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1 – 10 of over 39000Li Tang, Philip Shapira and Yu Meng
This paper aims to explore pathways and issues of small business technological commercialization in China, probing the particular characteristics of the Chinese context and the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore pathways and issues of small business technological commercialization in China, probing the particular characteristics of the Chinese context and the ways in which innovation frameworks, institutions and business strategies are embedded.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors examine in detail the case of an innovative Chinese indigenous small firm engaged in innovative nanotechnology materials development. The strategies and push- and pull factors underlying the company’s innovation practices were investigated. The proposition that the institutional relationships formed to secure access to research expertise and aid business survival also influence the ways in which technology is commercialized was explored.
Findings
It was found that while technological development is company-driven, it is also highly connected to regional innovation structures and networks. This stimulates a “spin-in” rather than a university-led model of development, as this small firm embeds its technology and business development strategies in conjunction with partner organizations. Broader management and policy implications are discussed.
Originality/value
While China has rapidly expanded scientific research in emerging technologies such as nanotechnology, commercialization through the development of entrepreneurial technology-oriented small companies faces a series of challenges. New enterprises in the emerging area of nanotechnology encounter problems of technology transfer and intellectual property management, capital acquisition, market uncertainty and constrained access to global markets.
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Emiliya V. Suprun and Rodney A. Stewart
The aim of this study is to explore the current situation in the Russian construction industry and the obstacles, drivers and strategies that affect innovation implementation most…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to explore the current situation in the Russian construction industry and the obstacles, drivers and strategies that affect innovation implementation most significantly. The Russian construction industry is highly conservative and is often criticised for its lack of innovation. Construction firms invest relatively little in innovation adoption, development of new ideas and formal research and development.
Design/methodology/approach
This study utilised an extensive literature review followed by a questionnaire survey incorporating some post hoc interviews with 52 experts from the Russian architecture, engineering and construction industry to identify the most significant drivers, enablers, barriers and strategies related to innovation diffusion in construction.
Findings
Findings indicated that economic and financial difficulties, as well as inappropriate legislation, are the most significant barriers to innovation. Financial incentives, legislative improvements and the promotion of alternative construction procurement methods were viewed as the most critical strategies to improve the current lacklustre rate of innovation diffusion.
Originality/value
While there is anecdotal evidence that the Russian construction industry is lagging in terms of technological advancement, its closed nature means that there is still little reported evidence on what are the main barriers to innovation diffusion in this country. Hence, there is a lack of focus on innovation diffusion rates in different construction sectors, such as building and civil infrastructure and limited consideration on how effectively the research and development sector contributes to innovation.
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Ramiro Z. Dela Cruz and Ruth A. Ortega-Dela Cruz
This study aims to develop a Facilities technology management framework for public health-care institutions in a developing country.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to develop a Facilities technology management framework for public health-care institutions in a developing country.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used descriptive research design to identify the specifications of the framework via strategic initiatives anchored on efficiency, sustainability, ecological-friendliness and technological innovation. These measures are wrapped into a facilities TM framework which incorporates concepts and practices on risk management, facility management (FM) and TM.
Findings
Results of the survey of the public HCIs in the Philippines, show high levels of acceptability of proposed measures which identify the technologies, innovations and materials which are in the viable context of public hospital circumstances in the country.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of this study are limited to the public HCIs in a developing country, and thus cannot be generalized to other HCIs particularly the private institutions.
Practical implications
The framework seeks to help improve the operational efficiency and sustainability of public HCIs in a developing country like the Philippines. The discussions on TM revolve around the application of TM approaches. Also, the study incorporates discussions on sustainability, technology innovation and the conformity of these with HCI standards, best practices and government requirements.
Social implications
The study takes into consideration the identification of FM principles and practices that are deemed suitable and applicable for public HCIs in a developing country. This study is intended to develop a TM framework for FM services which is cost-effective but not sacrificing safety, security, employees and the environment. Then the foremost consideration is the perceived suitability of the framework in the public HCI environment.
Originality/value
This is an original study. It has as its scope the fusion of FM and TM approaches that would help in the identification of challenges, requirements for manpower, processes and technologies (especially, information and communications technolog-based technologies), and a corresponding TM system framework for public HCI facilities in a developing country.
