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The purpose of this paper is to investigate how supply and demand interact during industrial emergence.

The paper builds on previous theorising about co-evolutionary dynamics, exploring the interaction between supply and demand in a study of the industrial emergence of the commercial inkjet cluster in Cambridge, UK. Data are collected through 13 interviews with professionals working in the industry.

The paper shows that as new industries emerge, asynchronies between technology supply and market demand create opportunities for entrepreneurial activity. In attempting to match innovative technologies to particular applications, entrepreneurs adapt to the system conditions and shape the environment to their own advantage. Firms that successfully operate in emerging industries demonstrate the functionality of new technologies, reducing uncertainty and increasing customer receptiveness.

The research is geographically bounded to the Cambridge commercial inkjet cluster. Further studies could consider commercial inkjet from a global perspective or test the applicability of the findings in other industries.

Technology-based firms are often innovating during periods of industrial emergence. The insights developed in this paper help such firms recognise the emerging context in which they operate and the challenges that need to overcome.

As an in depth study of a single industry, this research responds to calls for studies into industrial emergence, providing insights into how supply and demand interact during this phase of the industry lifecycle.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential applications of stratospheric communication platforms (SCP), which have been recently introduced as an alternative for satellite communications.

Various applications, solutions and services are planned by using aircraft or airship SCP, which could be classified as digital narrowband or broadband, depending on the broadband required. The platforms as base stations can provide service for fixed and mobile applications, with commercial and military solutions. Subscribers will use uplink to the platform for transmitting and receiving information, where onboard SCP switching devices will downlink to the ground station and route traffic directly to other subscribers within the same platform coverage, to another platform via optical inter‐platform links, trough heterogeneous networks including satellite or to the terrestrial telecommunications network. Each SCP can deploy an antenna for large coverage area or a multibeam antenna capable of projecting numerous spot beams within its potential coverage area.

This paper outlines the findings of fixed and mobile applications, features, testing and some specific development programs of SCP using aircraft solutions, such as SkyTower and airship solutions, such as CRL/TAO/NAL.

Particular consideration is given to the use of SCP for delivery of future broadband, broadcast and multimedia wireless communications including research for new communication, navigation and surveillance (CNS) implications.

SCP will provide communication facilities that can exploit the best features for both terrestrial and satellite schemes.

Emerging solutions of voice, data and video over IP are offered by SCPs operating in the stratosphere at altitudes of up to 25 km.

This paper aims to determine the important role of acoustic wave devices in sensing applications such as automotive applications, industrial applications and commercial applications.

The paper provides a comprehensive overview of acoustic wave technology and highlights an example of one commercial implementation of its technology for sensing application: a commercially available real‐time, online threaded bolt viscosity sensor.

The commercially available viscosity sensor can be readily applied in field operations or installed directly on the equipment for continuous monitoring of viscosity to enable technicians/mechanics to test the oil in minutes.

The paper introduces a new product for the sensing industry.

Universities face incredibly difficult, complex decisions concerning the degree to which they participate in the process of commercializing research. The U.S. government has made an explicit policy decision to allow funded entities to obtain patents and thereby has encouraged participation in the commercialization of federally funded research. The Bayh-Dole Act enables universities to participate in the commercialization process, but it does not obligate or constrain them to pursue any particular strategy with respect to federally funded research. Universities remain in the driver's seat and must decide carefully the extent to which they wish to participate in the commercialization process.The conventional view of the role of patents in the university research context is that patent-enabled exclusivity improves the supply-side functioning of markets for university research results as well as those markets further downstream for derivative commercial end-products. Both the reward and commercialization theories of patent law take patent-enabled exclusivity as the relevant means for fixing a supply-side problem – essentially, the undersupply of private investment in the production of patentable subject matter or in the development and commercialization of patentable subject matter that would occur in the absence of patent-enabled exclusivity.While the supply-side view of the role of patents in the university research context is important, a view from the demand side is needed to fully appreciate the role of patents in the university research context and to fully inform university decisions about the extent to which they wish to participate in the commercialization process. Introducing patents into the university research system, along with a host of other initiatives aimed at tightening the relationship between universities and industry, is also (if not primarily) about increasing connectivity between university science and technology research systems and the demands of industry for both university research outputs (research results and human capital) and upstream infrastructural capital necessary to produce such outputs.In this chapter, I explore how university science and technology research systems perform economically as infrastructural capital and explain how these systems generate social value. I explain how the availability of patents, coupled with decreased government funding, may lead to a slow and subtle shift in the allocation of infrastructure resources.

