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1 – 10 of 87Carlos Augusto Rincón Díaz and José Albors Garrigós
The purpose of this paper is to propose a contingent model that facilitates knowledge of the strategies followed by the research technology organizations (RTOs) of Valencia and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a contingent model that facilitates knowledge of the strategies followed by the research technology organizations (RTOs) of Valencia and the Basque Country, Spain, to adapt to the turbulence of their environment.
Design/methodology/approach
The research includes context, organizational and results variables and identifies some barriers that the RTOs encounter in collaborating with SMEs and also the best practices they follow to develop competitive advantages. The methodology used consisted of applying the proposed model to the 27 RTOs of both autonomous regions; a factor analysis was then performed to determine whether there exist groups of related (correlated) variables; finally, the authors proceeded to carry out a hierarchical cluster analysis to observe how the 27 RTOs are distributed according to their ability to adapt and respond to environmental turbulence.
Findings
The technological policy must consider the characteristics of each region to propose more efficient and equitable mechanisms that allow the RTOs to face new challenges.
Originality/value
This study proposes a theoretical model suitable for RTOs to respond to environmental changes, to the current economy globalization and to cope with new challenges. This proposal means that RTOs must manage an appropriate combination of key factors, including the development of more proactive innovation strategies, an organic organizational structure to relate better with other innovation agents and universities, which help them to work more efficiently with SMEs and to obtain a higher innovative performance.
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Magdalena Julia Wicher and Elisabeth Frankus
This paper aims to look at the implementation of project-funded research governance and its potential to induce organisational learning on responsible research and innovation…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to look at the implementation of project-funded research governance and its potential to induce organisational learning on responsible research and innovation (RRI). This paper analysed what types of organisational learning and change can take place within organisations of an Europe-funded project and to what extent. This paper examined whether and how change occurs and how it is shaped and co-produced with other orderings.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on materials and evidence collected while working on the internal evaluation of a Horizon 2020-funded project. Analysis of the results of the mixed methods evaluation design was used to characterise occurrences of organisational learning and change.
Findings
The authors identified different forms of learning (single-loop learning, double-loop learning, reflexive and reflective learning and situational learning). The extent of learning that could lead to long-lasting organisational change was limited. This was due to the project-based and organisational design, the key-based definition of RRI and the indeterminacy of what constitutes learning and change – both at the level of funding and performing the project. For organisational change to occur, the authors argue for governance mechanisms based on reflexive learning that consider a range of structural conditions and measures.
Originality/value
Organisational learning plays an important role in change processes, which has so far been given too little consideration concerning the governance and implementation of RRI through project-based funding. The authors argue for a restructuring of governance and funding mechanisms to create more space for reflexivity and learning.
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Thomas Wolfgang Thurner and Stanislav Zaichenko
Given the immense gains in productivity in agriculture and mining over the last decades, the purpose of this paper is to study knowledge transfer from Research and Technology…
Abstract
Purpose
Given the immense gains in productivity in agriculture and mining over the last decades, the purpose of this paper is to study knowledge transfer from Research and Technology Organizations (RTOs) into primary sector producers. The authors inquire which of these RTOs are successfully competing for public funding, and how these funds are used. Also, the authors study what makes an RTO more (financially) successful in technology transfer than their peers and which RTOs transferred technology that was new to the Russian market.
Design/methodology/approach
This research is based on 62 RTOs which reported technology transfer to enterprises with main economic activities classified by NACE rev 1 as “A – agriculture, hunting and forestry” and “B – fishing” and “C – mining and quarrying,” including oil and gas extraction.
Findings
The authors found remarkable differences between the Russian RTOs and their OECD peers, but also differences between agriculture and mining. Interestingly, competitive funding plays a different role in both industries. In agriculture, a more conservative funding paradigm prevails, and competitive funding is less important and more reliance on classical annually revolving funds is given. Competitive funding here is more used to strengthen basic R&D and to generate patentable knowledge, while in mining, these funds support technology transfer.
