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Innovation intermediaries have become key actors in open innovation (OI) contexts. Research has improved the understanding of the managerial challenges inherent to intermediation in situations in which problems are rather well defined. Yet, in some OI situations, the relevant actor networks may not be known, there may be no clear common interest, or severe problems may exist with no legitimate common place where they can be discussed. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the research on innovation intermediaries by showing how intermediaries address managerial challenges related to a high degree of unknown.

The authors draw upon the extant literature to highlight the common core functions of different types of intermediaries. The authors then introduce the “degree of unknown” as a new contingency variable for the analysis of the role of intermediaries for each of these core functions. The authors illustrate the importance of this new variable with four empirical case studies in different industries and countries in which intermediaries are experiencing situations of high level of unknown.

The authors highlight the specific managerial principles that the four intermediaries applied in creating an environment for collective innovation.

Thereby, the authors clarify what intermediation in the unknown may entail.

We develop a discourse of strategic management as design, using a conceptual base drawing upon the work of Michel Foucault, as an alternative to the prevailing strategy discourse (strategy as “economizing”). We then use contemporary design theory to theorize strategic management as a design activity in which the focus is on innovation, with the emphasis on future strategies based on the creation of desirable unknowns.

Discuss in detail the uses which might legitimately be made of the following passage by the writer of a profound study of economic life and thought in France at the end of the reign of Louis XIV. In answering the question make full use of your knowledge of (a) historical criticism; (b) French economic and general history.

This paper deals with the subject of “Lean Normalization.” The purpose of this paper is to propose a comprehensive methodology which combines the benefits of both International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards and Lean Management. The application of this methodology leads manufacturing or service companies to certification without creating more documentation. It guarantees agility and flexibility in the day-to-day management of the company, and induces lower costs and reduced times. This methodology provides a new way of tackling the implementation of ISO standards in a company.

This methodology is based on the synergistic combination of both ISO standards (Quality Management System) and the key concepts of Lean Management. After a short presentation of ISO standards and Lean Management, the possibility of implementing a synergy between these two different approaches will be discussed. At this point, ISO 9001 standards will be focused on. The proposed methodology will be introduced step by step. Each step of the model will be formalized using the Structured Analysis and Design Technique graphic representation tool. Moreover, each step is associated with a key concept of Lean Management. In order to illustrate the proposed method, an example of implementation will also be presented.

To show the feasibility of this methodology, this paper finishes with a summary of the results achieved in a company and draws some interesting conclusions. Companies have the possibility of achieving certification in combination with a Lean Quality Management System (LQMS): a one-page quality manual, only ten records, no major non-conformities and no customer complaints over a two-year period.

The methodology may have to be adapted to better suit the needs of companies seeking to implement the latest version of the ISO 9001 standards.

This paper presents the deployment of ISO 9001 standards whilst simultaneously respecting key Lean Management concepts. The practical results for enterprises are the implementation of an LQMS leading to a certification.

This paper presents a new method combining both ISO standards and Lean Management concepts to achieve certification with an LQMS.

Due to its simplicity and the relevance of its steps, the proposed methodology can be applied to companies with a guaranteed success of certification.

To the initiate in French studies, the term “French Literature” might be understood to mean anything — and everything — written in the French language. Etymologists would no doubt support this interpretation wholeheartedly. To scholars of French literature, however, the term has a very different meaning. Professors in the field generally consider French literature to be that written in France since the Middle Ages, a literature which stands apart from other written works in the French language. This is not to say that there is not a very substantial body of literature written, for instance, in French‐speaking Canada, or Algeria, Tunisia, Haiti, or a myriad of other places. Certain individuals specialize in the literature (French) of those countries, but they do not refer to those writings as “French Literature”; they label them “French‐Canadian Literature,” “French‐African Literature,” and the like. This essay will be limited to a discussion of French literature — the major literature of France, considered worthy of special attention or acclaim by readers and scholars worldwide.