The successful implementation of an optimal online system for specification and procurement has been impeded by the existence of semi‐structured or non‐structured product information held in catalogues in various formats. Consequently, a significant amount of time is spent in gathering relevant information. Proposes introducing a successful optimal online specification and procurement system for construction products.

The design and specification of the prototype were based on the analysis of closely related agent‐based implementations in various domains.

In the development phase it emerged that agent infrastructure is still maturing, even when a stable development environment is finally available. This is consistent with the latest research in this area which places the highest value on internet agents within the context of the semantic web.

This research demonstrated how agent technology can be used alongside other paradigms such as web services and XML to make the specification and procurement of construction products more effective and more efficient.

The Linux operating system has emerged as a competitor to both Microsoft Windows and commercial implementations of UNIX. Linux provides a robust, stable computing environment on a variety of architectures including Intel X86, SPARC, and Alpha. A significant number of desktop and server applications have been ported to Linux. The number of companies willing to provide fee‐based technical support for Linux continues to grow. When combined with Linux’s low initial purchase price, such factors offer a compelling reason for libraries to consider Linux as an alternative to commercial operating systems.

Neural networks and expert systems are two major branches of artificial intelligence (AI). Their emergence has created the potential for a new generation of computer‐based applications in the area of financial decision making. Both systems are used by financial institutions and corporations for a variety of new applications from credit scoring to bond rating to detection of credit card fraud. While both systems belong to the applied field of artificial intelligence, there are many differences between them which differentiate their potential capabilities in the field of business. Presents an analysis of both neural networks and expert systems applications in terms of their capabilities and weaknesses. Uses examples of financial applications of expert systems and neural networks to provide a unified context for the comparison.

Discusses a new methodology for launching or expanding the commercialization of new under‐utilized technologies. The approach discussed involves the active participation of international industrial opinion leaders in the commercial development process, and the role they can play in: assessing the value and uniqueness of a technology, on a regional or global basis; determining those applications and end uses that address significant market needs and possess the greatest business potential for initial or expanded commercialization; and providing access to industry leading, prospective end‐users and joint development partners to accelerate commercialization of the technology in domestic and/or international markets. Includes several case histories for Accelerated Commercialization – the methodology practised by SICO International Technologies, Inc. – involving highly diverse industries and technologies. Also includes a brief history of the evolution of the process of idea generation into the described methodology for technology commercialization.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of agility in the context of supply chains of humanitarian aid (HA) organizations, particularly non‐government organizations (NGOs). This responds to the increasing pressure on NGOs to use their resources more strategically if they are to gain donor trust and long‐term commitment.

A literature‐based approach that extends the commercial supply chain concept of agility to NGOs is combined with the first exploratory semi‐structured interviews of these concepts with five NGO supply chain directors.

The commercial concept of agility when responding to disaster relief holds strong potential for increasing efficiency and effectiveness, but this application is restrained by the absence of supporting information technology (IT) and the relegation of supply chain management (SCM) to the “back office” by NGOs. This has potential implications for NGOs and other HA agencies.

This paper represents an exploratory study, and an extended pool of interviewees would reinforce the qualitative findings. Planned future research will address this issue.

Practical guidance on how NGOs can proactively manage their organization's ability to respond with agility in a highly pressured environment is provided.

This paper is the first to offer practical guidance to managers of NGOs on strategies available to improve their organization's flexibility and agility, based on theoretical concepts and initial exploratory data. In addition, evidence of how commercial tools apply in a different arena may prompt commercial managers to be more innovative in utilizing and customizing supply chain principles to their particular context of operation.

The emerging and rapidly growing space economy warrants initial analysis from an accounting lens. This article explores accounting's role in entity transactions involving outer space activities by addressing two questions: (1) What accounting challenges exist within a developing space economy? (2) What accounting research opportunities exist to address these challenges?

Background context introduces accounting scholars to the modern space economy and its economic infrastructure, providing insight on entity transactions involving activities in outer space. Detailed discussion and analysis of space accounting challenges and research opportunities reveal potential for a robust, interdisciplinary field in the accounting domain relevant for both practitioner and academic spheres. The article concludes with a summary investigation of the future exploration of accounting for space commerce.

Many accounting challenges and opportunities exist now and in the near future for accounting practitioners and scholars to contribute towards humanity's ambitious plans to achieve a sustained presence on the moon sometime during the 2020s and on Mars in the 2030s. All of accounting's traditional subject-matter domain, as well as sustainability accounting matters, will be relied upon in these efforts. Interdisciplinary inquiries and problem solving will be critical for success, with particular collaboration needs existing between accounting and operations management scholars.

This is the first paper to explore accounting for the burgeoning space economy, and to offer insight and guidance on the development of an emerging accounting subfield: space accounting.