve students in business plan writing, case studies and running a small new business (Fayolle et al. 2006; Chen et al. 1998) rather than stressing only on entrepreneurship theories and traditional methods of teaching entrepreneurship (e.g., Trevelyan 2011; Pittaway and Cope 2007). Further qualitative research should be done to investigate why acquiring more knowledge and skills on specific tasks of entrepreneurs negatively affect students’ entrepreneurial intentions. Furthermore, future research can be conducted with a sample of students who have entrepreneurship education and experiences and nascent entrepreneurs to examine if education and experience affect entrepreneurial intentions. The relationships between social and close valuation of entrepreneurship, subjective norms and perceived control over behaviour have also great potential for further investigations in other contexts than Malaysia. Finally, the differences in the mechanisms through which
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Afsaneh Bagheri and Zaidatol Akmaliah Lope Pihie students’ entrepreneurial intention take shape across countries should be examined by researchers to explore the impact of environmental and personal factors on the decision to become an entrepreneur.
References Ajzen, I. (1991) “The theory of planned behaviour”. Organizational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes, Vol 50, No. 2, pp 179‐211. Chen, Y. and He, Y. (2011) “The impact of strong ties on entrepreneurial intention: An empirical study based on the mediating role of self‐efficacy”. Journal of Chinese Entrepreneurship, Vol 3, No. 2, pp 147 – 158. Chen, C., Greene, P. and Crick, A. (1998) “Does entrepreneurial self‐efficacy distinguish entrepreneurs from managers?” Journal of Business Venturing, Vol 13, pp 295‐316. Cheng, M.Y., Chan, W.S., and Mahmood, A. (2009) “The effectiveness of entrepreneurship education in Malaysia”. Education + Training, Vol 51, No. 7, pp 555‐566. DeClercq, D., Benson, H., and Martin, B. (2012) “The roles of learning orientation and passion for work in the formation of entrepreneurial intention”. International Small Business Journal, Vol 0, No. 0, pp 1–25. Fayolle, A., Gailly, B. and Lassas‐Clerc, N. (2006) “Assessing the impact of entrepreneurship education programmes: a new methodology”. Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol 30, No. 9, pp 701‐720. Fitzsimmons, J.R. and Douglas, E.J. (2011) “Interaction between feasibility and desirability in the formation of entrepreneurial intentions”. Journal of Business Venturing, Vol 26, No. 4, pp 431–440. Fuchs, K., Werner, A. and Wallau, F. (2008)” Entrepreneurship education in Germany and Sweden: What role do different school systems play?” Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol 15, No. 2, pp 365‐381. Guerrero, M., Rialp, J. and Urbano, D. (2008) “The impact of desirability and feasibility on entrepreneurialintentions: A structural equation model”. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Vol 4, pp 35–50. Gu¨rol, Y. and Atsan, N. (2006) “Entrepreneurial characteristics amongst university students: Some insights for entrepreneurship education and training in Turkey”. Education + Training, Vol 48, No. 1, pp 25‐38. Hair, J.F., Black, W.C., Babin, B.J. and Anderson, R.E. (2010) Multivariate Data Analysis. 7th Edn., Pearson Prentice Hall, United States of America. Hansemark, O.C. (1998) “The effects of an entrepreneurship program on need for achievement and locus of control of reinforcement”. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research, Vol 14, No. 1, pp 28‐50. Krueger, N.F., Reilly, M.D. and Carsrud, A.L. (2000) “Competing models of entrepreneurial intentions”. Journal of Business Venturing, Vol 15, pp 411–432. Kuratko, D.F. (2005) “The emergence of entrepreneurship education: Development, trends, and challenges”. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol 29, No. 5, pp 577‐597. Liñán, F., and Chen, Y.W. (2009) “Development and cross‐cultural application of a specific instrument to measure entrepreneurial intentions”. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol 33, No. 3, pp 593‐617. Liñán, F. and Santos, F.J. (2007) “Does social capital affect entrepreneurial intentions?” International Advances in Economic Research, Vol 13, No. 4, pp 443‐453. Liñán, F. (2008) “Skill and value perceptions: how do they affect entrepreneurial intentions?” International Entrepreneurship Management Journal, Vol 4, pp 257‐272. Man, T.W.Y. and Yu, C.W.M. (2007) “Social interaction and adolescent’s learning in enterprise education: An empirical study”. Education + Training, Vol 49, No. 8/9, pp 620‐633. Mastura, J. and Abdul, R.A.A. (2008) “Entrepreneurship education in developing country, Exploration on its necessity in the construction program”. Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, Vol 6, No. 2, pp 178‐189. Matlay, H. (2006) “Researching entrepreneurship and education Part 2: What is entrepreneurship education and does it matter?” Education + Training, Vol 48, No. 8/9, pp 704‐718. McClelland, D.C. (1961) The Achieving Society. NJ, Van Nostrand, Princeton. McGee, J.E., Peterson, M., Mueller, S. and Sequeira, J. (2009) “Entrepreneurial self‐efficacy: Refining the measure”. Entrepreneurship: Theory & Practice, Vol 33, No. 4, pp 965‐988. Ramayah, T. and Zainon, H. (2005) “Entrepreneurial intention among the students of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)”. International Journal of Management and Entrepreneurship, Vol 1, No. 1, pp 8‐20. Pittaway, L. and Cope, J. (2007) “Entrepreneurship education: A systematic review of the evidence”. International Small Business Journal, Vol 25, No. 5, pp 479–510. Shapero, A. and Sokol, L. (1982) Social dimensions of entrepreneurship. In C. A. Kent, D. L. Sexton, &K. H. Vesper (Eds.) Encyclopedia of entrepreneurship. Englewood Cliffs (NJ), Prentice Hall. Souitaris, V., Zerbinati, S. and Al‐Laham, A. (2007) “Do entrepreneurship programmes raise entrepreneurial intention of science and engineering students? The effect of learning, inspiration and resources”. Journal of Business Venturing, Vol 22, pp 566–591. Trevelyan, R. (2011) “Self‐regulation and effort in entrepreneurial tasks”. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, Vol 17, No. 1, pp 39 – 63. Wu, S. and Wu, L. (2008) “The impact of higher education on entrepreneurial intentions of university students in China”. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol 15, No. 4, pp 752‐774. Zhao, H., Seibert, S.E. and Hills, G.E. (2005) “The mediating role of self‐efficacy in the development of entrepreneurial intentions”. Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol 90, No. 6, pp 1265–1272.
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Re‐Engaging Learners With Strategic Teaching Approaches to Entrepreneur Learning in Higher Education Bob Barrett American Public University, Charles Town, USA
[email protected] Abstract: Traditionally, universities have approached the areas of entrepreneurship as a part of their course offerings, but with little emphasis on its value as a component of its various business programs However, during the past decade, there has been a resurgence of emphasis on the areas of entrepreneurship, as well as the innovation that may be connected to new business engagements by individuals. As a result, more higher education institutions are seeing a need for growing this component of their business program, as well as re‐engaging their learners to become more interested in the possibility of becoming their own boss and creating an entity that will have not only value to themselves, but also to the free market. A common theme that we are starting to see in today’s workplace is the search for meaning in the context of work in terms of finding meaning in what one does with their skills, knowledge, and abilities in the pursuit of gaining a salary, but enjoying what one does. On the other side of the spectrum, some universities have been offering alternatives to their credit‐awarding courses through the use of incubator programs. While some members of higher education institutions have offered some form of incubator programs for entrepreneurship, such as the Virtual Incubation Network. This network is a grant‐funded initiative that is under the leadership of the American Association of Community Colleges and 11 community colleges. This network’s aim is to try new mechanisms to support businesses and technological processes. With this approach consider, this leads to question whether or not online learning programs, on the higher education level, can offer some type of technological support for instructors to “re‐think” and “re‐imagine” their teaching strategies and approaches with entrepreneur learning? In particular, this paper will focus on how technological changes in the learning process can help instructors to “re‐imagine” how changes in their teaching strategies can help re‐engage the learner and perhaps start a new “renaissance” for the business field’s impact on entrepreneur learning. Keywords: Entrepreneurship, innovation, incubator programs, online learning, virtual business
1. Introduction According to Sobel (2008), “entrepreneur is someone who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise. An entrepreneur is an agent of change. Entrepreneurship is the process of discovering new ways of combining resources. When the market value generated by this new combination of resources is greater than the market value these resources can generate elsewhere individually or in some other combination, the entrepreneur makes a profit.” (para. 1). While many people immigrated to America in search of their dreams and hopes of a good life for themselves and their families, they also wanted to started their own business and become their own boss. Prior to this growing exodus of people sailing to a new country, many families were sold into or talked into of apprenticeships, servant roles, and/or working for others and not acquainted with the mechanics of becoming their own boss. Again, the hopes of a new way of doing business and making a living were given some additional opportunities, but still limited in scope. While there was a growing interest in becoming one’s own boss, many could not afford such a change in their livelihoods or even contemplating breaking away from their own mundane and “constricted” lives. However, while many were craftsmen and only the rich were educated, there was a growing need for equalization of the wealth among the various members of society; whereas, the rich wanted to enjoy their given status and prevent others from entering into their way of life. As Adam Smith (1776), noted in his Wealth of Nations, "[Thus,] every individual necessarily labours to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can. He generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it. … By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it.” (Blatt, 2003). Thus, Smith’s focus was that the person may be focused more on what a person could offer to society, in terms of entrepreneurship rather than just the profit. For the purposes of this paper, we will focus on entrepreneurship as being, “One’s ability to create something that has meaning for the creator, other members of society, and business in general. Further, such business endeavors is unique and self‐serving for one’s search for meaningful work and achievement of one’s goals, as well as contributing to the needs of the current market and society.” (Blatt, 2003). Moving forward in this paper with this definition in mind, this paper will explore how academia can work with the business world to offer meaningful and stimulating educational experiences in meeting the needs of current and future entrepreneurs. While not all courses can be the one‐size‐fits‐all
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Bob Barrett category, there is a growing need for academia to wake up and listen to the current needs of the marketplace, as well as the needs of today’s adult learner. In particular, this can further examined in the context of how adult learners are perceived today’s educational offerings in terms of whether they meet their current needs and capture their current needs to learn and grow. In the next sections, the paper will look at the current approaches by Higher Education in terms of entrepreneur courses and what are the current needs and expectations by the marketplace in terms of entrepreneurs and their future.
2. Current entrepreneur approaches in higher education Traditionally, universities have approached the areas of entrepreneurship as a part of their course offerings, but with little emphasis on its value as a component of its various business programs However, during the past decade, there has been a resurgence of emphasis on the areas of entrepreneurship, as well as the innovation that may be connected to new business engagements by individuals. As a result, more higher education institutions are seeing a need for growing this component of their business program, as well as re‐engaging their learners to become more interested in the possibility of becoming their own boss and creating an entity that will have not only value to themselves, but also to the free market. Thus, the question of how does Higher Education know what does the business world need or want from their students and future graduates in terms of business knowledge, skills, and experiences? One way that Higher Education is starting to rethink their entrepreneur courses and programs is to revamp, or rather rethink, their courses in this area. Below are 10 of the top best entrepreneurship courses ranked in 2011 by Buchanan, editor‐at‐large for Inc. magazine.
Best Courses 2011: Founders' Dilemmas at Harvard Business School
Best Courses 2011: Technology Venturing at Ohio State
Best Courses 2011: Foundations of Managing and Entrepreneurship at Babson College
Best Courses 2011: Mayfield Fellows at Stanford University
Best Courses 2011: Entrepreneurial Selling at the University of Chicago
Best Courses 2011: The Launch Pad at the University of Miami
Best Courses 2011: Sustainable Product and Market Development for Subsistence Marketplaces at the University of Illinois
Best Courses 2011: New Ventures at Willamette University
Best Courses 2011: NUvention at Northwestern University
Best Courses 2011: Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (Buchanan, 2011).
While the above “best courses” are only samples of the plethora of courses appearing across multiple plains of the Internet, this has caused many educational institutions to rethink their role and function to not only their immediate stakeholders, but they are reaching out to other external stakeholders. Thus, another way that Higher Education continues to connect with the business world is through the use of research. This research is comprised of survey instruments and human interaction. For example, colleges and universities may engage members of the business community through the use of various research survey instruments to collect data on their perceived business needs and wants. Thus, many business departments in Higher Education engage members of the business community by inviting them to serve on Industry Advisory Councils (IACs) or Curriculum Advisory Committees (CACs) (APUS, 2013). These types of engagements helps to connect both business and academia, as well as providing a vehicle for better communication of needs, as well as opening up the possibilities for future practicums, internship, and potential job opportunities. Now, let us demonstrate how both of these types of networking and consensus‐building committees/councils can help to re‐engage the learner. Both of these membership activities can help to strengthen the bonds between higher education and business, but yet they can also invite some current and past students to become part of their mission to learn more about each other and plan for the future. Initially, many of these committees may want to achieve a healthy balance between business professionals, academics, as well as students to demonstrate the need for each other’s participation and engage them into this necessary, but yet constructive way to view the current approaches to learning and future educational challenges and adaptations/modifications to the given curriculum. While there may not be a full consensus in all points of the mission for these two groups, it becomes evident during the process that there is a perceived need for their participation and communication
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Bob Barrett of their thoughts on perceived needs and wants. In the next section, we will examine what entrepreneurship means in today’s marketplace and what business and higher education may expect and need to continue the entrepreneur spirit in today’s market.
3. Entrepreneurship in the marketplace The marketplace of today is much different from that of the times described by Adam Smith. Conceptually, has the spirit and drive of entrepreneurs really changed over the past several centuries or not? Do we see a continuation of new businesses, products, and services continue to be market across the United States, as well as the world? Of course, the answer to this question is yes. In fact, there is a stronger need today to go global than ever before, due to the explosion of newer technology – especially with the use of the Internet. However, what happens when business creators and owners are limited in their knowledge of newer technology, business principles, and best practices? Simply, this means that their likelihood of success may be limited, as well as their ability to sustain business during the first year. According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), most first‐year businesses have troubles and may have high turnover rates (SBA, 2011). Further, the Census Bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce estimated that “552,600 new employer firms opened for business in 2009, and 660,900 firms closed. This amounts to an annual turnover of about 10 percent.” (SBA, 2011, para. 6). This leads to the bigger questions in terms of the survival rate for new business, firms, and entrepreneurial attempts. According the Census Bureau (2011) “seven out of ten new employer firms survive at least 2 years, half at least 5 years, a third at least 10 years, and a quarter stay in business 1 years of more.” (para. 7).
4. Higher education and entrepreneurship in the marketplace As a result of the research projects conducted by the Federal Government and Higher Education, one of the key projects stemming from their various relationships and network is the of incubation projects, or rather incubation networks. While higher education may not be needs of all adult learners, this type of project helps to bridge a gap between those learners, business, and academia. As a result, some universities have been offering alternatives to their credit‐awarding courses through the use of incubator programs. While some members of higher education institutions have offered some form of incubator programs for entrepreneurship, such as the Virtual Incubation Network. This network is a grant‐funded initiative that is under the leadership of the American Association of Community Colleges and 11 community colleges. Their aim is to help "test‐drive” new delivery mechanisms that include support provided at the business site and hybrid in‐person and technology processes.” (NACCE, 2013). With this approach consider, this leads to question whether or not online learning programs, on the higher education level, can offer some type of technological support for instructors to “re‐think” and “re‐imagine” their teaching strategies and approaches with entrepreneur learning? Whereas, not all incubation projects may be possible due to many factors, such as limited funding, personnel, networking opportunities and/or community needs, there are other approaches that colleges and universities may focus on to gain some portion of this type of learning activity, but on a smaller scale and yet achievable by students enrolled in academic courses. A key approach to any business or organization today is the practices in which they follow or incorporate from others. These practices may depend upon a variety of circumstances, and they may be impacted by certain data controllers or keepers of the gate. These practices are viewed as the end product of complex reasoning processes. When organizations plan and strategize for goals and values, they consider those contextual conditions involved in the decision‐making process. In terms of these contextual conditions, they should be considered as one examines and explores the given problem(s) that may be affecting an organization calls for a change to be made. The researcher should look at the problem’s structure and its constraints in order to determine the difference between espoused constraints and theory‐in‐use constraints (Argyris, Putnam, & McLain, 1985). Thus, the reasons given by organizational members as explanations of their own or others’ practices and policies are espoused constraints. What practitioners actually are involved in and used are theory‐in‐use constraints. If practices are self‐reported, it may be hard to understand for some people in terms of the differences between reported (espoused) and actual (theory‐in‐use) constraints, which requires further investigation and analysis to determine the differences between the two (Robinson, 1997). Therefore, the use of a case study to describe best practices would help the reader to understand the differences and perhaps provide an account of the congruency of these two types of constraints. Further, there is a need to understand what an organization considers “meeting needs” as opposed to their concept of
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Bob Barrett “needs” in the context of development of best practices. As a result, many people tend to stick with the current practices in industry, whereas, others are risk takers and may want to venture into different areas of discovery. This could be said to be true of the online learning environments, whereas, some colleges and universities finally say the meaningful change in some students who could focus on their education, rather than worry about how they could rearrange their family and work lives to attend a class in a physical learning environment sense. Also, the online learning model for many academic institutions tends to follow the previously discussed “learner‐centered” approach, because they, too, believe in the guiding principles set forth by Knowles adults are self‐directed in their learning and have previous learning experiences.
5. Re‐think, re‐imagine, re‐engage and re‐evaluation of entrepreneur needs and wants in business and education When students enroll in various types of entrepreneurship courses, they expect to gain both academic credit, as well as meaningful knowledge to apply to their current or future endeavors. However, some adult learners know that they must put a certain level of participation in a course in order to gain the best possible learning experience. As such, certain types of learning experiences not only measure an adult learner’s content knowledge and ability to apply one’s knowledge, but it also can be used as an early predictor to see if one has the drive or interest in entrepreneur endeavors. Thus, this leads the paper’s focus into yet another avenue of discovery to determine why we need to “re‐think, re‐image, and re‐evaluate” entrepreneur needs and wants in both the areas of business and education. The following sections will provide an overview of how these three components are important for one to understand both the business and education’ business side, as well as understanding why more needs to be done to actively engage today’s adult learner. Barrett (2013) proposed that educators need to: 1) Re‐think; 2) Re‐imagine; and 3) Re‐evaluate when they look at learning process in terms of adult learning. During this process of learning at how we education, construct the learning process, and consider the purpose of why adults learners seek additional education, Barrett (2013) noted that there is a growing area of interest in today’s employee/adult learner trying to find meaning in one’s work. Thus, this leads us to the next segment of discovery in the field of today’s entrepreneur in terms of finding meaning in one’s work and then finding future satisfaction.
6. Finding meaning in one’s work and yet growing more What seems to be a growing factor for many people in considering the entrepreneur approach may be due to the rising question of several leading writers in the business literature in the context of the meaning of work (Chalofsky, 2010) and finding meaning in what one does with their skills, knowledge, and abilities in the pursuit of gaining a salary, but enjoying what one does. The key question asked by many people who have been laid off, terminated, or reaching a mid‐life crisis point is “what is the meaning of work?” Further, educators and members of higher‐education have to consider several questions that might be facing our current and future workforces. These questions might be:
What importance does the meaning of work have with today’s post‐Baby Boomers?
Why does this new generation of workers want and expect more than their predecessors?
Can one achieve a different way of earning a living, but yet achieve a healthy meaning of work?
Finally, can creating new entrepreneur endeavors actually turn around the economy and provide an answer to certain populations who have faced barriers in the workplace previously, such as persons with disabilities?
With above questions considered, educators are starting to see a need in changes in the way we educate and create the learning environment. Therefore learning has to change in order to meet the challenges of the adult learning, especially potential new entrepreneurs seeking more education before they start their entrepreneurial endeavors. The following section will outline a new approach that address a change in the learning model for adult learners.
7. Introduction of virtual change learning model (VCLM) During the past several centuries, the learning process was slow in changing. Most academic institutions followed the Socratic approach to teaching. However, the approach to adult learning has changed as a result for a need to move away from the traditional way of teaching and to focus more on the learner. Since we might have to look outside of the real of Kuhn’s
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Bob Barrett proposition of a paradigm shift, but in essence, we need to rethink our approach to education in terms of the learning process (Kuhn, 1970). Thus, some educators may not be willing to attempt a paradigm shift at this time. Nonetheless, it may only necessitate a potential testing of a new model to test and evaluate whether there is a need for some change at this given time and place in education.
(Barrett, 2013) Figure 1: Virtual change learning model (VLCM) Let us explore the above three elements of the VCLM in more detail to better understand them and why the need for additional change in educational instruction. Relevance Today’s learning courses may only focus on the learning objectives set forth in the course syllabus and program curriculum. This “given” structure may tend to overlook if the material can show value as to why the student needs to take the course. Also, the given prescribed learning activities might function well in the traditional classroom setting, but it may lack in the learner’s ability to tie together different areas of learning in terms of their current learning needs, as well as the learning perceived as part of the overall program intention and/or goals. Proposed Solution: Higher education instructors may want to look beyond the textbooks and seek current events (global and domestic) that might help them to rethink and re‐evaluate how they present material. For example, what would the educator do if they were a student again and was learning the material? Thus, would they consider the current teaching tools useful or not? Another solution would be to team up with one of their peers to have each other peer‐reviewed (evaluate) the specific course in terms of the learning objectives, learning activities, and types of learning strategies and methods used in presenting the material. Reality Some courses may tend to be more useful in the real world, and students might be more attentive and participatory in the classroom’s discussions and activities. Nonetheless when students take courses that do not show or involve any linkages to the real world and the career intentions of the students, this can be another factor that prevents “real learning” and cause a drop in student participation, interest, and course grades. Proposed Solution: In today’s troublesome economic times, some instructors are losing their full‐time teaching jobs. Thus, they are facing a new world and perhaps trying new things to supplement their income. Now, consider this possibility. What if they found a job teaching online the same course material, but they are
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Bob Barrett required to offer it in a different approach? Could their course compete with other online schools or organization? Basically, do they offer a dynamic course that would not only attract an initial set of learners, but one that might cause the current students to highly recommend it to other potential students? Some “tenured” professors have been so set in their own way of teaching that they still use the same coffee‐stained, 20‐year notes that they have been using over and over. Is this really true teaching? Can learning really occur if the notes and methods are 20 years old? The simple answer is no. Re‐Use In this final segment of the VCLM, we have to question whether the content knowledge could be presented in such a way so that the student can re‐use it in current or future settings? If not, the rate of retention and use of such information may be meaningful or of no value to the student. Basically, does the course offer applicable projects that made the student apply the content knowledge in a meaningful learning activity that might ensure the accomplishment of the learning objective, as well as show value to the student for the learning of such content knowledge and the utility of the learning activity? Proposed Solution: The proof is whether the learner can see the meaning or value of learning the course material and how it can help them now and in the future. Not all courses will have this intended effect – but not all instructors strive for this effect. Thus, this leads to the next question for discovery – why change any type of learning and offer a new model. After the previous discussion of the failure rates of new businesses, it is apparent that educators need to be more proactive and offer courses/programs that enable these new entrepreneurs with better tools, skills, and strategies.
8. VCLM and entrepreneur educational approaches During our discussion of the new learning model, namely, VCLM, we need to consider if it can be useful in terms of entrepreneurial education and help instructors to replace traditional teaching methods and “re‐ engage” today’s adult learner. In particular the key disadvantage of these previous instructional methods, strategies, and approaches to learning has been the loss of student engagement. In fact, some students have been “turned off” with these traditional educational tools. One needs to consider the following question. What then happens is the loss of revenue when a workforce is not fully participatory and/or cannot obtain work due to the lack of proper education and training? Second, we have to think about what is the employer looking for in today’s workforce? In ZOOM (2002), it noted that Barbara Smith (2000), chief learning officer for Burson‐Marsteller, stated that “If we don’t have the best people creating the best product, we can’t compete. What I’m after is creating the best people in the industry. E‐learning is an option that provides us with real competitive edge – it helps us maximize our intellectual capital” (Zoom, 2002). However, not all employees see this as a positive move, nor do adult learners when their educational institutions make a similar move. However, Smith (2000) further noted that "All employees see it and are aware of the company's mission and goals. There are also different skills assessment tests online, which let them see where they are in their development." (Zoom, 2002). As a result, employers are looking for more in today’s workforce, but the current and future workforces may not be fully prepared for such employment requirements. While it may be idealistic for academics to keep updated with employer’s needs and requirements, this does not always happen in the world of academic. In any event, perhaps if higher education would take a different approach and utilize the new “perspectives and focus” offered with VCLM, they might be able to offer a different approach to adult learning and gain even more attention, participation, and buy in from more learners. When learners see actual changes done by the educational community in terms of focusing more on the “learner” and less on “tradition”, they can see more value and concern for them. Thus, this also triggers another event, more learners will spread the word of what they see as a good change and value for them as learners and their investment. Thus, we need to look at the final part of the puzzle, how can we evaluate such a model?
9. Entrepreneur projects and innovation Instead of typical term and research papers, many university curriculums are moving from a teacher‐centered approach of teaching and learning to a more modern approach, known as student‐centered approach. Consequently, there are several different learning approaches to teaching business courses in which to engage the learner in either the Face‐to‐Face (F2F) or virtual (online) learning environments. Some of these
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Bob Barrett approaches are simulations, comprehensive projects/electronic portfolios, practicums, and/or internships. Here is a quick overview of these various learning activities to measure the learner’s content knowledge, as well as their ability to apply their learning and skills as such. These learning activities may range from one to several semesters, but in general, they are normal expected to be completed within one’s enrolled (single) term. However, in some educational institutions, they may require multiple uses of these learning activities to prepare the student for future entrepreneur endeavors and/or provide an opportunity for them to gain first‐ hand experience in the process in a real world setting. Some of the practical applications are simulations, comprehensive projects, electronic portfolios (e‐Portfolios), and practicums.
10. Conclusion While not all entrepreneur endeavors, like all new business ventures, will endure the first year of their existence, those entrepreneurs who seek additional training, education, and/or professional help may obtain a higher likelihood of achievement as a result of their drive for success. On the other hand, both business and higher educational professionals can play a major role in the success of these new entrepreneurs by helping them to re‐engage in terms of learning and become lifelong learners throughout the course of their entrepreneur pursuits. As a general overview of this paper’s findings in the workplace and research, here are some suggestions for new entrepreneurs.
Research and determine if your intended entrepreneur pursuit has meaning for both you, as well as fulfilling a need for others in order to sustain such a new business venture.
Network with others who have similar business interests and/or have had success in your field and pursued their own dream to become their own boss.
Do not limit your possibilities and opportunities to one concentration or overall focus, but be open to expand into other areas and industries as a chance to challenge oneself and become a forward thinker.
Strive for meaning and enjoyment in one’s work pursuits, but yet keep in mind that successful businesses survive the first year of operation if they focus on the overall business, operations, and future planning and forecasting.
Whether one intends to open a business or join another in an entrepreneur venture, the key to success is constant learning and interaction with others.
References American Public University System (APUS) (2013). Industry Advisory Comittees (IAC). Charles Town, WV. Argyris, C., Putnam, R., & McLain Smith, D. (1985). Action Science. San Francisco: Jossey‐Bass. Barrett, B. (2013). Reconfiguring E‐Learning: Phasing Out Rote for Reality. EduLearn 2013 Conference, Valencia, Spain. Blatt, D. (July 1, 2003). The Wealth of Nations and Adam Smith. FUTURECASTS, online magazine. Vol. 5(7). Retrieved http://www.futurecasts.com/Smith,%20Wealth%20of%20Nations%20(I).htm. Buchanan, L., (April, 2011). Inc. The 10 Best Entrepreneurship Courses of 2011. Chalofsky, N. (2010). Meaningful Workplaces: Reframing How and Where we Work. San Francisco. CA: Jossey‐Bass. Kuhn, T. (1970). The structure of scientific revolutions (ed.). National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE), (2013). The Virtual Incubation Network Toolkit. Retrieved from http://www.nacce.com/?VINFAQ. Robinson, V.M.J. (1997). Methodology and the Research‐Practice Gap. Educational Researcher, 27(1), 17‐26. Small Business Administration (SBA) (January 2011). Frequently asked questions: Advocacy: the voice of small business in government. Retrieved from http://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/sbfaq.pdf. Sobel, R.S. (2008). “Entrepreneurship.” The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. Library of Economics and Liberty. Liberty Fund, Inc. ZOOM Information, Inc. (April 11, 2002). Online learning: The competitive edge. Retrieved Nov. 11, 2012 from http://www.zoominfo.com/CachedPage/?archive_id=0&page_id=277419546&page _url=//www.collegedegreeguide.com/articles/compedge.htm&page_last_updated=2002‐04‐ 11T09:51:18&firstName=Barbara&lastName=Smith.
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A Model to Study the Influence of Team Psychological Safety and Team Learning on Team Knowledge Creation Peter Cauwelier1, Vincent Ribière2 and Alex Bennet2 1 Bangkok University, Bangkok, Thailand 2 IKI‐SEA, School of Business, Bangkok, Thailand
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Abstract: Studies have shown that team psychological safety has a positive impact on team learning behaviors (Edmondson, 1999). Team learning behaviors are identified as asking questions, giving feedback or looking for help, and the extent to which team members engage in these behaviors depends on the psychological safety they perceive in the team. Although the statement “learning leads to knowledge creation” could be considered as universally accepted, very little research operationalizes the link between learning and knowledge creation in a team setting. This research postulates that the learning behaviors allow team members to reflect on their understanding of the task, develop their mental models (task– and team–related), and increase the similarity in their mental models, therefore strengthening the shared mental model. Team mental models represent team knowledge, and knowledge created from a shared experience allows a team to address a future challenge more effectively. This paper presents a literature review about the factors influencing team knowledge creation and team learning, and, as a result, proposes a model that links team psychological safety and team learning with team knowledge creation. Keywords: team knowledge creation, team learning, team psychological safety, team mental models
1. Introduction Knowledge has become the key asset in organizations’, institutions’ and nations’ competitive advantage (OECD, 1996). The knowledge economy is driven by knowledge intangibles rather than physical resources, and since Peter Drucker coined the term “knowledge worker” in 1964, know‐how, company culture and reputation have become value creators for organizations (Kim, 2002). Knowledge‐based assets are social in nature (Kim, 2002), difficult to copy, and therefore offer a better potential for long‐term competitive advantage. Learning in an organizational context has been developed by several researchers, and Peter Senge (1994) popularized the Learning Organization concept. For an organization to deal with tomorrow’s issues, it has to increase its capability to learn. The organization learns from its experiences, and uses this knowledge to adapt to the changes in its environment. Peter Senge describes team learning as one of the five elements of the learning organization. Team learning is a resource for the organization in maintaining high levels of competitiveness in its complex and changing environment (Breso et al., 2008). Learning is creating the human capacity to take effective action in varied and uncertain situations, and leads to the creation of knowledge (Bennet, 2012). If an organization can develop effective approaches to learning, it will create the knowledge that allows it to deal with tomorrow’s challenges: learning is therefore an important cornerstone of organizational performance improvement (Bennet, 2012). Learning is as much a social as a cognitive process: individuals learn from their peers in a work environment. The social interactions between team members create the context in which team learning takes place. The knowledge that “exists” in a team is not simply the sum of the knowledge of the team members, but rather an emergent structure that results from the interplay of the cognitions of each team member (Wildman et al., 2012). In a complex, quickly changing and uncertain world, organizations realize that the problems of today can no longer be resolved by a few experts or the organization’s leaders. Teams are the organization’s backbone to learn, adapt and progress in a complex world. Organizations rely on teams to ensure that knowledge is maintained, and that new knowledge is developed. “Teams are a fundamental source of learning and st organizational effectiveness. It is little wonder then that the workplace of the 21 century places a premium on team‐based learning.” (Edmondson, 2012:222).
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Peter Cauwelier, Vincent Ribière and Alex Bennet A thorough review of the relevant literature on team learning (Decuyper et al., 2010) lists the ten factors that influence how teams learn, and one of these is team psychological safety. Team psychological safety was developed by Edmondson, and is defined as “a shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking” (1999:354). A team that feels psychologically safe engages more easily in behaviors like feedback seeking, help seeking, speaking up about concerns or mistakes, innovative thinking and reaching out to the outside. When mistakes are discussed and reflected upon, and team members can ask for help without feeling like making a fool of themselves, the team has a mindset that allows for healthy exchanges; these behaviors lead to increased team performance (Edmondson, 2004).
2. Research question and significance Although team learning and knowledge have been widely researched, there remain gaps in understanding how these concepts are connected and operationalized. Team psychological safety positively impacts team learning behavior and these behaviors lead to improved team performance (Edmondson, 1999). Although the statement “learning leads to knowledge” seems generally accepted, there is limited research that evaluates if or how team knowledge is created when a team engages in these learning behaviors. If performing a particular task does not create new knowledge, the team will confront each new situation with the same level of team knowledge. Do learning behaviors create long‐lasting knowledge within a team, or is there no benefit beyond the current task ? Do the dynamics in a psychologically safe team contribute to the creation of new knowledge with each learning experience ? This research expands Edmondson’s model by linking the concepts of team psychological safety and team learning, with team knowledge creation. This research posits that team psychological safety and team learning behaviors have a positive impact on the creation of team knowledge (task– and team–related). In the next sections we review the main research conducted around the factors influencing team knowledge creation and team learning.
3. Team knowledge and team knowledge creation 3.1 Learning and knowledge creation frameworks Learning in an organizational setting means the testing of experience and transformation of that experience into knowledge (Senge, 1994). Thus, learning creates knowledge for the organization and this allows its actors to make decisions, take action and innovate (Bennet, 2012). Knowledge creation and organizational learning are activities of continuous adaptation to contextual change, and models describing learning and knowledge creation often use a continuous loop or feedback cycle (Kim, 2002, Bennet, 2012, Nonaka, 1994). Just like the continuous spiral in Nonaka’s SECI model, the team learning process consists of “iterative cycles” of action, reflection, and adjustment (Edmondson, 2004). These models with their iterations and feedback cycles highlight that there is a temporal element to knowledge creation. If knowledge is created, it can only be verified once that knowledge is stored, retrieved and then applied in a subsequent opportunity (Goodman and Dabbish, 2011). Researchers have delineated and structured the concept of team knowledge according to the type of knowledge that is evaluated (task‐related, team‐related, process‐related or goal‐related mental models) and the view of knowledge as static (team knowledge approach) or dynamic (process approach) (Wildman et al., 2012). 3.1.1 The mental model The concept of mental models was developed to describe knowledge at the individual level. A mental model is a person’s view of the world, the context in which experiences are viewed and interpreted, defines how knowledge is applied and new knowledge is created (Kim, 2002). Mental models can be compared to tacit maps of the world in a person’s long‐term memory, as well as the short‐term perceptions a person develops through experience (Senge, 1994). Mental models were applied to teams to understand how teams operate in complex, dynamic and changing circumstances, and further developed to describe the knowledge existing in a team.
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Peter Cauwelier, Vincent Ribière and Alex Bennet 3.1.2 Team knowledge as a static concept In the team knowledge approach, team knowledge is an emergent knowledge structure that results from the interplay of the individual cognitions of each team member, and knowledge that is critical to team functioning is organized, stored and distributed within the team (Kozlowski & Ilgen, 2006). Team knowledge is both the result of and the input to the cognition process (Wildman et al., 2012). Team (or shared) mental models are constructed from the knowledge structures and concepts that the team members bring to the team: knowledge about the task, the tools and technology, understanding of procedures and strategies, awareness of team roles and communication patterns, and knowledge of teammates’ habits (Mohammed et al., 2010). Different team mental models co‐exist within a team, and they are typically grouped as either task‐related or team‐related. Researchers confirm that a high level of similarity, or a high level of “sharedness”, of the mental models, has a positive impact on team processes, team performance and team effectiveness (Mathieu et al., 2000, Kozlowski and Ilgen, 2006). Shared mental models indicate that team members have similar objectives and a shared vision for the future state, and they will therefore easily coordinate their actions and be aligned in their communication (Mathieu et al., 2000). This has typically been confirmed in command‐and‐control situations, high‐pressure environments, novel challenges or time‐ constrained activities (Mohammed and Dumville, 2001, Mathieu et al., 2000, Van den Bossche et al., 2010). Shared cognition is wider than shared mental model, and includes notions such as team decision making, team situation awareness or team perception (Cooke et al., 2000). 3.1.3 Team knowledge as a dynamic concept The team situation model is the dynamic and context‐dependent knowledge that develops when a team is engaged in the task. Individuals have a specific understanding of the task, and the team situation model is the team’s collective understanding of the task. The dynamic team situation model builds on the team mental model by incorporating the specific characteristics of the situation (Cooke et al., 2000). Researchers are more and more looking at knowledge as a dynamic construct (Kozlowski and Ilgen, 2006). Cooke has developed the model of Interactive Team Cognition (2012), which differs from the static shared cognition concept in its focus on cognitive interactions at the team level (as opposed to the cognitive structure), and the embeddedness of these interactions in the surrounding context. She states that the dynamic interactions that take place when a team executes a task are more relevant than the knowledge the team starts the task with: “Interactive Team Cognition goes beyond team knowledge by locating team cognition in team interactions and postulates that these interactions are cognitive processes that are more critically linked to team effectiveness than knowledge.” (Cooke et al., 2012:21). Team members can have a suitable distribution of knowledge (similar or complementary), but if they fail to coordinate effectively, the team fails in the task (Cooke et al., 2012). Different from the static team knowledge approach, the process approach sees team knowledge as the whole of observable processes that occur within the team, and measures knowledge through the frequency and patterns of cognitive behaviors that occur in the team.