Originality/value
This is, to the knowledge, the first detailed study on Russian RTOs servicing her primary sector. The authors believe that studying these RTOs is of great value as RTOs are broadly under-researched and various scholars have called for more fine-grained analyses to better understand their role in the innovation system.
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In the present context an organization competes in terms of its knowledge intensity. In this article we are focusing on human resource development, sustenance and enhancement as a…
Abstract
In the present context an organization competes in terms of its knowledge intensity. In this article we are focusing on human resource development, sustenance and enhancement as a process in non‐corporate research and technology organizations (RTOs), based on an international study on “Benchmarking the best practices for research and technology organizations”, coordinated by WAITRO. The basic function of these RTOs is to generate knowledge to effectively enhance their client’s competitive strength. A best RTO can be the one that provides a structure, which encourages people to take initiatives to generate new knowledge and effectively translate clients’ technological requirements into research results. For this, the RTO has to be a learning organization. To develop and sustain capabilities is essential for any RTO’s survival and growth. How best an organization performs depends upon its capability to build and enhance this knowledge base, i.e. the human capital. This in turn depends upon the way various activities are organized to generate human resource from the manpower they have.
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Presents an illustrative example of a benchmarking exercise for non‐corporate R&D organizations. Drawing from a global study of 60 R&D organizations from around the world, the…
Abstract
Presents an illustrative example of a benchmarking exercise for non‐corporate R&D organizations. Drawing from a global study of 60 R&D organizations from around the world, the benchmarking practice for identification of processes, practices and best practices is examined. Focuses primarily on R&D‐industry linkage – a nagging problem, particularly relevant for non‐corporate R&D organizations. Processes like project selection, human resource development and knowledge delivery systems are functionally related to R&D‐industry linkage and therefore constitute the main body of the benchmarking exercise. It has been argued that the basic organizational principle behind successful R&D is partnership between R&D organizations and users of the research results. Practices under each of the selected processes, therefore, have to be examined in the light of this basic organizational principle. Argues that, to achieve this, actionable accuracy is more important than quantitative indicators for identification of best practices.
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Wojciech Fedyk, Mariusz Sołtysik, Piotr Oleśniewicz, Jacek Borzyszkowski and Jeffrey Weinland
This study aims to investigate the human resources management of regional tourism organizations (RTOs) in Poland as a condition for organization effectiveness and presents a model…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the human resources management of regional tourism organizations (RTOs) in Poland as a condition for organization effectiveness and presents a model of RTO operation in destination management organizations for improved effectiveness.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was of qualitative nature because of the scope of the examined features and analyses of RTO effectiveness (here in relation to human resources). The research involved the following stages: desk research of secondary sources, pilot diagnostic survey and diagnostic survey proper, qualitative and statistical analyses. First, an analysis of secondary sources regarding conditions of RTO operation effectiveness took place. Next, a questionnaire was used to collect empirical data from 137 respondents from the same 13 group types, in equal numbers from each organization in the entire population of 16 RTOs.
Findings
The research identified 197 organizational effectiveness variables, in four feature groups: the effectiveness of statutory and economic objectives, stakeholders’ benefits from cooperating with RTOs and general characteristics of RTO operation effectiveness. The findings suggest that the characteristics of RTO employees influence organizational effectiveness, especially from the perspective of the organization’s stakeholders. There is a need for strong support for RTO employee structures as a measure to raise organization effectiveness.
Practical implications
Specific human resources practices are identified for the effectiveness of non-enterprise organizations (employee character and structure) that constitute an essential component of the management system at regional and national levels. New directions for RTO operations are also proposed.
Originality/value
The study fills a substantial and identified knowledge gap in assessing organization effectiveness level against the quality characteristics of RTO human resources. The analysis allowed the creation of a multidimensional and universal model of RTO effectiveness investigation, which facilitates comparative analysis of organizations despite their strong diversity. It can be implemented in assessing the effectiveness of other non-enterprise organizations in the context of tourism.
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The purpose of this paper is to present an exploratory analysis of how key actors in three New Zealand regional tourism organizations interpret various local and general…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present an exploratory analysis of how key actors in three New Zealand regional tourism organizations interpret various local and general contextual conditions in accounting for website development, and how such sense‐making is likely to have shaped the configuration of generic web technology in each organization.