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Md Mazedul Islam, Patsy Perry and Simeon Gill
This paper reviews the literature on environmentally sustainable practices in textile, apparel and fashion (TAF) industries to allow the mapping of practices across various…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper reviews the literature on environmentally sustainable practices in textile, apparel and fashion (TAF) industries to allow the mapping of practices across various manufacturing processes and the development of a conceptual framework to guide investigation of the extent of sustainable practices in TAF industries from an environmental perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review was undertaken, consisting of bibliometric and content analysis of 91 articles published in peer-reviewed journals over a 10-year period.
Findings
The inclusion of sustainable practices from all manufacturing stages in this review illustrates the diversity and complexities of environmental practices in TAF contexts. However, there is less research in developing country contexts, where most TAF production takes place and a paucity of research in upstream stages of garment washing and dyeing, and the manufacture of trims, accessories and packaging.
Research limitations/implications
The focus is on environmental sustainability and upstream manufacturing processes. The review includes literature in the form of academic journal articles from selected databases during the period January 2010–June 2020.
Practical implications
This review provides academics with a unified depiction of environmentally sustainable practices to stimulate further scholarly research and provides guidance for managers to develop firm sustainability competency by summarising best practices at different manufacturing stages
Originality/value
This review comprehensively maps the academic literature on environmentally sustainable practices in TAF industries from an upstream manufacturing operations context. It highlights the contribution of scholarly study to the knowledge base on environmentally sustainable practices in TAF industries.
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The purpose of this paper is to propose a new classification of rules-driven sports and technology-driven sports that suggests different models of how sports develop. This paper…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a new classification of rules-driven sports and technology-driven sports that suggests different models of how sports develop. This paper outlines some key aspects of an evolutionary view of sports economics research and, separately, an institutional view of sports economic research.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is a conceptual/theoretical piece rather than an empirical analysis of a research question. The authors scaffold a proposed analytic framework that is a combination of evolutionary economics and new institutional economics.
Findings
A new dynamic approach to the study of sports industries is called for. The authors observe that sports and sports industries exhibit dynamic qualities but in the study of sports there is no analogue of “industrial dynamics” as in economics. What is missing is the field of “evolutionary sports dynamics.” To build this, the authors frame a new evolutionary approach to the study of the sports economy and sports industries – by examining the evolution of sports, their industries, and the complex industrial ecosystems they operate in, through the lens of institutional and evolutionary economics.
Originality/value
The paper establishes a theoretical basis for a “New Economics of Sports” – as a shift in the types of questions that sports economics seeks to answer. These are away from “sports statics” – as a branch of applied economics of industrial organization and optimal allocation of sports resources (ala Rottenberg, 1956; Neale, 1964) – and toward concern with the economics of “sports dynamics.” The prime questions are less with the optimal organization of existing sports, and more toward understanding the origin of new sports and the evolutionary life cycles of sports.
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Keywords
Prospects for manufacturing in 2016.
Details
DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB206867
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
This paper is a step toward a sustainability-based view of firm performance, which focuses on how companies may achieve and maintain a competitive advantage in a circular economy…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper is a step toward a sustainability-based view of firm performance, which focuses on how companies may achieve and maintain a competitive advantage in a circular economy that is increasingly dominated by sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a conceptual research paper, which provides a coherent basis for the diverse literature about sustainability, corporate social responsibility, creating shared value, shared value innovation, sustainable design and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Findings
The paper complements extant reviews and dynamic frameworks, such as the natural resource-based view and the innovation-based approach, to understand how firms may profit from sustainability in their business ecosystems with multiple stakeholders concerning the triple bottom line beyond financial performance. A firm’s sustainability architecture at multiple organizational levels includes interdependent components reflecting environmental, social and economic sustainability, which enable firms to achieve more value and/or do less harm. The intertemporal renewal of this architecture and its interdependencies with non-sustainability components highlight the dynamics of sustainability transformations for understanding the sustainability–performance relationship.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to sustainability research by developing a conceptual framework, which may be a basis for integrating the variety of management-related sustainability research. It further adds to research into competitive advantage by clarifying how firms may profit from sustainability. Moreover, the conceptual framework contributes to business ecosystem research because it considers internal factors in an organization as well as external factors in a firm’s environment. Finally, this paper offers new insights into strategy dynamics because the intertemporal perspective of changing a firm’s sustainability architecture underscores the need for continuous sustainability transformations.