3.2 Measuring knowledge 3.2.1 Measuring team mental models Team mental models have been a key element of research in team knowledge for 20 years and several methods have been developed to elicit, measure and represent them (Langan‐Fox et al., 2000). Each method proposes a different view on content and structure of the team knowledge and represents advantages and disadvantages (Mohammed et al., 2010). Team mental models are constructs that exist in the team when it is about to engage in a task, and impact the team task performance (Mohammed et al., 2010). Mental models are considered relatively static, but whether they change easily really depends on the type of knowledge they represent: mental models related to basic operational tasks evolve more easily from new experiences and interactions with colleagues, than the field‐ specific mental models of a veteran expert.
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Peter Cauwelier, Vincent Ribière and Alex Bennet Although there is an obvious temporal aspect to knowledge creation, there are very few examples of research that measure changes in team mental models over a series of tasks (Van den Bossche et al., 2010). There is a need to investigate the evolution of team mental models from learning experiences (Mohammed et al., 2010). 3.2.2 Measuring the creation of team knowledge: process, output or outcome Mitchell and Boyle (2010) develop a hierarchical taxonomy of knowledge creation measurement approaches based on an in‐depth literature review. They classify measuring approaches as focusing on the process, output or outcome of knowledge creation. The process approach “refers to the initiatives and activities undertaken towards the generation of new ideas” (Mitchell and Boyle, 2010:69) and focuses on the means through which knowledge is created. In a team setting, this is equivalent to the Interactive Team Cognition’s process of team members’ interactions to complete a task (Cooke et al., 2012). The output approach “refers to the development of new ideas that reflect a significant elaboration or enrichment of existing knowing” (Mitchell and Boyle, 2010:69) and takes the representation of an idea as the product of the knowledge creation process. The outcome approach indicates that “new knowledge is diffused, adopted and embedded as new products, services and systems” (Mitchell and Boyle, 2010:69), and represents a value‐added object for the organization. These distinctions are important because team performance (outcome) is often used as a proxy for team learning. Teams can create knowledge (output) without improvement in performance (outcome) (Goodman and Dabbish, 2011).
3.3 Conclusions from team knowledge and creation of team knowledge literature Knowledge that resides at the level of a team has been operationalized as shared mental models (task– or team–related). The dynamic processes that take place when a team tackles a challenge are considered team cognition. Evaluating if team knowledge has been created can be done through the measurement of the output or outcome of these interactions, or the confirmation that the newly acquired knowledge is applied in a subsequent application. Studies around team knowledge look at team mental models as stand‐alone structures and do not really investigate how processes such as learning create this knowledge.
4. Team learning 4.1 From organizational learning to team learning Organizational learning starts with individual learning. There can be no organizational learning without individuals, and the individual and organizational learning are interconnected and form a cycle (Kim, 2002). Organizational learning efforts need to take the different theories and models that exist around individual learning into account. Theories of social and situational learning emphasize the interaction and relationships between individuals as the basis for learning to occur (Smith, 2003) and engaging in meaningful dialogue is key for teams to learn together (Senge, 1994). Individuals bring into an organizational learning context an identity that has developed out of their social environment, and includes associations with different groups outside of the organization (Wenger, 1998). Communities of practice develop in the organization, and it is in the interactions between the members that learning takes place: “Although workers may be contractually employed by a large institution, in day‐to‐day practice they work with ‐ and, in a sense, for ‐ a much smaller set of people and communities.” (Wenger, 1998:6) Collaborative learning puts the emphasis on the continual exchanges between individuals, which lead to learning at the group as well as at the individual level, and represents the interaction of cognitive acquisition, social participation and knowledge creation (Stahl, 2000).
4.2 Team learning: definitions and key concepts Teams are small units, with a more or less distinct separation of roles, knowledge and responsibilities (Cooke et al., 2000). There are action teams (Marks et al., 2002), like surgical teams or airplane crews, with a clear role separation, and service or production teams, teams of knowledge workers working together in a department, on a project or on operational tasks, sharing information and reviewing progress.
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Peter Cauwelier, Vincent Ribière and Alex Bennet A team is a collection of individuals who are interdependent in their tasks, who share responsibility for outcomes, who see themselves and who are seen by others as an intact social entity embedded in one or more larger social systems. Cohen & Baily (in Decuyper et al., 2010:112) A widely accepted definition for team learning has not yet been developed. Different and often non‐connected research streams exist around information sharing, transactive memory, group learning or cognitive consensus (Mohammed and Dumville, 2001). Team learning encompasses cognitive processes and social processes. Ellis (in Breso et al., 2008:147) defines team learning as “a relatively permanent change in the team’s collective level of knowledge and skill produced by the shared experience of the team members”. A literature review on the subject of team learning identifies the ten elements that have the greatest impact on team learning: shared mental models, team psychological safety, group potency and team efficacy, cohesion, team development and team learning dynamics, interdependence, team leadership, team structure, organizational strategy and systems thinking (Decuyper et al., 2010).
4.3 Different views of team learning Team learning is often studied through the team’s task performance, and team‐related elements impacting the task performance are schema agreement, transactive memory accuracy and shared goals. These coordinated ways of storing knowledge at the team level lead to the development of shared mental models, an essential part of the learning process (Van den Bossche et al., 2010). “Learning requires the development of new shared understandings among members, which get stored and later retrieved.” (Goodman and Dabbish, 2011:388) The social interactions become the learning processes that help the team to develop its social knowledge, and there is a continued interaction and exchange between learning processes at the team level and at the individual level (Stahl, 2000). The importance of social interactions can also be evaluated by looking at training programs from the point of view of participants: trainees confirm that the ideal learning experience involves social interaction with others, the exchange of personal ideas and the exchange of feedback (Antonacopoulou, 1999).
4.4 Operationalizing and measuring team learning Team learning has been operationalized through the behaviors the members engage in when dealing with a task: looking for feedback, asking for help, speaking up about mistakes, innovative thinking, or looking for information outside the team (Edmondson, 1999). These behaviors are a subset of the team interactions described in the Interactive Team Cognition model (Cooke et al., 2012). Team learning is a process, comprising concrete learning exchanges, behaviors and interactions (Edmondson, 1999). Operationalizing and measuring team learning consists in qualifying and quantifying these learning behaviors. Despite this understanding, most studies evaluate the performance of the team to demonstrate learning, instead of analyzing the actual dynamics of the interactions (van Offenbeek, 2001). 4.5 Conclusions from team learning literature Team learning, critical for organizations, is a dynamic process constructed around social interactions and exchanges. Team learning is most often measured by looking at the team’s performance, instead of by analysis of the observable team learning behaviors. Ten distinct elements impact how a team learns, and how this learning leads to knowledge. One of these is team psychological safety.
5. Team psychological safety 5.1 Origins of psychological safety, and team concept Maslow was the first to coin the term psychological safety, and the construct was further developed in work on organizational change, where it was seen as a reassuring counterbalance for the insecurity that comes with change, and linked with learning, namely the way it helps individuals overcome their “learning anxiety” (Schein, 2004).
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Peter Cauwelier, Vincent Ribière and Alex Bennet Team psychological safety was described by Edmondson (1999) in her research around engagement at work. Edmondson developed the concept of psychological safety as one that resides at the level of the group, A shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking …Team psychological safety is meant to suggest neither a careless sense of permissiveness, nor an unrelenting positive affect but, rather, a sense of confidence that the team will not embarrass, reject or punish someone for speaking up (Edmondson, 1999:354).
5.2 Barriers to team learning, and behaviors promoted by team psychological safety Since learning takes place in the interactions between individuals, it is impacted by the interpersonal climate in teams (Edmondson, 2004). An individual takes risks with others in the group when engaging in learning behaviors like speaking up, collaborating and experimenting (Nembhard and Edmondson, 2011). These behaviors pose risks for the individual at different levels: impact on their reputation, the desire to seek others’ approval, or saving face (Nembhard and Edmondson, 2011). Learning in teams is driven by interpersonal perceptions: most people care to preserve the image others hold of them, and hesitate trying out risky behaviors to avoid being seen as ignorant or incompetent (Decuyper et al., 2010). Psychological safety minimizes the perceived risk of engaging in learning behaviors. Individuals working in teams with a high degree of psychological safety feel that their actions and feedback are valued and will not result in negative consequences. They therefore feel safe to take these interpersonal risks (Nembhard and Edmondson, 2011). Teams with a high level of team psychological safety engage in the following learning behaviors (Edmondson, 2004): help seeking, feedback seeking, speaking up about errors and concerns, innovation and boundary spanning. Edmondson’s research describes these learning behaviors as key elements of team learning, but does not evaluate the actual results in terms of outcome of the learning, or the kind of learning that happens in the team (Edmondson, 1999, Goodman and Dabbish, 2011).
5.3 Conclusions from team psychological safety literature Different researchers have built on the concept of team psychological safety and confirmed its impact on team learning. The models describe the learning behaviors that result from the level of team psychological safety, but do not make the connection with the actual outcomes from these learning behaviors, namely team performance in general, or the creation of knowledge in the team in particular.
6. Proposed model and hypotheses 6.1 Creation of the model Based on the previous literature review, we can observe that researchers describe that team learning behaviors, as well as the shared mental models (or team mental models), improve team performance in a particular task. Nevertheless, there is very little research that analyzes how these cognitive processes lead to the creation of new knowledge at the team level. One study evaluates how team learning impacts shared mental models over the period of a business simulation game (Van den Bossche et al., 2010), but has limited applicability because it is based on the participants’ perception of learning, it concerns declarative task‐related knowledge (applied economics), and uses ad‐hoc student teams. When established teams engage in interactions around the resolution of a challenge, the only way to evaluate if their learning results in the creation of new knowledge is through the application in subsequent situations. Shared experience and training influence the development of shared team mental models (Kozlowski and Ilgen, 2006, Van den Bossche et al., 2010). Measuring the team mental model related to the task, and seeing how this mental model changes in subsequent tasks, allows to evaluate if team knowledge was created. If a team has developed task‐related knowledge, it will execute the future tasks differently than the original task. Maybe some team members will have gained a better understanding and can help others out to complete the tasks. The team will have developed new ideas, and an understanding of what went well and
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Peter Cauwelier, Vincent Ribière and Alex Bennet what didn’t go well (knowledge created as product), and will apply this knowledge in the subsequent task, and perform better (knowledge created as outcome). A similar reasoning can be made for team‐related knowledge. This research posits that when a team engages in team learning behaviors, it will create new knowledge that the team can apply in future challenges. The learning is not limited to the task at hand (the so‐called situational learning (Kim, 2002)), but leads to changes in the team members’ mental models, and therefore in the team mental model. The higher the level of psychological safety, the more the team will engage in team learning behaviors (Edmondson, 2004): this research posits that both team psychological safety and the learning behaviors have a positive relationship with the knowledge that is created in the team. The proposed model is shown in figure 1.
Figure 1: Proposed model
6.2 Research hypotheses This model reconfirms the hypothesis validated in Edmondson’s work, that high levels of team psychological safety generate more team learning behavior (Edmondson, 2004, Edmondson, 1999). Hypothesis H0 is proposed: Teams with higher team psychological safety engage in more team learning behavior H0 than teams with lower team psychological safety Learning behaviors such as asking for feedback or asking questions, help team members to reflect on their understanding of the task (situation awareness) and give them a better understanding of the thinking of their team members (team‐related knowledge). A team that engages in these behaviors creates a cognitive canvas on which the team’s knowledge grows and develops. This knowledge can be under the form of an output, with more ideas developed at the team level, or outcome, with a better performance in a subsequent task. The knowledge that the team creates can be related to the task or to the team itself. This research posits that when a team develops more learning behavior, this results in the creation of more knowledge at the team level. Hypothesis H 1 is proposed: H1 Teams with higher team learning behavior create more team knowledge than teams with lower team learning behavior In teams with a high level of team psychological safety, making mistakes and taking risks are not considered a failure but an opportunity to learn. Team members easily share information and ideas, and keep each other informed. Experience that is constructed in this way, from mistakes, risk taking and freely exchanging ideas, helps to develop team members’ mental models about the team and the task, and therefore the related team mental models. This team knowledge can be applied when the team is faced with future challenges. High levels of team psychological safety create an atmosphere that promotes the development of new knowledge. Hypothesis H2 is proposed: H2 Teams with higher team psychological safety create more team knowledge than teams with lower team psychological safety
7. Conclusion The importance of teams and knowledge in organizations has been widely described, but there are few models that explicitly look at how teams create knowledge from shared experiences or from learning behaviors. Confirming this paper’s model, driven by the thorough literature review in the field and by the identification of
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Peter Cauwelier, Vincent Ribière and Alex Bennet a research gap, will enhance the understanding of how learning within a team helps to create new team knowledge, and how factors like team psychological safety will impact this process.
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Describing and Assessing Co‐Design Competences: Some Preliminary Results Valérie Chanal1 and Jacques Raynauld2 1 Laboratoire CERAG‐CNRS, Univ. Grenoble‐Alpes, Grenoble, France 2 Institut d’économie appliquée, HEC Montréal, Montréal, Canada valerie.chanal@upmf‐grenoble.fr
[email protected] Abstract: Graduate innovation courses are still mostly discipline‐specific (marketing, design, etc.) and rely on traditional knowledge acquisition. To get a better understanding of the innovation learning process, we adopt a co‐design perspective where participants from different disciplines are working simultaneously and collectively to develop an idea. We then propose a set of seven co‐design competences and 23 associated observable indicators to guide students in their learning endeavor and to help evaluators in their assessment tasks. Preliminary results obtained from a group of 18 students involved in a co‐design training session indicate the usefulness of the framework proposed. Keywords: innovation, co‐design, competences, skills, assessment
1. Introduction Almost all students trained in the social sciences and humanities disciplines (economics, sociology, management, law, etc.) will have to demonstrate some kind of innovation competence in their careers, e.g. take the initiative of a new program, lead a project to launch a new service, support organizational change, etc. However, the traditional teaching methods based on the transmission of disciplinary knowledge, mostly in a classroom setting, are not adapted to the fundamental facets of innovation: the multidisciplinary nature of knowledge, the relationship to risk, uncertainty and failure, the exploration of new fields of knowledge. This is why we must think of new ways to train for innovation at the university level. Innovation can be defined as the design and dissemination of a novelty (a new product or service, a new organization, new modes of action) that produces value for customers, users or society as a whole. Innovation is not just about science and technology. It is related to major social issues such as health, energy, transportation, etc. To develop innovation competences, it is necessary to understand social change from a broader perspective and take into account their political, economic and managerial dimensions. This research is conducted through the Promising project, an innovative academic program financed by the French government, which aims at developing training for creativity and innovation within some higher learning institutions in the social sciences and design fields. Developing innovation competences among students involves identifying what these competences are and how they can be observed and assessed. OECD has done some interesting work in this area and their innovation competences map include technical competences (knowledge, expertise or know‐how in the areas affected by the innovation), thinking and creativity competences (critical skills, imagination, curiosity) and social and behavioral competences (self‐confidence, energy, passion, leadership, collaboration, persuasion). If this definition emphasizes the know‐how and social aspects, it does not identify with enough precision how to develop innovation competences in an education program. The same observation can be made about the Innovation Skills profile 2.0 of the Conference Board of Canada (Conference Board 2013) or, to a lesser extent, to the ones proposed by Bapat et al. (2013) at Central Michigan University. In the spirit of Marín‐García et al., (2012), we propose a set of 23 observable indicators related to 7 competences in order to characterize and eventually assess students’ progress in co‐design exercises. We choose to focus on co‐design instead of tackling the larger innovation theme for practical reasons: the co‐ design domain is well defined and can be the subject of numerous empirical investigations.
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Valérie Chanal and Jacques Raynauld In the first part of the paper, we characterize co‐design exercises in the innovation paradigm in general and justify our approach in light of the literature on creativity and co‐design competences. In the second part, we propose an exercise for assessing these competences in the context of a training program and present briefly the results obtained. We conclude with research avenues on this issue, both in terms of innovation competences and their operationalization.
2. Innovation, co‐design and co‐design competencies 2.1 Teaching co‐design and co‐design exercises We first define innovation as a process for the creation and dissemination of a novelty that produces value for a social group. Innovation problems for which we seek to develop competences are related to the conduct of the collective action facing new challenges. According to Authier (2013), these problems can be classified into five categories:
Acquisition ( of resources, knowledge or skills )
Design ( of an innovative system )
Production (of this system)
Management ( of relationships and flows needed to implement innovation)
Dissemination (of new solutions within existing institutions).
We put co‐design exercises in the upstream of the innovation process, i.e. the acquisition and design phases (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Boundaries of creativity and co‐design competences By co‐design, we mean “a design approach that highlights collaboration and typically refers to an activity in which potential users are empowered to bring their ideas into the design of new solutions. It is also conceived as a collaborative knowledge sharing and creating process in which the skills experiences of various participants are brought together to reach novel solutions” (Kankainen et al. 2012). In the tradition of design thinking (Brown 2009), many agencies, training organizations or consulting firms offer co‐design workshops. These workshops usually last half a day to a week, bringing together people of diverse backgrounds and seeking to offer an innovative solution/prototype often in response to a problem. For example, HEC Montreal led a one‐day co‐design workshop on the reengineering of a classroom. Three multidisciplinary groups, bringing together teachers, students, architects, managers, teaching and learning services, media technology support, etc. have collaborated to propose new concepts for an innovative classroom (Achiche et al. 2013). Training programs aiming at students are obviously different than the actual experiments conducted with experienced people or knowledge experts directly affected by the innovation. The co‐design training context
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Valérie Chanal and Jacques Raynauld for students can therefore be seen as a more artificial activity, where for a limited time, from one day to several months, groups of learners need to produce innovative concepts. However, it remains interesting to enroll students in such co‐design workshops:
Firstly because at the end of their studies, they might consider that they have acquired knowledge and disciplinary skills related to collaborative work.
Secondly because the problem solving exercises led them to both seek relevant knowledge and practice their capacity for collective creativity.
2.2 Co‐design and co‐design models Although approaches to conduct a design project are fairly rich and diverse, there is a consensus about the fact that the design thinking approach is based on divergent thinking (to create choices) followed by convergent thinking (to make choices) (Brown 2009). This is also in line with creativity methods, which alternate divergence (to produce ideas) and convergence (to filter and select ideas) (Le Masson et al. 2007). For these authors, the stake in creative design is to combine divergent thinking (to get variety and originality expected from creativity) and convergent thinking (required by engineering design). Finally we can define co‐design as an activity articulating divergent and convergent thinking, carried out in groups, addressing complex and multidimensional issues, and leading to the production of a type of prototype or demonstrator.
2.3 Co‐design competences According to the European Qualification Framework, a competence is the proven ability to use knowledge, skills and personal, social and/or methodological abilities, in work or study situations (European Commission 2008). In light of the definition of co‐design suggested above, the co‐design competences include creative design competences on the one hand (divergence and convergence) and teamwork competences in an innovation situation on the other hand. Divergence competences involve the ability to understand the problem, to reformulate and develop internal and external knowledge required and then generate innovative ideas. They must meet two criteria, mainly the variety (lots of ideas generated) and originality (move away from traditional responses) (Le Masson et al. 2007). Convergence competences involve the ability to sort and articulate the ideas generated by mobilizing the knowledge of all the team members to produce intuitive representations of imagined solutions (drawings, prototypes, scenarios). The representation or the storytelling exercises are a test of both global consistency and potential value of the proposed solution. Collaborative and creative work competences are very similar to those found in situations of theater improvisation. In particular, Vera and Crossan (2005) demonstrate how the improvisational theater of “practice”, “collaboration”, agree, accept and add”, “be present in the moment”, and “draw on reincorporation and ready mades” can be used to understand what competences are required to improvise well in innovation teams. For the collaboration part of co‐design, we can identify three types of competences:
a competence to contribute to the smooth functioning of the team;
a competence to meet the challenges of creativity and complex design, i.e. for which there is no obvious solution;
a competence to produce an argumentation in relation to the solution proposed.
Overall, our analysis of co‐design exercises led us to propose a model of seven co‐design competences (see Figure 2), which are in‐line with the micro‐analysis of the design dynamics illustrated by Dorta et al. (2012).
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Figure 2: The co‐design competences model
3. Putting our co‐design competences to work 3.1 Identification of observable indicators To be operational, this model of co‐design competences must be completed by observable indicators. So, students and teachers will be able to identify the actions that foster better co‐design outcomes. Figure 3 presents the 23 observable indicators we defined and tested with help of an international team of co‐design professionals and instructors guided by an educational specialist. All indicators are formulated using actions verbs. Some of the indicators identified are similar to the one used by Marín‐García et al. (2012).
Figure 3: Co‐design competences and indicators
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3.2 A preliminary test of our framework Our set of 23 indicators was used to assess the learning gains of a group of 18 first year students from the Innovation Master program enrolled in a 4‐day workshop on creative thinking (414 possible observations). At the end of the workshop, each student has completed a questionnaire to evaluate their competences before and after the training on a three‐level scale (well mastered, moderately mastered, not mastered). Of the 407 usable observations, 146 (36%) have indicated some progress (7 indicators on average for each student). Some indicators (combine various knowledge, demonstrate a positive attitude, commit to the chosen solution) showed a striking increase while some were not well understood (build a strategic vision of the problem). In many cases, the learning gains could be explained by the hands‐on pedagogy proposed in the workshop (for example construct and use representations). Further work is needed to sharpen our understanding of the usefulness of this framework.
4. Conclusion In this paper, we have presented an innovative model of co‐design competences and some associated indicators. Linked to the innovation and co‐design literature, our results indicate that this approach can provide valuable guidance to document and evaluate student learning accomplishments. Further work is needed to test our framework in a longer workshop (over a semester) were students could reflect on their competence level before and after the workshop. Peer evaluation can also be used to get a better measurement of the learning gains, possibly using a gamification approach. One must remain careful in using this approach in a university context as the co‐design situations proposed are very different form those found in the professional world: students involved in teams do not necessarily come from a very diverse disciplinary background, nor do they work on very meaningful personal problems. Also, the framework proposed focuses on individual performances and put aside the question of collective competences. Further work is therefore needed to question our framework in various and diverse co‐design experiences.
Acknowledgements This research is funded by the IDEFI program, French national research agency n° ANR‐11‐IDFI‐0001 and MATI Montréal. The authors would like to thank S. Achiche, D. Vadean, T. Dorta, O. Martial, N. Téta Nokam and O. Gerbé for their contribution to the formulation of the competences and O. Zerbib for his overall comments.
References Achiche,S., Spooner, D., Vadean, A., Dorta, T., Raynauld, J. and Talbot, J. (2013) “Collaborons.ca : les leçons d'un atelier de co‐design d'une salle de cours à HEC Montréal“, [online] http://www.matimtl.ca/journee2013/docs/Collaborons.ca%20‐%20Dorta%20et%20al.pdf. Authier, M. (2013) La methode Mugeco, [online] http://www.mugeco.com/. Bapat et. al. (2013) A Leadership Competency Model: Describing the Capacity to Lead, [online] http://www.innovationinpractice.com. Brown T. (2009) Change by Design, How design thinking transforms organizations and inspire innovation, HarperCollins. Dorta T., Lesage A. and Di Bartolo C. (2012) “Collaboration and design education through the interconnected HIS: Immature vs. Mature CI Loops observed through Ethnography by Telepresence”, In: Achten H., Pavlicek J., Hulin J., and Matejdan D. ed. Physical Digitality, Volume 2, eCAADe, Prague, Czech Republic, pp 97‐105. European Commission (2008) European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning, Luxembourg. Le Masson, P., Hatchuel, A and Weil B. (2007) “Creativity and Design Reasoning: How C/K Theory can enhance Creative Design”, International Conference on Engineering Design, Paris. Marín‐García, J. A., Pérez‐Peñalver, M.J. and Watts, F. (2013) "How to assess innovation competence in services: The case of university students", Dirección y Organización, Vol 50, pp 48‐62. Kankainen, A., Vaajakalliob, K., Kantolaa, V. and Mattelmäki,T (2012) “Storytelling Group – a co‐design method for service design”, Behaviour & Information Technology, Vol 31, No 3, March, pp 221–230. Vera D. and Crossan M. (2005) “Improvisation and Innovative Performance in Teams”, Organization Science, Vol 16, No 3, pp 203‐224.
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Innovation and Enterprise Development: The Case of the Ethekwini Municipality Anneline Chetty Ethekwini Municipality, Durban, South Africa
[email protected] Abstract: Innovation and entrepreneurship creates an excellent platform for economic growth in any City. The Ethekwini Municipality has a predominantly urban population who faces the triple challenge of unemployment, poverty and inequality. It therefore has limited resources available for programmes supporting entrepreneurs. However South African government has created an enabling environment for supporting small, black‐owned enterprises through Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment framework. Claasen 2006 states that Enterprise Development (ED) where big companies offer operational assistance to small, black‐owned enterprises, is a core component of the SA Government’s BBBEE strategy and globally recognised as an effective way of reducing poverty. Raizcorp (2011) defines enterprise development as investing time, knowledge and capital to help Small and Medium Enterprises establish, expand or improve businesses including empowering modest income‐generating informal activities to grow and contribute to the local economy. The primary objective of the eThekwini Municipality is to develop an Enterprise development strategy in order to capitalise on private sector involvement in economic growth and the reduction of unemployment. The idea was to develop strategic partnerships with organizations which share Business Support mandates and who would like to contribute to the achievement of their own strategic objectives through BBBEE Performance scorecard fulfilment. This paper looks at the Enterprise development strategy within the context of Innovation and entrepreneurship. Keywords: enterprise development, public private partnership
1. Introduction Entrepreneurship is South Africa is plagued by sameness, monotony and boredom. In order to achieve higher levels of economic growth and job creation and reduced poverty and unemployment, more innovation needs to be introduced in the way we conduct business to increase both productivity and profitability. Government strategies around the world are aimed at supporting innovation in the private sector. Innovation is likewise at the core of South Africa’s progression along the developmental path, stressed equally by eThekwini municipality for local economic progress. This paper looks at one of the key strategies being used by the Ethekwini Municipality for the purposes of promoting entrepreneurship thereby stimulating the economy. It is looked at as an innovative strategy since it is unique to South Africa, however, this strategy is usually driven by the Private sector. The Ethekwini Municipality is the only public sector organisation who has identified this approach as a means to accelerate entrepreneurial support. The objective of this paper is therefore to look at the links between Entrepreneurship and innovation. It also looks at the Enterprise development strategy as an innovative tool which increases resources available to contribute towards the development of SMMEs. This paper is therefore structured as follows; provides a broad context for innovation and entrepreneurship. It then looks at innovation within cities and looks specifically at the Ethekwini Municipality area and in particular, its Enterprise development strategy and the implementation thereof before making some concluding remarks.
2. Innovation, entrepreneurship and SMMEs 2.1 What is innovation? Schumpeter (1947) also defines innovation as the ability to create new value propositions through offering new products and services; adopting new operating practices: technological, organizational, or market‐ oriented; or creating new skills and competencies.
2.2 Challenges for SMMEs to be innovative According to the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) (2010) there are a number of barriers that may constrain entrepreneurship, the creation and the rapid growth of innovation. The OECD (2010) further mentions that start‐up entrepreneurs lack skills in a number of relevant areas of small business management, such as business planning, but the major gap appears to be in the area of strategic skills associated with entrepreneurship. The skills associated with entrepreneurship are decision‐making, risks
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Anneline Chetty taking, information processing, opportunity recognition, resources organization, market awareness and product management. This is reinforced by Zimmer (1990) who further argues that low levels of education, training and poor business skills are major contributing factors to the lack of capacity and business innovation amongst entrepreneurs. According OECD (2010) innovative entrepreneurs commonly suffer from the lack of access to financial services, particularly to seed and development capacity, which has worsened since the financial and economic crisis. McGrath (2001) also suggests that new inputs are very important for innovation in small entrepreneurs, and small and young entrepreneurs can differentiate themselves by introducing product, process, or market innovations. Innovativeness reflects a tendency to support new ideas, uniqueness, experimentation, and creative processes, thereby departing from established practices and technologies (Lumpkin and Dess, 1996). According to Wolff and Pett (2006) innovation is important for small firms because it contributes to high levels of performance that can facilitate firm growth and subsequent profit performance, which in turn can yield employment gains and contribute to the general economic health of a state, region, or nation. In order to enhance SMMEs’ innovation abilities, OECD (2005) emphasizes the importance of:
Facilitating the hiring and training of qualified personnel,
Disseminating technological and market information,
Reducing financial barriers by developing the financial equity market,
Promoting risk‐sharing programs(e.g. financial support and tax incentives to Research and Development),
Promoting partnerships between entrepreneurs, public agencies and financiers, and
Facilitating entrepreneur’s access to national and global innovation networks
OECD (2005) recommends that innovation policies to be in line with the following:
Partnerships involving private actors, NGOs and various levels of local and central public administrations
The leading role of private sectors in initiating clusters and the market‐facilitating roles of government (e.g. facilitating private investment and seed funding), and
Improving efficient communication and transportation infrastructure, local linkages among university and industry.
2.3 Government’s role in entrepreneurs innovation According to OECD (2005) government needs to go beyond the provision of the framework conditions that influence the business environment to address policy and market failures that dampen entrepreneurial activity and limit the scope for innovative small firms to grow. Many of these programmes and policies are designed and implemented at the local level. These policies should be evaluated regularly to identify ways to improve the effectiveness, both in terms of impact and participation of target beneficiaries. OECD (2005) further mentions that the government should provide a favourable climate in which entrepreneurs can easily create firms, have incentive to innovate and grow, and can access the necessary resources at a reasonable cost. OECD (2005) also mentions that government should introduce an innovation strategy for entrepreneurs and it should stress actions in four main areas:
Promoting conducive entrepreneurship cultures and framework conditions
Increasing the participation of new firms and SMMEs in knowledge flows
Strengthening entrepreneurial human capital
Improving the environment for social entrepreneurship and social innovation
As large enterprises have restructured and downsized small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) have come to play an increasingly important role in South Africa's economy and development. The sector has grown significantly. In 1996, around 19% of those employed were in the informal sector of the economy. By 1999 this had risen to 26%. The government has therefore targeted the SMME sector as an economic empowerment vehicle for previously disadvantaged people. As a result, SMMEs have received significant attention and investment, ranging from the establishment of state‐initiated projects to supportive legislation, a variety of funding institutions and government incentives through the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
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Anneline Chetty In terms of global competitiveness, South Africa was ranked as the 53rd most competitive country out of 148 surveyed in the 2013/14 World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Index, making it the second highest ranked country in Africa after Mauritius (45th). According to the report, South Africa does well on measures of the quality of its institutions (41st), including intellectual property protection (18th), property rights (20th), and in the efficiency of the legal framework in challenging and settling disputes (13th and 12th, respectively). The high accountability of its private institutions (2nd) further supports the institutional framework. South Africa’s financial market development "remains impressive" at 3rd place, the report says. The country also has an efficient market for goods and services (28th), and it does "reasonably well" in more complex areas such as business sophistication (35th) and innovation (39th). However, the report notes that South Africa’s strong ties to advanced economies, notably the euro area, make it more vulnerable to their economic slowdown and likely have contributed to the deterioration of fiscal indicators: its performance in the macroeconomic environment has dropped sharply (from 69th to 95th). It is also important to consider the impacts of globalisation have had on SMMEs. In a study by the OECD (2007), although several aspects of globalisation are now largely understood, notably its main drivers, sparse information is available on the transformation undergoing the relation between large and smaller firms and the evolution of the role of SMEs in global value chains. The study further pointed out that participation in global value chains enhances SME internationalisation and growth and it provides SME suppliers access to global markets at lower costs than those faced by individual small‐scale producers, due to the intermediation function assured by the contractor. Firms that have successfully integrated one or more value chains have been able to expand their business, and gain stability. Innovating and keeping up with new technologies are seen by SMEs as a requirement for their successful participation in global value chains. OECD (2007) pointed out that to move up the value chain, SMEs need to take‐up larger and more complex set of tasks, which may range from contributing to product development and organising and monitoring the network of sub‐suppliers to introducing organisational or marketing innovations. This study pointed out that the lack of managerial capacity to deal with the complexity of the issues at stake. The study further intimated that across countries, many enterprises interviewed indicated that governments at the local or national level have provided them with little or no support for facilitating their participation in global value chains. This is a reflection of the fact that many SMEs have a limited understanding of the global environment and therefore cannot easily identify policy initiatives facilitating their effective participation in global value chains. In the area of skills development, the main areas highlighted as significant for SMEs concerns were the need to improve technology and innovation capacity and the lack of adequate finance and human capital for this process and the capacity to respond to standards and certification requirements; the ability to better manage intellectual assets, including the protection of Intellectual Property Rights when appropriate; the uneven bargaining power SMEs face with large contractors; and the support of diversification in activities to reduce dependence from one or few customers. In light of this, The OECD (2007) indicated that Governments (at different levels) could facilitate SMEs‟ gainful participation in global value chains through policy initiatives in specific areas such as raising awareness of the potential of participation in global value chains, increasing participation in global value chains, supplier financing, promotion of technical upgrading, facilitation of compliance procedures, promotion of skills development, attracting foreign direct investment and promoting the development of industrial clusters.
3. Innovation, entrepreneurship and cities Innovation is in vogue. Companies want it. Places want it. Why? Successful companies and places depends more on innovation than ever before. Despite its lustre, many public and private sector leaders cannot really define innovation and therefore, stumble when trying to encourage or harness it. There are four challenges in trying to understand Innovation in Cities
Understanding the integral link between private sector innovation and public innovation policy in economic development;
Understanding that innovation comes in many forms and phases of production and development;
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Focusing on not just innovation in places, but innovation by places, i.e. states and localities must themselves try new policy approaches;
And finally, creating partnerships between places, especially local places and the national government.
Urbanisation is a dominant trend worldwide, affecting economies, societies, cultures and the environment. More than half the world’s population now lives in cities and as much as two‐thirds is expected to do so by 2050. In a study by the OECD (2012) , the coming together of people, business and other activities in cities as a key process in the development and maturing of economies and societies. The study further pointed out how urban systems function is crucial to future economic prosperity and a better quality of life for more than three billion people, and counting. Cities don’t necessarily foster the emergence of new ideas but, by bringing together the required infrastructure and markets, they do make it easier to turn ideas into practical, marketable solutions. Cities are home to more than half the people living in OECD countries and almost 50 % of the output and jobs of many nations is found in their largest city. Though most cities have higher economic growth, foreign investment and labour productivity than the rest of the country, they are also more polluted, crime‐ridden and socially disparate. In another study by the OECD (2006) on Competitive cities in the Global economy argued that that there is no ‘one size fits all’ policy for cities. But the report makes the following recommendations which include the following:
A flexible strategic vision is necessary to foster competitiveness,
Liveable cities with high‐quality infrastructure, green spaces, and inner city residential areas and public projects can contribute to economic success
Effective governance of cities depends on leadership from the national government to encourage reform at different levels
To balance the financial needs of cities with those of the rest of the country, cities can diversify tax revenues with ‘smart taxes’ such as congestion charges and use public‐private partnerships to raise money for public projects.
3.1 The case of the Ethekwini Municipality 3.1.1 The study area Ethekwini Municipality is a metropolitan region with a predominantly urban population. It is located on the east coast of South Africa in the Province of KwaZulu‐Natal (KZN). The Municipality spans an area of approximately 2297km2 and is home to some 3.5 million people. It consists of a diverse society which faces various social, economic, environmental and governance challenges. As a result it strives to address these challenges which mean meeting the needs of an ever increasing population
Figure 1: Ethekwini Municipality in Context of South Africa (shown in red)
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Anneline Chetty The people who reside within the municipal area consist of individuals from different ethnic backgrounds. The majority of the population come from the African community (71%) followed by the Indian community (19%), White community (8%) and the Coloured community (2%). Individuals within the 15‐34 year age group comprise the majority of the population. The greatest population concentrations occur in the central and north regions. The central region is the Urban Core of the municipality and is home to approximately 1.30 million people (34%). It is followed by the northern region which is home to approximately 1, 15 million people (31%). The south accommodates approximately 730 000 people (18%) and the outer west region accommodates the least number of people with a total population of approximately 577 500 people (16.5) (Census 2001 & 2007). Major development projects planned for the eThekwini Municipality are poised to have a positive impact on the economy during the next ten to fifteen years. Expansions at the Durban Port, the mixed‐use development at Cornubia, the Dig‐out Port at the old airport site, the major shopping centre development at Shongweni in the outer west, new developments at Dube Trade Port and a massive tourism boost from the various Conferences. Following the decline of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth during 2008‐09 the economy bounced back positively during 2009‐10. The eThekwini’s GDP (in constant prices, 2005) amounted to R196, 1 billion during 2010 and it is forecasted to grow by 3.3% to R202, 5 in 2011. Presently it comprises 65, 5% of Kwa‐Zulu Natal’s GDP and 10, 7% of the country as a whole. Economic growth in the Municipality increased by 3.1% between 2009 and 2010 and the total GDP outperformed that of the Province and country as a whole during the period 2005 to 2010. eThekwini’s economy expanded at an annual average rate of 4.1% over that period, while the economy of KZN and the country as a whole grew by 3.7 %. Key issues relating to the Economy include an increase in unemployment; 41,8% of population subject to conditions associated with poverty; little or no diversity in the economy and a declining resource base. 3.1.2 The problem The eThekwini Municipality has great potential to increase enterprise development within its area of influence. However, this potential has not been explored to its maximum and insufficient opportunities have been created for Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs). The definition of SMMEs is based on the National Small Business Act 1996, as amended in 2004, which stipulates varying definitions for each industry sector, including number of employees, turnover, and value of assets. A small enterprise is defined as having up to 50 employees, and a medium enterprise from 51 to 200. Companies with up to 20 staff are defined as very small enterprises. South African government is well aware of the fact that SMMEs play a pivotal role in job creation, economic growth and poverty alleviation. The challenge that is faced by government and the Ethekwini Municipality is how to assist and support these SMMEs in order to give entrepreneurs every chance of success, and in so doing reduce SMME failures, increase economic growth and reduce unemployment and poverty. Enterprise Development has been identified as a potential avenue to drive the required economic growth, but has not been fully utilized, both nationally and within the Ethekwini Municipal Area, to assist SMMEs to reach their potential. SMMEs are important to the economy of South Africa. As engines of the economy, they contribute to the output and employment potential of the country to a large extent. However, South Africa has faced considerable challenges in starting up and nurturing of SMMEs and lags behind compared to its counterparts. SMMEs face the key challenges of lack of access to Markets, Finance, Workplace and Skills. This is amidst a culture which does not support entrepreneurs and a high rate of start‐up failures. e‐Thekwini Municipality, as one of the most progressive and well run municipalities considers it important to become an entrepreneurial city so that by the year 2020, it becomes Africa’s most liveable city. It seeks to achieve this by developing an entrepreneurial ecosystem where all the key stakeholders collaborate in harmony to create and support entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial cities take a progressive approach in unlocking opportunities and doing the right things by playing a facilitative role. Currently, the Ethekwini Municipality has many programmes throughout the width and breadth of the organisation. The purpose of the Enterprise Development Policy is to assist to co‐ordinate these programmes into a single tool which is able to unleash the enterprise development potential that exists within them. There is a need to ring‐fence and verify business support programmes, large tenders and large scale infrastructure projects and ensure that these are focused on assisting and supporting Black‐owned businesses in order to hone in on the Enterprise Development potential within these programmes, as well as to create awareness throughout the Ethekwini Municipality of the business support opportunities available within all projects undertaken by the Municipality.