Design/methodology/approach
Narrative analysis of accounts provided by key actors involved in website development planning and decision‐making in three small tourism organizations is used. Where possible, the narrative analysis was supplemented by document review and interviews with other organizational stakeholders.
Findings
Despite their ostensibly similar roles, the three organizations developed websites that exhibited significant variation in scope, functionality and sophistication. The analysis suggests that much of this local variation in website form and function was the result of how the general managers (GMs) in these organizations, acting as “configurational intrapreneurs” in website development, interpreted contextual “conditions of possibility” in which their organizations were situated.
Research limitations/implications
As analysis occurred after website development, recourse is made to development narratives authored in an interview setting by the GMs of the three organizations studied. It is argued that the sense‐making occurring in these situated narratives reflects the sense‐giving performed by these key actors during the website development process.
Originality/value
The study suggests that how specific conditions of possibility are perceived and mobilized by influential actors plays an important role in shaping the technological outcome of website development, particularly in small organizations. It demonstrates the utility of analysing the sense‐making processes inherent in narratives of information systems development as a way of understanding the strategic development and use of such systems.
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Eleni Giannopoulou, Lidia Gryszkiewicz and Pierre-Jean Barlatier
The success of service innovation is largely dependent on creativity. So far, however, the question of how to reinforce creativity in the development of innovative services, while…
Abstract
Purpose
The success of service innovation is largely dependent on creativity. So far, however, the question of how to reinforce creativity in the development of innovative services, while being an important managerial issue, has not attracted much attention from the academics. The purpose of this paper is to fill in this gap, by studying what constitutes capabilities for reinforcing creativity in service innovation, from a practice-based perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
Through the theoretical lens of the resource-based view we set out to conduct three case studies in highly service-innovative European research and technology organisations (RTOs). Through 24 interviews and analysis of secondary sources, we collect our data, which are then analysed from a multi-case perspective, in order to gain understanding on the resource-related practices and resulting capabilities for reinforcing creativity in service innovation.
Findings
By studying the resource-related practices of reinforcing creativity in service innovation, this study brings about seven relevant capabilities; namely attracting, stimulating, combining, providing, breeding, opening up and accepting. In this perspective, our work represents an important theoretical contribution in terms of explicitly proposing specific capabilities for reinforcing service innovation creativity.
Originality/value
The research is original for a couple of reasons. First, creativity in service innovation has not been explicitly studied before, especially through empirical research. Second, our findings offer a set of original capabilities propositions that can be practically applied in service-innovative organisations. Finally, our research is carried out in a novel field, as RTOs have rarely been studied regarding service innovation-related creativity, even though they represent a very interesting type of organisations in this perspective.
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Erica Smith, Andrew Smith, Richard Pickersgill and Peter Rushbrook
To report on research that examines the impact of the adoption of nationally‐recognised training by enterprises in Australia.
Abstract
Purpose
To report on research that examines the impact of the adoption of nationally‐recognised training by enterprises in Australia.
Design/methodology/approach
The project involved a mix of methodologies including focus groups, employer survey and case studies.
Findings
The research found that there had been a higher than expected adoption of nationally‐recognised training by Australian enterprises in recent years and that enterprises were using training packages to support other human resource management activities apart from training.
Research limitations/implications
The case studies were confined to four industry areas of hospitality, manufacturing, arts/media and call centres.
Originality/value
This paper fills a significant gap in the research literature on the use that enterprises make of nationally‐recognised training.
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This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Design/methodology/approach
This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the papers in context.
Findings
Where does innovation come from? Most people’s image of innovation will involve a wild-haired boffin shouting “Eureka!” over sparking electricity, or perhaps a ridiculously young boy feverishly tapping away at a keyboard to create a billion dollar start-up. The reality, of course, is much more varied and rather more prosaic. Innovation is only 1 per cent a good idea, but 99 per cent failed experiments, failed pitches and failed dreams.
Practical implications
The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations.
Originality/value
The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.
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