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Don't give computer operating systems short shrift when pondering the best software to run your business.

A substantial body of research employs agency theory and transaction costs analysis to explain ownership decisions in distribution channels. Agency theory identifies factors that prompt firms to favor behavior‐based contracting over outcome‐based agreements. Transaction cost economics is a complementary framework which maintains that the organizational form in a location should be the one that economizes on production and transaction costs. Prior research illustrates that independent variables (e.g. proximity to highways, dedicated assets) outlined in these theories provide a partial explanation for ownership decisions. Nevertheless, scant research has analyzed whether factors outlined in agency theory and transaction cost analysis are employed by executives when making ownership decisions. The purpose of this study is to investigate managerial rationales underlying plural contractual networks.

As libraries make increasing use of computer resources, a local network that interconnects personal computers and other machines within the library is becoming a necessity.

Distributed computing systems impose new requirements on the security of the operating systems and hardware structures of the computers participating in a distributed data network environment. It is proposed that multiple level (greater than two) security hardware, with associated full support for that hardware at the operating system level, is required to meet the needs of this emerging environment. The normal two layer (supervisor/user) structure may probably be insufficient to enforce and protect security functions consistently and reliably in a distributed environment. Such two‐layer designs are seen as part of earlier single computer/processor system structures while a minimum three/four‐layer security architecture appears necessary to meet the needs of the distributed computing environment. Such multi‐level hardware security architecture requirements are derived from earlier work in the area, particularly the Multics project of the mid‐1960s, as well as the design criteria for the DEC VAX 11/780 and Intel iAPX‐286 processor and its successors, as two later examples of machine structures. The security functions of individual nodes participating in a distributed computing environment, and their associated evaluation level, appear critical to the development of overall security architectures for the protection of distributed computing systems.

This internationally recognized innovation expert asserts that today's organizations need a powerful new operating system to address the challenges posed by mounting complexity and rapid change.

As a consultant to companies seeking to re-invigorate the innovation process, the author can describe how they have implemented the dual operating system – a network and a hierarchy – that he advocates.

When organizations are dangerously slow to adapt to competitive threats and to pursue promising innovations, the solution to, which has been adopted successfully by many organizations, is to add a second operating system that is organized as a network that can create agility and speed.

The author explains how all successful organizations operate with a dual system more or less during the most dynamic growth period in their life cycle, so a dual operating system will be somewhat familiar to veteran leaders.

The organization's top management plays a crucial role in starting and maintaining the network and managing its communications with the hierarchy. For senior practitioners, the author describes the five basic principles of a well-functioning dual operating system.

This paper focuses on two related questions at the intersection of antitrust and intellectual property law. First, under what circumstances must the holder of a patent or a copyright or the owner of a trade secret allow others to use that intellectual property? Second, under what circumstances can the holder of an intellectual property right use that right to make it difficult for another party to succeed in a related market? These questions have vexed antitrust and intellectual property scholars alike ever since the Federal Circuit ruled in 2000 that patent holders “may enforce the statutory right to exclude others from making, using, or selling the claimed invention free from liability under the antitrust laws,” a ruling that directly contradicted the Ninth Circuit ruling that antitrust liability could be imposed for almost identical conduct, depending on the motivations of the patent holder. The various proceedings in United States v. Microsoft only added fuel to the firestorm of controversy.After briefly retracing the jurisprudential path to see how this situation arose, we propose a solution that primarily involves a variation on the real property concept of adverse possession for the intellectual property space along with a slight extension of the Essential Facilities Doctrine for industries that exhibit network effects. We examine, both for firms with and without market power, how our proposal would resolve the situations presented by large fixed asset purchases, the introduction of entirely new products, and operating systems with network effects. We also demonstrate how our proposal could be applied in the European antitrust enforcement context.

Tracking of shipments is an important element of customer service in the transportation industry; and essential for logistics services as merge‐in‐transit. However, contemporary tracking systems are designed for use within a single company, and are thus invariably inadequate for multi‐company environments. The single company focus has led to a reduced span of monitoring and a diluted accessibility of information due to proprietary tracking codes and information architectures centred on the tracking service provider. This paper presents a novel forwarder‐independent approach for solving the difficulties of tracking in multi‐company supply networks. The research argues that the proposed tracking approach is superior to contemporary approaches for material flow tracking in short‐term multi‐company distribution networks.

This chapter argues that organizations are not sustainable if they operate in unsustainable societal and ecological contexts, and that operating in a way that contributes to the health of the larger system requires organizations to develop new capabilities. It demonstrates the role that rich internal and external networks play in developing sustainability capability particularly in providing pathways to generate, import, apply, and disseminate knowledge about how to operate more sustainably.

The case study of the sustainability transition of Cleveland Clinic is based on four years of interviews and archival data collection examining the system’s transformational change that began in 2007. The case focuses on the building of sustainability capability, including an internal infrastructure to focus the organization on this outcome, and building of rich networks for learning and action. The case is framed with capability and network theory.

Guided and catalyzed by a small central group called the Office for a Healthy Environment, Cleveland Clinic has achieved measurable progress in key strategic focuses including waste diversion, energy efficiency, and increasing integration of local foods into its supply chain. To do so, it has developed strong internal networks to disseminate knowledge and accelerate innovation and adoption of sustainable practices. Strong, dynamic external networks have enabled Cleveland Clinic to import knowledge about sustainable practice from its environment, and have enabled it to help build the sustainability capability of its vendors, the community upon which it depends, and the health-care industry.

Starting with the perspective that the sustainability of an organization depends on the sustainability of the ecosystems in which it exists, this chapter focuses not on the design of specific sustainability initiatives, but on the dynamic networks that underpin the capability to simultaneously improve the health of the organization and of the larger ecosystem. This perspective provides insight into new organizing principles.

The paper aims at defining a systemic framework for the implementation of business continuity management (BCM). The framework is based on the assertion that the implementation of BCM should be done through the systemic implementation of an “always-on” enterprise information system.

Systems approach is used in order to design a systemic framework for the implementation of continuous computing technologies within the concept of an always-on enterprise information system.

A conceptual framework has been proposed to develop a framework for a systemic implementation of several continuous computing technologies that enhance business continuity (BC) in the form of an “always-on” enterprise information system.

The paper identifies BC as a business pressure in internet era and suggests a systemic framework for implementation.

With the rapid growth of e‐commerce, governmental and corporate agencies are taking extra precautions when it comes to protecting information. The development of e‐security as a discipline has enabled organisations to discover a wider array of similarities between attacks occurring across their security environment and develop appropriate countermeasures. To further improve the security of information, there is a need for conceptualising the interrelationships between e‐security and the major elements involved in changing a company's infrastructure. Organisations should act in an ethical manner, especially when it comes to e‐security and e‐privacy policies, procedures, and practices. The consequential theory of utilitarianism is used and applied to a conceptual model to help explain how organisations may develop better secured information in an information‐sharing and globally networked environment.