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Anneline Chetty 3.1.3 The solution In South Africa, economic transformation is promulgated through the Broad‐based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) legislation, known as the Broad Based Economic Empowerment Act. This means the economic empowerment of all black people, including women, workers, youth, people with disabilities and people living in rural areas, through diverse but integrated socio‐economic strategies. Enterprise Development is a critical component of this legislation. Enterprise development (ED) requires South African corporate to spend 3% of their annual profits after tax on support for black owned enterprises. This can be done in either monetary or non‐monetary terms, including recoverable or non‐recoverable contributions actually initiated in favour of beneficiary entities by a Measured Entity with the spend contributing towards, assisting or accelerating the development, sustainability, and the operational independence of that beneficiary. This may be done by either directly or by pledging funds to Enterprise Development agencies that work with eligible companies. There is an estimated R12 billion in potential funding available for black businesses. Enterprise development has great potential to increase job creation and bring more black entrepreneurs and businesses into the mainstream economy. From a private sector perspective, Enterprise Development is an under‐utilized BBBEE tool, which has great potential to attract investment from Corporate and other organisations, through cash investment, equity investment as well as investment in kind through training, mentorship, business linkage support and more favourable working capital terms. The Municipality therefore attempt to develop and implement an innovative strategy to facilitate the success of entrepreneurs. It should be noted this Municipality is the only Municipality to develop the Enterprise development strategy which has been embodied in various business models around the world, including various components of integrated business support services. This includes access to skills, access to markets, micro‐finance, venture capital, private equity, and commercial lending. These models are effective when driven by real businesses with appropriate skills, experience and dedicated capacity. The support provided to entrepreneurs is a key focus area of the eThekwini Municipality’s strategic plan. It is essential that the Ethekwini Municipality support business development not only through these projects and programmes, but as part of its core operations. It is envisaged that Enterprise Development should become a part of a mandatory “checklist” in the operations of the Ethekwini Municipality, and should be a key part of procurement procedures, including mandatory outsourcing of a proportion of large Municipal Projects to Qualifying BEE enterprises.
Figure 2: Enterprise development model for the Ethekwini Municipality
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Anneline Chetty The purpose of the Enterprise Development strategy is to create a policy that aligns the Ethekwini Municipality programmes with the enterprise development requirements of the Broad Based Black Empowerment Act. Ethekwini Municipality identified and assessed the current development programmes that had Enterprise Development potential. These programmes were ring‐fenced and assessed as Enterprise Development initiatives in terms of the B‐BBEE Code, and packaged to meet the Enterprise Development needs of Corporate South Africa, as well as other organisations. The objectives of this policy are therefore three‐fold:
To identify existing business support programmes within the Ethekwini Municipal Area (EMA) that have potential to be Enterprise Development Programmes and to identify beneficiaries of the existing business support programmes, and assess their appropriateness in terms of Enterprise Development requirements of the B‐BBEE codes (with specific focus on women and the youth).
To assess the Procurement schedule within the Ethekwini Municipality and ensure that contract participation goals are included in each contract/tender awarded. The Ethekwini Municipality has a budget of R33 billion. It is necessary that a percentage of the procurement opportunities within this budget are awarded to small businesses.
To ensure that enterprise development is a key component of large scale investment and infrastructure projects which are implemented in the Ethekwini Municipal Area. Such projects may have national, provincial and local government significance, and may therefore, in some instances, require an integrated enterprise development framework to ensure that SMMEs benefit from such projects.
The primary objective of the eThekwini Municipality Enterprise development strategy was to capitalise on private sector involvement in economic growth and the reduction of unemployment. The Municipality developed the strategy in conjunction with the private sector and identified corporate companies who also wanted to develop entrepreneurs. The key areas of programmes identified jointly by these strategic partnerships was about developing the capacity of SMMEs to participate initially in the corporate supply chains by facilitating access to skills, finance and markets, however, this ultimately increases their capacity and readiness to participate in global value chain as identified by the OECD (2013). Each company was approached and their needs identified in terms of their supply chain, SMMEs who was relevant was identified to participate in the company’s evaluation process. A joint implementation plan was developed individually for each partnership. The company would then establish the SMMEs readiness to participate immediately in their value chain or identify gaps. A joint development programme was put in place for each SMME addressing the gaps identified. SMMEs who met all criteria successfully were placed on a portal which facilitated access to markets for them. Each of the companies identified have contributed in both cash and kind to assist in boosting productivity, increasing competitiveness and innovation in Entrepreneurs thereby helping to create employment and prosperity which revitalizes our communities. Through the partnerships secured the Municipality has received over R50 million in support towards developing entrepreneurs. Companies have invested time, knowledge and capital to help Small and Medium Enterprises establish, expand or improve businesses including empowering modest income‐generating informal activities to grow and contribute to the local economy. The enterprise development strategy has helped to achieve the following outcomes:
Increased the pool of resources available for developing enterprises
Increasing the role, responsibility and participation of the private sector in developing enterprises
steering the economy towards a stable environment that nurtures growth and increases the country’s economic competitiveness
fostering a synergistic relationship between private and public sector to embrace social investment as a common vision
fostering an entrepreneurship culture amongst previously disadvantaged groups.
Increased the capacity and readiness of SMMEs to participate in global value chains.
Through enterprise development people can earn a living and rise out of poverty. In turn over time they create jobs as well as empower other individuals and the communities in which they live. It created a win‐win‐win situation for the public and private sectors as well as the SMMEs themselves. The Ethekwini Municipality being
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Anneline Chetty the only public sector organization to implement such a strategy, this was evident from the various platforms presented at, this often translated into the fact that the other Metropolitan areas and municipal administrative authorities did not have as much resources to focus on developing their entrepreneurs and therefore stuck to the basic programmes. By encouraging innovation, creativity and learning amongst our enterprise development practitioners it is hoped that this municipality will be able to be resilient and adapt to the many challenges that will face cities and convert them into opportunities. Rapid change is always scary for incumbents, but if you’re not an incumbent, you have nothing to lose.
4. Conclusion The Enterprise development strategy in the Ethekwini Municipality has been identified as an innovative tool which has helped catapult the amount of resources available for developing SMMEs. It has also created an excellent platform for public private partnerships in the area of promoting economic growth for this city. Whilst this City faces the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality, this strategy helped to significantly decrease and overcome the impact such challenges would otherwise have had. On various platforms presented, it was clear that the Ethekwini Municipality is the only public sector organisation who has identified this approach as a means to accelerate entrepreneurial support. This paper looked at the links between Entrepreneurship and innovation. It also looked at the Enterprise development strategy as an innovative tool which increased resources available to contribute towards the development of SMMEs and the impacts such as tool has had on the entrepreneurial environment. In order to change the face of entrepreneurship in South Africa, we need to embrace an Innovative culture that will pave the way for Economic growth and job creation. Innovation ensures a sustained future for generations to follow!!!!
References Albaladejo, R. H. (2004). Determinants of innovation capability in small UK firms http://www.qeh.ox.ac.uk. Allocca, M.A, and Kessler, E.H, (2006). Innovation speed in small and medium‐sized enterprises. Creativity and InnovationManagement, 15(3), 279–295. Beaver, G. and Prince, C. (2002). “Innovation, entrepreneurship and competitive advantage in the entrepreneurial venture”, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 9(1):28‐37. Bessant, J. and Tidd, J. (2007).Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Wiley, UK. Bruderl, J.and Preisendorfer, P. (2000). Fast growing businesses: empirical evidence from a German study. International Journalof Sociology, 30, 45–70. Cattaneo, O., Gereffi, G., Miroudot, S.,Taglioni, D. (2013). Joining, Upgrading and Being Competitive in Global Value Chains: A Strategic Framework. The World Bank, International Trade Department, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network, Policy Research Working Paper 6406, April 2013. Chrisman, J.J., Kellermanns, F.W, Chan, K.C, &Liano, K. (2010). Intellectual foundations of current research in family business:an identification and review of 25 influential articles. Family Business Review, 23(1), 9–26. Craggs, A. and Jones, P., (1998), UK results from the Community Innovation Survey, EconomicTrends, 539(October), pp. 51‐ 57. Kogut, P. and Zander, U. (1992).Knowledge of the firm, combinative capabilities and the replication of technology.Organisation science journal 3(3):383‐397 Lumpkin, G.T and Dess, G.G, (1996). Clarifying the entrepreneurial orientation construct and linking it to performance.The Academy of Management Review, 21(1), 35–172. McGrath, R.G. (2001). Exploratory learning, innovative capacity, and managerial oversight. The Academy of Management Journal,44, 118–131. Naudé, W.A. (2008). ‘Entrepreneurship in the Field of Development Economics’, (In Barreira, J. Dhliwayo, S., Luiz, J., Naudé, W. and Urban, B. Frontiers in Entrepreneurship.Book 1 in theSeries Perspectives in Entrepreneurship.A Research Companion.Chapter 4. Johannesburg:Heinemann. pp. 85‐110.) OECD (2006), Competitive Cities in the Global Economy, pp 1‐446 OECD (2005), SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook, OECD, Paris. OECD, (2002).Management Training in SMEs, OECD, Paris. OECD, (2007), Enhancing the role of SMEs in Global value chains, Tokyo. OECD (2012). Redefining "Urban": A New Way to Measure Metropolitan Areas http://www.oecdbookshop.org/oecd/display.asp?sf1=identifiers&st1=042012051P1&LANG=EN Oluwajoba, I. (2007). Assessment of the capabilities for innovation by small and medium industry in Nigeria.African Journals of Business Management 1 (8): 209‐217. Pavitt, K., Robson, M. and Townsend, J. (1987). The size distribution of innovating firms in the UK: 1945‐84, Journal of Industrial Economics, 45, pp.297‐306. Rumelt, RP. (1984). Toward a strategic theory of the firm. In R Lamb (Ed.), Competitive strategic management (pp. 556– 570).Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall. Schumpeter, J. (1947). The creative response to economic history. Journal of Economic History, 7, 149–159.
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Anneline Chetty Schumpeter, J. A., (1942).Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy.New York, Harper and Row. Tödtling, F. andKaufmann, A. (2001). Science‐industry interaction in the process of innovation,Research Policy 30(5): 791‐ 804. Verhees, F.J.H.M, andMeulenberg, M.T.G. (2004).Market orientation, innovativeness, product innovation, and performance insmall firms. Journal of Small Business Management, 42, 134–154. World Bank, Doing Business in 2004: Understanding Regulation,Washington, DC, 2003. Wolff, J.A, andPett, T.L. (2006). Small‐firm performance: modeling the role of product and process improvements. Journalof Small Business Management, 44(2), 268–284 Panizzolo, P. (1998). Managing Innovation in SMEs,J. Small. Bus. Econ 11: 25–42. Oluwajoba, I. (2007). Assessment of the capabilities for innovation by small and medium industry in Nigeria.African Journals of Business Management 1 (8): 209‐217. Shane, S. (2000). Prior knowledge and the discovery of entrepreneurial opportunities. Organization Science, 11, 448–469.
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A Model to Study What Knowledge Based Practices Successfully Facilitate Innovation in Supply Chains Allan Deacon1, Alex Bennet2 and Manasi Shukla2 1 Bangkok University, Bangkok, Thailand 2 IKI‐SEA, School of Business, Bangkok, Thailand
[email protected] [email protected]
shukla.manasi@gmail,com Abstract: Suppliers are a potential source of innovation through knowledge sharing and creation. By making full use of knowledge sharing and creation organizations can generate sustainable advantage through innovation. This research studies the role of procurement management in enabling innovation throughout the supply chain, identifying best knowledge practices and possibilities. The primary question asks: What knowledge based practices successfully facilitate innovation in supply chains. The secondary question asks: Are there regional differences in the use of these knowledge based practices between Europe, North America and Asia? This research addresses the use of knowledge based practices to successfully facilitate innovation from in the supply chain, identifying and capturing these practices, and investigates regional differences in the use of these knowledge based practices. The overlap between knowledge processes facilitating knowledge sharing and knowledge based practices enabling innovation is also explored. The importance of knowledge based innovation on cost optimization (research shows businesses spend two thirds of revenue on non‐labour costs), risk management (floods, tsunamis and horsemeat scandals have all recently demonstrated supply chain risk), and new product and service offerings development to the organization, are also explored. This study is important to any organization that has a need to acquire goods and services, or outsources operations. It is important for those involved in procurement and supply chain management to have insights into the knowledge based practices that help an organization share and create knowledge with suppliers that can generate value both for the organization, its suppliers and customers. Keywords: procurement and supply chains, knowledge based innovation, knowledge sharing in supply chains, knowledge creation, complex adaptive systems, and risk management
1. Introduction 1.1 Knowledge and organizational learning Sveiby (1997) comments that there is no real definition of knowledge in the current knowledge management literature. Jashapara (2002) says that most of the current literature in knowledge management is based on the writings of Gilbert Ryle and Michael Polanyi. Ryle’s notion of “knowing how and knowing that” and Polanyi’s understanding that these exist on a continuum not distinct separate entities. Bennet (2004 p5) explains knowledge as “the human capacity to take effective action in varied and uncertain situations. King (2009 p4) defines knowledge as a “justified personal belief.” King (2009) defines knowledge management is the planning, organizing, motivating, and controlling of people, processes and systems in the organization to ensure its knowledge related assets are improved and effectively employed. Maqsood et al (2007) highlighted the extension of knowledge management into learning chains and concluded that long‐term relationships among organizations, customers and suppliers, using knowledge sharing networks would become more widespread in the supply chain environment. Organizations operate in an ever increasingly complex environment. Political, economic, social, and technological influences are evolving and changing more and more rapidly. Maintaining competitive advantage is essential if organizations wish to survive and prosper. Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) comment that a company’s ability to create, store, and disseminate knowledge is absolutely crucial for staying ahead of the competition in areas of quality, speed, innovation and price. Stewart (1997) says knowledge has become more important for organizations than financial resources, market position technology or any other company asset. Senge (1990), Marquardt (2002), Bennet (2004), Garrity (2007) and others suggest organizations need to become “learning organizations in order to survive and be successful. This research and comments tends to focus on the organization itself – its people, systems, processes, culture etc. Scott (2011) carried out a literature review on organizational learning and concluded that “a comprehensive model for organizational learning remains elusory” (p.1) and states “there is no consensus around what organizational learning is or how to best facilitate it (p. 2). She references many sources when referring to disruptive changes in the world
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Allan Deacon, Alex Bennet and Manasi Shukla we live in, the need for organizations to produce greater value through innovation and the requirement to stimulate new ways of thinking amongst individuals, groups and communities to facilitate this. Marquardt (2002 p ix) comments “organizations must adapt faster and better to the ever increasing speed of change and chaotic environment. Learning needs to understand and adapt to the changes in technology and globalization. Edmonson (2012 p 1) states “to succeed in a changing and competitive global economy organizations must be able to learn”. The phenomenon of globalization and massive technological advances has led to more extended and complex supply chains as organizations outsource and offshore requirements; and to a growth in the % of non‐labour revenue spend. Suppliers are an increasingly important resource for sharing and creating knowledge and need to be seen as part of the organization in the context of its value chain.
1.2 Supply chains and supply chain management Manville (2001) notes that organizations must embrace what he calls the extended enterprise. Companies have become increasingly virtual through such mechanisms as outsourcing, focus on core competencies, partnerships, joint ventures and alliances. This establishes supply chains, which can also be analysed as in the context of value chains. People within these value/supply chains work together to provide goods and services to customers. The chains are often linked formally through contractual bonds but the relationships are activated through people. This creates the opportunity for knowledge sharing and knowledge creation. This will occur across the traditional organizational boundaries and means that suppliers and their people are all now part of a new overall learning environment along with the organizations own core employees. The growth in outsourcing means that work and operations traditionally carried out in‐house are now carried out be a third party. This changes where action learning takes place and tacit knowledge now develops and is held by people outside the organization. Companies like Toyota recognized this and pioneered the use of learning with suppliers. This “work with us, learn from us, teach us” principle has been adopted by many other organizations and is the basis of thousands of manufacturing and supplier relationships around the world. However, this is often interpreted as “lean supply, just‐in‐time and defect reduction programs and therefore does not fully exploit all the opportunities that mutual knowledge sharing and creation can offer.
1.3 Use of knowledge based practices to gain competitive advantage through innovation Stata (1989 p.64) stated “the rate at which individuals learn may become the only sustainable advantage”. Hendricks and Vrien (1999) suggest that the knowledge assets an organization posses can be used to create sustainable competitive advantage. Managing these assets effectively will provide a better chance for the organization’s long term survival. McFayden and Canella (2004) suggest that knowledge will be one of the most important sources of competitive advantage available to an organization in the 21st century. Hitt and Denisi (2003) comment that organizations will use the generation and management of new knowledge to compete in the complex and challenging business environments of this period. Deed and Hill (1996 p,58) state “ firms that are effective in acquiring knowledge will be able to create and sustain a competitive advantage in the knowledge based economy. Those that are not will have difficulty in maintaining their competitive position”. This is just a small sample of the literature supporting the idea that knowledge based practices can be used to generate competitive advantage. Polyani (1967) introduces us to the idea of tacit knowledge. This is knowledge an individual builds up through their experiences, mental models and perspectives. It becomes so deeply embedded in a person that it becomes second nature to that person. This type of intuitive embedded knowledge is difficult to communicate. However, an organization does not want to fail to create explicit knowledge from tacit knowledge as losses may result. Zack (1999 p.47) explains this concept clearly as follows “potential explicable knowledge that has not been articulated represents a lost opportunity to efficiently share and leverage that knowledge. If competitors have articulated and routinized the integration of similar knowledge, then they may obtain a competitive advantage”. It is very important to consider this in the context of Purchasing & Supply Chain Management. Extended and more complex supply chains, the growth in outsourcing and in off‐shoring, all means that tacit knowledge will be building in individuals outside of the organization and its immediate environment. These individuals will not be direct employees and members of the organization and contractual protection of intellectual property (IP) will not induce knowledge sharing and creation in itself. Competitors may also use the same suppliers and create similar supply chains in which they may better exploit the knowledge and learning opportunities if an organization is not careful.
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1.4 Knowledge based innovation The link between knowledge management and innovation has been studied for a long time. Daghfous and White, (1994); Kerssens‐van Drongelen, De Weed‐Nederhof and Fischer, 1996; Leonard‐Barton, (1995); Skyrme and Amidon, (1999); Von Krogh, Ichijo and Nonaka, (2000); and Saulais and Ermine, (2012). Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) consider that knowledge and innovation are crucial sources for sustaining the competitive advantage of a company.
1.5 Knowledge, innovation and suppliers Gunsel et al (2011) suggest acquiring knowledge involves searching for, recognizing and assimilating new knowledge from outside organizational boundaries. This newly acquired knowledge can modify the organization’s knowledge stock by interacting with the organization’s existing knowledge, Nonanka and Takeuchi (1995) and increase the breadth and depth of knowledge available to the firm. Thus, the potential for new innovative outcomes is increased, Yli‐Renko et al, (2001). Sarin and McDermott (2003) note that organizations with good capability to acquire external knowledge would reduce uncertainty and achieve a greater number of administrative and technological distinctiveness.
2. Purchasing and supply chain management (– P&SC) 2.1 Purchasing, supply or logistics – a fractious field There is no unanimity on what the profession that manages the acquisition of goods and services and supply chains should be called. Practitioners, researchers, and other professions use terms like purchasing, supply management, procurement, sourcing, supply chain management, logistics, materials management, distribution or supply. All these terms are used by those in the public and private sectors and positions with identical responsibilities often have quite different job titles. The two largest professional bodies, the Institute of Supply Management in the USA and British based Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply have glossaries of key terms but do not as yet take the lead in unifying their application. For clarity and consistency this paper refers to the profession as “purchasing and supply chain management” abbreviated to “P&SCM”. The Institute of Supply Management defines purchasing on their website as “a major function of an organization that is responsible for acquisition of required materials, services and equipment.” Mentzer (2001) suggests supply chain management is the systemic, strategic co‐ordination of the traditional business functions within a particular company and across businesses within the supply chain for the purposes of improving the long‐term performance of the individual companies and the supply chain as a whole. The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) on its website offer the following definaiton: "Supply Chain Management encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing and procurement, conversion, and all logistics management activities. Importantly, it also includes coordination and collaboration with channel partners, which can be suppliers, intermediaries, third‐party service providers, and customers. In essence, supply chain management integrates supply and demand management within and across companies. Supply Chain Management is an integrating function with primary responsibility for linking major business functions and business processes within and across companies into a cohesive and high‐performing business model. It includes all of the logistics management activities noted above, as well as manufacturing operations, and it drives coordination of processes and activities with and across marketing, sales, product design, finance and information technology." These particular definitions are appropriate in the context of this paper.
2.2 Theories in purchasing and supply chain management Chicksand et al (2012) carried out a thorough review and analysis of the literature on theoretical perspectives in purchasing and supply chain management over a 16 year period up to 2009. They comment that “the results suggest that the field still lacks coherence and that there is no consensus as to which theories should be applied to explain particular problems or issues arising within the P&SCM discipline”. It is clear from their research that theory is absent from much of the P&SCM work, with only 37.7% of reviewed articles having an association with an intellectual tradition of any kind. The most popular of the theoretical approaches included was integrated supply chain management theory (ISCM) which Lamming (1996) argued was important within the P&SCM field. ISCM was born out of the study of Japanese manufacturing and supply chains by Western academics and business consultants. The establishment of Japanese car manufacturing factories in North
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Allan Deacon, Alex Bennet and Manasi Shukla America, Australia and Europe encouraged the spread and implementation of this theory. It appears that ISCM is still the focus of many in P&SCM. This does not however include other opportunities for innovation and competitive advantage which are possible from the total supply chain and the often significant indirect spend categories. ISCM has also recently been shown to have weaknesses in the way some organizations implement it. Several Japanese automotive and electronics companies suffered severe supply disruptions from the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan and the 2011 major flooding in Thailand, where many sub‐contract manufacturers are based. Shared knowledge in these supply chains could have produced better risk management and avoided an expensive “lessons learned” situation.
3. Research question and significance P&SCM started to develop as an area of significant academic enquiry in the early 1990s (Chicksand et al 2012). Some studies have examined the linkages between P&SCM and other disciplines e.g. quality management (Lin et al, 2005; Kannan and Tan, 2005), organizational structure (Kim, 2007), and organizational performance (Li et al, 2006). There does not appear to have been many, if indeed any, systematic studies to explore the relationships between P&SCM and knowledge based practices and how this might be used to benefit the organization (Wong and Wong. 2011). This research aims to identify what knowledge based practices successfully facilitate innovation in supply chains. It also aims to highlight how creating and sharing knowledge with supply chain participants can lead to innovations in new product and service offerings, cost optimizations and management of supply chain risks. This study will look at the linkages between knowledge based practices and P&SCM and how these might be used to generate competitive advantages. Recent research carried out by Proxima (2012) in the UK shows that organizations now spend around 65% of revenue on non‐labour costs. This shows the growing importance of supply chains to organizations.
4. Research and approach to research 4.1 Research questions and propositions The primary research question asks “What knowledge based practices facilitate innovation in supply chains?” This will identify knowledge sharing and creation practices within P&SCM and to what extent these practices are being implemented by P&SCM in context to the organizations supply chain. Knowledge sharing and knowledge creation are practices that create and use new knowledge and re‐use existing knowledge. The secondary question asks “Are there differences in the use of knowledge based practices by P&SCM in Europe, North America and Asia”. This is important in the context of globalization. For P&SCM, the phenomenon of globalization has led to more outsourcing, off‐shoring, and extended supply chains that can often incorporate several tiers of suppliers. This increases the level of risk but also the opportunities for innovation.
4.2 Research hypotheses The research will prove or disprove the following hypotheses; H0 – An increase in knowledge sharing in supply chains will lead to greater innovation. H1 – Increasing IT links with suppliers leads to greater knowledge sharing when moderated by “knowledge transparency”. H2 – There will be differences in knowledge based practices when comparing P&SCM in Asia, Europe and the USA.
4.3 Innovation and competitive advantage Traditionally P&SCM has mostly derived innovation in supply chains through integrated supply chain management (ISCM). The literature review confirms this is still the most popular theory associated with P&SCM. ISCM focuses attention on lean supply, just‐in‐time supply and zero defect quality techniques, which all help to optimize costs. However, supply chains can be the source of knowledge based innovation in more areas than this. For example new product development can benefit from utilizing suppliers expertise and knowledge. Optimizing costs is more than simply finding the cheapest supplier or making the supply chain leaner; and risk management is an area often overlooked, until there is a problem. ISCM also focuses on the supply of materials and parts and ignores significant other categories of supply such as indirect and services and therefore opportunities.
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Allan Deacon, Alex Bennet and Manasi Shukla Suppliers
P&SCM
INNOVATION 1. New Product Design 2. Cost Optimization 3. Risk Management
Competitive Advantage
Knowledge Sharing and Knowledge Creation
Supply Chain Practices
Figure 1: Innovation from supply chains
4.4 Research approach This research adopts an appreciative inquiry approach and uses mixed methods for data collection. Using a survey approach both qualitative and quantitative data will be collected from a large sample of professional procurement managers. The research ontology is objective with a critical realist epistemology. Over 500 potential respondents will be targeted. These will all be professional P&SCM managers who are qualified members of appropriate international bodies. The Institute of Supply Management and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply are the two largest bodies representing this profession, and both have international memberships. Public sector and country‐specific equivalent professional bodies will also be targeted to give a good representation of the profession. This will provide information on the current knowledge based practices being successfully used by P&SCM managers to what extent they use them and how their use benefits their organizations The researcher is uniquely qualified to reach out to these resources since he has been an active professional in the P&SCM field for 40 years, and is a life member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, and has a wide network of connections including equivalent professional organizations in the public and private sectors..
5. Conclusions There is a wide array of literature and research that advocates knowledge and knowledge practices as being crucial to not only an organization’s competitiveness but also its survival. There is also considerable research on organizational learning and on organizations becoming “learning organizations”. There is some comment in literature, Maqsood et al (2007) on extending these knowledge based practices to incorporate the supply chain, to create “learning chains. Many supply chains have become more complex as organizations seek to exploit the phenomenon of globalization, facilitated by the advances in information technology. The % of an organization’s non‐labour related revenue spend now typically accounts for around two thirds of their total revenue spend. The function of P&SCM needs to develop appropriate strategies and theories to manage this effectively and advantageously. The literature suggests there is a gap in research studies that link knowledge management and P&SCM. This research aims to go into that “gap” and research what practices P&SCM professionals are successfully using to facilitate innovation in their supply chains and identify connected theories and models. The research approach will also allow comparison between different geographic areas, which is more important now with the growth in globalization. The results of this research will have both academic and practical value. It will not only contribute to understanding more about how P&SCM managers can use knowledge based practices to generate innovation from their supply chains which benefit the organization, but will also identify and describe knowledge based practices which can be used to do so.
References Bennet, A., & Bennet, D. (2004). Organizational Survival in the New World, Elsevier: Butterworth Heinemann, Burlington MA. Chicksand, D., Watson, G.,Walker, H., Radnor, Z., and Johnston, R. (2012). "Theoretical perspectives in purchasing and supply chain management: an analysis of the literature." Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Vol 17, No.4, pp 454–472.
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Allan Deacon, Alex Bennet and Manasi Shukla Daghfous, A. a. W., G.R. (1994). "Information and Innovation: a comprehensive representation." Research Policy 23: pp.267‐280. Deed, D. L., and Hill, C. (1996). "Strategic alliances and rate of new product development: An empirical study of new biotechnology firms." Journal of Business Venturing, Vol 11, No 1, pp 48–49. Edmondson, A. C. (2012). Teaming: How Organizations Learn, Innovate,and Compete in the Knowledge Economy, Jossey‐ Bass. Garrity, R. (2007). Learnership 2009: The Re‐invigoration of America through Total Learning, Knowing, and Leading as a Mindful Way‐of‐Being, ALF Press. Gunsel, A., Siachou, E., and Acar, A.Z. (2011). "Knowledge management and learning capability to enhance organizational innovativeness.” Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences 24: pp. 880‐888. Hendricks, P. H. J. a. V., D.J. (1999). "Knowledge‐based systems and knowledge management: friends or foes?" Information & Management, Vol 35, pp 113‐ 125. Jashapara, A. (2011). Knowledge Management An Integrated Approach, Financial Times Prentice Hall. Kannan, V. R. a. T., K.C. (2005). "Just in time, total quality management, and supply chain management: understanding their linkages and impact on business performance." Omega Vol. 33, No. 2, pp 153‐162. Kerssens‐van Drongelen, I. C. D. W.‐N., P.C.; and Fischer, O.A.M. (1996). "Describing the Issues of Knowledge Management in R&D: towards a communication and anlysis tool." R&D Management 26: pp.213‐229. Kim, S. W. (2007). "Organizational structures and the performance of supply chain management." International Journal of Production Economics Vol. 106, No. 2, pp 323‐345. King, W. R. (2009). Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning, Annals of Information Systems 4,. New York, Springer Science and Business Media. Lamming, R. (1996). "Squaring lean supply with supply chain management." Innternational Journal of Operartions and Production Management, Vol.16, No.2, pp 183‐196. Leonard‐Barton, D. (1995). Wellsprings of Knowledge: Building and Sustaining the Sources of Innovation. Boston, Harvard Business School Press. Li, S., Ragu‐Nathan, B., Ragu‐Nathan, T.S. and Rao, S.S. (2006). "The impact of supply chain management practices on competitive advantage and organizational performance." Omega Vol. 34, No. 2, pp 107‐124. Lin, C., Chow, W.S., Madu, C.N., Kuei, C.H. and Yu, P.P. (2005). "A structural equation model of supply chain quality management and organizational performance." International Journal of Production Economics, Vol. 96, No. 3, pp 355‐365. Manville, B. (2001). "Learning in the new economy." Leader to leader, Vol. 20 pp 36–45. Maqsood, T., Walker, D. and Finegan, A. (2007). "Extending the knowledge advantage: creating learning chains." The Learning Organization Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 123‐141. Marquardt, M. J. (2002). Building the Learning Organization, DAVIES‐BLACK PUBLISHING, INC. McFayden, A., & Canella, A. (2004). "Social capital and knowledge creation: Diminishing returns of the numbers and strength of exchange relationship." The Academy of Management Journal Vol. 47, No. 5, pp 35–37. Mentzer, J. T., De Witt, W., Keebler, J.S., Soonhong, M., Nix, N.W., Smith, C.D., Zacharia, Z.G. (2001). "Defining supply chain management." Journal of Business Logistics , Vol. 22, No. 2, pp 1‐26. Nonaka, I., and Takeuchi, H. (1995). The knowledge‐creating company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation, Oxford University Press, New York Polanyi, M. (1967). The Tacit Dimension, Doubleday, New York. Proxima (2012). The GBP 10 billion protit opportunity. London, FTI Consulting Sarin, S., and McDermott, C. (2003). "The effect of team leader characteristics on learning, knowledge application, and performance of cross‐functional new product development teams." Decision Science 34(4): pp.707‐739. Saulais, P., and Ermine, J‐L (2012). "Creativity and Knowledge Management." Vine, the Journal of Information and Knowledge Management Systems 42(No. 3/4). Scott, B. B. (2011). Organizational Learning: A Literature Review, Queen’s University IRC, Belfast, UK Senge, P. (1990). The fifth discipline, Doubleday, New York Skyrme, D., and Amidon, D. (1997). "The knowledge agenda." Journal of Knowledge Management Vol. 1(No. 1): pp. 27‐37. Stata, R. (1989). Organizational learning – The key to management innovation, Sloan Management Review. Vol. 30, No. 3, pp 63‐74. Stewart, T. A. (1997). Intellectual capital: The new wealth of organizations, Doubleday, New York Sveiby, K. E. (1997). The New Organizational Wealth: Managing and Measuring Knowledge Based Assets. San Francisco, CA., Berrett Koehler. Van Krogh, G. I., K., and Nonaka, I. (2000). Enabling Knowledge Creation, How to Unlock the Mystery of Tacit Knowledge and Release the Power of Innovation. Oxford USA, Oxford Univeristy Press. Wong, P. W., and Wong, K. Y. (2011). 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Understanding the Impact of Co‐Opetition on Innovation: A Multi‐ Level Analysis Audrey Depeige1 and André Nemeh2 1 IKI‐SEA‐Bangkok University, Thailand 2 MRM‐University of Montpellier 1, France
[email protected] [email protected]‐montp1.fr Abstract: Co‐opetition, simultaneous cooperation and competition, is traditionally considered as a strategy for innovation (Gnyawali and Park, 2009, Ritala and Hurmelinna‐Laukkanen, 2013). Co‐opetition has been studied at different levels of analysis, yet, research on the relationship between co‐opetition and innovation has mostly focused on the inter‐ organizational level. While the study of co‐opetition at this level is important to cover how organizations are interacting to innovate together, this constitutes a myopic view for a multilevel phenomenon like co‐opetition (Walley, 2007). Previous research covers various levels separetely: individual (Fang, 2006), organizational (Tsai, 2002), inter‐organizational (Bengtsson and Kock, 2000) and network (Carayannis and Laget, 2004; Gnyawali and Madhavan, 2001). However, the multi‐level nature of co‐opetition implies that interactions at one level will impact interactions and outcomes at other levels. Consequently, heterogeneity and interrelationships between co‐opetition across levels constitute our main interest in this research: how does the cross‐level nature of co‐opetition influence innovation? In order to achieve our research objective, we performed a content analysis on 84 published articles on co‐opetition covering the four levels of analysis. Selected articles covered the period from 1987 to 2013 and were published in peer‐reviewed academic journals. Our findings show that representations of co‐opetition differ according to the level of analysis. Differences in perception of value across levels also play an important role in influencing the outcomes of co‐opetition. Keywords: Co‐opetition, innovation, multilevel, heterogeneity, interdependence
1. Introduction Research on co‐opetition is increasingly gaining importance among academic and practitioners. The body of research is composed of three main streams: research on the drivers of co‐opetition, on the co‐opetition dynamics, and on the outcomes of co‐opetition. Co‐opetition has been studied at different levels: individual, organizational, inter‐organizational, etc. While studies at each of the levels are important in order to understand co‐opetition, previous research has highlighted the need for multilevel research in sciences in general, and in management in particular, in order to cover the complexity of social phenomena. This paper attempts to answer this need. In particular, literature on co‐opetition calls attention to its inherent multifaceted nature, which, we suggest, implies that interactions at one level may impact interactions and outcomes at other levels. A number of tentatives were undertaken to link the different levels in which co‐ opetition takes place (Gnyawali and Park, 2009; Madhavan, Gnyawali, and He, 2004). Yet, research hasn’t been conducted to specifically understand representations of co‐opetition at different levels and how these representations are impacting outcomes. The objective of this research is to answer the following question: how does the cross‐level nature of co‐opetition influence the understanding of innovation outcomes? In the following sections, we first start with a review of the literature on how co‐opetition has been conceptualized and studied at different levels: individual, organizational, inter‐organizational and network levels of analysis. The methodology used to answer our research question is also presented, followed by the main results obtained in regards to previous literature. We then discuss how and in what way upcoming research adopting a multilevel approach could bring new directions for future academic discussion on the impact of co‐opetition on innovation.