This paper aims to present the state of the art of a rising French research community on knowledge management, who organized during the past four years, a French speaking congress (GeCSO). Interests in knowledge management (KM) come from various disciplines: economy, social, engineering. These interests are not often linked. Within the firms, KM practices vary a lot depending on national cultures and on activity sectors. However, one can identify a potential symmetry between the diversity of practices and the partitioning of scientific approaches.

In order to synthesize the different approaches in KM, the authors studied the 62 papers published in the first three conferences. To have a first representation of the diversity, they analyzed the keywords that were used: among 173 keywords used by the authors, eight keywords represent 27 per cent of the total amount.

Three main dimensions which emerged from the articles are analysed: the practical dimension, the epistemological point of view, and the intention to define a theory of action.

KM is an emerging domain, especially in French culture. This paper can be seen as a first foundation of the domain, and also a manifesto to develop interdisciplinary research on this topic.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the solicitation of outside experts in the upstream phase of innovation projects, which fall within the scope of the exploration and which take place within a context of radical uncertainty: how are these experts identified, selected and mobilised? While companies are compelled to manage exploration projects, the processes underlying the expansion of knowledge in these projects are not well known.

Based on the literature, this paper first presents a conceptual view of the notion of expert. Then, the research question is analyzed by means of a case study of a polar expedition. The project leader seeks a knowledgeable person who has never been identified as an expert, but whose knowledge is essential.

The expert appears both in his cognitive and social dimensions. Moreover, he emerges out of the situation, on the basis of neither strong nor weak signals. The rationality of expert solicitation falls within a pragmatic logic where the acquired knowledge must reduce the uncertainty so that the project can progress. The learning process enables to increase gradually the knowledge of the actor but also to build the legitimacy required in order to have access to the expert.

Findings can be translated in more general situations. Indeed, polar expeditions projects and exploratory innovation projects (Garel and Lièvre, 2010) possess some common characteristics: lack of knowledge concerning, timing issues, need to implement a pragmatic, enquiry-based learning. These projects strongly rely on external expert knowledge. This case study suggests that, while it may be useful, planning should not strictly define the course of action. A central competence of the project leader is to manage the duality between planning and adaptation. This implies the ability to adapt, to detect and to assess human resources and knowledge flows rapidly, as well as to weave social links inside and outside the organisation.

The existing literature offers a comprehensive view of experts in an organisation. However, the questions of expert selection and identification remain open. This paper fills a gap in the literature concerning the way experts are identified and selected. The case study shows that identifying experts does not solely depend on weak signals (reputation) or on strong signals (the expert’s social status). Rather, the expert emerges in the situation, in an unexpected way. The expert’s social dimension is not sufficient and one must look to the cognitive roots of the expertise. On the other hand, the fact is emphasised that the expert is a social construct which emerges from the solicitation process.

The purpose of this study is to identify an innovative solution for the power transmission gearbox of concrete mixers, according to the specifications provided by the company.

A tailored systematic design approach (inspired to the German systematic framework) has been adopted to comprehensively gather the company specifications and perform in-depth design space explorations. Subsequently, an iterative embodiment design approach has been followed to identify the size of the components for the preferred concept, by using acknowledged mechanical design procedures and finite element analysis tools.

An innovative cycloidal gearbox has been developed, by merging the kinematics underpinning the classical cycloidal drives and the Wolfrom planetary gearbox. The resulting concept provides high reduction rates with a very high overload capacity.

The main limitation of the studies is the absence of in-depth evaluations usually performed in the detail design phase. However, this limitation is a direct consequence of the company specifications, which only asked to find a preferred concept and to perform preliminary evaluations. Accordingly, the subsequent design optimization are intended to be performed by the company’s staff.

The present paper shows an original design approach, opportunely tailored to the design of innovative gearboxes. It can be conveniently adapted and reused by designers involved in similar tasks. Moreover, the designed cycloidal gearbox paves the way for important innovations in the field of concrete mixers, allowing to design more robust and compact devices.

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.