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Nicholas Theodorakopoulos, Carmel McGowan, David Bennett, Nada Kakabadse and Catarina Figueira
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate analytically how entrepreneurial action as learning relating to diversifying into technical clothing – i.e. a high-value manufacturing…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate analytically how entrepreneurial action as learning relating to diversifying into technical clothing – i.e. a high-value manufacturing sector – can take place. This is particularly relevant to recent discussion and debate in academic and policy-making circles concerning the survival of the clothing manufacture industry in developed industrialised countries.
Design/methodology/approach
Using situated learning theory (SLT) as the major analytical lens, this case study examines an episode of entrepreneurial action relating to diversification into a high-value manufacturing sector. It is considered on instrumentality grounds, revealing wider tendencies in the management of knowledge and capabilities requisite for effective entrepreneurial action of this kind.
Findings
Boundary events, brokers, boundary objects, membership structures and inclusive participation that addresses power asymmetries are found to be crucial organisational design elements, enabling the development of inter- and intracommunal capacities. These together constitute a dynamic learning capability, which underpins entrepreneurial action, such as diversification into high-value manufacturing sectors.
Originality/value
Through a refinement of SLT in the context of entrepreneurial action, the paper contributes to an advancement of a substantive theory of managing technological knowledge and capabilities for effective diversification into high-value manufacturing sectors.
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Mustafa Tutak and Özlem Bilget
– This paper aims to evaluate the antibacterial properties of pigment printed fabric loaded with nano-sized silver and zinc.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to evaluate the antibacterial properties of pigment printed fabric loaded with nano-sized silver and zinc.
Design/methodology/approach
The pigment printing paste was mixed with nano-sized silver/zinc particles and applied to the cotton fabrics by the hand screen-printing technique. The nano-sized particles, distribution on the fabric surface, were analysed by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The ASTM E2149-01 test method was used to determine the bacteriodynamic activity of the treated fabrics. The wash and light fastness properties of the treated fabrics were investigated.
Findings
The experimental results of the study showed that antibacterial properties could be obtained by loading with nano-size silver/zinc particles on pigment printed cotton fabrics. There is no negative or positive effect of the addition of nano silver/zinc particles to the printing paste on fastness properties.
Research limitations/implications
The nano-sized metal particles and pigment printing paste should be well mixed to achieve uniform distribution on the printed surface.
Practical implications
The described process marks the introduction of a nano-technological aspect to pigment printing by its application to cotton fabrics.
Originality/value
The novelty/originality of the study lies in the new application process of nano-size silver/zinc particles to the textile pigment printing for antibacterial properties.
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Konstantin Vishnevskiy and Andrei Yaroslavtsev
The purpose of this paper is to apply Foresight methodology to the area of nanotechnologies and new materials within the framework of Russian S&T Foresight 2030 aimed at…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to apply Foresight methodology to the area of nanotechnologies and new materials within the framework of Russian S&T Foresight 2030 aimed at revelation of major trends, most promising products and technologies.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve this goal, best international practice was analyzed that provided a solid basis for Russian S&T Foresight 2030 (section “Nanotechnology and new materials”). The study used a wide range of advanced Foresight methods adapted to Russian circumstances. During the Foresight study, the authors integrated “market pull” and research “technology push” approaches including both traditional methods (priority-setting, roadmaps, global challenges analysis) and relatively new approaches (horizon scanning, weak signals, wild cards, etc.).
Findings
Using the methods of the Foresight, the authors identified trends with the greatest impact on the sphere of nanotechnology and new materials, promising markets, product groups and potential areas of demand for Russian innovation technologies and developments in this field. The authors assessed the state-of-the-art of the domestic research in the area of nanotechnologies and new materials to identify “white spots”, as well as parity zone and leadership, which can be the basis for integration into international alliances and positioning of Russia as a center of global technological development in this field.
Originality/value
The results of applying Foresight methodology toward revelation of the most prospective S&T areas in the field of nanotechnologies and new materials can be used by a variety of stakeholders including federal and regional authorities, technology platforms and innovation and industrial clusters, leading universities and scientific organizations in formulation of their research and strategic agenda. Russian businesses including both large companies and small and medium-sized enterprises can use results of the study in creating their strategic R&D programs and finding appropriate partners.
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