2. Theoretical framework 2.1 Co‐opetition as a multifaceted and multilevel phenomenon In prevailing highly mutable business contexts (high velocity environments), organizations find themselves challenged to collaborate to leverage their respective innovation capabilities and adapt to rapid changes. These emerging collaborations involve their suppliers, universities and more recently competitors, what is named after the term introduced by Nalebuff and Brandenburger (1995): co‐opetition. The two authors describe this phenomenon as a revolutionary mind‐set that combines both cooperation and competition. A
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Audrey Depeige and André Nemeh number of definitions have been proposed to characterize co‐opetition. In this paper, we define co‐opetition as simultaneous cooperation and competition between two or more actors/firms which cooperate in some activities while competing in others (Bengtsson and Kock, 2000). According to the number of actors involved and the number of value chain activities considered under co‐opetitive settings, we can distinguish between dyadic/multiple and vertical/horizontal co‐opetition. These different typologies demonstrate that co‐opetition takes multiple forms and is a multifaceted phenomenon that spans multiple levels. We hereby claim that understanding co‐opetition requires placing co‐opetition in its real context or, as described by Hitt et al. (2007), in nested arrangements: individuals are nested in working groups, which in turn are nested in larger organizational units, etc… The first conceptualizations of co‐opetition have in a recurrent manner referred to a dyadic relationship between two rival firms. However, authors consider this view to be myopic because it offers only a very limited perspective on the interactions and flows among the different actors involved in co‐opetition (Dorff and Ward, 2013). Furthermore, interdependencies are claimed to be inherent to such analysis. Bengtsson et al. (2010) distinguish four levels of analysis to study co‐opetition: individual, organizational, inter‐organizational and network levels. The authors have highlighted the interplay between levels as well as the importance of understanding theses interactions on the outcome of co‐opetition in terms of innovation and performance implications. Previous research have studied the innovation outcomes of co‐opetition at the inter‐ organizational, organizational, and individual levels separately (Ritala, 2009; Gnyawali and Park, 2011; Ritala et al. 2013). In the following sections, we will discuss more in depth conceptualization and outcomes of co‐ opetition at these four levels.
2.2 Co‐opetition: From individual to organizational level Co‐opetition dynamics are not exclusive of inter‐organizational forms: co‐operative interactions are present at multiple levels, engaging individuals, groups and organizations in co‐opetition dynamics (Bengtsson, 2010). Co‐ opetition is a growing area of research extending much beyond the interaction between firms, with several examples of studies focusing on co‐opetition between different units within one organization, or between several employees of the organization (Walley, 2007). In internal co‐opetition settings, business units (division) or workers at an individual levels are expected to be competing for intrafirm resources such as funds allocation while additionally being on a cooperation mode in regards to product development (Dagnino, 2011). At an operational level, transition from R&D to production is expected to be more efficient while the productivity would be increased through co‐opetition’s impact on the employee’s commitment level. According to Dagnino (2011), co‐opetition benefits expected at the firm level (intra‐organizational co‐opetition) are associated to increased intra‐firm new knowledge creation and transfer (co‐opetition between different units) as well as a higher commitment to work and knowledge creation by the workers (co‐opetition between workers). However, it must be highlighted that the combination of cooperative and competitive relationship might induce tensions in the presence of both mutual and conflicting interests. Ghobadi and D’Ambra (2013) concluded in studying cross‐functional teams internally that cooperative behaviors, and more generally social relationships, are not always resulting in positive impacts and may induce harmful effects such as hampering innovation.
2.3 Co‐opetition: From inter‐organizational to network In the previous section, we have discussed the positive effects of co‐opetition at an individual and organizational level on performance and innovation capabilities of groups and subunits, and thus, on the organizations themselves. At the inter‐organizationa level, the majority of studies analyses co‐opetition strategy between two firms in strategic alliances. Co‐opetition is defined as “dyadic and paradoxical relationship that emerges when two firms are cooperating in some activities while they compete on other ones” (Bengtsson and Kock, 2000). The impact of co‐opetition on firm’s innovative capacity and performance is nuanced: positive, negative or neutral (Nieto and Santamaría, 2007). Few authors tried to explain the difference on innovation outcomes. In sum, firms absorbing and learning faster, but also protecting and securing their knowledge base from collaboration while keeping a certain level of sharing, will gain the most from co‐opetition (Ritala and Hurmelinna‐ Laukkanen, 2013). The need for a multilevel analysis and understanding of co‐opetition emerges in the case of a conflict between individual and collective values or what Khanna, et al. (1998) name co‐opetitive tensions.
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Audrey Depeige and André Nemeh These tensions originate in the share/protect dilemma. On one side, competitors find an interest to share in order to create value (economy of scales), as well as reduced R&D risk and costs. However, firms should ensure not to reveal the source of their competitive advantage ‐ their strategic knowledge and core capabilities (Arikan, 2009) in the race to innovation. Here, the definition of strategic knowledge is framed by the top of the firms but has to be staged down to lower levels: departments and more importantly personnel involved in co‐opetition. In addition, the role of boundary spanners (i.e. project coordinator and gate keepers) is vital in order to gain more from these projects. At the network level, co‐opetition is the sum of cooperative and competitive actions between competitors within a network. The literature gives several case examples of the impact of co‐opetition on innovation outcomes such as innovation performance (Gnyawali and Park, 2009, Ritala and Hurmelinna‐Laukkanen, 2013) at the industry network level. However, few is written about how the different dimensions of these network ties are intertwined with one another. Networks may encompass different dimensions and links such as economic, institutional and social links. Whether there exist interactions between these different types of ties remains to be further explored in co‐opetition. In the next section, we will highlight tentatives to link the different levels in which co‐opetition takes place.
2.4 A multilevel perspective of co‐opetition: An overview of previous research The impact of co‐opetition at different levels of analysis is studied in four different papers published between 2004 and 2013. Three of them explicitly examine the role of co‐opetition and innovation adopting a multi‐level perspective and are based on contributions linking at least two different levels of analysis. The fourth paper will be kept as well, as it describes inter‐level dynamics, though not in relationship with innovation. Its relevance for our research is established as it proposes developments for a view of co‐opetition at multiple levels combining the dyadic and the network level of analysis. In the first article, Gnyawali and Park (2009) suggest that the interactions between industry, dyadic, and firms’ factors, determines the likelihood of a pair of firms to co‐opete. At the industry‐level, industries characterized by short product life cycle, technological convergence, and high R&D cost constitute a more favorable context for co‐opetition between SMEs than in other industries. At dyadic level, strategic and technological alignment between partners will play an important role in indicating the likelihood of co‐opetition. More precisely, short product life cycle will lead SMEs to collaborate with competitors having strong technological capabilities. In order to achieve technological convergence, SMEs are likely to collaborate with competitors that have complementary resources and technologies. The high degree of goal congruence or mutual value creation is related to high likelihood of co‐opetition by between SMEs. At the firm level, a low level of perceived vulnerability and pursuing a prospecting strategy will increase the likelihood of competitors to coopete. All these factors are linked to the consequence of co‐opetition in terms of costs or benefits. The second paper which adopts multiple levels of analysis (Wilhelm, 2011) studies the interplay between two levels of analysis. Taking the example of the supply chain industry, Wilhelm proposes an interaction between the dyadic level of analysis (buyer to supplier, inter‐organizational level of analysis) and the network level of analysis (supplier to supplier). The author argues that the influence of the actors does not only have an impact at the co‐opetition level, but that the overall network level can be managed through horizontal relations (supplier to supplier). Building on previous research, the papers shows the influence of the buyer in the indirect relation between two suppliers, to the extent of stimulating co‐opetition by encouraging them to collaborate for product development ‐ while at the same time stimulating co‐opetition. The third article Madhavan, et al. (2004) tackles the prevalence of triadic structure in competitor alliance networks and which factors determine firms’ likelihood of engaging in “transitive” triads. The study develops a multilevel conceptual model relating network properties that are key for competitive action and response. The model also examines the constructs of competitive dynamics and structural embeddedness at the firm level (likelihood of a focal firm's undertaking an action or receiving a response to the action), pair level (likelihood of action and response between a given pair of firms), and network level (likelihood of any firm's undertaking an action against any other firm in its network or receiving a response to the action). The last article in this category (Tomlinson and Fai, 2013) examines the nature of cooperative relationships between firms (strength, variety of relational direction) and their impact on innovation. Drawing on previous
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Audrey Depeige and André Nemeh work on network ties and innovation performance, the article presents on overview of research on inter‐firm collaborative initiatives. Authors further examine degrees of cooperation and competition, and the scale and dimensions of cooperation between firms. Using multivariate regression analysis, their results also suggest that vertical cooperation positively impacts innovation while it is not the case in horizontal cooperation settings. These findings advocate for the development of information exchanges between partners and the facilitation of network development, thus suggesting a link between the dyadic level (inter‐organizational) and the network level. In conclusion, the research shows that the network effects are observed beyond geographical boundaries, which demonstrates that outcomes co‐opetition may not be limited to the initial scale of the co‐opetitive relationship. While the discussed papers constitute an important effort to link different levels of co‐opetition, each covers one to three of these levels but not the whole spectrum of levels of analysis. In this perspective, the effort to identify how different levels of analysis are interconnected will help provide a more exhaustive view of innovation outcomes and effects that result from co‐opetitive interactions.
Figure 1: A representation of the impact of multilevel interactions on co‐opetition outcomes Our assumption is that the outcomes of co‐opetitive interactions observed at one level of analysis are tightly tied together with interaction or effects at a different level. In considering co‐opetition as a dynamic relationship between actors, we propose that several levels are subject to be impacted by the inherent dynamic nature of co‐opetitive relationships: first, at the level of the actors themselves (individuals, teams, organizations, …) and second, at the level the immediate environment in which co‐opetitive relationships are taking place. This is analog to the conceptualization of innovation found in Gupta et al. (2007): the authors argue for the need for more research on innovation across multiple levels of analysis as it is rare that research contributions “operate at different levels or are considered in combination” (p. 855). It also resonates recent research work on co‐opetition dynamics, which complexity can only be captured in considering the relationship between actors simultaneously involved in cooperative and competitive interactions (Bengtsson et al, 2010). Hence, in this continuity we propose co‐opetition dynamics (joint collaboration and competition) and its impacts to be studied jointly at different levels (e.g. intraorganizational and inter‐organizational level).
3. Methodology 3.1 A need for multi‐level research Hitt et al. (2007) have highlighted that research in management suffers from the use a single level of analysis. A micro or a macro lens yields to an incomplete understanding at either level. A multilevel thinking involves that organizational entities reside in nested arrangements. Figure 1 depicts an example of such nesting. The rationale for this is that individuals are nested in work groups, which in turn are nested in larger organizational units, such as departments or strategic business units, themselves nested in national or multinational organizations. Furthermore, organizations are nested in networks of inter‐organizational relationships (e.g.,
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Audrey Depeige and André Nemeh strategic alliances), which in turn are nested in overall performance environments. Although the exact number and nature of layers are likely to vary from one investigation to another, the nested arrangement has certain implications for organizational theory and research. The researcher may alternatively explore top‐down or bottom up processes (Gupta et al., 2007). In this perspective, the exploration of contextual effects at different levels (industry or institutional) and their effect (main or moderator) at the organizational level is cited by the authors as an example of research question.
Figure 2: A bottom‐up and top‐down multi‐dimensional perspective of innovation outcomes under co‐ opetition
3.2 Method of bibliographic analysis In order to achieve the research objective, we conducted a content analysis on 84 published articles on co‐ opetition adopting different views through lenses of different levels of analysis. Selected articles referred both to co‐opetition conceptualization and co‐opetition outcomes. They covered the period from 1978 to 2013 and were classified according to the level of analysis adopted by the researchers. Table 1: Levels of analysis in selected co‐opetition papers Level of Analysis
Number of identified papers
1. Network level
28
2. Inter‐organizational level
29
3. Organizational level
16
4. Individual level
7
5. Multiple levels of analysis
4
Our analysis incorporates a three step‐process. First, abstracts have been analyzed through content analysis software NVIVO. Word co‐occurence data allowed us to extract patterns and provide a first overview of the relatedness between concepts (Vaughan and You, 2010). As a second step, visual representations were produced based on factorial analysis. Words contained in the abstracts corpus have been statistically treated as variables. Only words occurring more than twice in the 84 documents have been kept for running the analysis and factors isolated according to the words loadings. This step has been performed through SPSS based on the words co‐occurrence matrix with a final data set composed of 1040 words.The factorial analysis computation has been conducted and repeated in the same manner for each of the levels of analysis. Finally, the overall comparison of the four datasets was used to indicate differences and communalities in the identified patterns (factor loadings, screeplot displays, etc…). As a last step, and in order to co‐occurrences were used to create semantic maps of keywords for each level, using the software VOSViewer (edited by Eck &
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Audrey Depeige and André Nemeh Waltman, Center for Science and Technology of Leiden University). Keywords were extracted from the abstracts of the selected papers (after correction of stop words for data input) and mapped into clusters in order to facilitate identification and definition of factors. We have put the focus on intrinsic patterns emerging from the co‐occurence mapping.
4. Towards a multi‐level perspective in co‐opetition 4.1 Individual level
Figure 3: Co‐occurence visualization at the individual level Variables analyzed at the individual level correlate highly on one major component while few items are found to be correlated to a second component. Items occurring consistently with co‐opetition (cooperation and competition) at an individual level of analysis refer to wordings related to goals, negotiation, conciliation and influence. It is to be noted that together with the notion of communication, the idea of “interdependence” is closer to the second component, thus suggesting the eventuality of interactions taking place beyond the relationship between actors at an individual level (e.g. the environment or resources). More closely correlated to cooperation and competition words also appears the notion of “groups” which reflects as well dynamics existing at a greater scale than the individual scale. It puts the focus on the concepts of complementarity and interdependency. As in Gupta et al. (2007), "individuals as well as subunits exist in a state of simultaneous cooperation (because of interdependencies) and competition (because of scarcity of resources, career competition, etc...)” (p.895). The semantic mapping also demonstrates how co‐opetition is linked to the study of relationships, of the organization, and of human groups, while results of co‐opetition are perceived to be linked to both the context in which it is happening, and to a further extent may have a systemic dimension.
4.2 Organizational level The factor analysis for text units at the organizational levels shows a two dimension scatter plot. The underlying structure of the abstracts reveals patterns that are well aligned with the organizational level (teams, cross‐functional, units relationships) while on the other hand other dimensions such as the firms and alliances are also present. Team level analysis thus appear as deeply grounded in the inter‐organizational level as it outcomes are more likely to have pluri‐dimensional effects and implications (individuals, teams, department, organization up to external parties involved in the project such as in external alliances). This is supported by the fact that dyadic interactions imply effects at both the actor (or parties) level and at the dyadic level (relationship). The visualization also refers to how project teams collaborate for the search, exploration and exploitation of knowledge that will be used in order to successfully complete the project they are assigned to or innovate. Doing so, the cooperative alignments set for the project teams serve the overarching innovation goal of the project. It supposes that the relationships between the different parties grounded in co‐opetition are
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Audrey Depeige and André Nemeh complementary. In return, this complementarity provides space for innovative outcomes as common issues raised at one level may actually find more equipped actors at another level. The analysis demonstrates the role of the interdependent structure in the team’s collaborative effectiveness which will lately impact the initial goal (“effective knowledge” linked to “knowledge sharing”, further related to “co‐opetition” and “innovation” keywords).
Figure 4: Co‐occurence visualization at the organizational level
4.3 Inter‐organizational level
Figure 5: Co‐occurence visualization at the inter‐organizational level The structure underlying the inter‐organizational corpus appears as more complex with three components extracted. A synergy of interactions between proprietary (company) sources and external sources supports an increased likelihood of seeing emerging distinctive and newly added value. Reversely, interactions that are strictly limited to a single level of relationships (project team / inter‐organizational) may impede advancement development (consensus. vs disruption). The study of innovation in co‐opetition appears to be linked to other terms dimensions such as the context or space (with the example of trust and risks), time, as well as complementarity. At this level, co‐opetition in itself is researched regarding its effects such as market performance, competitive advantage with the notion of strategy and opportunities. Innovation also appears as a result of co‐opetition, in relationship with developments and R&D alliances. The third cluster of keywords (in blue) reflects the complexity of alliance relationships in a dynamic perspective (strategic alliance, interaction, failure, etc…).
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4.4 Network level
Figure 6: Co‐occurence visualization at the network level The corpus for abstracts focusing on the network level also presents three components (factorial analysis, schema not included) In this representation clearly appears a multi‐level perspective: co‐opetition at the network level (blue cluster) appears along with a second cluster focusing on the dimensional relationships involving the firm/company as well as suppliers (for example under the keywords of “development”, “projects”, “investments” or “trading”, with other actors identified as firms or suppliers ‐ and not necessarily as the network as whole which is more linked to conditions of existence of co‐opetition such as the purpose or prior experiences in co‐opetition) while the impacts and effects encompasses concepts such as conflicts and knowledge.
4.5 Methodological implications and contributions for co‐opetitive innovation Only four of the reviewed articles on co‐opetition published between 1978 and 2013 adopted the perspective of a multilevel analysis, whereas the vast majority of published articles are focusing on a single level of analysis. It implies that academic research has not yet produced systematic knowledge on how one level of analysis may be influenced by co‐opetition at another level of analysis or how two levels interact with one another and may have an effect on nature of innovation outcomes. We thereby emphasize that firms involved in co‐opetition to enhance their innovation capabilities are subject to be analyzed not only at the firm level, or network level, but also at the interaction level formed by co‐opetition between these. Additionally, as co‐ opetition translates into competitive advantage through increased likelihood of innovation, we claim that attaining successful innovation in co‐opetition depends on joint interactions at multiple and co‐ocurrent levels.
5. Discussion Previous literature highlighted that co‐opetition is a multilevel phenomenon. In this research, we have shown via our results that co‐opetition is differently represented at each of these levels. These contrasted views, based on our content analysis, are related to the entities involved and context in which co‐opetition takes place. This fact leads us to consider that in order to manage co‐opetition successfully, we have to consider the contradictions and paradoxes taking place in relation with the interests of entities involved at one level, and with interests at other levels. Moreover, what constitutes a desirable objective or outputs at one level may or may not lead to the same positive impact on the results or objectives at other levels. The interconnection between the different levels should be taken into account in order to avoid this paradoxical situation. While previous studies on co‐opetition do contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between co‐ opetition and innovation at distinct levels of analysis, we argue that the multi‐faceted nature of this phenomenon makes the interplay between two levels determinant for innovation outcomes. Especially as a traditional uni‐level view of co‐opetition fails to satisfy the assumption of independence and may also lead to data omission (Dorff and Ward, 2013).
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6. Conclusion In order demonstrate the importance of undertaking a new approach in conceptualizing and analyzing co‐ opetition, we have developed a multi‐level representation of actors’ relationships in co‐opetition. We also provided an overview of the relevance of this approach in analyzing at different levels the interdependencies that have been identified as inherent to co‐opetitive innovation settings. Our results present a number of implications. At managerial level, we raised managers’ awareness (at multiple levels of organization) towards the negative impact that may arise from the different representations of co‐opetition across the levels. The positive outcome of co‐opetition claimed previous is related to how managers manage the contradictions that may arise at different levels of a co‐opetitive relationship. Further research remains to be conducted in order to empirically measure variables such as co‐opetition and how it may affect innovation at different levels of analysis. Adopting a multilevel approach will further contribute to the understanding of co‐opetition as a dynamic and complex phenomenon. In future research, semantic mapping could also be used to visualize the evolution of research on levels of analysis in different years. Finally, this paper illustrates the complexity of co‐opetition dynamics and how it impacts the analysis of innovation outcomes in co‐opetition. It also provides a deeper understanding of linkages existing between different levels and how innovation develops from the interdependency with other levels.
References Arikan, A., (2009) “Inter‐firm knowledge exchanges and the knowledge creation capability of clusters”, Academy of Management Review, No. 34, pp. 658‐676. Bengtsson, M., Eriksson, J., and Wincent J. (2010). Co‐opetition: new ideas for a new paradigm. In Co‐opetition: Winning Strategies for the 21st Century, Yami S, Castaldo S, Dagnino GB, Le Roy F (eds). Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc: Cheltenham, UK: pp.19–39. Bengtsson, M. and Kock, S. (2000). “Co‐opetition” in Business Networks—to Cooperate and Compete Simultaneously. Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 29, No. 5, pp 411–426. Carayannis, EG and Laget, P. (2004). Transatlantic innovation infrastructure networks: public‐private, EU‐US R&D partnerships. R and D Management, Vol. 34, No. 1, pp 17–31 Dagnino G.B., Rocco, E. (eds.). (2011).Coopetition. Strategy: Theory, Experiments and Cases, London, Routledge. Dorff, C., and Ward, M. D. (2013). “Networks, Dyads, and the Social Relations Model”. Political Science Research Methods, pp. 1‐20. Fang, T. (2006). Negotiation: the Chinese Style. Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, Vol. 21, No.1, pp 50–60. Ghobadi, S., and D’Ambra, J. (2013). Modeling High‐Quality Knowledge Sharing in cross‐functional software development teams. Information Processing & Management, Vol. 49, No. 1, pp 138–157. Gnyawali D, Park B. (2009). Co‐opetition and Technological Innovation in Small and Medium ‐Sized Enterprises: A Multilevel Conceptual Model. Journal of Small Business Management, Vol. 47, No. 3, pp 308–330. Gnyawali, DR. and Madhavan, R. (2001). Cooperative Networks and Competitive Dynamics: A Structural Embeddedness Perspective. The Academy of Management Review, Vol. 26, No. 3, pp 431–445. Gnyawali, DR. and Park, B‐J R. (2011). Co‐opetition between giants: Collaboration with competitors for technological innovation. Research Policy, Vol. 40, No. 5, pp 650–663. Gupta, A. K., Tesluk, P. E., and Taylor, M. S. (2007). “Innovation At and Across Multiple Levels of Analysis”. Organization Science, Vol. 18, No.6, pp. 885–897. Hitt, M., Beamish, P., Jackson, S., and Mathieu, J. (2007). Building theoretical and empirical bridges across levels: Multilevel research in management. Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 50, No.6, pp 1385–1399. Khanna, T.; Gulati, R.; and Nohria, N. (1998). “The dynamics of learning alliances: Competition, cooperation, and relative scope”. Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 19, pp. 193‐210. Madhavan, R., Gnyawali, D. R., and He, J. (2004). Two’s company, three’s a crowd? Triads in cooperative‐ competitive networks. Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 47, No. 6, pp 918–927. Nieto, M.J.; Santamaria, L. (2007). The importante of diverse collaborative Networks for the novelty of product innovation. Technovation, No. 27, pp 367‐377. Ritala, P. and Hurmelinna‐Laukkanen, P. (2009). What´s in it for me? Creating and appropriating value in innovation‐related co‐opetition. Technovation, Vol. 29, No. 12, pp 819–828. Ritala, P. and Hurmelinna‐Laukkanen P. (2013). Incremental and Radical Innovation in Co‐opetition‐The Role of Absorptive Capacity and Appropriability. Journal of Product Innovation Management, Vol. 30, No. 1, pp 154–169. Ritala, P., Hurmelinna‐Laukkanen, P., and Blomqvist, K. (2009). Tug of war in innovation–co‐opetitive service development. International Journal of Services Technology and Management, Vol 12, No. 3, pp 255–272. Tomlinson, P.R. and Fai, F.M. (2013). “The nature of SME cooperation and innovation: a multi‐scalar and multidimensional analysis”. International journal of production economics, Vol. 141, No. 1, pp.316‐326. Tsai, W. (2002). Social Structure of Co‐opetition within a Multiunit Organization: Coordination, Competition, and Intraorganizational Knowledge Sharing. Organization Science, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp 179–190.
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Audrey Depeige and André Nemeh Vaughan, L. and You, J. (2010) Word co‐occurrences on Webpages as a measure of the relatedness of organizations: A new Webometrics concept, Journal of Infometrics, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp 483‐491. Walley K. (2007). Co‐opetition: An Introduction to the Subject and an Agenda for Research. International Studies of Management and Organization, Vol. 37, No. 2, pp 11–31. Wilhelm, M. (2011). “Managing Coopetition Through Horizontal Supply Chain Relations: Linking Dyadic and Network Levels of Analysis”, Journal of Operations Management, Vol. 29, No. 7‐8, pp. 663‐676.
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Conceptualization of Coopetition Dynamics in Entrepreneurial Clusters:The CIMEE Model (Coopetitive Innovation Modeling in an Entrepreneurial Ecology) Audrey Depeige and Stavros Sindakis The Institute for Knowledge and Innovation Southeast Asia (IKI‐SEA) Bangkok University, Thailand
[email protected] [email protected] Abstract: Entrepreneurial actors are exposed to rapid market changes and increased pressure to identify productive opportunities, while recognized as significant contributors to economic growth and development and playing a key role in capability development of entrepreneurial activities. Extensive literature on clusters highlights the role of entrepreneurs in organizational creation and supporting ecosystems. However, despite fast growing literature on coopetition and on network and clusters innovation, research on the dynamics of coopetitive innovation in an entrepreneurial ecology is still scarce. Analyzing when, how and why entrepreneurial actors develop cooperative and/or competitive relationships is key in comprehending both the dynamics supporting entrepreneurial activities and the process of value creation in an entrepreneurial ecology. This article responds to calls for further development and investigation of the concept of coopetition in entrepreneurial ecology. The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, it aims at developing a framework for coopetitive innovation in entrepreneurial clusters settings. Second, it explores the development and evolution opportunities of entrepreneurial clusters involved in coopetition dynamics. Finally, it discusses issues and implications related to clusters of entrepreneurship and innovation. The article builds on existing literature on coopetition and entrepreneurial clusters to develop a framework for coopetitive innovation in entrepreneurial context. We employed resource‐based view of the firm and knowledge‐based innovation to provide a new coopetition perspective on entrepreneurial clusters. We propose a model embedded into a wider entrepreneurial eco‐system theory in which entrepreneurial clusters co‐creation is highly dependant of knowledge creation and knowledge capture opportunities as seedbed for innovation. Furthermore, we provide additional insights on the role of coopetition and more specifically how strengthening the coevolution of coopetitive‐based mechanisms helps entrepreneurs foster superior innovation emergence and performance. Keywords: entrepreneurial clusters, innovation, coopetition dynamics, ecology, value creation
1. Introduction The analysis of coopetition dynamics has resulted in the development of a classification of coopetitive relationships according to different typologies. Simple coopetition (vs. complex coopetition), horizontal coopetition (vs. vertical coopetition) are few of the terminologies used to describe the joint occurrence of cooperation and coopetition, in relationship with different configurations and relationship patterns (Dagnino and Rocco, 2011). However, research focusing on entrepreneurial actors is still missing, despite important literature dedicated to the study of inter‐firm and network level coopetition (e.g. firm alliances). Few studies on coopetition have specifically taken into account the novelty of firms inherent to the study of entrepreneurship. In this perspective, this paper aims to explore further the new field of coopetition in an entrepreneurial ecology, namely understanding how entrepreneurial actors involved in clusters manage the cooperation/competition balance (cooperating while competing on the same activities) to create value and thrive growth. It proposes an ecological approach to understand strength and weaknesses of coopetition strategies with regards to value creation and innovation. The main contribution of this paper is the development of a framework that supports the existence of coopetition relationships as a driver of entrepreneurial growth. The article first starts with a thorough examination of entrepreneurial clusters structure and evolution. We then examine the underlying dimensions of value creation in coopetition. In a third part, we set up and present the basis of a framework to analyze coopetition dynamics in entrepreneurial context, as a support of value creation and innovation. We further discuss the implications of the proposed modelization on entrepreneurial initiatives. Finally, we propose avenues for future research.
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2. Entrepreneurial clusters: Fostering innovation‐led growth Entrepreneurial activity acts as a key contributor of economic development and growth at different levels. Significant inputs from entrepreneurs to economical growth are mainly attributed to an accelerated path of creation (generation), diffusion (dissemination) and application of innovative ideas (Butel and Watkins, 2006). Though it is claimed that entrepreneurs are spontaneously not interacting in a cooperative manner, clusters of entrepreneurs are reportedly developing over time on the basis of an interest in similar opportunities. Research about the impact of clusters on entrepreneurship is however still scarce (Rocha and Stenberg, 2005). Previous contributions have demonstrated that random search for resources in the business environment does not constitute a successful endeavor (Butel and Watkins, 2006). Thus, one of the primary advantages of entrepreneurial clusters is the rapid identification and availability of resources in the environment. In the same perspective, we can suggest that entering networks helps entrepreneurial actors to acquire information that is relevant and effective for them, particularly regarding the evolving environment they evolve into. That is, cluster. Likewise, the adoption of systems that help organizations to retain and transfer knowledge, creating value at the same time has become an element of increased interest. A recent study by Vasudeva et al (2013) indicates that firms’ innovativeness and, therefore competitiveness, might improve when they establish alliances with partners who have strong capabilities and broad social capital, allowing them to create value and growth as well as technological knowledge and legitimacy through new knowledge resources. Consequently, organizations should become receptive to the possibility of developing new partnerships, and adaptive to environmental changes, especially those that arise from the evolution of technology. In light of this, a key idea may be that heterogeneity could be understood as a mindset and practice where complexity and diversity are leveraged strategically in a manner that promotes sustainable entrepreneurship (Carayannis, Edgeman & Sindakis, 2013). Carayannis (2008, p. 349) defines sustainable entrepreneurship as “the creation of viable, profitable and scalable firms that engender the formation of self‐replicating and mutually enhancing innovation networks and knowledge clusters leading towards what we call robust competitiveness.” Sustainable entrepreneurship is especially relevant for entrepreneurial actors, as gathering new knowledge on the business environment and its opportunities in a continuous manner constitutes a primary need to ensure survival of the firm. However, more research needs to be carried out regarding the effects of coopetition in knowledge acquisition and innovation, especially now as companies operate in a fierce and competitive global environment. Several studies have built arguments around this. For instance, Laursen et al (2012) note that geographically localized knowledge has a direct impact on firms’ innovativeness as well as on internal R&D investments and external knowledge acquisition, due to the value of the region’s social capital. For that reason, the consideration of the opportunities and restrictions innovators encounter as they attempt to reuse, recombine and accumulate knowledge appears to be of substantial value (Murray and O’Mahony, 2007). Similarly, organizations are increasingly incorporating socio‐ecological factors into their intelligence and analytical evaluations of enterprise competitive context both to improve performance through generation and implementation of strategic foresight (Petrini and Pozzebon, 2009). Joshi et al’s (2010) empirical study underlines that while a firm’s competence to acquire and store knowledge is vital, it cannot lead to innovation unless this knowledge has been transformed and exploited in order to influence the creation of inventions and increase the level of innovation. As Murray and O’Mahony (2007) point out, the conditions for cumulative innovation are established across multiple levels of analysis: institutional, field, organizational, and community. On the other hand, studies have shown that when knowledge capabilities and interdisciplinary interaction are exchanged between members, significant outcomes arise for both innovation and organizational performance (e.g. Hargadon and Sutton, 1997; Obstfeld, 2005). Dosi et al (2008) emphasize on organizations’ ability to utilize knowledge in order to convert old capabilities into new ones by integrating new knowledge to existing capabilities, gaining from both internal and external interaction, which are formed by the different knowledge foundations of individuals and groups within the organization, as well as by the enriched insights that emerge from external collaborations. We can further suggest that an environment providing access to resources and opportunities is a driver for innovation in existing firms (Hearn and Pace, 2006). Several studies highlight the importance of the external environment of a company and the characteristics of the individuals, which affect the effectiveness of both types of innovation (i.e. exploratory and exploitative) on performance as well as having a direct impact on organizational learning regarding the exploration or exploitation dynamics (Kane and Alavi, 2007). Nevertheless, although innovation is a multilevel phenomenon, little research has been conducted to integrate those dynamics in organization theory (e.g. Gupta et al, 2007; Morgeson and Hofmann 1999). Murray and
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Audrey Depeige and Stavros Sindakis O’Mahony (2007) underline this lack of research, pointing out the need to understand how organizations exploit the opportunities and manage the challenges of knowledge accumulation inside as well as beyond organizational boundaries. We herewith claim that coopetitive dynamics provide such a nest of multi‐level resources and opportunities for entrepreneurial actors: entrepreneurs in coopetition would share at the same time their own resources while identifying and using others, in other words exchanging productive resources (Butel and Watkins, 2006). Dynamics of the market and relationships between entrepreneurial firms generate an increased capability to identify new opportunities and to exploit them for innovative developments. It is expected that entrepreneurial actors belonging to such clusters are in an advantageous position as cluster interactions constitute additional sources of information in locating and capturing appropriate resources for growth and development. Mutualizing diverse resources and access to knowledge in the surrounding environment is seen as beneficial for entrepreneurial actors, especially for those in the early startup phase (novice entrepreneurs). Benefits for entrepreneurs shall however be nuanced by the relative power of entrepreneurs (those who are more experienced with coopetition dynamics or longer established in the market) and the impact of the emergence of opportunistic behaviors (especially in early‐phase entrepreneurship). Butel and Watkins (2006) report how other entrepreneurs, those for which the identified opportunities present an interest for their own activity, later on follow successful early movers. In such cases, it requires a shorter time for actors to acquire resources necessary for them.
3. Value creation in coopetition: Towards an ecological view In the challenging global landscape, which requires companies to respond to change with adaptability in order to benefit from these shifts, and emerging opportunities in the global market, new collaborations and partnerships are of paramount importance. This strategic approach can foster simultaneous innovation at multiple points. The intersection of human capital, internal resources, and external structures forms the basis for value creation (Saint‐Onge, 1996). Successful companies create sustainable value through the combination of both tacit and explicit knowledge, expertise and awareness of external realities. This approach entails converting existing knowledge (implicit or explicit) into larger knowledge structures, which is systemic knowledge (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995). Building long‐term value is all the more critical for organizations, especially those who operate within the knowledge‐intensive industries. Value creation in businesses is increasingly conceptualized through ecologies (Hearn and Pace, 2006), illustrating a shift in both our understanding and analysis of business innovation phenomena. From a value chain point of view, relationships and value creation processes are growingly examined through the lens of the ecosystem, with a focus on value networks and value co‐creation (see Figure 1). One argument for this paradigm shift is that ecological view puts an emphasis on the dynamics between actors. The value ecology also sets as underlying idea the interaction of both cooperative and competitive processes, while the value chain assumes that value creation follows a linear process that is either cooperative or competitive (Hearn and Pace, 2006). For example, Carayannis and Campbell (2010) underlined the importance of ecology and introduced the concept of Quintuple Helix (Carayannis et al., 2012), which frames knowledge and innovation in the context of the natural environment, and can be interpreted as an approach in line with sustainable development and social ecology. The Quintuple Helix is ecologically sensitive as it emphasizes on the socio‐ ecological transition of society and economy (Carayannis et al., 2012) and sets a common ground between ecology, knowledge, and innovation, creating synergies between economy, society, and democracy. Consequently, organizations should operate within those frameworks and adopt such business models. Additionally, sustainable development provides the framework for innovation and business expansion, through new regulations that push for innovation and new ideas that lead to business growth, the regulatory push and vision pull model (Preuss, 2007). Processes of re‐iteration and feedback are also an important component of such value creation ecologies, setting dynamic and multi‐directional cluster of networks as inherent to the value creating ecologies (Hearn and Pace, 2006). Putting all these together, we see that networks based on and developed under these values are likely to lead to the development of sustainable innovations that maintain and increase the overall capital stock (social, economic, and environmental) of a firm.
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Figure 1: Three paradigms of value creation dynamics in coopetition While networks are facilitating information flows across organizational boundaries, previous research has also shown that network organizations result in increased survival of the firms while generating weaker competition (Solitander and Tidström, 2010). Clusters sustainability is claimed to find its source in the firm's interactions with others (shall it be cooperative interactions or competitive interactions: Padmore and Gibson, 1998) as well as in their positioning in the value ecology, taking the form of multi‐dimensional linkages (horizontal, vertical or both). Individual companies do not have the financial strength to invest in new forms of technology, systems, and knowledge and thus are met with a limit of growth, which they can reach. Private equity and corporate venturing enable companies to achieve economies of scale based on sharing management capacity, access to capital and risk taking. In this regard, and from a growth and innovation point of view, the most successful firms are those which manage to implement both strategies at the same time. However, it is to be pointed out that while potential benefits from coopetition are studied in a systematic manner, the competitive and conflicting aspects of such relationships shall also be taken into consideration for a thorough analysis of entrepreneurial clusters. Intellectual capital theory further suggests that there remains processes and technologies that needs to be kept away from coopetitive partners (Solitander and Tidström, 2010) to prevent risk of loss of competitive advantage.
4. The case of coopetition in entrepreneurial clusters Ideas for new businesses can be generated either inside or outside the organization. Firms usually harness both internal and external sources to have access to information, technologies, innovation, business practices, and/or networking with other companies that can enhance growth and profitability (Narayanan et al, 2008). Close collaboration, new forms of partnerships and knowledge networking can result in inter‐organizational learning and dissemination of new, valuable information. Powell et al (2005) underlined the importance of participating in such networks because of the key growth factors they offer such as: access to new forms of information, reliability, and responsiveness to change. Furthermore, the combination of several network dimensions in clusters (geographical, inter‐firm and inter‐organizational) creates favorable conditions for the emergence of new businesses (Rocha and Stenberg, 2005). On one hand, the search of opportunities in the environment is claimed to be a key element in entrepreneurial activity while the ability to mobilize resources to exploit these opportunities is also central for success (Butel and Watkins, 2006). On the other hand, the concept of value creating ecology emphasizes the eventuality of a mutualization of resources beyond the cluster level and further suggests the diffusion of resources across the ecosystem. In sharing knowledge elements with other actors, entrepreneurs may increase value creation at the ecosystem level, while simultaneously minimizing costs by sharing resources and benefiting from the capture of knowledge artifacts. Knowledge thus appears as a key factor in identifying both new sources of entrepreneurial growth as well as opportunities for innovation, shall it be implicit or explicit knowledge. In entrepreneurial clusters in particular, it is suggested that knowledge is not only diffused within the cluster but also combined with other sources of knowledge (proprietary or non‐proprietary) and built upon following a
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Audrey Depeige and Stavros Sindakis multi‐dimensional and dynamic process. Coopetitive flows between entrepreneurial actors, linked with an imperious need to search and find new opportunities, take the form of intangible flows. We propose that the relationships between entrepreneurial firms relies for an essential part on the exchange of knowledge of the surrounding environment, its history and evolution perspectives, as well as on knowledge of opportunities of activity development. We also include reflective knowledge of coopetitive relationships as instrumental for entrepreneurial growth and success. This places knowledge as a key driver of value creation (Hearn and pace, 2006) of the entrepreneurial ecology (see Figure 2 below). However, not all the knowledge exchanged is to be trusted by the coopetitive partners (Solitander and Tidström, 2010). It is hereby not excluded that entrepreneurial actors opt out for specific pathways to attempt increase in value generation and returns. Alternatively, potential cluster blindness also exist (Rocha and Stenberg, 2005). Correlatively, there is for entrepreneurial actors an underlying risk of impeding the cluster’s innovation capabilities and its ability to adapt under competitive pressure emerging externally. In regards to this matter, developing networks external to the cluster is acknowledged as helping entrepreneurial actors overcome this risk in identifying new opportunities and resources out of the cluster’s boundaries (Rocha and Stenberg, 2005). Such evidence of clusters externalities can for example be found in emerging industries where the need to embrace a pool of resources is significantly higher than in mature industries. The ecosystem view however advocates for overcoming the risk of conflict that may emerge from firm‐to‐firm tensions (Hearn and Pace, 2006), as the value creation ecosystem suggests a much broader scope for value creation and capture that is rather holistic than nodal, and extended far beyond an entrepreneur‐to‐entrepreneur partnering aimed to increase the actor own’s capabilities on a long term basis. Correlatively, coopetitive entrepreneurs in the value creation ecology reach an equilibrium in balancing knowledge creation and knowledge capture processes. In this perspective, competition in the entrepreneurial ecosystem is most likely to originate in the attainment of innovative value propositions, which will be further supported (or not) by the ecology.
