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Supply chain risks (SCRs) do not work in isolation and have impact both on each member of a chain and the performance of the entire supply chain. The purpose of this paper is to quantitatively assess the impact of dynamic risk propagation within and between integrated firms in global fresh produce supply chains.

A risk propagation ontology-based Bayesian network (BN) model was developed to measure dynamic SCR propagation. The proposed model was applied to a two-tier Australia-China table grape supply chain (ACTGSC) featured with an upstream Australian integrated grower and exporter and a downstream Chinese integrated importer and online retailer.

An ontology-based BN can be generated to accurately represent the risk domain of interest using the knowledge and inference capabilities inherent in a risk propagation ontology. In addition, the analyses revealed that supply discontinuity, product inconsistency and/or delivery delay originating in the upstream firm can propagate to increase the downstream firm’s customer value risk and business performance risk.

The work was conducted in an Australian-China table grape supply chain, so results are only product chain-specific in nature. Additionally, only two state values were considered for all nodes in the model, and finally, while the proposed methodology does provide a large-scale risk network map, it may not be appropriate for a large supply chain network as it only follows the process flow of a single supply chain.

This study supports the backward-looking traceability of risk root causes through the ACTGSC and the forward-looking prediction of risk propagation to key risk performance measures.

The methodology used in this paper provides an evidence-based decision-making capability as part of a system-wide risk management approach and fosters collaborative SCR management, which can yield numerous societal benefits.

The proposed methodology addresses the challenges in using a knowledge-based approach to develop a BN model, particularly with a large-scale model and integrates risk and performance for a holistic risk propagation assessment. The combination of modelling approaches to address the issue is unique.

Life cycle models have become important in explaining the changing size structure of firms based on the carrying capacity of regions or industries. In particular, the population ecology model predicts stages of growth, maturity and eventually decline in the number of firms in an industry. There has been criticism of such models because of their focus on external variables as pre‐determinants of the potential for enterprise development. This paper attempts to reconcile the external focus of the population ecology model with relevant internal management factors in enterprise development. A survey was conducted of Australian services exporters, and the results not only confirm the existence of four separate life cycle stages in the population ecology model, but also identify the external and internal variables that are strategically relevant at each of the stages. The findings provide potentially useful information in a range of contexts including the design of small business assistance as well a providing “guide posts” to entrepreneurs engaged in enterprise development.

Success in research – or ‘mastery’ as we call it – can lead to interdisciplinarity arising among the increasingly fragmented disciplines of science: researchers in molecular biology can be assisted by advances in the physics of atomic imaging, when they become aware of a development's potential and feel motivated to take advantage of it. The unpredictability of advances in scientific research makes the location and nature of interdisciplinarity largely unpredictable. This unpredictability means that organisational structures in which scientific research takes place – and in which our students are trained – are likely to lag behind interdisciplinary synergies developing in the laboratory. The lag time suggested by our model explains the challenges faced by leaders of interdisciplinary programmes in higher education. One can conclude that opportunities for interdisciplinarity in science are held back by discipline-bound institutions.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the need in biotechnology to integrate a variety of knowledge bases to build the intellectual asset base of the commercial entity operating in the biotechnology industry.

The paper is based upon a single case study of a young biotechnology company, itself relying on the knowledge and expertise of four directors. To analyze the responses of the four directors to a single lead question, designed to prompt the respondents to articulate the intellectual capital they offer to the firm, this study employs a novel text analytical tool known as Perspective Text Analysis (Pertex).

The results show the disparate nature of the individual knowledge sets in contributing to the interdisciplinary base of the firm. The combined analysis illustrates the importance of collective intellectual capital through “sustainable collaboration.”

This study employs a novel analytical tool to undertake an analysis of both individual intellectual capital and collective interdisciplinary contribution using data from a single question. Pertex is a valuable tool in analyzing the intentionality of a respondent by cutting through to the true essence of their response.

The debate over the innovative role of small firms has largely been resolved. However, researchers have yet to establish the basis for some small firms being more innovative than others and the impact of their innovations on their industry. There is also an imperative to augment current literature on small service firms. This paper presents a study of small service exporters and differentiates between three groups based upon their innovativeness. Using analysis of variance as the analytical technique, significant differences are found between groups, indicating that the more innovative firms are of greater potential value to their industry. The findings displayed in this paper support the push for innovation strategy as a means of developing new and emerging markets by pioneering small firms.

While the global education debate remains focused on graduate skills and employability, the absence of a shared language between student, academic and industry stakeholder groups means that defining industry skills requirements is both essential and difficult. The purpose of this paper is to assess graduate skills requirements in a knowledge-intensive industry from a demand perspective as distinct from a curriculum (supply) viewpoint.

Skills items were derived from a breadth of disciplines across academic, policy and industry literature. CEOs and senior managers in the innovation and commercialisation industry were surveyed regarding perceptions of skills in graduates and skills in demand by the firm. Two rounds of exploratory factor analyses were undertaken to examine employers’ perceptions of the skills gap.

First-order analysis resolved ten broad constructs that represent cognitive, interpersonal and intrapersonal skills domains as applied in this industry. Knowledge, leadership and interprofessional collaboration feature as prominent skills. Second-order analysis revealed employers’ perceptions of graduate skills specifically centre on organisational fit and organisational success. An over-arching theme relates to performance of the individual in organisations.

The findings suggest that the discourse on employability and the design of curriculum need to shift from instilling lists of skills towards enabling graduates to perform in a diversity of workplace contexts and expectations centred on organisational purpose.

In contrast to the heterogeneous nature of industry surveys, the authors targeted a homogenous sector that is representative of knowledge-intensive industries. This study contributes to the broader stakeholder dialogue of the value and application of graduate skills in this and other industry sectors.

This study contributes to the understanding of the health effects of pesticides exposure and of how pesticides have been and should be regulated.

This study presents literature reviews for the period 2000–2013 on (i) the health effects of pesticides and on (ii) preference valuation of health risks related to pesticides, as well as a discussion of the role of benefit-cost analysis applied to pesticide regulatory measures.

This study indicates that the health literature has focused on individuals with direct exposure to pesticides, i.e. farmers, while the literature on preference valuation has focused on those with indirect exposure, i.e. consumers. The discussion highlights the need to clarify the rationale for regulating pesticides, the role of risk perceptions in benefit-cost analysis, and the importance of inter-disciplinary research in this area.

This study relates findings of different disciplines (health, economics, public policy) regarding pesticides, and identifies gaps for future research.

Requirements management has become a challenge for new product development (NPD) as products are getting increasingly complicated and customer segments more fragmented. The purpose of this paper is to provide new ideas for improving requirements management in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector.

A qualitative interview study is carried out in the ICT sector to clarify the current challenges in requirements management. The results of the interview study are analysed using a benchmark from the automotive industry. This benchmark is chosen, as the automotive industry is a developed business sector that has streamlined its business processes, including its requirements management.

The paper shows how ICT can benefit from the experience of the car industry on issues such as managing customer needs throughout the NPD process, overflow of data and communicating requirements with suppliers.

Using another sector as a benchmark is not a straightforward process and results cannot be directly copied. Fresh ideas are, however, obtainable when a well‐developed benchmark is used and results are applied flexibly. Deeper analysis on individual areas indentified here might be interesting topics for further study.

The paper shows that managers in the ICT sector should pay more attention to their requirements management and serving the needs of internal customers. The requirements management of the Japanese automotive industry is a potential source for improvement initiatives.

The paper provides new perspectives for the requirements management of the ICT sector by benchmarking the Japanese automotive industry.