Figure 2: CIMEE model (coopetitive innovation modeling in an entrepreneurial ecology) Based on a multi‐level approach, we argue that coopetition between entrepreneurial actors at different levels (individual, firm level, inter‐firm level, network level) initiates dynamics that are source of knowledge creation and new developments (innovative value propositions), and thus further creates new opportunities for actors involved. In that way, it can be said that entrepreneurs clusters are context specific and path dependant (Butel and Watkins, 2006). It is compatible with a multi‐dimensional view of coopetition that encompasses the degree of coopetitive dynamics (including variations in level of cooperation and competition) along with a temporal and a directional dimension (horizontal relationships /vertical relationships). We therefore point out that capabilities to identify and exploit new opportunities are increasing through a self‐reinforcing cycle based on the history of the members within a given cluster (Butel and Watkins, 2006). The interactions between different levels (entrepreneurial firm level vs. entrepreneur to entrepreneur level) are evolving according to
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Audrey Depeige and Stavros Sindakis market changes, which, in turn, result in opportunity changes (and consequently changes in resources search and allocation). Coopetition is therefore central to initial stages of entrepreneurial activity and likely to increase chances of survival of the firm in balancing the sharing of costs and resources to create additional opportunities. Furthermore, coopetitive behavior is particularly appropriate in an unpredictable environment where the kind of resources and market opportunities to exploit are subject to change and evolve without formal possibility to predict the emergence of new patterns. Based on these elements, we can claim that coopetitive knowledge flows for value creation vary in a timely manner. We suggest that cluster dynamics of entrepreneurial relationships result in both cooperative and competitive flows that are emerging at different levels over time (see Figure 3). This approach implies that a desired level of cooperative flows may be more critical at certain stages of entrepreneurial life while competitive flows at a given level may present a higher interest for entrepreneurs at other stages. Entrepreneurs at an early start‐up phase may for example focus efforts on cooperative relationships mostly, in order to foster information and knowledge sharing with other firms (knowledge about the market, new opportunities, etc…) while entrepreneurs having reach an development and growth phase would increase competitive behavior in trying to limit the advantage of other entrepreneurs in the cluster to guarantee their own survival and sustainability. It can be argued that such hypothesis applies to firm’s opportunity inquiry behaviors, when entrepreneurs cooperate in searching for new opportunities and compete when it comes to develop these identified opportunities. Such alternance of coopetitive relationships is observed between companies in network (Kock et al, 2010). This moving balance of cooperation and competition behaviors introduces a cyclic conception of coopetition in entrepreneurial clusters, with the underlying idea of understanding, analyzing and managing knowledge flows along the entrepreneurial life cycle, from early stage to growth and more mature stages.
Figure 3: Illustration of an eco‐cycle of coopetitive dynamics for entrepreneurial actors in clusters Potentially, the nature of a given relationship with another actor within the cluster may also be influenced and evolve in function of the relationship with other actors and their outcomes. It is in line with Hearn and Pace (2006) research as the two authors argue for dynamic and evolutive relationship in value creation ecosystems. Furthermore, a same actor within the cluster may be at the same time involved in various types of cooperative and competitive flows (Solitander and Tidström, 2010) and adopt different roles, functions and relations to others as those are related to different activities and availability of resources (Kock et al., 2010). It is coherent with a view of coopetition as dynamic phenomenon that is continuously developing. Simoni and Caiazza (2012) also argue for an evolutive mix of the cooperative and competitive elements, once the competition between actors is established. The fact that the balance is evolving over time can be explained in analyzing the impact of both internal and external parameters. As an example, a change in value distribution linked to different activities on which the actor cooperate or competes however makes one more vulnerable to other actors’ opportunistic behavior (Solitander and Tidström, 2010) and pushes one of the partners to change its behavior.
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Audrey Depeige and Stavros Sindakis Likewise, a modification of the surrounding environment, of the internal needs of one the actors, or related changes happening outside of the coopetitive relationship may also lead to a variation in the combination of cooperation/competition levels (Simoni and Caiazza, 2012). As a complex and multifaceted phenomenon, the blend of cooperation and competition is likely to dynamically evolve in response to different situations or behaviors of other actors in coopetition.
5. Discussion This paper places the modelization of coopetition dynamics in entrepreneurial clusters as a first attempt to further capture and develop innovation perspectives in an entrepreneurial ecology. The focus on coopetition dynamics among entrepreneurial actors combines previous work in the field of coopetition and entrepreneurial growth capabilities. This paper proposes the idea that entrepreneurial actors in clusters interact in different coopetitive dynamics than else extensively studied inter‐firm coopetition, and that coopetitive flows are occurring in a cyclic manner that impacts both value creation and innovation outcomes at the actor and cluster level. Prior studies have studied the impact of coopetition on value creation in taking into account factors such as the prior experience of the firm in coopetition or the size of the network. However, the lack of focus on alternative impact factors such as the novelty of the firm ‐ characteristic of early‐life of entrepreneurial actors ‐ eclipses important dynamics aspects of an ecology view of value creation in entrepreneurial clusters. As such, the development of the CIMEE model adds to the current literature and analysis of dynamics within entrepreneurial clusters and firms in early stage developments. In this perspective, the CIMEE framework also brings application perspectives for strategic orientations development and planning in entrepreneurial firms. Operational use of the framework include decision making about how, when and with whom to cooperate to thrive own’s firm growth and innovation capabilities, should it be at the firm level (reciprocal benefits) or at the network level (global benefits) as linkages among firms and other elements of the environment (in our case, within the global entrepreneurial ecology) will ensure a high level of innovation and customer satisfaction (equally important for sustainable entrepreneurship) among other benefits emerging from firm clustering (Padmore and Gibson, 1998). In providing a framework for specifically studying coopetition in entrepreneurial clusters, we hope to have contributed to new research avenues on coopetition. Further study shall empirically study coopetitive flows within entrepreneurial clusters and their evolution over time. Therefore, we advise researchers to adopt a multi‐level approach in studying their impact on value creation and innovation.
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Using Innovation to Stimulate Growth in Owner Managed SMEs Paul Donaldson Sysco, St Helens, UK
[email protected] Abstract: This author has been involved in a considerable amount of consultancies and interventions in a large
number of different organisations in the past 25 years. As a classically trained consultant, originally from the large firm sector, a dissonance was detected between advocated theory and observed practice, especially in the owner‐manager sector which prompted this study. The research described in this paper was premised on the observation that modern economies rely on the growth of the small business sector, thus supporting this growth is a major economic concern for individual countries. The implicit view taken is that innovation underpins growth. This work was an action research project where the author conducted an inductive phenomological study using systems ideas as epistemological learning devices to advance knowledge. A set of intervention methods and principles have been developed to assist organisations to use innovation to determine and implement actions to achieve their chosen objectives at given points in time. The types of owner‐managed small firms researched had all passed the two major SME barriers (see Daly et al, 1991 and Dunn and Bradstreet, 2001) of being in existence for more than 5 years, and development from micro to small firms. The literature suggests that the concept of growth in small firms is a significant and contentious issue, and questions the validity of the formal application of strategic theory to achieve growth in this specific context. The empirical research conducted in this work suggests that growth is not a planned process that emanates from formal strategic activity but an emerging process of intuitive innovative development, led by the owner‐manager. The research suggests that within the size categories that are used to define small firms, it is likely that there are different types of firms with different latent propensity for growth. This work further suggests that competent owner‐managers are required to develop (by using innovation heuristics they have acquired over time) and then to fulfil a multi‐faceted role of entrepreneur, leader and manager, and that the degree of competence displayed has significant impact on the growth propensity of a firm. Keywords: innovation, growth, entrepreneur, leader, manager
1. Introduction This paper describes a piece of Systemic Action Research that was conducted with a highly specified group of owner‐managed firms who had experienced significant growth after their initial formation. These types of firms are rare; as Daly et al. (1991) have pointed out less than 5% of the UK’s SME population grow to employ more than twenty people after initial start up, and only approximately 15% of firms in the UK continue to trade for five years from start up (see Dunn and Bradstreet 2001). These statistics reflect the failure of the vast majority of new firms to survive after formation, and then grow to transcend the micro firm stage. They also show why the issue of growth has particular importance in this context and it also shows how innovation is constantly required to advance the development of entrepreneurial competence within such organisations. The literature concerning the issue of growth in SME's describes a number of factors that are considered to be important. These include the type of strategic practice SME’s follow, the impact of strategy on competitiveness as well as the issue of entrepreneurial activity. As a practitioner in this field this author had recognised a dissonance between much of the advocated theory and observed practice, and this prompted the study which used Soft Systems ideas (see Checkland 1981, Checkland & Scholes 1990) to consider different types of SME’s, and strategic approaches the literature considered they used, as well as the significant issues that were considered to impact on the issues of competitiveness and growth. The aim of the work was to holistically consider the issues that emerged, and then to develop a model that could be debated with a focus group of the firms involved, to get their views on the conclusions reached about how they had attained their present position. This work sought to take an original perspective and used systems ideas to shed light on the inter‐relationships of the identified activities and conditions. The initial findings were tested using a focus group which Curran and Blackburn (2001) have shown is a rare approach due to the difficulty of being able to recruit SME’s to engage and attend these types of events.
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2. Growth in SMEs Gibb (1998) points out that the identification of a growth firm is a difficult concept to define, whilst Smallbone and North (1997) suggest that the age profile of growth firms is very difficult to establish, and that even very mature SME’s have more potential for growth than is often recognised. From a policy perspective, they suggest that it may be misleading to categorise established firms as either growth firms or “trundlers,” as Storey (1994) describes SME’s which do not exhibit growth orientation. Clark, Berkeley and Steuer’s (2003) suggest that only a minority of organisations seek to deliberately follow a growth strategy and this lack of growth focus may be exemplified by a strong commitment to independence, resulting in a stubborn “I do it my own way” individualism identified by Gibb (1998). This inordinate commitment to autonomy helps explain the common findings of a lack of strong growth ambition among many small business owners (see Curran 1986, Storey 1994, Scase & Goffee 1995). However, it does not suggest that these firms are always lacking in terms of competitiveness, or fail to utilise discernible strategic characteristics. Indeed, in order to survive they will have to maintain a degree of competitiveness; but as Jennings and Beaver (1997) suggest, the relentless drive for personal achievement may inhibit growth potential and could ultimately impair competitiveness and therefore threaten the very survival of the firm. These views suggest that whilst most theory treats the SME community as a homogenous entity, it is in fact vastly heterogeneous in reality. The firms researched in this work were all still managed by the founder, they had all been in existence for more than five years, and they had grown beyond the twenty person benchmark mentioned by Daly. By exceeding these two benchmarks these companies could be at least considered to be post‐hoc growth firms.
3. The relationship between growth and strategy There are numerous models (see Greiner 1972, Churchill & Lewis 1983, Scott & Bryce 1987 and Bamberger 1989) that seek to show the process of growth, most of which are based on a stage approach to growth in SME’s. One of the problems with “stage of development models” is that they tend to suggest that there is continual and maintained growth and as Smallbone et al. (1993) have shown, this is not borne out by research. The implicit underlying assumption of many of these stage models would seem to be that firms face challenges concerned with maintaining competitiveness, and these are addressed through applying formal strategic management activity. Atkins and Lowe (1994) comment on the nature of strategic planning in small firms, and conclude that it may well be different from large firms, and Gibb and Scott (1985) closely link strategic planning in small firms with the management of change when considering the application of strategic activity in SME’s. Carland et al. (1990) have also suggested that the planning aspect of strategic management can have a positive impact on competitiveness in SME’s. These views would suggest that growth is considered to be an output of achieving a degree of competitiveness by the application of what could be considered strategic activity, orchestrated through the process of deliberate strategic management. Stanworth and Curran (1976) took an entirely different view on growth that rejected these mostly deterministic models. They maintained that the small firm could be seen as a constructed social reality and that the owner‐managers influence on strategic activity is decisive; they identified three types of potential owner‐managers: the “artisan,” the “classic entrepreneur,” and the “manager.” The authors maintained that each of these “latent social identities” has a different propensity for growth due to different levels of entrepreneurial motivation. From this perspective, strategic management and growth propensity cannot be separated from the personality‐set, experience and cognitive appreciation of the owner‐manager. This qualitative approach to strategic management and growth rejects neo‐classical economic assumptions about the behaviour of individual firms and market economies. It does not, for example, assume that owner‐ managers are profit maximisers, growth‐orientated, or highly competitive. Curran and Blackburn (1994) and Storey (1994) have shown all three assumptions are highly questionable for most small firms. Few owner‐ managers are profit maximisers, few have strong commitment to growth, and most firms operate in markets where imperfections reduce competitiveness substantially. This type of view suggests that the idea that owner‐managers formally utilise strategic activity to attempt to achieve competitiveness and growth is highly questionable. Strategic management in individual firms is seen as reflecting the cognition of the owner manager reflecting Stubbs (1989) view of the importance of individual on the practice of strategic management. Embedded within this process is the practice of constant innovation that arises from the Owner Managers perception of opportunities and threats.
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4. Competitiveness and SMEs Atherton and Hannon (1996) suggest that whilst the idea of business success and growth is tangible for the small firm owner, the concept of competitiveness is abstract and vague. Gibb and Scott (1985) point out that whilst there are long lists of factors relating to competitiveness, there is an absence of theory underlying all the models that seek to integrate these factors in a useful way for SME development and education. The issue of competitiveness in SME’s is not purely concerned with product and markets, but also appreciation and perception. Jennings and Beaver (1997) have pointed out that in owner‐managed firms strategic management is conducted in a highly personalised way, influenced by the personality and other attributes of the owner‐ manager. Any strategic activity, therefore, is displayed through the leadership shown by the owner‐manager, in conjunction with his/her internalised knowledge, abilities and competencies. The importance of leadership, shown in this context by the owner‐manager, in relation to competitiveness and strategic management is an issue that is well recognised (see Burns 1978, Bennis & Nanus 1985, Clark & Pratt 1985). The development of leadership heuristics reflects the cognition of the owner manager and are in fact a product of cumulative innovation as the organisation develops. Competitiveness in the small owner‐managed firm sector is considered to be limited by the resources available and the willingness of the owner‐manager to commit such resources to achieve a given objective. This means that the degree of competitiveness achieved can perhaps be considered to be correlated with the degree of risk owner‐managers are prepared to take with the resources they have acquired, and the innovation heuristics they employ to utilise them.
5. Entrepreneurial activity and growth There have been numerous classifications of small firm owners put forward (see Stanworth & Curran 1976, Scase & Goffee 1987, Carland et al. 1984, 1990, Jennings & Beaver 1997, and Beaver & Lashley 1998); these classifications have all followed the same basic approach of identifying owner‐managers according to their propensity for entrepreneurial activity and attitude to growth. Beaver (2002) classifies these studies by suggesting three categories: “craft owners” concerned with personal satisfaction, “promoters” who want to achieve personal wealth, and “professional managers” who want to excel in business and achieve financial wealth, personal satisfaction and perhaps social status, through developing a successful business. Jennings and Beaver (1997) discuss the differences between the often quoted basic categorisation of entrepreneurs and owner‐managers and suggest that as the firm grows there comes a point at which the owner‐manager must delegate management responsibility to others in the organisation if the organisation is to survive and prosper. As Gerber (1995) has pointed out, this raises the issue of the three roles that the owner‐manager must consider: the entrepreneur, the owner and the manager. Jennings and Beaver (1997) also suggest that as the owner‐manager is the prime stakeholder, it is his/her definition of success or failure which defines the view of the firm. Success could fall substantially below the optimum level attainable (see Beaver 1984, and Foley & Green 1989); therefore perceived success is not synonymous with optimum performance. Each individual firm develops individual heuristics to operationalise the three key roles identified. The impact of innovation activity in each of these key roles is crucial to determine the level of competence the owner manager attains in each of the three areas. Thompson (2001) suggested that strategies are a means to an end, and therefore it could be assumed that the strategies pursued by owner‐managers reflect the difference between the motivations of what much of the literature considers to be owner‐managers and entrepreneurs, especially in relation to growth potential. The literature suggests that there is a wide variation in terms of the types of SME’s and their approach to strategic management and strategic issues, and further suggests that there are two predominant perspectives on strategy and subsequent approaches to Strategic Management (see Eden & Ackerman 1998). The first, the prescriptive schools of thought, are based on classical economic theory reflecting observable cause and effect and the ability to be able to plan to reach desired objectives. The second, the descriptive schools, concentrate heavily on the concepts of learning, reflection and competence building which this author describes as a learning / appreciative view. SME’s can be categorised not only in terms of size but by their attitude towards growth. There is the opportunity for the classification of owner‐managers into two basic groups which exhibit different attitudes to growth; “lifestyle firms” and “entrepreneurial firms.” In addition leadership is identified as a key factor
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Paul Donaldson relating to both the issue of strategy and competitiveness, and the literature would seem to take the view that the leader of the business determines strategy which impacts on the competitiveness of the firm and the subsequent growth that is achieved. In order to attempt to consider these views from an holistic perspective, systems ideas were employed to conceptually model the assertions regarding the types of approaches to strategy identified, as well as the process followed by “life style” or “entrepreneurial firms” in relation to growth, and the impact of leadership in this context.
6. Methodology used 6.1 Development of soft systemic paradigm In order to investigate the perspectives identified above, Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) modelling was used. This type of approach seeks to address what the system is trying to do, how the transformation is used to achieve this, and the underlying purpose, the “why” of the system. Crucial to this type of modelling is the concept of Weltanschauung (“W”) or worldview, which implicitly rejects the concept of unity of purpose. Checkland (1981) suggests that in systems thinking there are two related pairs of ideas: emergence and hierarchy, and communication and control. Wilson (1984) uses the concept of water having wetness, which has no meaning when related to hydrogen/oxygen which are its constituent parts, to explain the concept of emergence. An emergent property only has meaning at a specific level of hierarchy, and only arises when the system is working in an integrated manner above and beyond the parts that comprise it. This idea of hierarchy and systemic reduction seeks not only to isolate parts as independent wholes but to place them within the context of an interacting and emergent interdependent hierarchy. The underlying feature of the systems paradigm is the concept of “holism”. Understanding of the emergent whole, through synthesis of the parts, is more meaningful in systems thinking than trying to use analysis through reductionism. The soft perspective takes the process of systemic inquiry as being a learning system that can be used to explore the observer’s perceived world. This shift of systemicity from taking the world to be systemic, to taking the process of inquiry to be systemic, is of crucial importance to the understanding of the soft systems paradigm. The hard determinative perspective that uses systematic approaches to modelling may well contain a systemic perspective of the world; however, the deterministic view of unitary purpose, and of achieving this purpose from a machine‐like approach fails to account for the systemic process of inquiry that soft systems usage seeks to encompass. In essence, “soft systems thinking” is epistemological and “hard systems thinking” is ontological.
6.2 Applying system ideas to the area of research Using the doubly systemic perspective of the soft systemic paradigm when considering a firm as a “human activity system” takes the process to be not only systemic, in that it can be modelled, but also doubly systemic in that such modelling can lead to learning that can be used to improve understanding of the area of review. The work undertaken used this concept to consider the area of research and to model the predominant “Ws” that emerged from the literature. A firm is taken to be a “human activity system” that Checkland (1981) describes human activity systems as human beings taking purposeful activity. Purposeful activity is taken to be teleological and as Stacey et al. (2000) have described there are a variety of classes of teleological action. A teleological cause is an answer to the “why” question; why does a particular phenomenon do what it does or become what it becomes? This can mean two things: the kind of movement into the future that is being assumed, and the reason for this movement in order to achieve “what.” In other words, what is the purpose of the action being taken, and is it being made towards a definite goal or for a general purpose? The description of systems and systems thinking has shown that the concept of “W” has a significant impact on how people undertake teleological activity; a process that is strongly influenced by innovation. Ten owner managed firms who met the criteria identified earlier in this paper were selected for this study. These owner managed firms were contacted by the researcher who had extensive knowledge of the business community of Merseyside, a country in England. None of these owner managers had previously been involved
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Paul Donaldson in a major intervention with the researcher and the researcher personally visited each owner manager to discuss the intended project and outline the potential benefits to both the individual organisations as well as the SME sector as a whole. It is interesting that whilst an initial sample of fifty was drawn up as potential participants in this study the first ten organisations that were contacted all agreed to participate in the study after the initial visits. This in itself is an interested phenomenon as the insularity of many SME’s is often quoted as a barrier to research in these types of firms (see Gibb 1998). It was considered that whilst this work took place in a specific geographical location of Merseyside in England the fact that these owner managed firms covered a variety of business sectors including both manufacturing and service organisations and this could lead to valid observations that had application to owner managed SME’s at the same stage of development throughout the UK as the Merseyside economy broadly reflects the SME distribution within the UK. It was also considered that ten firms would be a suitable sample size in which to conduct this work as it was a small enough sample to allow in depth work to be done whilst being big enough to give validity to the findings. A structured questionnaire that had been derived from a holistic interrogation of the literature concerning growth, competitiveness and strategy was used in one to one semi‐structured interviews between the researcher and the individual owner managers. The findings from the questionnaires were grouped into emerging themes and these emerging themes were explored with the owner managers collectively in a focus group that all ten owners managers attended. The fact that these owner managers attended shows the importance they placed on the work that had been conducted, as getting owner managers to attend focus groups is notoriously difficult, as observed by Curran and Blackburn (2001).
7. Findings During the focus group the owner‐managers agreed that the growth they had attained to date was influenced by the degree of entrepreneurial activity, the willingness to take risk, and the degree of entrepreneurial empowerment that had occurred within their firms. They also agreed that they had all developed down individual pathways that bore little resemblance to each other reflecting that innovation is a process that they applied unknowingly to develop the individual heuristics that had allowed them to grow. However they also agreed that they had faced common challenges. The findings of the focus group showed that the issue of the level of entrepreneurial activity could be considered to be not solely concerned with an individual’s or firm’s inherent character, as this empirical research suggests that this level of activity is never anything other than a transient state affected by the issue of the owner‐managers’ prevailing “W,” and the level of their multi‐faceted competence at different times and under different circumstances. For example, owner‐managers could iteratively move through the conceptual process shown in the figure overleaf: W
SATISFYING ACHIEVEMENT
TRIGGER FACTORS
CRISES / THREATS
ASPIRATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT
OPPORTUNITIES
Figure 1: Iterative process of entrepreneurial action This Figure suggests that in the light of perceived threats or opportunities, measures of performance are altered, depending on the level of potential threat or opportunity perceived. The empirical data that emerged during this research implied that growth, consolidation and survival are closely related, and are concerned
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Paul Donaldson with the perceived reality of the owner‐managers, their “W,” when considering issues within the environment that can act as “triggers” to take action. Growth from this perspective can be taken to be a transient phenomenon reflecting the cognition and subsequent development, through innovative processes, of individual balancing heuristics in a firm. It suggests that different trigger factors, which could be opportunities or threats perceived in the environment, can impact on the owner‐managers “W” in terms of acceptable levels of performance. When facing a perceived crisis or threat, owner‐managers may decide to set satisfying levels of achievement to try to ensure continuity. By contrast, if opportunities are perceived, the measures of performance may be moved to a more aspirational level, thereby stretching the organisation. Thus whilst certain individuals may be considered to inherently exhibit entrepreneurial characteristics, it is the “W” of the individual at any given time (a perception that is seen to change) that sees these changes in the perceived environment as opportunities or threats, and decides what are suitable measures of performance in the light of such perception. The “trigger factor” identification could be seen as an intuitive strategic action confirming the empirical evidence which suggests that these types of firms learn to take action at appropriate times both to maintain continuity as an ongoing activity when threats appear by limiting risk, and to use innovation to pursue growth opportunities that seem suitable to the owner‐manager at a particular time. This process is manifested within the firm through the concept of an owner‐managers “vision” and its articulation. There was no evidence noted of any formal type of strategic activity within these firms and their growth can be taken to be an emergent property of the process of learning and experience over time.
8. Discussion In terms of considering the ongoing development of a “vision,” from a systems perspective, Lewis (1991) discusses the concept of appreciative systems and suggests we need to consider the importance of the internally‐generated mental models of the organisation, the objectives which management use in decision‐ making. Rational models of decision‐making, as in Simons’ work (1969, 1976) critically recognised the effect of these mental models or constructs, but failed to address their nature; these mental constructs or models were recognised and addressed in the work of Vickers (1965, 1968, and 1970). Lewis maintains that these mental models, and the process of how they change and develop, are explained through the concepts of appreciation, appreciative systems and settings formalised by Checkland and Casar (1986) shown in figure 2 overleaf:
Source: After Checkland and Casar (1986) Figure 2: Structure of appreciative system emphasising appreciative settings At any moment in time, an appreciative system has a specific appreciative setting, which is a readiness to see and value things in one way rather than in another. This author suggests that this statement fundamentally articulates the concept of a “vision” in this context, and explains how this vision is operationalised through individual heuristic developments which are the product of continuing innovation within these organisations. One of the sub‐processes involved in appreciative systems is concerned with collecting data from the world and making reality judgements about the present situation from these. These judgements are based on what
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Paul Donaldson Vickers terms “norms,” a term used to describe the ideas that allow organisations or individuals to understand facts and give meaning to raw data. This term could also be considered to describe a type of cultural heuristic that an organisation develops as a “lens” or “dominant logic” through which to interpret data. These norms become revealed during the operation of the appreciative system. They guide what the organisation sees and what it considers relevant. This could be taken to be a reference to tacit knowledge, potentially displayed through externalised strategic heuristics. There was little evidence of this externalisation having taken place in this research. However, the strong emphasis that the owner‐managers placed on their setting of norms and values to guide their firms’ actions was recognised. This work concludes that growth is not the product of an inherent disposition, a character trait; it is the product of specific perception and reactions to on‐going situations and the development of individual innovative heuristics to deal with these. “Entrepreneurs” may be more disposed to grow a firm but “lifestyle firms” can still grow if the “right” perceived circumstances are identified. This work maintains that the growth propensity of an owner‐managed firm is contingent on the owner‐managers appreciative settings and cognitive framework at any given point in time. Growth in this context can therefore be taken to be an emergent property of the developing of learning and enhancing of appreciation, and the subsequent action and heuristic development that is taken as time unfolds. In essence this work shows that the SME community is heterogeneous and the development of an individual firm’s heuristics reflects the developing and changing cognition of the owner manager, this cognition determines their approach to innovation and its application in their own individual settings.
References Atherton, A., & P. Hannon. (1996) “Competitiveness and Success: How the Owner‐Managers of Small Firms Perceive th Success in a Turbulent External Environment.” 19 ISBA National Small Firms Policy and Research Conference, Birmingham, September. Atkins, M., & J. Lowe. (1994) International Small Business Journal, Vol. 12, No. 3: pp. 12‐24. Bamberger, I. (1980) “Development and Growth of Firms – A Theoretical Frame of Reference For Small and Medium Firms.” Unpublished Paper, University of Rennes, Department of Management. Bamberger, I. (1989) “Developing competitive advantage in small & medium sized firms,” Long Range Planning, Vol. 22, No. 5: pp. 80‐88. Beaver, G. (1984) “The entrepreneurial ceiling: A discussion of the small business management process,” 7th UKEMRA th National Small Firms Policy and Research Conference, Nottingham, 17 September. Beaver, G. (2002) “Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development” Pearson Education Limited: London. Beaver, G., & C. Lashley. (1998) “Competitive advantage and management development in small hospitality firms: The need for an imaginative approach.” Journal of Vacation Marketing Vol. 2, No 2: pp 145‐60. Bennis, W., & B. Nanus. (1985) Leaders: The Strategies For Taking Charge, Harper & Row: New York. Burns, J.M. (1978) Leadership, Harper & Row: New York. Carland, J.W., F. Hoy, W.R. Boulton, & J.C. Carland. (1984) “Differentiating entrepreneurs from small business owners: A conceptualisation,” Academy of Management, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 354‐359. Carland, J.W., J.A.C. Carland, & C.D. Abey Jr. (1990) International Small Business Journal, Vol. 7, No. 4: pp. 23‐44. Checkland, P. B. (1981) Systems Thinking, Systems practice, J. Wiley & Sons: Chichester. Checkland, P. B., & A. Casar. (1986) Vickers concept of an appreciative system: A systemic account. Journal of Applied Systems Analysis, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp: 3‐17. Checkland, P. B., & J. Scholes. (1990) Soft systems methodology in action, Wiley: Chichester. Churchill, N.L., & V.L. Lewis. (1983) “The five stages of small business growth,” Harvard Business Review, Vol. 61, No. 10: pp. 30‐50 Clarke, C., & S. Pratt. (1985) “Leadership’s four‐part progress,” Management Today, March 1985. Clark, D., N. Berkeley, & N. Steuer. (2003) ‘Attitudes to growth among owners of small and medium‐sized enterprises and the implications for business advice’, International Small Business Journal, Vol. 19, No. 3 Curran, J. (1986) “Bolton 15 years, on: A review and analysis of small business research in Britain 1971‐1986,” Small Business Research Trust: London. Curran, J., & R.A. Blackburn. (1994) “Small firms and local economic networks, the death of the local economy,” Paul Chapman: London. Curran, J., & A. Blackburn. (2001) Researching the Small Enterprise, Sage: London Daly, M., M. Campbell, G. Robson, & C. Gallagher. (1991) “Job creation 1987‐9: The contribution of small and large firms,” Employment Gazette, November: pp. 589‐596. Davidson, P. (1991) “Continued entrepreneurship: ability, need and opportunity as determinants of small firm growth,” Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 6, No. 8: pp. 405‐429. Dunn and Bradstreet. (2001) Commercial statistics report, London. Eden, C., & F. Ackermann. (1998) Strategy Making: The journey of strategic management, Sage: London.
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Paul Donaldson Foley, P., & H. Green. (1989) Small Business Success, Paul Chapman, London. Gerber, M.E. (1995) The E‐myth revisited. New York: HarperCollins. Gibb, A. (1998) “Academic research and the growth of ignorant SME Policy: Mythical concepts, myths, assumptions, rituals th and confusions,” Paper presented to the National Small Firms Policy and Research Conference, Durham, 16 November Gibb, A., & L. Davies. (1992) “Development of a growth model,” The Journal of Entrepreneurship, Vol. 1, No. 1: pp. 3‐36. Gibb, A., & M. Scott. (1985) “Strategic awareness, personal commitment and the process of planning in the small business,” Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 22, No. 6: pp. 597‐632. Greiner, L.E. (1972) “Evolution and revolution as organisations grow,” Harvard Business Review, Vol. 50, No. 4: pp. 66‐78. Jennings, P., & G. Beaver. (1997) “The performance and competitive advantage of small firms: A management perspective,” International Small Business Journal, Vol. 15, No. 2: pp. 21‐34. Lewis, P.J. (1991) “The decision making basis for information systems: the contribution of Vickers” concept of appreciation to the soft systems perspective,” European Journal of Information Systems, Vol. 1, No. 1: pp. 33‐43. Perren, L. (1999) “Factors in the growth of micro‐enterprises (part 1): Developing a framework,” Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 6, No. 4: pp. 12‐19. nd Scase, R., & R. Goffee. (1987) The Real World of the Small Business Owner, (2 edition) Beckenham: Croom Helm. Scase, R., & R. Goffee. (1995) Corporate realities: The Dynamics of Large and Small Organisations, Routledge: London Scott, M., & R. Bryce. (1987) “Five stages of growth in small business,” Long Range Planning, Vol. 20, No. 3: pp. 45‐52. Simon, H.A. (1969) The sciences of the artificial, MIT Press: Cambridge, Mass. Simon, H.A. (1976) “From substantive to procedural rationality,” in H.A. Simon, (Ed.) Models of bounded rationality: Behavioural economics and business organisation, MIT Press: Cambridge, Mass. Smallbone, D.J., D. North, & R. Leigh. (1993) “The growth and survival of mature manufacturing SME’s in the 1980’s: an urban‐rural comparison,” in D. Storey and J. Curran (Eds.), Small Firms in Urban and Rural Locations, Routledge: London. Smallbone, D., & D. North. (1997) Targeting established SME’s: Does their age matter,” International Small Business Journal, Vol. 13, No. 3 : pp. 16‐28. Stacey, R.D., D. Griffin, & P. Shaw. (2000) Complexity and management: Fad or radical challenge to systems thinking?, Routledge: London. Stanworth, J., & J. Curran. (1976) “Growth and the small firm – An alternative view,” Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 13, No. 2: pp. 95‐110. Storey, D.J. (1994) Understanding the Small Business Sector, Routledge: London. Stubbart, C.I. (1989) “Managerial Cognition: A Missing Link in Strategic Management Research”. Journal of Management Studies. th Thompson, J.L. (2001) Strategic management (4 edition), Thomson Learning: London. Thompson, J. (2006) Enabling Entrepreneurs, University of Huddersfield. Vickers, G. (1965) The art of judgement, Chapman and Hall: London. Vickers, G. (1968) Value systems and social process, Tavistock; London. Vickers, G. (1970) Freedom in a rocking boat, Allen Lane: London. Wilson, B. (1984) Systems: Concepts, methodologies and applications, Wiley: Chichester.
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Common Culture: A Valuable Prerequisite for Innovation‐Focused Interactions Between Science and Economy Olaf Gaus1, Bernd Neutschel2, Matthias Raith1 and Sándor Vajna2 1 Faculty of Economics and Management, Chair of Entrepreneurship, Otto‐von‐Guericke University of Magdeburg, Germany 2 Institute for Machine Design, Chair of Information Technologies in Mechanical Engineering, Otto‐von‐Guericke University of Magdeburg, Germany
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Abstract: Successful collaborations between universities and companies work only in a few individual cases. In general, the diversity of cultures prevents the implementation of interactive knowledge transfer and actually reduces the potential innovation performance. This finding contrasts the study of the Organization for Economic Co‐operation and Development published in 1996 on „The Knowledge‐Based Economy“ (OECD, 1996) that stated clearly: „Knowledge is now recognised as the driver of productivity and economic growth, leading to a new focus on the role of information, technology and learning in economic performance.“ Regarding the reasons for such a collaborative deficit more closely it becomes apparent that not a lack of purpose, benefits or requirements are the cause for it, but rather different ways of dealing with it. This results primarily from a different cultural conditionality in universities and companies. However, the resulting question still has to be discussed how the science system can contribute to knowledge transfer, in order to disseminate knowledge and to provide inputs for problem solving and innovation. Especially the process of knowledge transfer has been prominently discussed during the last decade after neoliberal tendencies in politics, particularly in North America and the European countries, demanded the economic benefits of science and its institutions (c.g. Mansfield, 1991). While the responsibility for the creation and dissemination of new knowledge typically lies with leading research institutions, such as universities, the transfer of this knowledge into economic value is performed outside of universities. Since universities increasingly depend on additional funds for new and expensive research, research groups are more and more considered to be ‘quasi firms’ − a process that already has been described as “the invention of the entrepreneurial university” (Etzkowitz, 2003). But as it turns out more and more, the prospects for achieving these objectives are dominated by the question of a common cultural understanding between the various actors in the knowledge transfer process. Keywords: knowledge and technology transfer, organizational culture, entrepreneurial university
1. Introduction In attempting to implement the business model of the university and to perform concrete company transfers it turns out very quickly that cultural differences in the scientific and practical work environments lead to serious tradeoffs on both sides. This cultural aspects of innovation‐focused interactions between science and economy is a part of the knowledge transfer discussion that has not yet been embedded into the newer research on the entrepreneurial university (Gaus and Raith, 2013) and its integration into the, mostly, regional economy. However, universities and enterprises are both understood as social systems of production. This describes the way how they are integrated into a social configuration, e.g. the industrial relation system. Our previous studies suggest that any kind of institution is embedded in a culture in which their functions are attitudinal grounded, organizationally structured and technically and materially constrained. Against this background, it is even more surprising that the research literature on knowledge and technology transfer, organizational development in institutions and enterprises as well as the political science discussions of this topic have not dealt intensively with the importance of the 'cultural factor' for almost a decade. There are only a few authors who have stressed the importance of cultural influence in educational organizations and its impact to both, internal and external communication, since the 1970s (Maassen, 1995). One of the early protagonists whose research in this field was fundamental was especially Clark (1970; 1972; 1983) who developed the concept of ‘organizational saga’ and its effects on academic beliefs. It was Becher (1981) who claimed that the academic discipline has the power to develop a specific set of values that are constitutive for the emergence of a disciplinary culture, whereas Dill (1982) highlighted the importance of academic culture and its dependence on symbolic management. For Masland (1985) it was crucial to find methods that should be used to capture the suspected relationship between organizational culture and the system of higher education as a whole. Tierney (1988) also uses the term 'organizational culture' and introduces concepts as an “initial attempt to establish a
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Olaf Gaus et al. framework for describing and evaluating various dimensions of organizational culture” in order to achieve that “administrators will be in a better position to change elements in the institution that are at variance with the culture.” However, he refers not so much to Becher (1981), but rather to Ouchi and Wilkins (1985), which he quotes to highlight the relevance of the research topic: “Few readers would disagree that the study of organizational culture has become one of the major domains of organizational research, and some might even argue that it has become the single most active arena, eclipsing studies of formal structure, of organization‐ environment research and of bureaucracy”. Now, while the theory lacks an overall view of the topic in the political, economic, psychological and educational sciences as well as in sociology of ‘culture’ as a factor influencing organizations of higher education, the practical effects on the developing knowledge and technology transfer are becoming clearer. Schein (1996) described the status quo of the research situation 17 years ago with the title of his essay "Culture: The Missing Concept in Organization Studies." Interactions in the area of knowledge and technology transfer between researchers and managers of enterprises were extremely rare (Porter and McKibbon, 1988; Abrahamson, 1996; Mowday, 1997) as well as the other way round (Sackett and Laarson, 1990; Rynes et al, 1999). These results have led gradually to the conviction in much of the research that there are barriers of communication and interaction between practitioners and academics that lead to a ‘research‐practise gap’. The reasons for this are quite essential due to the difference in academics’ and practitioners’ assumptions and beliefs (cf. Shrivastava and Mitroff, 1984), because of their fundamentally unlike frames of reference. Such referential differences are to be classified culturally, because they determine the particular self‐understanding of the researcher as well as the practitioner. Etzkowitz (1983) justified this in terms of the scientists’ dignity as th a basic researcher, who, from the time of the pre‐modern era until well into the 20 century, would have denied to profit from a commercialization of his own pure research. As an early example of the 19th Century, he refers to the French chemist Louis Pasteur, who answered the question of Napoleon III why he does not “turn his discoveries to legitimate profit: “In France scientists would consider they lowered themselves by doing so.” The reason that this self‐understanding of the researcher changed slowly during the late 20th and early 21th century is, so Etzkowitz (1983), to be seen in the successive elimination of the distinction between basic and applied research. The politically driven commercialization of research and development and the consequent abolition of the distinction between basic and applied research made it easier for researchers, if necessary or intended, to combine scientific reputation and financial reward with each other.
2. Towards a derivation of the term 'common culture' This new concept of overcoming cultural barriers for researchers to exploit their research could even use a more theoretically derivable rationality. A central argument in literature on the economics of research and innovation says that there is private underinvestment in incentives due to the imperfect appropriability of knowledge (Hirshleifer, 1971, p. 573). While within the scientific community repeatedly criticism is raised that research results must be patented and licensed in order to use be rewarding for the researcher, Hirshleifer shows that “there will be, aside from the technological benefit, pecuniary effects (wealth redistributions due to price revaluations) from the release to the new information.” Following Hirshleifer, a crucial implication of his proven assumption is that private information that is kept private is of no social value, meaning that redistribution does not lead to an improvement in productive arrangements. First of all, ‘social value’ as motivation for releasing information seems to be part of organizational culture like economic or academic institutions. Both may be understood as ‘value‐rational organizations’ (Satow, 1975). They are both bound to the belief in the values of their organization. While the authority of the enterprise rests on obedience to a set of values or ideological norms the legitimacy of rules within academic institutions is determined by their consistency with the goals of academic ideology. As a consequence of this one of the cultural core beliefs within academic institutions is ‘the pursuit of truth’. In consideration of the cultures of economic and academic institutions Clark (1981) considers the latter to be the more complex. His analysis finds at least traditions and symbolics (e.g. academic language, titles and degrees, curricula, examinations) that lead to what he referred to as a ‘saga’, “a collective understanding of current institutional character that refers to an historical struggle and is embellished emotionally and loaded with meaning to the point where the organization becomes very much an end‐in‐itself” (Clark, 1981, pp. 12‐13). Although Becher (1981) stands in contrast to Clark concerning the concept of culture with reference to ‘distinctive ideologies of academic disciplines’, he tends to comprehend academia more likely as a ‘system’ that, however ‐ and that is the parallel to Clark ‐ depends on shared belief. It consists of specific symbols of status and authority in forms of awards,
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Olaf Gaus et al. grants, publications and academic honorary titles (e.g. Dr. h.c., honoris causa). Against this background of a highly differentiated, academic value‐rational structure or system ‐ in comparison with non‐academic value‐ rational systems ‐ would always find more structural differences than similarities. This is basically why Dill (1982) concludes in his consideration of the above, that a ‘common culture’ is as absent in American academic organizations as in American business corporations. Thus, we hold that in the relevant literature on the term culture until well into the 1980s there was the largely common understanding that both academic institutions and economic institutions can be regarded as value‐ rational organizations (Satow, 1975; Clark, 1981; Becher, 1981; Dill, 1982). However, they differ structurally and systemically so much from each other that one cannot speak of a 'common culture'. With this in mind only a couple of years later Barley et al. (1988) came up with a study on ‘Cultures of Culture’, examining closely the pragmatics of normative control concerning academics and practitioners. The authors used linguistic indicators to determine whether academics and practitioners or members of any two subcultures, may have influenced each other’s framing of a problem. In this case academics and practitioners were identified as ‘members of two subcultures’. Barley et al. allow the greatest room for interpretation, if one assumes that there exist two worlds, separated but also interdependent as a social system characterized by traditions like language, interest and norms so that the degree of influence possibly varies from issue to issue. This description of two subcultures taken from empirical evidence finally have been structurally examined by analysing the basic ‘concept(s) of culture’ in contemporary academic discourse being held in different scientific disciplines (Sewell jr., 2005). Interesting enough, an interdisciplinary look on the subject offers a different option of conceptual distinction. Consequently, it makes sense to talk about 'culture' in the singular when referring to a theoretically defined category. 'Culture' in this sense is always a theoretical reflection of social life, like it is done in academic disciplines such as anthropology, ethnology, cultural studies and alike. In summary it can be pointed out that culture research, as conducted by various scientific disciplines, agree upon the fact that cultural conditionings have a significant influence as a system as such (Lévi‐Strauss, 1963, 1966) as well as on the interaction of people both within different but also similar cultures and subcultures. The success of a communication or interaction among members of different cultures or subcultures is mainly dependent on the ability to interpret so called 'Patterns of Culture' (Benedict, 1934) in order to understand them. Since it is the expression of cultures to create 'saga' as a system of collective understanding of unique accomplishment in a formally established group (Selznick, 1957; Clark, 1972) those ‘Patterns’ “can be studied by specific changes in the language that members of different subcultures use to frame a topic or issue” (Barley et al, 1988, p. 53). Consequently, Barley et al. consider academics and practitioners as “members of two subcultures”, who have “influenced each others interpretations”, proved by the observation that rhetorical styles between communicating members of two subcultures have had converged (op. cit). A preliminary brief conclusion of this section is that any successful and therefore valuable interaction between members of subcultures implies a mutual understanding of the respective cultural patterns. It has been shown that this understanding can be learned so that it depends on the nature of the incentive that decides about whether one guess it is worth to start a learning process.
3. The ‘gap’ between organizational research and managerial practice During the 1980s and 1990s researchers especially from the political, sociological and economic sciences commented on politics’ uprising interest in commercializing scientific knowledge as a driving force for innovation in an increasing knowledge society (Slaughter, 1997; Soete, 1999; Stephan, 2012). At the same time, as economy globalized, industry pushed the state governments to devote more resources to the enhancement of innovation to be better prepared to compete in world markets (Jessop, 1993). Notably, the estimates in literature go significantly apart about how extensive and intensive the new collaboration between science and industry had to be assessed; or, to put it at the operational level, between academics and practitioners. Some prominent researchers in the field argue that the ‘entrepreneurial academic model’ (e.g. Etzkowitz, 2003, p. 110) was introduced and going to be established at universities in the western civilization in th the early and mid‐20 century. At the same time the “US research university developed as series of research groups, quasi‐firms which were just a step away from becoming full‐fledged firms as opportunities arose” (cit. op). In fact, universities in the US were receiving about a twelfth of their research funds from industry in the 1950s, but already during the 1960s and through the entire 1970s industry’s financial support for R&D decreased down to 3‐4 percent. It reached its peak in the late 1990s with about seven percent of all university
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Olaf Gaus et al. funding, declined again and remained constant since then (Stephan, 2012). A very different picture emerges in contemporary literature of the 1980s and 1990s, specifically when dealing with the issues of interaction between academics and practitioners as well as against the background of organizational collaborations and in matters of how to set up and managing an exchange process. The main finding suggests that there is a research‐practise gap that prevents academics to cooperate with practitioners and vice versa. The reason for this they suspected in culturally determined entirely different conceptions of frames of reference with respect to types of information believed to constitute valid bases for action (Shrivastava and Mitroff, 1984), or notable differences in terms of goals they want to influence, time frames for addressing and solving problems and last not least how different from each other the social systems are designed in which they operate on a professional basis (Thomas and Tymon, 1982; Johns, 1993). This finding led to a deep scepticism among scientists who dealt with the question of how a successful knowledge and technology transfer between science and industry is to develop with respect to the design of a research‐practice interface (Gillespie, 1991; Hakel, 1994; Garland, 1999; Fagenson‐Eland, 1999; Earley, 1999). Moreover, the identified gap between organizational research findings and management practises is by no means limited to the organizational sciences but relevant for the scientific community as a whole (Glaser et al., 1983; Rogers, 1995). Very specific and tailored suggestions as to bridge the 'gap' more recently were developed by Rynes et al. (2001). In addition to recommendations for editors of science‐based journals how a profitable exchange of basic and applied knowledge could be supported a further going suggestion was due to academic‐practitioner interaction in person. Referring to the highlighted importance of knowledge transfer as a social contact (e.g. Rogers, 1995) is recommended by the authors that “the format of new interactions be designed with practitioners not just in mind, but also in attendance” for the reason that “good social relations, mutual empathy, and some sort of common ground are prerequisites for achieving optimal outcomes in cross‐ boundary knowledge creation” (Ryan et al., 2001, p. 349).
4. Common culture among research‐oriented academics and academic practitioners When regarding the numbers of the development of successful patent applications of U.S. research universities as an indicator for commercialising research resources, it shows that they have been permanently increasing during the time period from 200 in 1969 to 2.000 in 1995, which corresponds to an increase by a factor of ten. After all, by 2008 praeter propter 3.000 patents were issued to universities. Compared with the total volume of successfully registered patents in the United States, the proportion of university patents corresponds to 2.0 percent (Mowery et al, 2004). Accordingly the number of licences increased almost 12‐fold since 1990 and the annual licensing revenue has increased from about US$ 160 million in 1990 to US$ 862 million in 1999. In literature, this development is referred to as a dynamic growth development, which is partly attributed to the 'Patent and Trademark Act', also known as 'Bayh‐Dole Act', that says that patentable inventions arising from federal funding are considered university property rather than property of the US government (Thursby et al, 2001). However, two relativistic aspects must be pointed out: Although it appears that Bayh‐Dole has indeed brought research universities closer to practitioners by successfully commercializing university’s own technologies an important role to operationalize the entire transfer process played the newly established ‘Technology Transfer Offices’ (TTO). It also has to be noted that attributing the increase exclusively to Bayh‐Dole would ignore changes that independently from legislative Decree took place with blockbuster patents in galloping developing fields of new scientific basic knowledge like in molecular biology (e.g. Cohen‐ Boyer patent for gene splicing generated US$ 255 million in licensing royalties by 2001) or pharmacy (e.g. Emory University, Atlanta, sold its royalty in ‘emtricitabine’, needed for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus to big pharma and received US$ 525 million), (Bera, 2009; AUTM, 1996, 2000). On closer inspection it is clear that the scientific disciplines involved on the side of research universities have all historically conditioned, industrial and application‐related bonds. These include the life sciences with biology, physics and chemistry as well as medicine and engineering. In other words, these disciplines have not only an empirical approach to their research, but have, because of the historical development of their specific scientific field direct access to applied research in industry, in the case of medicine, the clinical application with support from the pharmaceutical and medical technology. Following this hypothesis it becomes obvious that the attested different subcultures to which academics and practitioners belong, do not fit concerning this special group of people. Academics on the side of the University meet ‐ in the process of technology transfer ‐ with academics on the side of industry who themselves were socialized during their training in the natural sciences and mathematics as well as in engineering in the same way in the sense of a ‘common culture’. The border between different sub‐cultures lies in separating other groups from each other. It is likely that rather
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Olaf Gaus et al. executives of companies, belonging to the group of practitioners, do not turn to academics or academic research findings in order to develop modern management strategies and practises (Mowday, 1997; Abrahamson, 1996). Likewise, researchers do not apply to practitioners to be inspired for developing their research questions or to discuss their results (Pfeffer, 1998).
5. How culture‐related effects affect knowledge transfer between university and industry Although the area of knowledge and technology transfer from various literatures is wide, voluminous and dynamic (Zhoa and Reisman, 1992; Kumar et al, 1999) the topic ‘organizational culture’ as such recently has been hardly further investigated, especially as far as the question is concerned how actors involved in organizational institutions ‐ like research universities and companies ‐ influence the knowledge transfer process that is more often than not called ‘technology transfer process’, ‐ two concepts that are distinguished by some researchers Gopalakrishnan and Santoro, 2004), not by others (Kogut and Zander, 1992, 1993; Sinani and Meyer, 2004) like in the political economics‐oriented literature (Bozeman, 2000; Agrawal, 2001; Sazali et al., 2012). One of the few recent empirical studies on this topic examines the 'commercial knowledge transfer’, in particular the role of researchers, managers / entrepreneurs and the' technology transfer offices' (TTO) at universities. The transfer itself is understood as a 'university / industry technology transfer’ (UITT). The study, based on a total of 55 interviews of 98 UITT stakeholders associated with five US research universities found – just to mention the findings referring to the topic of this paper – cultural and information barriers among the three previously named types of stakeholders (Siegel et al, 2004). Specifically, results of the study confirm the suspected importance of the cultural factor in the entire transfer process. Thus, the actual success or failure of a transfer is determined decisively. The authors of the study have summarized their results in ten 'propositions'. Three of which directly affect the cultural impact (three, four, five) and seven indirectly do. These three propositions and its extensions find that:
… the pervasiveness of cultural misunderstanding within sub‐cultures “that weaken the extent to which values are indeed shared. Specifically, university scientists reflect one sub‐culture, while university administrators reflect another. Managers and entrepreneurs need to understand that they are actually dealing with these to sub‐cultures, which reflect conflicting goals, values and beliefs.”
“Cultural misunderstanding reduces the effectiveness of the university’s efforts to market university‐ based technologies to firms.”
“Cultural misunderstandings impedes the negotiation of licensing agreements (…) unfortunately, many TTOs are not actively recruiting licensing officers who possess such skills. Respondents who had relationships with numerous TTOs noted that those managed by directors with substantial business experience had a much firmer grasp on how to assess the market potential of a given technology… They also had a better understanding of the complexity of negotiations and how to remain flexible enough to consummate transactions”.
“One implication of the possibility that knowledge transfer flows in both directions is that the alleged tradeoff between basic and applied research may not be as severe as commonly perceived… Universities that become involved in formal and informal UITT will experience an increase in basic research activity.”
“… university inflexibility has led many firms and scientists to completely avoid working with the TTO. That is when an invention is publicly disclosed, firms may contact the scientist and arrange to work with him/her and engage in informal commercialization and knowledge transfer, through consulting or a sabbatical leave… so that when inflexibility is high, university scientists will attempt to circumvent more formal UITT processes” (Siegel et al., 2004, p. 137, 139‐140).
Inspired by the survey of Siegel et al. (2004), the authors of this article revised and extended the existing questionnaire for more culturally relevant attributes. The figures 1 and 2 are introducing the barriers of understanding by experience as well as prejudices among managers/entrepreneurs and university researches. The table in figure 1 reflects the findings taken from the study of Siegel et al. (2004). Figure 2 shows the results of a pretest conducted by the authors generated from interviews with 20 German scientists and 20 German managers/entrepreneurs in parallel. TTOs have not included at all since they are often bypassed by scientists and managers (cf. Siegel et al., 2004, p.139). The results are very interesting. Firstly, the data demonstrate that the cultures of science and industry obviously continue to differ in many ways although there are noticeable intersections also. Hence, it becomes
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Olaf Gaus et al. evident that managers and scientists alike are able to identify existing barriers by themselves, a condition important for being able to empathize with someone belonging to a different sub‐cultural group (compare Figure 2).
Figure 1: Barriers for UITT (acc. to Siegel et al, 2004) Figure 2: Barriers for UITT (Gaus et al, 2013) Figure 3 examines in more detail what difficulties or barriers the interviewed managers and researchers expect from the moment on they decide for a tangible co‐operation with each other.
Figure 3: Importance of transfer barriers from the perspective of managers and researchers Although it has been recognized by members of both groups that the barriers in case of co‐operations are existing, there is still a large gap between the ascribed characteristics of each co‐operation partner and the actually encountered attributes as well as really existing personal attributes. Managers for instance expect researchers to have a high critical ability, but almost never find these to occur in the character of their academic partners. On the other hand many researchers would like their research results coming from the co‐ operation with industry to be published, e.g. in scientific journals. This, however, in most cases is not possible due to reasons of confidentiality or conflicts of interest with protecting rights registrations.
6. Cultural driven process of innovation‐focused interaction Now, after it has been analysed what the crucial cultural impacts are and how they influence the technology and knowledge transfer, mainly from research universities to firms and enterprises, especially in industry, it would be most helpful to try to allocate at what particular parts of the process it would make sense to integrate or optimize procedural approaches to overcome culture‐related barriers. In figure 5, below, Siegel et al. (2004) already integrated new fields of competences which were taken from the outcomes of the study and which were integrated into the classical technology transfer process. By incorporating the results of the
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Olaf Gaus et al. findings (Proposition one to ten = P1‐P10; cf. paragraph 5 of this paper) the authors have chosen a static rather than a dynamic display. Although the importance of dealing with culturally based communication problems has been recognized and integrated (cf. P3, P4, P5), it has not yet been successful in highlighting the exchange between the subcultures involved interactively.
Figure 4: Expectations and real findings of predominantly personal characteristics of managers and university researchers
Figure 5: Organizational and managerial issues in the university/industry technology transfer process (Fig. taken from: Siegel et al., 2004, p. 138) An attempt to represent the dynamic of interactivity and the importance of the associated joint learning in all involved sub‐cultures (e.g. scientific, managerial, technical literacy) is presented in Figure 6, in which the actors within 'science' and 'economy' are integrated in a common process and are aware of the direct exchange process phases to consciously provoke the confrontation with cultural differences in order to prevent misunderstandings. Towards a model of ‘common culture’, the phases of the suggested dynamic process of interaction are especially those lying on the barriers the negotiating parties were separated by in the past, such as ‘value simulation’, ‘proof of concept’, ‘marketing of technology & know‐how’ and last not least the ‘negotiation of licences’.
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Figure 6: Organizational and managerial issues due to common culture in the university/industry knowledge and technology transfer process (Fig. taken from: Gaus et al., 2013, forthcoming)
7. Conclusion The literature on 'organizational culture' has changed since the 1980s more and more to the mainstream opinion that in scientific institutions and companies we collaborate with actors who have been socialized in different sub‐cultures and therefore have noticed that barriers of beliefs and understanding are hard to overcome. After the interest in knowledge and technology transfer has grown steadily over the past 30 years and as it has turned out that this interdisciplinary and intercultural field is only successfully to be tackled in collaboration among actors from different subcultures, it began to make sense to take the risk of the painful exchange across sub‐cultures. However, the process has only just begun. Research universities in the U.S. and technical universities in Europe have started to become ‘entrepreneurial universities’ and even though most of them have the money to set up a transfer process they still have not yet comprehended the necessity to bridge the gap between organizational research and managerial practice by establishing a ‘common culture’ among research‐oriented academics and practitioners. By discussing this process it has become evident that a ‘common culture’ is a valuable prerequisite for innovation‐focused interactions between, generally spoken, science and economy. Our comparative study has shown that both, managers as well as scientists are able to identify cultural barriers by themselves if they are made aware of this. Though, in order to overcome cultural barriers by procedural approaches a dynamic process of interaction is required that makes aspects of ‘value simulation’, proof of concept’, ‘marketing of technology & know‐how’ and ‘negotiation of licences’ discussable.
Acknowledgements The key considerations on the issues of a ‘common culture’, ‘technology transfer processes’ and the ‘entrepreneurial university’ are due to the co‐operation with the project “Universities as Enterprises” (Uni:prise), funded by the Ministry for Education and Research of the Federal Republic of Germany, as well as the project „Senior‐ & Juniorpreneurship“ (SeJu), funded by the European Social Fonds (ESF) and the Ministry of Science and Economics of the State of Saxony‐Anhalt, Germany.
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Ideas of Potential Users and What They Tell us Martin Hewing Technische Universität Berlin, Germany
[email protected]‐berlin.de Abstract: Organizations increasingly use environmental stimuli and ideas from users within participatory innovation processes in order to tap new sources of knowledge. The research presented in this article focuses on users who shape the distant edges of markets and currently are not using products and services from a domain ‐ so called potential users. Those users at the peripheries are perceived to contribute more novel information, by which they better reflect shifts in needs and behavior than current users in the core market. Their ideas in collaborative and creative problem‐solving processes are of particular interest. With an experimental design, I compare ideas from potential and current users and analyze the effects of different levels of experience in user collaboration. Analyzing the data in line with the grounded theory, I found potential users to use their everyday life as a reference point focusing on their unique context and the general experience of the idea, while current users use established applications as a reference point focusing on efficiency and new components. The self‐centered reference point of the ideas of potential users gives rise to the thought that the idea is coming from the effort to find a problem in their everyday life which is regarded worth solving. The key individual of the organization can identify meaning, experiential insight and inspiration within the every‐day life bound ideas of people who are not yet participating in the domain. Keywords: user collaboration, co‐creation, discontinuous innovation, creative problem‐solving
1. Introduction There is little doubt that creativity and innovation are important drivers of economic welfare and growth in contemporary societies (e.g. Glaveanu, 2011; Hennessy & Amabile, 2010). In order to create and address new markets, organizations constantly need to tap new sources of knowledge, especially from existing and novel users (e.g. Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2000; von Hippel, 1986). Hence, organizations are keen to engage users early in the process of product development in order to collect ideas, feedback, and other suggestions. Many contemporary innovative organizations practice the involvement of users early on (Nijssen et al., 2012). However, the idea of users as innovators has also in certain instances invoked critical responses especially in the context of innovations that are discontinuous to the dominant design (e.g. Callahan & Lasry, 2004; Ulwick, 2002). Serving the requests of current users is conceived as limiting the diversity of strategic choices and the path towards incremental improvements as they might relate strongly to dominant designs (Christensen, 1997; Lynn et al., 1996). Potential users at the peripheries are perceived to contribute more novel information, by which they better reflect shifts in needs and behavior than current users (Chandy & Tellis, 1998). It is crucial in this process to understand what to expect from different types of users on a micro‐level. In recent years, there have been a few research approaches aimed at studying the integration of potential users (e.g. Arnold et al., 2011; Chandy & Tellis 1998; Govindarajan et al., 2011). However, research into the micro processes of their involvement has mostly remained lacking, especially when it comes to the quality of the output of collaborative creativity settings (Greer & Lei, 2012; Hewing, 2013a; Kristensson et al., 2008). Up until now, the benefit that can be drawn from the ideas of potential users remains poorly understood. So too is the understanding of how their contributions to the idea finding phase differ from those of current users. As part of a larger research project on the content, processes and impact of collaboration with potential users, this article addresses the following overall questions: What differences are embodied in the ideas of potential and current users? How are these ideas influenced by different levels of experience in a collaborative dyad? Since an insight or idea is the essential building block for successful future innovations (Henard & Szymanski, 2001), the inquiry into the merits and also the drawbacks of collaboration with potential users is important for researchers and managers alike. Therefore, the Marketing Science Institute (MSI) declared advanced studies of social and cultural user behavior in collaboration to be a top research priority (Bharadwaj et al., 2012).
2. Theoretical perspective User integration in innovation activities has been a well‐regarded field of study in the last two decades. Innovations inspired by users rest upon inherent and upcoming needs and are thereby acknowledged to have a higher success probability in markets (von Hippel, 1986). The lead user concept goes even further. Lead users are defined as people within a domain who gain relatively high benefits from solutions to their needs and
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Martin Hewing therefore innovate. They anticipate relevant and novel trends in a domain before many other users do (von Hippel, 1986). Their impact on innovation is thought of as being more radical, since they are deeply involved with the domain. Research on creativity, however, suggests that it is not always the knowledgeable or experienced people who have the ability to radically change a domain (Weisberg, 1999). This especially applies, when the goal is to transform the boundaries of those domains. Despite acknowledgement of the benefits of user involvement, the question of which users to involve in order to foster transformation remains poorly understood (Kristensson & Magnusson, 2010). A literature review shows that particularly in the context of discontinuous innovations, researchers in innovation management have recently advocated collaboration with potential users as depicted in Table 1. In accordance with Hauser et al. (2006), potential users are defined as people, who do not yet use a product or service, but who hold a positive tenor and interest towards the domain (Hewing, 2013a). By listening to potential users who are outside of one’s core market, organizations like Nintendo, Shimano or General Electric discovered new market opportunities which enabled them to be future proof. But what makes their contribution in explorative search processes unique and significant compared to current users? Table 1: Overview of studies emphasizing distant user collaboration Term
Article
Exemplary assumptions of merits
Potential user
Adner, 2002; Arnold et al., 2011; Callahan & Lasry, “Market orientation measures do not 2004; Danneels, 2002, 2003, 2004; Day, 1999; De explicitly probe for a company’s exploration of Coster & Butler, 2005; Flores, 1993; Fuchs & Schreier, potential customers, but focus on the firm’s 2011; Gilbert, 2003; Godes, 2012; Govindarajan et al., tight coupling to its current customers.” 2011; Gruner & Homburg, 2000; Haefliger et al., (Danneels, 2003, p. 574) 2010; Hamel & Prahalad, 1991; Hang et al., 2010; Hauser et al., 2006; Hewing, 2013a; Hyatt, 2008; “Increasing a focus on acquiring customers Leonard & Rayport, 1997; Mascitelli, 2000; Mullins & [potential customers] enhances the diversity Sutherland, 1998; Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2000; of customer knowledge development and Reinhardt & Gurtner, 2011; Rothwell et al., 1974; resource exploration, which relates positively Sawhney et al., 2003; Shaw, 1985; Slater & Naver, to greater radical innovation performance.” 1998; Slater & Mohr, 2006; van den Hende & (Arnold et al., 2011, p. 244) Schoormans, 2012; von Hippel, 1994; Walter et al., 2011
New user
Arnold et al., 2011; Bettencourt & Bettencourt, 2011; “[…] radical innovation is always introduced by Danneels, 2002, 2007; Ettlie et al., 1992; Garvin & new firms because new firms focus on new Levesque, 2006; Henderson, 2006; Jansson, 2011; customers and their potential needs, not Johnson et al., 2008; Kumar et al., 2010; Kylaheiko et existing customers […]. Existing firms that al., 2011; Lau et al., 2010; Lettice & Parekh, 2010; tightly serve or co‐develop their products with McGrath et al., 2006; Nijssen et al., 2012; Philipsen et current key customers may take the risk of al., 2008; Schmidt & Druehl, 2008; Vorhies et al., being blindsided by a new generation of 2011; Washburn & Hunsaker, 2011 technology and market niches.” (Lau et al., 2010, p. 771)
Emerging user
Day, 1999; Govindarajan & Kopalle, 2006a, 2006b; Govindarajan et al., 2011; Hoffmann et al., 2010; Slater & Mohr, 2006
“[…] an SBU’s emerging‐customer‐orientation may be an ability that could drive disruptive innovation.” (Govindarajan & Kopalle, 2004, p. 5)
Non‐user
Christensen, 2006; Christensen & Bower, 1996; Danneels, 2003
“The right lead customers for sustaining innovations are different from those for disruptive innovations. The lead users for new‐market innovations may not yet be users.” (Christensen, 2006, p. 51)
Future user
Bond & Houston, 2003; Chandy & Tellis, 1998
“The negative findings about market orientation […] refer to firms that stayed close to their current markets. Our field interviews with radically innovative firms suggest that such firms focus on future customers […].” (Chandy & Tellis, 1998, p. 479)
Prospective User
Anthony, 2009; Danneels, 2003
“[…] serving current customers is a fundamentally different activity from
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Article
Exemplary assumptions of merits exploring prospective customers.” (Danneels, 2003, p. 574)
Distant User
Jespersen, 2010
“The larger this distance [cognitive distance] is, the more novel information is contained in user inputs.” (Jespersen, 2010, p. 472)
2.1 Creativity research and user collaboration Within the innovation management literature, the merit of collaboration with potential users is mostly implied in the converse argument that “focusing exclusively on existing clientele may lead the firm to ignore potential customers, and thus miss market opportunities” (Danneels, 2003, p. 572). This statement adheres to two characteristics defining current users and their contributions in value co‐creation. The first characteristic relates to the tendency of current users to want to uphold internal consistency and continuity. Current users generally use a product or service to satisfy an established need and solve a problem. Therefore, current users tend to have little or no interest in deviating too far from established dominant designs and are less inclined to dispense with highly valued performance dimensions. They want to maximize their value (Bogers et al., 2010). The behavior of the current user is described in consistency theories and their basic assumption that individuals have a need for consistency between attitudes and behaviors (e.g. Rosenberg, 1956). A current user follows these personal objectives to prevent changes in valued product components when asked to imagine new and discontinuous products and services. Some social theories state that social properties can only change if their constituting individuals change (Sawyer, 2005). If an organization and its current users are seen as a social system, then it requires a change in behavior and perspectives on the part of current users in order to achieve transformation in dominant designs. Current users thereby exert dominance over the direction innovative activities might take towards more incremental paths (Fischer & Reuber, 2004). The second characteristic relates to the notion of functional fixedness in experienced people (e.g. Duncker, 1945). Domain‐experience can obstruct the path to radical changes in the very same domain, since it requires a cognitive effort to freely shed established, habitual ways of doing things within the domain. This is a restriction that also applies to lead users (Lettl, 2007) and might explain why lead user status is not always beneficial for explorative learning (Nijssen et al., 2012). Lau et al. (2010) arrive at an even more drastic conclusion stating that co‐development with current users does not lead to radical changes and suggest that either potential or lead user collaboration is the dominant strategy in early product development. However, this statement needs further empirical corroboration. But empirical studies addressing the knowledge intensity as a means to classify users are few (e.g. Hewing, 2013b; Kristensson et al., 2008). To the best of my knowledge, no systematic inquiry into the unique quality of the ideas of potential users has been carried out to date. As to the managerial importance of a well‐structured exploration towards new market opportunities, a systematic inquiry into the ideas of potential users presents itself an insightful research objective.
3. Method I conducted idea discussions, in which potential and current users were asked to collaborate with each other in dyads of varying compositions. The task was to come up with new ideas within the domain of music applications on mobile devices. Using a purposive sampling approach, 34 current users, who use one or more music applications on a weekly basis, and 34 potential users, who are not using any applications on mobile devices, but have a positive attitude towards music applications, were invited to participate. In total 34 dyadic idea discussions were conducted, 9 between two current users, 9 between two potential users and 16 between a current and a potential user, lasting 20 minutes each. After the collaboration the participants were separated and asked to note one idea on an idea template in written form. This included giving the idea a name, providing a description of its purpose and drawing a sketch of its usage context. In total 68 ideas were contributed. The idea templates constitute the core data for the explorative analysis following the principles of grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). To get a basic understanding of the users’ ideas, the idea templates were read applying open coding. Patterns and relationships among codes and code categories were identified and reflected in axial codes and memos. Tentative propositions about differences and uniqueness in contributed ideas between potential and current users were derived and tested against incoming data and existing literature on creative discovery. To ensure reflexivity and credibility of the category coding, a variety of
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Martin Hewing quality checks were applied, e.g. comparison of coding with another researcher, member checks, frequent debate of codes and interpretations with fellow researchers and the integration of own experience from applied user involvement in innovation.
4. Findings The ideas of potential users tend to differ from those of current users on multiple levels, which include their point of reference, their knowledge source, their aspect of transformation and their degree of abstraction. Point of reference. Though potential users can not draw on experience from using music applications, they have a basic understanding of mobile devices. Some of their ideas are anchored around the mobile device and its abilities – particular its portability, which allows for usage in various unusual contexts. Still, often it is not clear, how to categorize the ideas of potential users into established categories. That has to do with the point of reference and the deliberateness of their ideas. The ideas do not illustrate a chronological sequence of events, as it was more commonly observed in the ideas of current users. The ideas tend to describe how the user experiences the idea and how it solves a real‐life problem in a particular context. It is not about how the benefit is achieved technically. Everyday life problems are their point of reference, as a potential user described it in this idea, which he derived from his recall of having invited friends for a party: Nowadays, there are so many different music styles out there that it is hard to make everybody happy at a party. But nearly everybody carries her or his mobile phone with one’s favorite music around; it just needs to be connected and cued somehow. An app connected to the soundsystem that can receive and cue songs from other users would be a good idea to solve this issue. (Potential user 127) Current users do use chronological sequences more commonly, particular with a technologically focused language. The idea thereby refers to how new components in music applications support its user to reach efficiency, as within this example: The app is like your background band. First, you select the instruments that should be played, than you define the key, tempo, scale and estimate your own music ability. If a friend wants to join, you can get him or her on board via Bluetooth or WLAN. The interface is at the same time a step‐sequencer, showing what kind of breaks are up next, so you can play along. (Current user 111) This leads to the following proposition: Ideas with a functional reference point appear real and realizable as they relate to established component knowledge, but they also require expertise. Ideas of the potential users tend to refer to real‐life problems. They are individual and context‐bound. Knowledge source. The ideas of potential users contain elements of other domains. They tend to exploit knowledge from more distant sources, such as knowledge from adjacent domains, in which the potential user has experience, interest or even feels passionate about. This knowledge gives raise to unconventional and also unpredictable combinatorial plays. A potential user crossed the domain of the task with the domain of tourism in which he has been employed in: With this app you can explore a city music‐wise. When you pass by an important sight in the history of music (e.g. a famous recording studio), the app would play back a song from that area and give you additional audio‐visual information about the musicians. In the absence of sights, it can show you what kind of music is typical for that region or what music is frequently consumed there. (Potential user 112) Current users tend to stick to components and categories of common music applications. They do not combine distant elements within one idea, but focus on improving on existing ones. A current user explicitly expressed this tendency within his idea: This app helps you to identify and play new music. You hold your mobile device towards a music speaker, record a fraction of the song that is being played and it will not only tell you the name of the song and artist, but will also display the lyrics or instrumental sheets in real time. (Current user 16)
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Martin Hewing Current user ideas tend to assure that established knowledge prevails, while the ideas of potential users bring about unconventional but also unpredictable combinations. Transformation. Ideas from potential users who collaborated with a current user tended to aim at redefining the status quo in dominant designs or decrease barriers of expertise in music related areas, such as the ability to categorise music into subgenres. Their ideas followed the impulse of subtraction and substitution, as in the following example, where a potential user redefined the way how music gets to its audience and how artists might benefit more strongly: An application that lets you exchange the whole music library on your phone when bouncing the phones together is a fun way to explore music and meet new people. People can donate money directly to the artist if they like the music they get. This might tackle the money problem of the music industry, since people rather donate than buy things. (Potential user 14) Current users’ ideas tend to follow the impulse of addition, not sacrificing any valued components of the status‐quo in dominant designs. The ideas do not discard and take new direction, but rather follow the given direction of dominant designs only with more excellence or efficiency. A plug‐in to established music‐production apps that allows controlling the app by self‐made gestures would be helpful. You would get rid of the knobs and faders and could control the music more easily. (Current user 114) The idea of the current user seeks to add something to established designs, leaving most of the dominant design untouched. Ideas of the potential users collaterally rethink established paradigms. Abstraction. In terms of abstraction, potential users tend to contribute ideas, which are not as detailed and accurately defined as those of current users. This is especially evident for ideas of potential users who collaborated with another potential user. Their ideas are generally higher up the hierarchy of schemata and categories. A potential user was sharing her perspective on music in general: Music is an art form and expression of creation. With the app you can create music spontaneously from sounds of your every‐day life you record while walking through the city. (Potential user 29) Current users bear on established categories in music applications, such as applications to stream and organize music or create music. They re‐use common components of established applications from these categories within their ideas, such as wave‐form view of music postings or step‐sequencer: First thing for a new music application is a new equalizer, since they never sound right. My app has improved adjustment settings for the equalizer and a mixing console that allows for blending music tunes into each other by swiping. (Current user 1) Low levels of abstraction, as within the idea of the current user, leads to actionable insights, while the ideas of potential users tend to transport individual perceptions with a broader space of potential opportunities to follow. Table 2 summarizes the key differences found in the ideas between potential and current users. Table 2: Idea characteristics of potential and current users Category
Current user
Potential user
Reference point Knowledge source Transformation Abstraction
Efficiency‐oriented Intradomain Addition Low
Problem‐oriented Interdomain Subtraction & substitution High
5. Discussion 5.1 Theoretical implication This article identifies differences in the outcome of a collaborative problem solving process between potential and current users. Four categories were identified on which the ideas of potential and current users seem to
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Martin Hewing differ most significantly. These categories address the relation and tension between knowledge and creativity and the involved level of cognitive flexibility, which is an established paradigm within sociocognitive creativity theories (e.g. Frensch & Sternberg, 1989). The different entering points in the hierarchy of categories and schemata between potential and current users support the notion of functional fixedness (Duncker, 1945). Experienced people lack the ability to detach their thought from established mental models. Potential users have a similar anchorage, which is located higher up the hierarchy of mental categories with which they are more familiar. The abstraction thereby leaves room for interpretation and improvisation. Ward (1995) showed that abstraction brings about value in creative discovery. Potential users’ imagination is thus flexible, as it is not constrained by experience from interaction with products or services of a domain or directed towards a particular need. The functional reference point of the ideas of current users makes their ideas appear very real and realizable. It, however, also means that their ideas are often based on expertise, which most commonly requires expertise of the person using the application in return. The current way of doing things is sustained, when new ideas are structured by prior expertise, experience and components. Therefore, their ideas will more likely appeal to people already participating in the market, as to persons who do not participate. Current users thereby act in accordance to consistency theories, seeking continuity in dominant designs to satisfy established needs. Potential users did not develop a clear expectation about how their needs shall be addressed, so they start their idea with a personal real‐life experience or problem. If these problems are insufficiently addressed, their contributions might drive change in dominant designs. The ideas of potential users stress the emotional benefit and use combinatorial play with knowledge from other domains to bridge their experience gap. In mixed settings, where a potential user was collaborating with current users, the self‐directed reference point of the ideas has been transformed into an idea with lower abstraction, than the ideas of potential users who collaborated with another potential user. These findings show a strong relation to the sociocultural mindset of creativity and its focus on emergent properties (Sawyer, 2005). Thus real‐time learning and unlearning in mixed collaborative setting strengthens the ability to make sticky and personal information more explicit in creative discovery with less experienced users. Chandy and Tellis (1998, p. 479) claim that potential users cause “decision makers in a firm to become keenly aware of market‐related developments.” It is a deliberate search and scanning of shifts in needs, social norms and values that define the boundaries of a market and its participants. Potential users better reflect these developments than current users at the center of the established domain.
5.2 Practical implication A better understanding of the unique components of potential and current users’ ideas gives confidence to organizations to extent their market competences to the edges of their own domain. Current users are experienced users and learning from their experience tends to be bound to the particular domain of their experience (Danneels, 2003). In order to create innovative products or services, organizations have to build up institutional empathy for people who might be their users in few years’ time. The self‐centered reference point of the idea of potential users and the real‐life problem conveys the emotional benefit of an idea. The key individual of the organization can identify meaning, experiential insight and inspiration within the every‐day life bound ideas of people who are not yet participating in the domain. These ideas deliver stimuli to rethink ones established business model and find new opportunities in new user contexts.
6. Conclusion Irregularities and anomalies emerge from individuals who are not strongly implicated in current standards and designs. The capacity to learn and prepare for discontinuities resides in ill‐defined market structures and at the peripheries of established markets and requires unconventional approaches to be unearthed (Lynn et al., 1996). Potential users, who might gain importance to a domain on a long‐term horizon can stimulate a meaningful real‐ and short‐time learning process for organizations trying to explore new markets. The stimuli for new ideas is the germ of successful innovation and a well‐managed exploration with potential users can teach an organization which ways are meaningful and why.
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Platform‐Based Ecosystems: Leveraging Network‐Centric Innovation Thierry Isckia and Denis Lescop Institut Mines‐Telecom, Telecom Ecole de Management, Evry, France thierry.isckia@telecom‐em.eu denis.lescop@telecom‐em.eu Abstract: In this paper, we provide an overview of platforms and platform‐based ecosystems. We will discuss the range of technological, organizational and strategic challenges that platform leaders have to face to leverage network‐centric innovation. Finally, we will present rules and guidelines for strategizing in platform‐based ecosystems, thus providing clarity and direction to managers and platform leader wannabes Keywords: platforms, ecosystems, strategy, network‐centric innovation, governance
1. Introduction In order to satisfy a growing demand for new products and services with new functions, companies now look for sources of innovation beyond their organizational boundaries (Chesbrough 2003, 2011; Adner 2012). As a consequence, competition between firms has given way to competition between business ecosystems, where platform wars are commonplace. Platform‐based ecosystems are a new way of managing a portfolio of contributions from varied and independent players. In this paper, we shall analyze platform‐based ecosystems in order to better understand their workings and the strategies to best leverage collective innovation. We provide an overview of the relevant literature in order to clarify this type of ecosystem. We shall also discuss the range of technological, organizational and strategic challenges that platform leaders have to face to leverage network‐centric innovation. Finally, we will present rules and guidelines for strategizing in platform‐ based ecosystems, thus providing clarity and direction to managers and platform leader wannabes.
2. Platform‐based ecosystems: coordination matters Following Iansiti & Levien (2004), software platforms play a significant role in the development of business ecosystems (Moore 1996). Their analysis is in line with that of Evans et al (Evans 2006). These approaches explicitly identify the platform to the anchor point of the ecosystem and the node in the interlacing of shared contributions. From this point of view, the platform’s architecture and the governance structure chosen by the focal firm directly influence the value that can be co‐created within the ecosystem (Tiwana et al 2010). In such a context, platform owner has to face three inter‐related challenges: manage a network of external innovators or “small fishes” hosted on the platform, maintain both the control and cohesion of its platform‐based ecosystem, improve platform's capabilities. These elements are the main strategic levers used by platform owners to leverage network‐centric innovation.
2.1 Managing small schooling fish In platform‐based ecosystems, platforms are the main engine for driving collective innovation. Small fishes or niche players (NPs) participating in the co‐creation process can leverage available resources in order to operate their own business. Thus, the choice to join one platform over another is crucial as it conditions the nature of addressable resources within the ecosystem and of potential business opportunities (Ghazawneh & Hendfridsson 2010). NPs must therefore first and foremost assess the risks and opportunities associated with single‐homing or multi‐homing, i.e. collaborating with a single or with multiple platforms, respectively. According to Iansiti & Levien (2004), it is also necessary for NPs to assess the intensity of coupling strength linking them with the focal firm, as this strength determines the level of integration and the transfer costs of the assets leveraged by the NPs. When coupling strength is high, transfer costs are usually quite high if NPs need to collaborate with another platform, leading to a lock‐in situation. On the contrary, when coupling strength is loose, NPs can focus more on the creation of specialized modules without having to invest in costly integration work. The connection between the various modules is ensured by standardized interfaces. In this case, the modules supplied by NPs can be used and reused without any loss of functionality. Loose coupling therefore promotes NP mobility within the ecosystem and avoids lock‐in.
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Thierry Isckia and Denis Lescop Whether NPs adopt a single or multi‐homing approach, the success of a niche strategy lies in continuous innovation and integration of available technology into the ecosystem. The main challenges facing these small firms are therefore to remain visible while constantly innovating and to differentiate themselves in order to claim and capture part of the co‐created value. This exercise demands that NPs be capable of anticipating and rapidly adapting to platform evolution. For its part, in order to leverage this network of external contributors, the platform owner must implement the appropriate governance structure (Scholten & Scholten 2012) and regulation tools, while clearly communicating its strategic vision (Darking 2007). Therefore, shaping a governance structure that cultivates collective innovation is a significant challenge for platform‐leader wannabes.
2.2 Platform architecture, governance and regulation Platform architecture is important. On the one hand, it must ensure the stability and control necessary to leverage the common investments in the platform, and on the other hand provide the creativity and variety required to satisfy the heterogeneous demands of its users. Architectural choices are complex and must balance the tensions between control and creativity, standardization and variety, the individual and the collective (Wareham et al, 2012; 2013). The governance structure resulting from these choices is crucial to the development and health of the ecosystem (Boudreau 2010, Noori & Weis 2013, Boudreau & Hagiu 2008). It is also important to keep in mind that an ecosystem is made up of various groups of players, and that their motivations can vary from group to group but also from player to player within the same group. For example, though some independent software developers can be driven by extrinsic motivation, others can be driven by intrinsic motivation. From this point of view, platform‐based ecosystems can be likened both to innovation markets and to innovation communities (Boudreau & Lakhani 2009), and therefore require a hybrid governance structure and specific regulatory tools. Be they price‐based or not, regulatory tools (Boudreau & Hagiu 2009) can be used as the basis for various governance structures as described by Noori & Weiss (2013). The interdependency between players makes it all the more necessary to regulate the ecosystem. This interdependency is synonymous with externalities: the choices and actions of one player impact the choices and actions of others, their earnings and, beyond that, the entire value creation process. The platform owner acts as a regulator in order to internalize these network externalities and thereby capture part of the net value. In this network‐centric perspective, the platform acts as a hub that will increase external partners’ willingness to innovate. Ownership and control of this hub grants the platform owner leverage over complementors, and thereby power of exclusion (Boudreau 2010). Platforms therefore operate as “economic catalysts” (Evans & Schmalensee 2007) and the main challenge they face is to maximize the potential value derived from generativity while maintaining control over the quality of contributions. Concurrently, intellectual property rights must be efficiently managed in order to ensure that co‐created value is fairly shared out (Huang et al 2013).
2.3 Platforms and dynamic capabilities Platforms can be used as a source of differential performance outcomes in changing environments. Platforms allow for dynamic reconfiguration of available resources in an ecosystem and illustrate how the platform owner can transform its resource base to develop and foster new innovations (Isckia 2009). From this point of view, platforms are the invisible engines (Evans et al 2006) for dynamic capabilities (Teece et al 1997). Following Thomas et al (2011): “Platforms […] contribute toward a capability‐based re‐orientation of the firm’s competitive scope through capability build‐up, combination, re‐orientation and deployment.” This “capability‐ based re‐orientation” clearly refers to external resource acquisition and integration processes rather than internal resource creation and reconfiguration processes, i.e. external dynamic capabilities (Ridder 2012). Since platforms emerge as backbones for inter‐organizational cooperation and collaboration, they provide insights into the external resource renewal processes; illustrating how platform owners develop new resource positions and how they create competitive advantage in innovation on the basis of external resources and contributors. This characteristic makes platforms an ideal base for network‐centric or collective innovation (Nambisan & Sawhney, 2007, 2011). The implication is that platform owners should not create once‐and‐for‐all solutions for their operations but continually re‐configure or reshape the capabilities they have developed in order to extend their market scope (Einsenmann et al 2011). Among these capabilities, architectural capabilities are
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Thierry Isckia and Denis Lescop essential. In a platform‐based ecosystem, architectural competency can be defined as a platform owner’s ability to create a mutually reinforcing pattern of evolving, tightly aligned platform strategies and platform capabilities. Consequently, the “rules” governing platform‐based ecosystems are subject to modification by the platform owner, and are therefore the result less of a process of co‐evolution – as suggested by Moore (1996) – than of the will of the platform owner to set its own rules – rules which will govern the contributions of the members of the ecosystem. Architectural choices are therefore of particular importance and condition the potential strategies implemented to cultivate collective innovation. In such a context, the ultimate source of competitive advantage and value creation rests with the platform itself, which becomes the cornerstone of strategic maneuvering.
3. Platform rules: Shaping the battleground Platforms are catalysts (Evans & Schmalensee, 2007) since they facilitate and accelerate interactions between two or more groups of interdependent agents. Platforms are the main vehicle to set collective innovation in motion. Strategizing in a world of platforms is a hard work that requires platform owners to embrace platforms diversity, to ignite catalytic reactions between two or more groups of players and to understand platforms rules.
3.1 Platform safari: Not all platforms are created equal There is a wide variety of platforms (Evans 2003, Evans et al 2005, Evans & Schmalensee 2007, Eisenmann 2007). The existing typologies refer ideal types, but the reality is more nuanced, and hybrid forms are common. Some of a platform’s modules can be open while others aren’t, and the level of standardization of interfaces can vary. A firm may control one key component of the platform and share the rest. Platforms diversity entails a wide range of network‐centric innovation models. It follows that platform owners have to choose carefully the model they want to support and the governance structure that will leverage their network of external innovators. In all cases, they need to attract on their platforms at least two different groups of players to ignite catalytic reactions that will sustain the process of value co‐creation.
3.2 Two‐sided platforms When platforms act like two‐sided markets, they are generally referred to as two‐sided platforms. A two‐sided market is a particular market structure where a middleman will connect and coordinate the demands of two distinct, interdependent groups of players. This interdependency between both groups of clients is a source of indirect network externalities. The platform owner must therefore make the right choices in order to bring both sides on board. One way to proceed (Evans 2011) is to obtain a critical mass of users on one side of the market. This happens when a new video game console is launched. Console manufacturers do not hesitate to lower the selling price of their console, even if that means selling it at a loss, in order to increase the user‐base and generate network externalities on the gamer side of the market. Another way to proceed is to invest in one side of the market in order to stimulate its participation. Console‐makers also do this, offering SDKs and software libraries to independent developers to encourage them to develop new games. The idea is to offer developers more assistance and generate network externalities, this time on the developer side. These two approaches complement each‐other, and boost console sales. The same mechanisms are at play in the case of software platforms, increasing their attractiveness and therefore the value they generate for the members of their ecosystems. Pricing policies also play a key role in two‐sided markets and are an essential element of the platform business model. In a two‐sided market the optimal price‐point for both client groups is theoretically that which will balance the demand between both these groups. However, for a given group, the optimal price‐point is not proportional to, and generally lower than the marginal costs. One immediate consequence of the two‐sided market dynamic is the total disconnect between pricing policies and production costs. It is not only conceivable, but natural, to sponsor the use of the product/platform for some clients as long as their presence en masse increases the value attached to it by other types of economic agents. Consequently, it is recommended that a pricing model be chosen by examining the effect of one pricing component on both sides of the market.
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3.3 Market failures as platform antecedents It is also important for platform owners to understand the economic logic behind two‐sided platforms. The development of platforms is predicated on previous market failures. Market failures generally stem from information asymmetry. This inefficiency manifests itself as unexplored market spaces, opportunities for trade and innovation which would be mutually beneficial but remain untapped. From a platform owner perspective, the profitability of intermediation stems from exploiting these market failures. By supplying economic agents with the information they lack, platforms breed new transactions and exchanges which generate positive indirect externalities. In summary, firms generally develop platform strategies when they have identified untapped latent externalities. These lead them to explore new market spaces in order to monetize opportunities for trade and/or innovation. The market power of the focal firm over one of the sides of the market is a lever for its development on the other side through the implementation of a new business model to stimulate transactions between the various sides or groups hosted on the platform. Platform owners have at their disposal two main strategic levers for development: depth and breadth (Evans et al, 2005). Increasing the depth of a platform amounts to creating new functionalities, i.e. services or products targeted at already‐conquered sides of the market. By intensifying and fully capturing existing direct network externalities, the platform can protect itself from the potential intrusion of another platform into its ecosystem. Increasing the breadth of a platform amounts to searching for new sources of value and creating new indirect externalities by adding new sides to the market, or new groups of economic actors to the platform. This mechanism is the basis for digital convergence and for the breakthroughs observed in several industries. In this context, platform strategies open up new competition on new fronts, and widen the concerned players’ field of operation. From this point of view, platform leaders are market creators who exercise control over their partners, capitalizing on the interactions supported by their platforms.
4. Strategizing in platform‐based ecosystems Leadership in platform‐based ecosystems usually derives from control over a central component or module around which other firms can innovate. Several studies have highlighted the recurring elements of platform strategies (Evans & Schmalensee, 2007; Evans et al, 2008; Gawer & Henderson, 2007; Gawer & Cusumano, 2002). These elements make up a useful guide for aspiring platform leaders. Evans & Schmalensee (2007) list six main steps to developing a platform strategy. These steps constitute many challenges to leveraging collective innovation. A community must first be identified and built, and a suitable pricing model established. These first two steps cover what we call the ignition stage. The structure of governance and the architecture of the platform must then be decided upon in order to facilitate the interactions between the various groups of agents and improving the platform’s profitability. These two steps make up the development stage. Finally, the ability to compete with other platforms must be maintained, and the value promised to the various groups of agents on board delivered. These last two steps make up the renewal stage. In the following, we shall go into more detail on what is covered by these various stages.
4.1 The ignition stage
Building the community: Many firms find it difficult to attract external contributors to their platform to feed the collective innovation dynamic. After identifying them, the various groups of players must be brought on‐board the platform by delivering the value promised them and an efficient collaborative architecture. By concentrating on one group of agents and specializing in one type of service, the platform can potentially generate externalities which will attract another group of players and thus establish the foundations of it ecosystem. This first step therefore consists in granting members of a group access to members of another group. Latent externalities must be identified between the various groups which potentially need each other, and interactions between them must be facilitated (Evans, 2011).
Establishing a suitable pricing structure: We have seen that pricing plays a key role in platform strategy (Hagiu, 2009). If the pricing structure is unsuitable, the platform can collapse. This step is therefore critical in order to generate indirect externalities between the two groups of players and feed the collective innovation dynamic. One common practice is to sponsor one group of actors by setting a sufficiently attractive price‐point to attract the members of another group, thereby setting off a catalyst reaction. Pay‐per‐use pricing is generally distinguished from pay‐for‐access pricing. Dating website Meetic started out by only charging men for access. Today, both genders need to subscribe in order to access the platform. After subscribing, users can access free or pay‐per‐use services. High‐priced access enables
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Thierry Isckia and Denis Lescop Meetic to “select” a certain type of profile among a given category of players, as is the case with the “Meetic Affinity” subscription for forties looking for serious relationships. The pricing of services is also important, as it impacts the interactions between members of the ecosystem. Clearly, pay‐per‐use or pay‐ for‐access models can stimulate, or conversely inhibit, interactions between members of the ecosystem.
4.2 The development stage
Stimulating interactions: As mentioned before, market failures explain the profitability of intermediation. From this standpoint, platforms can facilitate the information process. It is therefore necessary, once the first two steps are completed, to supply the groups on‐board the platform with efficient search engines, detailed information, scoring or ranking tools… i.e. to offer a range of services aimed at increasing the value proposition for members of the ecosystem and stimulating interactions. The objective here is to find services capable of increasing the depth of the platform and monetizing indirect externalities. The rules of governance must also be established. Enforcing these rules builds trust between members of the ecosystem and restrains opportunistic behavior. These rules can also take the form of a standard to harmonize the activities and contributions of various members of the platform. Many hardware and software platforms make use of open standards to set the terms for the various players’ contributions. There is a consensus on the benefit of resorting to open standards in order to ensure the flexibility and scalability of the platform.
Focusing on profitability: Any platform must estimate the potential profits it can generate for its members. Stimulating interactions between the various groups of players and establishing rules of governance are essential, but not always sufficient, conditions to ensure the development of the platform. It is necessary, for example, to have a clear grasp of the development rate of the various groups of players on the platform and to anticipate the necessary improvements so that the ramp‐up does not disrupt the quality of the services delivered by the ecosystem. Platform scalability is therefore an important element of platform development as it can affect the long‐term profitability of a platform. The approach that is generally adopted can be compared to technological and economic fine‐tuning: on the one hand, technological support of the platform’s growth, and, on the other hand, the testing and rapid deployment of new, value‐added services that are useful to the members of the ecosystem. This approach reflects the dynamic capabilities of the platform, i.e. its ability to test, assess and rapidly integrate new services while being careful not to alter the levers of interaction between the members of the ecosystem (Thomas et al, 2011).
4.3 The renewal stage
Competing strategically with other platforms: Competition between platforms is common and inevitable. Two cases must be distinguished: multi‐homing and intersecting catalysts. Multi‐homing is a common situation in the world of platforms. For example, men and women using the Meetic platform can also use competing platforms such as Adult Friend Finder or Elover. These platforms target the same groups of agents as Meetic. Though the development of new services increases the platform’s profitability and the value proposition delivered to its members, it also ensures their loyalty and discourages them from joining competing platforms. However, this practice is far from neutral, which leads us to intersecting catalysts. Evans & Schmalensee (2007) refer to intersecting catalysts as evolutions of the business models which can open new competitive arenas with already‐established players or platforms. Indeed, when searching for new sources of revenue, the platform owner can create a service which will come into direct competition with those offered by another platform. The launch of a new service can therefore be seen as an offensive maneuver by established platforms. As with multi‐homing, cases of intersecting catalysts are common in the world of platforms. Their consequences can prove to be important for the evolutionary dynamic of the platform. In trying to increase the depth, but especially the breadth of its platform, the platform owner can create new indirect externalities by targeting new groups of players, thereby gaining a foothold in related ecosystems.
Experimenting and evolving: It is necessary to give oneself the means to evolve, and experiment with new catalytic reactions, identifying for example other groups of agents likely to come aboard the platform. From this perspective, knowing how to evolve is mainly the act of focusing on innovations to the business model and being able to implement them rapidly by deploying new value‐added services. This is part and parcel of the firm’s nimbleness and covers any and all endeavors which could increase the breadth of the platform. Through this approach, the platform owner’s goal is also to redeploy its resource base in related
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These strategic guidelines do not guarantee the success of a platform strategy but provide a roadmap of the main stages of such strategies and identify the different challenges faced by platform owners at different stages. It is important to keep in mind that timing plays a critical role in these strategic maneuvers, requiring a certain amount of agility on the part of platform owners. Beyond mere platform strategies, the Gang of four is made up of firms that have much in common: a clear and shared strategic vision, a particular agility and, finally, sturdy technological competencies that are the foundation of platform capabilities.
5. Conclusion This paper presented arguments and evidence that platforms act as rule‐making governance mechanisms or as institutions for collaboration. Platform‐based ecosystems need to be managed carefully to maintain emulation among contributors while sustaining the platform owner’s competitive advantage. In such a context, platform owners whose objective is to tap into the business ecosystem hosted by their platforms need to dynamically shape the rules for participation in collective innovation, using a portfolio of regulatory tools. Platform regulation mobilizes a wide range of strategic tools to regulate economic activity within a platform‐based ecosystem. These tools are often used in concert to orchestrate collective innovation throughout the platform’s development. The active orchestration of this process has the potential to ignite network externalities and boost complementary activities, while catalyzing a virtuous cycle of growth for the platform owner and ecosystem members. Platform owners need strong platform competencies in order to define and upgrade a platform’s architecture. In order to leverage collective or network‐centric innovation they have to build a sufficiently open and modular architecture. Modularity changes the need for information and knowledge exchange among ecosystem members and how incentives mechanisms need to be tuned‐up accordingly. Thus, architectural choices are closely related to control and regulation issues in platform‐based ecosystems. In addition, platform openness may occur at different levels (end‐user, Apps developer, platform owner and/or platform sponsor), and platforms often mix open and closed levels in different patterns. It follows that multiple governance structures can be used to manage openness in platform‐based ecosystems. Moreover, platforms are socio‐ technical artifacts, which entail a set of internal processes that allow the platform owner to make both technological and organizational decisions in a coherent manner. In such a context, crafting strategies is a complex exercise since the scope of strategy is much wider than for normal firms or merchants. Platform owners have to shape their platform’s architecture, control mechanisms and pricing structures in a coherent and dynamic fashion throughout the platform’s development in order to nurture collective innovation. Strategizing in platform‐based ecosystems means that these mechanisms are designed so that they can dialogically handle the tensions between the various ago‐antagonistic dimensions of platform business models: control/generativity, open/closed, individual/collective… This orchestration process, which refers to platform capability, is closely related to platform leadership in network‐centric innovation. Many of these issues highlight the need to improve our understanding of platform‐based ecosystems. It is only very recently that academics have begun to address the role of platforms in business ecosystems or network‐ centric innovation. The research in the field of platforms was thus far completely disconnected from the research on business ecosystems. The phenomenon of platform‐based ecosystems offers exciting research opportunities to bring together technical, economic and organizational perspectives within an integrative framework for network‐centric innovation. This framework, or platform‐based view of the firm, should help advance our understanding of collective innovation, collective strategy, organizational behavior and technological change.
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University‐Industry Knowledge Dynamics in Northern Sparsely Populated Areas Päivi Iskanius1, Eija‐Riitta Niinikoski2, Harri Jokela2 and Matti Muhos2 1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland 2 Oulu Southern Institute, University of Oulu, Nivala, Finland
[email protected] eija‐
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Abstract: This paper presents a theoretical framework for describing and understanding university‐industry knowledge dynamics in northern sparsely populated areas (NSPAs). Based on the literature findings, key elements of a theoretical framework are defined and four essential elements to be considered in the context are recognised. These elements are knowledge transfer mechanisms, universities’ channels of engagement, firms’ needs for university‐based knowledge, and the challenges of NSPAs. The first dimension of the framework is knowledge transfer mechanisms, which can be categorised as publications, participation in conferences, professional networks and boards, mobility of people, other informal contacts and networks, cooperation in R&D, sharing facilities, cooperation in education, contract research and advisement, IPRs, and spin‐offs. The components of the framework explaining universities’ channels of engagement are educating people, problem solving for industry, providing public space, and adding to the stock of codified knowledge. We also aim to understand the possible needs of firms for university‐based knowledge. The specific features to take into account are the return on investment over the time horizon, the character of collaboration needs, from problem solving to a strategic approach, and the size of the firm. Developing the framework in the NSPA context, the following special features have to be taken into account; demographical/ social, economic/ business and physical/ locational aspects. This study contributes to the recognised need for a more comprehensive theoretical framework to analyse those knowledge transfer mechanisms useful for universities and their regional units in boosting entrepreneurial activity in NSPAs. The theoretical framework presented in this study can be further operationalised and used as a foundation when examining and developing university‐industry collaboration in NSPAs. The framework may thus stimulate the so far scarce empirical research into NSPAs. Keywords: knowledge dynamics, university‐industry collaboration, knowledge transfer, entrepreneurship, northern sparsely populated areas, theoretical framework
1. Introduction Most firms, regardless of size, location, or field, face rapid changes in their business environment in terms of technological innovations, globalisation of markets, and more aggressive consumer demands. Within such an environment, firms need to provide more value‐added products and total solutions which are customised to individual consumers’ needs; and design, prototype, manufacture, test, and deliver high‐quality products to the market in the least time possible (Iskanius 2006). Success today is increasingly based on creating and exploiting knowledge, especially new knowledge which can generate innovation faster than competitors. Economic value has shifted towards intangibles and, in particular, towards increasing value by incorporating knowledge into services and products (Auckland 2000). In order to strengthen competitive advantage, firms adapt externally‐generated knowledge from such sources as suppliers, customers, competitors, consultants, commercial laboratories and research organisations, and universities and other higher education institutes (Laursen and Salter 2006). University‐industry collaboration faces significant challenges; for example, these organisations are primarily driven by different objectives. Universities are the key actors in the field of new knowledge and human capital (Mansfield 1991, Pavitt 1991, Salter and Martin 2001, Cohen et al. 2002). They primarily create new knowledge and educate, whereas private firms focus on capturing valuable knowledge that can be leveraged for competitive advantage (Dasgupta and David 1994). Universities interact with industrial companies in order to – to give some examples – increase R&D funding to compensate for shrinking governmental funding; expose students and staff members to practical problems; develop employment opportunities for graduates; and gain access to applied technologies (Santoro and Chakrabati 2001). Regions with high‐tech and knowledge‐ intensive entrepreneurship, as well as high‐level university‐industry relationships, experience greater productivity and economic growth (Jaffe et al. 1993, Audretsch and Keilbach 2004, Muller 2006). University‐
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Päivi Iskanius et al. industry collaboration allows knowledge transfer in both directions and significantly affects the regional economy by increasing the rate of innovation (Spencer 2001). Innovation that drives regional development is not necessarily driven by technological breakthroughs; equally important are factors such as learning by doing, through which tacit knowledge is accumulated within localised networks of firms, institutions and individuals (Gloersen et al. 2006). In the context of the economy’s transition towards a service‐oriented society, Gloersen et al. (2006) remind us that education, knowledge, and R&D are widely expected to become the key locational factors for businesses. Universities play a crucial role in this process. This paper explores university‐industry knowledge dynamics between northern sparsely populated areas (NSPAs) (fourteen regions in the northern parts of Finland, Norway and Sweden). Three main constraints on economic activity characterise NSPAs (Gloersen et al. 2006): 1) remoteness, 2) cold climate, and 3) sparse population. Our aim is to understand what kind of knowledge transfer mechanisms in university‐industry collaboration are used in NSPAs, and further, what are the best mechanisms for firms, especially for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). We also want to understand what needs firms in NSPAs have for university‐ based knowledge in order to maximize their innovation potential. In this paper, we develop a theoretical framework for describing and understanding university‐industry knowledge dynamics in the NSPA context. The aim is to contribute to the recognised need for a more comprehensive theoretical construct to analyse those knowledge transfer mechanisms useful for universities and their units in boosting entrepreneurial activity in NSPAs. The research problem of this study can be condensed into the following question:
What are the key elements of the theoretical framework that help us to understand knowledge dynamics, especially knowledge transfer, between university and industry in northern sparsely populated areas (NSPAs)?
2. Knowledge creation Knowledge has long been understood as an essential driver of economic growth (Agrawal 2001, Muller 2006, Carlsson et al. 2009). Knowledge is acquired, shared, and assimilated with the aim of creating new knowledge, but also of advancing and modifying existing knowledge in order to produce innovation (Herkema 2003). Knowledge stimulates technological progress, and thus increases productivity (Adams 1990, Acs and Varga 2005). Knowledge can be defined as the learning process in human brains, which is generated and used in personal and collective interactions in various contexts, given individual and firm competences to appropriate new and necessary economically useful knowledge (Dahlström and Hedin 2010). Therefore, knowledge is seen as both a resource and a process, both of which are linked to interactions among actors in the concept of knowledge dynamics. Knowledge creation is focused on the generation and application of knowledge that leads to new capabilities for an organisation. Innovation, which is dependent on the availability of knowledge, is concerned with how these new capabilities can be transformed into products, processes, and services that have economic value in markets (Popadiuk and Choo 2006). In an innovation process, organisations create and define problems and then actively develop new knowledge to solve them (Nonaka 1994). Originally, Nonaka and Konno (1998) identified two types of knowledge: explicit and tacit. Explicit (codified) knowledge is articulated, codified, and communicated in a formal, systematic way. It can be transmitted relatively easily to others because it can be represented either in writing or in digital or analogue formats. Tacit knowledge, on the other hand, is associated with individual experience, thinking, and feeling, and is difficult to code. It is subjective and intuitive and is therefore not easily processed or transmitted in any systematic or logical manner (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995). It is articulated through practical skills and cannot be reduced to numbers, graphs, maps, diagrams or texts. Rather, face‐to‐face contact or ‘buzz’ is an important part of tacit knowledge transfer (Halkier et al. 2012). It is often specific to its original context; it is collective rather than individual (Lundvall and Johnson 1994). Tacit knowledge can also be associated with scientific intuition and the development of craft knowledge within scientific disciplines (Delamont and Atkinson 2001). Tacit components of knowledge, which are based on interpretations, perceptions, and value systems, can be shared, communicated, and transferred through types of network relationships. Organisations create new knowledge through the conversion of tacit and explicit knowledge, which is a social process between individuals (Nonaka and Takeuchi 1995). Effective knowledge creation and sharing depend on an enabling context with physical, virtual, and mental aspects. Knowledge creation and sharing is a collective process that requires complex mechanisms of communication and transfer (Saviotti 1998).
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Päivi Iskanius et al. Knowledge dynamics emerge from the processes of creation, usage, transformation, movement and diffusion of knowledge, resulting in innovations in products, services or processes (Strambach 2008). Knowledge anchoring (Dahlström and Hedin 2010) is useful for analysing the important aspects of knowledge dynamics. This concept refers to the ability of an organisation or territory to access external knowledge and make use of it in some way. It includes analysing the characteristics of knowledge interactions. Inflow and recirculation of knowledge may occur at the same time and in complex mixes of processes (James et al., 2010). Anussornnitisarn et al. (2010), Kess et al. (2008) and Phusavat et al. (2009) have highlighted the importance of external knowledge for organisational learning. Knowledge anchoring is a useful tool to analyse the different mechanisms through which knowledge flows into, and is recirculated within, regions and firms (Dahlström and Hedin 2010).
3. Knowledge transfer Traditionally, research on university‐industry collaboration has focused on the transfer of intellectual property, such as patenting, licensing, and commercialization. Today, research focuses more on ‘knowledge channels’ (Cohen et al. 2002) or ‘knowledge mechanisms’ (Meyer‐Krahmer and Schmoch 1998) that function as informational or social pathways through which knowledge is shared or co‐produced between universities and industries. Cohen et al. (2002) distinguished between the following channels relevant to industrial innovation: patents, informal information exchange, publications and reports, public meetings and conferences, recently hired graduates, licenses, joint or cooperative research ventures, contract research, consulting, and temporary personnel exchanges. Schartinger et al. (2002) identified sixteen types of ‘knowledge interaction’ grouped into four categories: 1) joint research (including joint publishing), 2) contract research (including consulting and financing of university research assistants by firms), 3) mobility (staff movement between universities and firms, joint supervision of students) and 4) training (co‐operation in education, training of firm staff at universities, lecturing by industry staff). Brennenraedts et al. (2006) categorised knowledge transfer mechanisms as 1) publications, 2) participation in conferences, 3) professional networks & boards, 4) mobility of people, 5) other informal contacts and networks, 6) cooperation in R&D, 7) sharing facilities, 8) cooperation in education, 9) contract research and advisement, 10) IPRs, and 11) spin‐offs and entrepreneurship (see Table 1). According to Brennenraedts et al. (2006), the most typical method of transferring university‐based knowledge is the publication of research; thus, knowledge becomes public and accessible for many people. However, only explicit knowledge can be transferred by publishing. Besides publishing, academics are encouraged to attend conferences, fairs, and workshops, where they are able to communicate and interact directly with international colleagues (Schartinger et al. 2002). Such events are important for creating social networks of people within a certain scientific field. In such events, tacit knowledge may also be transferred. The mobility of people in university‐industry collaboration is important. Many contacts are informal – for example, personal networks based on friendships and alumni societies (Brennenraedts et al. 2006). Cooperation in joint R&D projects and shared facilities may happen for different reasons. Universities also transfer knowledge through cooperation with firms in education, and the influence of industrial experts on the curriculum. By doing this, firms can help the university to keep abreast of economic developments, while the university provides them with a well‐educated labour market. Contract research and advisement is typified by the industry asking questions of universities and paying for the answers (Brennenraedts et al. 2006). This leads to a flow of knowledge from universities to industry and a flow of capital in the opposite direction (Agrawal 2001). The IPRs have the intention of stimulating innovation by temporarily monopolising and publicising new knowledge (Brennenraedts et al. 2006). Universities may become involved in IPRs to ensure that research outcomes actually flow to society. One can argue that a vast majority of the results of university research is not yet applicable. A firm has to invest significant amounts of resources to transform the results of research into a product or process. Spin‐offs are commercial companies capitalising on knowledge which has been created at public institutes or companies (Brennenraedts et al. 2006). Although definitions of spin‐offs differ, the knowledge they use is often handed over in the form of licenses or a full transfer of patents. Universities often own equity in the spin‐offs that use their knowledge.
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Päivi Iskanius et al. Table 1: Knowledge transfer mechanisms in university‐industry collaboration (modified from Brennenraedts et al. 2006)
4. Developing the theoretical framework Three more aspects should be examined in developing a theoretical framework for analysing knowledge transfer mechanisms useful for universities and their regional units in boosting entrepreneurial activity in NSPAs. Firstly, the channels for collaboration and engagement of universities with their surrounding society and companies should be defined. Secondly, we should understand the possible needs of firms for university‐ based knowledge. Thirdly, the challenges of NSPAs have to be taken into consideration.
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4.1 Universities’ channels of engagement The two primary missions of universities are research and education. However, they also serve a third mission in contributing to economic development (Etzkowitz 2002, D´Este and Patel 2007). According to Etzkowitz and Leydesdorff (2000), this third mission includes directly contributing to industry via research alliances with firms, as well as following an active strategy of extending the research process into the development process. Universities are employers and purchasers in the economy, but their other activities also have an economic impact, including knowledge creation, human capital creation, transfer of existing know‐how, research‐led technological innovation, capital investment, regional leadership, impact on the regional milieu, and support for knowledge infrastructure (Drucker and Goldstein 2007). Universities are catalysts of technological innovation, stimulating and increasing knowledge creation and transfer (Doutriauxm 2003). The role of universities in the innovation process and their efforts at regional economic development emphasise the interactive and social nature of the knowledge transfer process, and the importance of tacit dimensions of knowledge (Bramwell and Wolfe 2008). Thus, universities act as agents of economic growth by producing knowledge through basic and applied research; generating, attracting and leveraging research and creative talent; and advancing critical knowledge transfer mechanisms for uptake and innovative application by firms, which in turn creates economic value within the region (Ghafele 2011). A university’s contribution to local innovation processes is only a small part of its local presence. According to Lester (2005), even within this narrow aspect, multiple channels of engagement can be identified: 1) education and training, 2) adding to the stock of codified knowledge, 3) increasing local capacity for scientific and technological problem solving, and 4) providing space for open‐ended conversations about industry development pathways and new technological and market opportunities (see Table 2). These channels of engagement provide a framework with which to classify universities’ activities. Table 2: Channels of engagement of universities in local economies, based on Sotarauta (2006) and Lester (2005)
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4.2 Firms’ need for university‐based knowledge Different firms use different channels to different extents to derive value from academic research. Indeed, it is mainly firms at a certain level of size and resources that have the absorptive capacity to benefit from university‐based knowledge. SMEs, in particular, have difficulty accessing knowledge sources such as universities and other research institutes (Laursen and Salter 2004). Santoro and Chakrabarti (2001) examined 21 university research centres and nearly 200 collaborating firms, hoping to determine what firms look for in their university relationships. They found out that for some firms the main goal was to get researchers involved in problem‐solving activities directly related to their business. For other firms, the most important goals of their university collaboration were to participate in activities and exchanges that would give them knowledge about the latest thinking in academic fields relevant to their business, and to influence the future direction of related curricula at the university. SMEs were more likely to be involved in the more problem‐ solving‐oriented collaborations than the larger companies, who were more interested in the public space roles of universities. For firms, collaboration with universities is one type of strategic investment. The specific features to take into account are 1) the return on investment over the time horizon, 2) the character of collaboration needs, from problem solving to a strategic approach, and 3) the size of the firm (Santoro and Chakrabarti 2001).
Figure 1: Aspects of the companies’ needs for university‐based knowledge
4.3 Challenges in northern sparsely populated areas NSPAs are characterised by sparse population, harsh climate and long distances. “The NSPA regions are especially affected by globalisation, energy‐supply, climate change and demographic change” (Gloersen et al. 2006). According to Gloersen et al. (2006), these regions experience what may be termed a “syndrome” of disadvantage. Thus, sparse population, peripherality and structural weakness are different problems, with distinct causes, which often coexist. Together they contribute to a substantial cumulative barrier to regional development. There are three aspects to these disadvantages: 1) demographical/ social, 2) economic/ business, and 3) physical/ locational. All of these have their own historic legacy, current processes and future scenarios (see Figure 2). Long term demographic decline, unbalanced age structure and out‐migration tradition cause human capital drain and affect to the rates of growth and entrepreneurship. Historic dependence on primary industries is connected with low competitiveness. High costs of material inputs and distribution caused by peripheriality have their impact on poor rates of growth and entrepreneurship and low competitiveness. Since the syndrome is made up of several components of disadvantage, Gloersen et al. (2006) argue that no single approach (addressing for example, sparse population or peripherality alone) is likely to be effective in the development of NSPAs. Since some of the basic handicaps (such as climate constraints) can clearly not be changed, it is appropriate to consider measures such as improving human and social capital, developing more
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Päivi Iskanius et al. effective business networks, and better governance, which may compensate for these handicaps. According to Gloersen et al. (2006), NSPAs have the potential to contribute to making Europe the most competitive economy in the world. In NSPAs, basic entrepreneurial processes are quite similar to those in urban areas. However, rurality may reveal diverse opportunities, impose different constrains, modify the entrepreneurial process and alter the entrepreneurial outcome from that to be expected in urban areas (Stathopoulou et al. 2004). Contradicting widely held assumptions, Shields (2005) found that rural entrepreneurs viewed neither resource constraints (financing, technology, and transportation) nor labour issues (availability of skilled workers and childcare) as significant sources of adversity. In addition, strong social ties to family, friends, and neighbours minimize childcare problems. Still, rural small business owners manage their businesses consistently with rural socio‐ cultural values, and demonstrate the considerable influence of rurality on small business activities. Anderson (2000) found that because of information and communication technology (ICT), time and distance are becoming almost irrelevant in some development cases. Nowadays, several rural areas are experiencing significant inflows of new residents. These population movements afford rural communities with new investments and an enhanced income, as the newcomers bring entrepreneurial talents, experience, market knowledge and capital to these areas (Stathopoulou et al. 2004). Furthermore, the socio‐cultural features prevailing in everyday life are closely intertwined with small business operations. According to Shields (2005), the literature suggests that gender roles, cooperation, communication, and both social and business networks can affect small business in rural settings. Stathopoulou et al. (2004) also emphasise the significance of social capital, governance, and cultural heritage. Long term residents in rural areas have a unique sense of place, tradition, reputation, and history. Regions with a more highly skilled labour force are assumed to be more competitive and more successful. Access to higher education has long been identified as a critical constraint on the development of rural and peripheral areas (Gloersen et al. 2006).
Figure 2: The northern periphery syndrome of disadvantage (Gloersen et al. 2006)
4.4 The theoretical framework This study has resulted in a theoretical framework to analyse knowledge transfer mechanisms useful for universities and their regional units in boosting entrepreneurial activity in NSPAs. Based on the literature findings, four elements are recognised as essential in the context. These elements are 1) knowledge transfer mechanisms, 2) universities’ channels of engagement, 3) firms’ needs for university‐based knowledge, and 4) the challenges of NSPAs (see Figure 3). The first dimension of the framework is knowledge transfer mechanisms, which can be categorised into 1) publications, 2) participation in conferences, 3) professional networks and boards, 4) mobility of people, 5) other informal contacts and networks, 6) cooperation in R&D, 7) sharing facilities, 8) cooperation in education, 9) contract research and advisement, 10) IPRs, and 11) spin‐
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Päivi Iskanius et al. offs and entrepreneurships. The components of the framework describing universities’ channels of engagement are 1) educating people, 2) problem solving for industry, 3) providing public space, and 4) adding to the stock of codified knowledge. Our concern is also to understand the possible needs of firms for university‐based knowledge. The specific features to take into account are 1) the return on investment over the time horizon, 2) the character of collaboration needs, from problem solving to a strategic approach, and 3) the size of the firm. Developing the framework in the NSPA context, special features have to be taken into account: 1) demographical/ social, 2) economic/ business and 3) physical/ locational aspects.
Firms’ needs for university based knowledge
Challenges of NSPA Knowledge transfer mechanisms
Universities’ channels of engagement
Figure 3: The key elements of the theoretical framework
5. Conclusion This study has developed a theoretical framework to analyse knowledge transfer mechanisms useful for universities and their regional units in boosting entrepreneurial activity in NSPAs.. It is important to understand the possibilities of university‐industry collaboration boosting entrepreneurial activity outside over‐ populated metropolitan areas. The theoretical framework presented in this study will be further operationalised and used as a foundation when examining university‐industry collaboration in NSPAs. In a case area in Northern Finland, we want to understand what kind of knowledge transfer mechanisms are used, and which ones seem to meet the knowledge needs of the companies. Based on future studies, we would like to be able to identify the characteristic elements of beneficial knowledge transfer mechanisms in NSPAs. This framework may therefore stimulate the so far scarce empirical research into sparsely populated areas.
Acknowledgements This study is an essential part of the Entrepreneurship Research and Development of RDI in Oulu South Region Project. The authors are grateful for the generous funding support of the Council of the Oulu Region, the Kerttu Saalasti Foundation, the Haapavesi‐Siikalatva sub‐region, the Nivala‐Haapajärvi sub‐region, the Ylivieska sub‐region, the Centria University of Applied Sciences, Oulu University of Applied Sciences, JEDU the Federation of Education in Jokilaaksot, and the European Regional Development Fund.
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(1995) The knowledge‐creating company: How Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation. Oxford University Press, USA. Nonaka, I. and N. Konno (1998) “The concept of ‘ba’: Building a foundation for knowledge creation.” California Management Review, Vol. 40, pp. 1–15. Pavitt, K. (1991). “What makes basic research economically useful?”, Research Policy, Vol. 20, No 2, pp. 109‐119 Phusavat, K., Sanpanich, S., Kess, P. and Muhos, M. (2009) “The roles of external knowledge in organisational learning and development”, International Journal of Innovation and Learning, Vol. 6, No. 5, pp. 537‐549. Popadiuk, S. and Choo, C.W. (2006) “Innovation and knowledge creation: How are these concepts related?” International Journal of Information Management, Vol. 26, pp. 302–312. Schartinger, D., Rammer, C., Fischer, M.M. and Fröhlich, J. (2002), “Knowledge interactions between universities and industry in Austria: sectoral patterns and determinants”, Research Policy, Vol. 31, No. 3, pp. 303‐328.
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Päivi Iskanius et al. Santoro, M.D. and Chakrabarti, A.K. (2001) “Corporate Strategic Objectives for Establishing Relationships with University Research Centers”, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management 48(2): 157‐163. Saviotti, P.P. (1998) “On the dynamics of appropriability, of tacit and of codified knowledge.” Research Policy, Vol. 26, No. 7, pp. 843–856. Salter, A. J. and B. R. Martin (2001) “The economic benefits of publicly funded basic research: a critical review”, Research Policy, Vol. 30, No. 3, pp. 509–532. Shields, J.F. (2005) “Does rural location matter? The significance of a rural setting for small business”, Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 49‐63. Sotarauta, M. (2006) “Regional Development Studies ‐ Trends and Dimensions”, Presentation given in FUTURREG Futures workshop, Turku, Finland, June. Spencer, J.W. (2001) "How relevant is university‐based scientific research to private high‐technology firms? A United States–Japan comparison", Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 44, No. 2, pp. 432‐440. Stathopoulou, S., Psaltopouls, D. and Skuras, D. (2004) “Rural entrepreneurship in Europe. A research framework and agenda”, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, Vol. 10, No. 6, pp. 404‐425. Strambach, S. (2008), “Knowledge‐Intensive Business Services (KIBS) as drivers of multilevel knowledge dynamics”, International Journal of Services Technology and Management, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 152‐174.
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Do Incubators Actually Help Entrepreneurs in Emerging Markets? The Case of Egypt Ayman Ismail and Sherif Yehia American University in Cairo (AUC), Cairo, Egypt
[email protected] [email protected] Abstract: Economic development policies perceive incubators as an effective mean to promote regional growth thought attracting and growing potential startups and entrepreneurship. For Egypt, one of the main recommendations provided by GEM Egypt 2010 report for stimulating successful startups is establishing a larger and more effective incubators network than the currently existing one to provide the needed support to startups to accelerate and increase their chances in survival and growth. On the other hand GEM report highlights as identified by experts that limited access to finance is the top constraint in limiting entrepreneurial activities, while lack of Business Support Services and lack of qualified and trained calibers were the 5th and 8th constraints (GEM Egypt National Report 2010). The main research question we address in this paper is “do incubators actually help startups in Egypt grow and overcome their survival challenges?” A similar study was conducted in assessing the effectiveness of incubator in turkey where 48 incubator firms were compared with 41 off‐ incubator firms; findings suggest that there are significant difference between on and off‐incubator firms regarding their economic performance, highly in favor of incubator firms (Semih 2004). We define a model to measure the effect and impact of incubators on the incubated startups during their incubation stage. In the Case of Egypt, we study four incubators and their incubated startups to correlate between the quality and type of services provided by incubators and the impact of the provided services on the incubated firms. In our study we focus on two main key performance indicators that as GEM report highlights are from the main startup challenges in Egypt: the impact of incubation on helping startups on attracting the needed fund and on attracting talents. Keywords: entrepreneurship, incubator, financing, talent, startups, Egypt
1. Introduction On the main challenges in the Arab world is job creation for youth population, according to the world economic form the region needs to create 75 million jobs by 2020. In Egypt 38% of the total employment are on SMEs, which indicated how the promoting the entrepreneurial sector is important for Egypt. According to accelerating Entrepreneurship in the Arab World report, currently there are about 150 existing initiatives that encourage entrepreneurial activity in the MENA region. These initiatives include technology incubators, non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) aimed at developing entrepreneurship, networking associations for aspiring entrepreneurs and university programmes dedicated to entrepreneurship. The pace at which new initiatives have been launched has sharply accelerated since 2000, from approximately 1.5 per year to about 10 per year (Accelerating Entrepreneurship 2011). In this study our focus is to study the impact of Egypt incubation initiatives on start‐ups in Egypt and to understand if incubators are actually helping start‐ups.
2. Incubators role and services As defined by European Commission (EC, 2000), a business incubator is an organization that accelerates and systematizes the process of creating successful enterprises by providing them with a comprehensive and integrated range of support, including: Incubator space, business support services, and clustering and networking opportunities. According to the definition and classification proposed in one of our referenced studies (Johan 2011), we assess the following services under the below classification.
Infrastructure and space and related physical support
Business Support and counseling related services:
Coaching and Mentoring Services
Training Services
Access to Network and professional services:
Access to legal support and company registration advice
Access to Investors/funders (venture capitalist, angel investors..etc)
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Access to market research data
Networking with similar businesses
Access to talent and recruitment support
3. Methodology, data collection and analysis approach To assess the overall impact of incubators on start‐up business and relationship between the incubators provided services and the overall impact, we designed a survey that targeted two samples, incubated start‐ups and non‐incubated start‐ups. Both incubated and non‐incubated start‐ups were in the early stage of their business (table1). For the incubated start‐ups we surveyed 10 start‐ups which represent 11% (table 2) of the start‐ups in the incubators we targeted. The survey was completed by start‐up main founder/entrepreneur. To answer the main paper objective: Does Incubators actually help Entrepreneurs In Egypt, we had to answer the following research questions?
Overall incubator performance assessment: What is the relative importance of the different services that start‐ups are looking for? and how are incubators satisfying those needs?
Impact on Access to Fund‐raising and Talent: To assess incubators impact further in our research we worked to assess the following:
Are incubators actually helping start‐ups in fund raising? & How?
Are incubators actually helping start‐ups in attracting talents? & How?
Comparative Analysis: Does incubated firms have an advantage over non‐incubated firms on specific services?
Table 1: Surveyed start‐ups classified by launch year and incubation status Start‐up Launch Year
No. of Incubated/ graduated start‐ups
2009 2011 2013 2012
1 3 6
No Off‐ incubators Start‐ups 1 2 5
Table 2: Sample size of Incubated Start‐ups vs. total population Incubator Name Flat6Lap AUC Venture Lab Nahdet El Mahrousa Innoventure Tamkeen Capital
Number of Start‐ups graduated/incubated ~40 6 3 3 7
Number of incubators surveyed. 8 1 1 1
Endeavor
~30
4. Analysis framework Since this paper employed a more exploratory and qualitative approach to understand the perception of start‐ ups on the importance and effectiveness of incubators provided services, we employed a framework that was applied in a similar study that operationalized Servqual model (Muhhamd 2007).The main concept we adopted from the Servqual model in our research is defining the customer satisfaction as the gap between customer expectation and customer perception of the provided incubation services. And to operationalize this concept we asked the start‐ups to rate the importance of the provided incubation services to their start‐ups and to rate their perceived satisfaction level of effectiveness/performance of those provided services, then the results were mapped to the satisfaction matrix (Figure 1), where the y axis represents the perceived effectiveness of the delivered service, while the x axis represent the importance of the service. All questions were rated on scale 1‐5, where values above 3 reflects good perceived service effectiveness or importance, while below 3 reflects low perceived service effectiveness or importance.
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Ayman Ismail and Sherif Yehia Cell 1 highlights a state where start‐ups are highly satisfied with the provided service as they perceive service performance level higher than their expectations. Cell2 highlights a state where start‐ups are moderately satisfied with the provided service as they perceive service performance level somehow close to their expectations. Cell 3 highlights a state where start‐ups are highly dissatisfied with the provided service as they perceive service performance level lower than their expectations. Cell 4 highlights a state where start‐ups are moderately dissatisfied with provided service as in this state both perceived service performance and service expectation are low.
Figure 1: Service satisfaction matrix
5. What are the important services for start‐ups and how incubators are performing? The analysis of survey results and satisfaction service mapping showed (Figure 2) that all surveyed needs/services were rated above average (above rate 3) on importance to start‐up success, with “Access to fund” (rate 4.6) rated as the most important need/service followed by “Access to legal advice/support with company registration” (rate 4.4) and “Access to coaching and mentoring” (rate 4.2), while on perceived service effectiveness/performance level those services were rated above average by the surveyed start‐ups, which highlights the positive impact of the incubation on satisfying top needs of start‐ups with opportunity for incubators to improve their performance further. Access to affordable space and facilities service was the highest on the level of perceived service effectiveness/performance (rate 4.6) followed by “Access to fund” (rate 3.5) and “Access to coaching” (3.5), while “Access to talent” and “Access to market data” were ranked below average on perceived service effectiveness/performance level. We asked incubated start‐ups about their overall satisfaction level regarding the services provided by incubators, the results showed an above average satisfaction level (rate 3.7) , also we asked start‐ups to rate how important the incubation is to the success of their businesses the results showed a similar above average positive response (rate 3.6). Doing the analysis on service classification perspective (Table 3), shows that Networking related service includes most of the main important services, all services were rated above 3.7 on importance, while the average perceived effectiveness/performance of networking category is 2.8, this indicates that incubators are required to give more focus on improving networking services with focus on services with satisfaction level on boarder line (less than rate 3.5). Perceived effectiveness/performance level with Space and facilities related services was rated as the highest among all other services in all categories, which provides an indication that incubators are satisfying this service with performance in relation to start‐ups expectation. Finally, Business support and counselling services, showed a moderate satisfaction level in relation with start‐ups expectations with opportunity to improve counseling services further (Average rating on perceived effectiveness/performance 3.4).
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Figure 2: Mapping service satisfaction results on satisfaction matrix Table 3: Incubated start‐ups service satisfaction survey results Importance of Service
Service/Needs
Networking and access to professional services Access to investors (angel investors, venture 4.6 capitals) Access to legal advice and support in company 4.4 registration Access to networking services with similar 3.9 business Access to talent and support in recruitment 3.8 Average
Perceived Performance
3.5 3.1 3 1.9
4.2
2.8
Business Support Services Access to coaching services 4.2
3.5
Access to training services
3.4
3.4
Average
3.8
3.45
Facilities and Infrastructure Services Access to affordable space and facilities 4
4.6
6. How do incubators help start‐ups in fund‐raising? As highlighted in the previous section, start‐ups satisfaction level with incubators performance on fund‐raising services was above average. Further to satisfaction level rating, we asked our respondents how do you believe incubators help you to raise fund, 90% of the respondents mentioned that incubators help them to raise fund by connecting them directly to investors, 80% mentioned that incubators help them by improving the overall start‐up image, 50% mentioned that incubators help them by improving their business model and fund raising proposal, while only 10% mentioned that incubators did not help them at all in raising fund. From such results we can conclude the incubators have a clear positive impact on helping start‐ups in fund raising process. (Table 4)
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Ayman Ismail and Sherif Yehia Table 4: Incubators role on supporting start‐ups on raising fund How do incubators help you to raise fund?
Connecting me directly to investors (angels investors, venture capital)
90%
Improving my overall start‐up image to better attract investors Helping me develop the right business model and plans, and fund raising proposal Believe it did not help me at all
80% 50% 10%
7. Do incubators help start‐ups in recruitment and attracting talent? The second performance indicator that we wanted to assess incubators impact on is supporting start‐ups on attracting and recruiting talents and recruitment. The survey results showed that start‐ups rated this service above average on the importance level, although it was not on the top needs list. On the satisfaction level with service effectiveness/performance, Access to talent shows that start‐ups are not satisfied with the level of the provided service versus their expectations (rate 1.9 effectiveness vs.3.8 importance), which shows that incubators are not considering this service as a core priority. Also when we asked start‐ups how do you believe incubators are helping your start‐ups on recruitment, 60% of respondents mentioned that they believe incubators do not help them at all on this aspect, 30% believe that incubators help them by connecting their start‐ups directly to talents, while 20% believe incubators help them by improving their overall image and attractiveness (Table 5). Table 5: incubators role on supporting start‐ups on attracting talents How do incubators help your start‐up in attracting talents/recruitment?
Improving my start‐up image and attractiveness to talents
20%
Connecting my start‐up directly with talent/job seekers Connecting my start‐up with recruitment agencies I believe it did not help at all
30% 0% 60%
8. Comparison between non‐incubated and incubated start‐ups challenges To understand further the impact of incubators on start‐ups we assessed the level of challenges faced by non‐ incubated start‐ups in comparison with the level of challenges faced by incubated start‐ups. To assess this we asked non‐incubated start‐ups to rate the importance of the indicated services and to rate the difficulty of having access to those services, then we multiplied the results of both to assess the overall criticality of those services (criticality score) to non‐incubated start‐ups. The results showed that for non‐incubated start‐ups having access to fund and investors remains the number one most important (importance rating 4.1) and challenging (difficulty to access rating 4) services, which is similar to what was indicated by incubated start‐ups. The second most important and difficult to access service was Access to Coaching services followed by access to talents and recruitment support. Comparing non‐incubated start‐up with incubated start‐ups results show that incubated start‐ups have above average level with perceived service effectiveness/performance for both Access to Fund and Access to Coaching Services, which provides an indication that incubated start‐ups have an advantage above non‐ incubated in having access to fund and coaching services. This analysis also shows that “Access to talent and recruitment support” remains as one of the moderately important and unsatisfied service for both incubated and non‐incubated start‐ups (Table 6).
9. Conclusion The objective of the research was to assess if incubation is actually helping start‐ups in their early stage to succeed, the approach to understand this impact was through measuring start‐ups satisfaction level with the provided services and through assessing the overall impact of incubation on helping start‐ups in having access to investors and talents. The research results indicated that incubated start‐ups perceive incubators as an overall positive contributor to the success of their businesses. Access to fund and investors was rated as the most important and challenging need among both incubated start‐ups and non‐incubated start‐ups. Based on
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Ayman Ismail and Sherif Yehia the survey results Incubators played a positive role in supporting start‐ups in raising fund, primarily by connecting start‐ups directly with investors, followed by improving the overall image of start‐ups, which supports in attracting investors. Incubators scored low on perceived service effectiveness/performance level in supporting start‐ups in attracting talent (rate 1.9 on scale 1‐5). Table 6: Comparison between non‐incubated and incubated start‐ups challenges and needs. Service/Need Access to investors (angel investors, venture capitals) Access to coaching services Access to talent and support in recruitment Access to market research data Access to training services Networking with Similar Businesses Access to legal advice and support in company registration Access to affordable space and facilities
Non‐incubated Start‐ups
Incubated Start‐ups
Importanc e Level (A)
Difficulty to Access (B)
Criticality Score (AxB)
Importance of Service
Satisfaction
4.1
4.0
16.5
4.6
3.5
4.4
3.4
14.8
4.2
3.5
3.8
3.4
12.7
3.8
1.9
3.0
3.9
11.6
3.7
2.0
3.8
2.8
10.3
3.4
3.4
4.2
1.9
7.8
3.8
1.9
2.8
2.4
6.5
4.4
3.1
2.3
2.4
5.3
4.0
4.6
From service classification level, Networking related service includes most of the main important services, all services were rated above 3.7 on importance, while the average perceived effectiveness/performance of networking category is 2.8, this indicates that incubators are required to give more focus on improving networking services with focus on services with satisfaction level on boarder line (less than rate 3.5). Perceived effectiveness/performance level with Space and facilities related services was rated as the highest among all other services in all categories, which provides an indication that incubators are satisfying this service with performance in relation to start‐ups expectations. For in non‐incubated start‐ups, the survey results showed that access to investors/fund was highlighted as the most important and challenging to access service followed by access to coaching services, on the other hand incubated start‐ups showed above average on perceived service effectiveness/performance level on access to fund and access to coaching services which gives an indication that incubated start‐ups have an advantage above non‐incubated start‐ups.
References Accelerating Entrepreneurship in the Arab World (2011), A World Economic Forum report in collaboration with Booz & Company. European Commission (2002),Benchmarking of Business Incubators, Final Report. Brussels. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (2010), Egypt National Report. Johan Bruneel, Tiago Ratinho, Bart Clarysse, Aard Groen, The Evolution of Business Incubators: Comparing demand and supply of business incubation services across different incubator generations, Technovation, Vol 32, Issue:2. Muhamad Abduh, Clare D'Souza, Ali Quazi, Henry T. Burley, (2007) "Investigating and classifying clients' satisfaction with business incubator services", Managing Service Quality, Vol. 17 Issue: 1, pp.74 – 91. Semih A, Erol, T (2004) Assessing the Effectiveness of Incubators: The Case of Turkey, Economic Research Center, Middle East Technical University.
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The Effect of Knowledge Management Practices on Employees’ Innovative Performance Seyed Mohammadbagher Jafari1, Mariyayee Suppiah2and Thiaku Ramalingam3 1 Faculty of Management & Accounting, University of Tehran, Iran 2 Shell Business Service Centre SdnBhd, Cyberjaya, Malaysia 3 Faculty of Graduate School of Management, Multimedia University (Cyberjaya), Malaysia
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Abstract: The subject of innovation has been considered an important factor that contributes to both growth and survival of mankind. Given the importance lead by innovation, researches from multiple disciplines have attempted to answer to some critical questions like “what can be done to improve innovation at the workplace?” The management of knowledge is commonly recognized as an important antecedent towards innovation. The importance in finding the best process oriented approach as well as best industrial practices of knowledge management has surged steadily over the period due to rapid globalization and the need for organizations to seek competitive advantage. However, it is often argued that too much formalization of the best practice could actually hinder creativity and innovation within the organization. This research paper is aimed to explore the influence of knowledge management practices on employees’ innovative performance in an organization perspective. Knowledge management practices within an organization can be defined by; knowledge acquisition, knowledge dissemination and finally responsiveness towards knowledge. In order to test the influence of these variables on employees’ innovative performance, seven hypotheses were developed based on the theoretical research framework. The quantitative survey approach was selected as the method to evaluate the significance of each hypothesis. The data collection results were from 384 usable questionnaires that had been previously distributed to multiple manufacturing firms in Malaysia. The results obtained from this research conclude that knowledge management plays a vital role on supporting employees’ innovative performance within organizations. It also revealed that two types of knowledge management subcategories; knowledge acquisition and responsiveness to knowledge plays more significant role on encouraging employees’ innovative performance in comparison with knowledge dissemination. The managerial implications and limitations of current study were also discussed in the paper. Keywords: knowledge management, innovation, employees’ performance, best practices, Malaysian manufacturing industries
1. Introduction Currently, there exist various management tools deployed to facilitate in helping on business decision making that lead to enhanced processes, innovative products and better services. This contributes to improved organization performance and drives to increased profitability. Successful implementation of such tools requires deeper understanding on the strength and weakness of each tool as well developing the ability to creatively integrate the right tools, in the right way and ultimately at the right time (Hackett 2000). Knowledge management has its roots deeply ingrained in the study of knowledge which has been a deeply contested issue since ancient times (Turban et al. 2007). Over the last decade, interest in finding the best practices of knowledge management in the industry has surged dramatically due to rapid globalization. Although the importance of knowledge to organizations were often discussed in the past, the knowledge‐based‐view of the firm brought new meaning to the value of organizational knowledge by identifying it as an important resource comparable to the need of capital investment for an organization (Conner & Prahalad 1996; Grant 1996; Spender 1996). Additionally, innovation has also been considered as important factor that contributes to growth and survival of mankind. On a organizational perspective, innovation has been established as a necessary aspect for firms that intend to remain competitive in the business or pursue of long‐term competitive advantage (Hamel 1998; Roberts 1998). Given the importance of innovation, researches from a variety of disciplines have looked to answer to the critical question ‘What can be done to improve innovation at the workplace?’(Anderson & West 1996; Capon et al. 1992; Cooper & Kleinschmidt 2007; Freeman & Soete 1997). With the emergence of knowledge management and intellectual as key to new disciplines (Bontis, Keow & Richardson 2000), studies have started to appear in which these constructs add to the long list of possible antecedents of innovation (Andreeva & Kianto 2012; Carneiro 2000; Dove 1999; Laosirihongthong, Prajogo & Adebanjo 2013; Nonaka 1995).
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Seyed Mohammadbagher Jafari, Mariyayee Suppiah and Thiaku Ramalingam Hackett (2000) stated that ‘best practices’ simply indicated the process of turning tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge which is part of the continuous cycle of learning, sharing, refection, and use of that knowledge. However, most knowledge management efforts have focused mainly on improving efficiency by sharing of internal ‘best practices’. It is also important to understand that intense level formalization of the ‘best way’ could hinder the progress of implementing creativity and innovative thinking among the employees. Therefore, the research attempted to answer the question if knowledge management best practices will lead to better employees’ innovative performance at work? In Malaysia, knowledge management had been identified to be a key factor in ensuring organizational success (Gan, Ryan & Gururajan 2006). However, there are few empirical studies available that explores the relationship between the structures of a firm’s knowledge management practices and its effect on the firm employees’ innovative performance. Thus, the objective of the research paper is to evaluate the hypotheses drawn with respect to knowledge management as the independent variables and employees’ innovative work performance as the dependent variable by studying empirically on Malaysian manufacturing industries.
2. Theoretical framework and hypotheses development Previous literatures emphasized on the importance of intangible assets for attaining superior performance and achieving sustainable competitive advantage (Grant 1996). Among intangible assets, knowledge is arguably the most important resource an organization controls (Liebeskind 1999). It is suggested that knowledge is an integral input towards innovation process (Rosenkopf & Almeida 2003). On the other hand, innovation represents by definition something new and therefore adds to existing knowledge collection. Many authors use the concept of knowledge creation and knowledge production by referring to technological knowledge resultingto technical innovation as the output of that process (Antonelli 1999; Nonaka 1995). However, it is safe to iterate that innovation within a firm cannot be materialized when innovative ideas from the employees are not captured, taken note or even recorded for future reference. While there are many extensive researches on innovation, few literatures appear convincingly with empirical evidence that portrays knowledge acquisition to positively affect innovation. Nevertheless, mixed evidence do surface on knowledge dissemination or responsiveness to both knowledge and innovation as mentioned in some researches that the level of impact contributed by knowledge dissemination and responsiveness to knowledge appears to be more significant compared to knowledge acquisition (Darroch, Jenny 2005). Studies on knowledge acquisition have found a positive link between acquiring market knowledge or also known as knowledge from employees and innovation ideas suggested by the employees (Cooper 1979; Li & Calantone 1998; Tang 1998). Furthermore, when knowledge is implemented, learning takes place, which in turn, improves the stock of knowledge available within the firm. Knowledge transfer among organizations create opportunities for mutual learning and cooperation that stimulates the creation of new knowledge and, at the same time contributes towards these organizations’ ability to continue to innovate (Miller, Fern & Cardinal 2007; Sankowska 2013). Thus, an organization that effectively manages knowledge is also likely to be a learning organization (Sinkula, Baker & Noordewier 1997). Notable evidence exists on the importance of knowledge management that contributes to success of innovation at any types of organizations. Numerous academicians have recognized the importance of the relationships between knowledge management and innovation (Chourides, Longbottom & Murphy 2003; Davenport & Pruzak 2000; Gopalakrishnan & Bierly 2001; Hall & Andriani 2003; Nonaka 1995; Yamin, Gunasekaran & Mavondo 1999). At the same time, there exists studies which indicated that knowledge management capable of leading an idea to the next innovation level (Forrester 2000; Gopalakrishnan & Bierly 2001; Hung et al. 2010). Knowledge management is emerging as an important subject; often cited as an antecedent of innovation going back toearlier years of 1990s’ (Lin & Lee 2005; Nonaka 1995). According to Gloet and Terziovski(2004), the humanist approach towards knowledge management and innovation performance are significant and positively related. Knowledge application is the facilitator of successful innovation output (Gilbert & Cordey‐Hayes 1996).
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Seyed Mohammadbagher Jafari, Mariyayee Suppiah and Thiaku Ramalingam Following the study by Darroch(2003), in this research the knowledge management is divided into three parts: knowledge acquisition, knowledge, dissemination and responsiveness to knowledge. Based on the literatures by Darroch (2003) and Darroch (2005), this study assumes a positive relationship between the three knowledge management components. A firm with access to a greater pool of knowledge would present better‐ developed knowledge dissemination and responsiveness to knowledge behaviors thru its practices. Similarly, an organization with better‐developed knowledge dissemination behaviors and practices will be more responsive towards knowledge. Therefore, the following hypotheseswere developed: H1; Knowledge acquisition positively affects employees’ knowledge dissemination in the organization. H2; Knowledge dissemination positively affects employees’ responsiveness to knowledge in the organization. H3; Knowledge acquisition positively affects employees’ responsiveness to knowledge in the organization. It is argued that knowledge management is capable of lead an idea to innovation level (Forrester 2000; Gopalakrishnan & Bierly 2001; Hung et al. 2010). Thus, it is proposed that each component of knowledge management has positive effect on innovation. In order for innovation to take place, managers first need to have the necessary knowledge on the internal and external forces that affect the firm – the more knowledge, and the greater the variety of knowledge, the better. Secondly, knowledge must flow freely around the organization– the better the dissemination of knowledge the greater the likelihood of innovation as more people within different levels and departments of the organization are exposed to new knowledge that interacts with the knowledge already held. Lastly, an innovative organization by definitionis responsive. In fact, innovation is a response by itself. Therefore, the more responsive and agile an organization , it is more likely to be innovative as well (Darroch, Jenny 2005). Thus, the relevant hypotheses were developed: H4; Knowledge acquisition positively affects employees’ innovative performance in the organization. H5; Knowledge dissemination positively affects employees’ innovative performance in the organization. H6; Responsiveness to knowledge positively affects employees’ innovative performance in the organization. Based on the literature review, it is evident that effective knowledge management is a worthwhile activity for managers to emphasize on innovation efforts to boost organizational performance. In order to encourage the implementation of innovation, managers need to develop the knowledge management behaviors and practices (Brand 1998; Carneiro 2000; Chourides, Longbottom & Murphy 2003). Thus, knowledge management construct is presented as positively affecting employees’ innovative performance. The following hypotheses were developed: H7; Knowledge acquisition, knowledge dissemination and responsiveness to knowledge positively affect employees’ innovative performance. Figure 1 illustrates the research framework.
Knowledge Acquisition
Employees’ Innovative Performance
Knowledge Dissemination
Responsiveness to Knowledge
Figure 1: Research framework
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3. Method 3.1 Population and sample In order to test the hypothesized relationships proposed in the research framework, data was collected from Malaysian manufacturing industries. Based on the statistics compiled from the Annual Survey of Malaysian Manufacturing Industries conducted in 2010 (JPM 2010), employees working in the manufacturing industries were 1,693,154. Therefore, based on the Krejcie and Morgan’s (1970) sample size formula, the required sample for testing the research model would be 384.
3.2 Measures The items selected to build the questionnaire were adopted from various sources. Table 1 shows the items adoption breakdown. Table 1: Measures Variable Knowledge Acquisition Knowledge Dissemination Responsiveness to Knowledge Employees’ Innovative Performance
Source Darroch(2005) Darroch (2005) Darroch (2005) De Jong and Den Hartog (2007), Fernandez and Moldogaziev (2011)
The Likert scale was selected to examine how strong subjects agree or disagree with the statements on a five‐ point scale from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”. A questionnaire was developed with all the items and there was a total of 27 items (excluding demographic information). The questionnaire was initially distributed to two experts specialized in questionnaire design and three scholars in knowledge management field for pre‐testing purposes. After improving the questionnaire based on the the suggestions and feedback from the experts, a pilot study was conducted with 30 respondents. The reliability test was conducted on the data from the pilot study. The Cronbach’s alpha scores for all the constructs are shown on Table 2. All the results were found to have exceed value of 0.7 to indicate high reliability of the instruments used (Hair et al. 2006). Based on the feedback, there were no significant changes to the items enlisted on the questionnaire. Table 2: Reliability statistics Variable Knowledge Acquisition Knowledge Dissemination Responsiveness to Knowledge Employees’ Innovative Performance
Cronbach’s Alpha .767 .734 .845 .874
The online survey tool was preferred as the data collection method. The electronic questionnaire is probably the most widely used data collection technique for conducting surveys in this fast moving environment. Electronic questionnaire and survey design questionnaire were elected because they can reach across a widely distributed population. Global research is now vastly facilitated by electronic systems (Sekaran & Bougie 2010). The targeted firms or organizations were located in various parts of Peninsular and East Malaysia. Therefore, Web based survey was a good tool to reach these respondents. Based on the survey conducted and output collected, we managed to gather 420 replies. The evaluation of questionnaires by checking their completeness resulted in eliminating some cases. After it, 384 good and useable questionnaires were selected for data analysis.
4. Results 4.1 Descriptive statistics The characteristics of the respondents are: (1) 38% were males and 62% were females, (2) the highest frequency in age group which is more than 50% is for those who fall under age group 31 – 40 years old. The combination of age group 31 – 40 years category and age group 21 – 30 years category brings to a total of 91% of respondents, (3) in the case of the level of qualification, 82% of respondents hold bachelor degree and
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Seyed Mohammadbagher Jafari, Mariyayee Suppiah and Thiaku Ramalingam above, (4) most of the participation came from ‘executive’ level with almost 46%. This statistic is followed with ‘manager’ position holders; 17% and ‘analyst’ position holders around 17%. Opinions from executives are crucial as they belong to elite group who will not easily accept the existing working methods of their organizations. There would have fresh ideas which are vital for the improvement of their organization’s business growth (Van Clieaf 1992). And finally, (5) 63% of the respondents have more than 5 years work experience that shows they have enough experience for providing valuable comments via the survey questions.
4.2 Correlation analysis Table 3 provides the results of the correlation analysis among variables. As it can be seen, all correlations between knowledge management subcategories andemployees’ innovative performance were positive and significant. Table 3: Correlations analysis Knowledge Acquisition (KA) Knowledge Dissemination (KD) Responsiveness to Knowledge (RK) Employees’ Innovative Performance (EIP)
KA 1 .672** .672** .585**
KD 1 .674** .619**
RK 1 .667**
EIP 1
**Correlation is significant at p ChiSq
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Parameter Estimate ‐0.20781 ‐0.27415 ‐0.60290 ‐0.29837 ‐0.80409 0.15205 0.32270 ‐0.39723 ‐0.65025
4.2527 0.8132 7.9670 1.9922 86.5845 3.5393 7.7544 20.0167 9.1846
0.0392 0.3672 0.0048 0.1581