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Article
Publication date: 30 March 2012

Xi Chen and Shuming Zhao

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the evaluation model of the enterprises' technological innovation system, based on the theory of complex adaptive system.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the evaluation model of the enterprises' technological innovation system, based on the theory of complex adaptive system.

Design/methodology/approach

Combined with the status quo and recent studies of Chinese enterprises' technological innovation, the paper discusses the complex‐system features of the technological innovation. The stimulus‐response model is used to establish the two‐level framework for enterprises' technological innovation system. By means of the adaptive fitness function, the economic and social utility of enterprises' technological innovation is measured from two dimensions. Finally, the fuzzy catastrophe model is introduced to evaluate the enterprises' technological innovation.

Findings

The enterprises' technological innovation system has attributions of the subject aggregation, the systematic openness, nonlinearity and diversity. Thus, the macro‐micro based technological innovation system from the perspective of complex adaptive system is proposed. The system utility is considered based on the system subjects and system structure, and the calculation framework of the adaptive fitness for the whole system is obtained by considering the emergent property describing the system scale effect and structure effect. In fact, the fuzzy theory can well reflect the influential situation that the interactions between different factors may cause the mutation of the higher level and the interactions between enterprises can lead to the shifts of the system.

Originality/value

The paper proposes the complex adaptive system for the enterprises' technological innovation based on the special macro environment in China. A new framework for the research of technological innovation is provided by analyzing the system inner model. Fuzzy catastrophe model can reduce the evaluation irrationality due to the subjective index weights.

Article
Publication date: 13 June 2023

Adam Lovasz

Drawing on the work of Niklas Luhmann, the paper argues that technology can be viewed as a self-referential system which is autonomous from both human beings and other function…

Abstract

Purpose

Drawing on the work of Niklas Luhmann, the paper argues that technology can be viewed as a self-referential system which is autonomous from both human beings and other function systems of society. The paper aims to develop a philosophy of technology from the work of Niklas Luhmann. To achieve this aim, it draws upon the systems-theory work of Jacques Ellul, a philosopher of technology who focuses on the autonomous potential of technological evolution.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on the work of Niklas Luhmann and Jacques Ellul to explore the theme of autonomous technology and what this means for our thinking about technological issues in the twenty-first century. Insights from these two thinkers and researchers working in the Luhmannian sociological tradition are applied to remote work.

Findings

The sociological approach of Luhmann, coupled with Ellul's insights into the autonomous nature of technology, can help us develop a systems theory of technology which takes seriously its irreducibility to human functions.

Research limitations/implications

The paper contributes to the growing sociological literature that thematizes the Luhmannian approach to technology, helping us better understand this phenomenon and think in new ways about what technological autonomy means.

Originality/value

The paper brings together the work of Luhmann, Ellul and contemporary researchers to advance a new understanding of technology and technological communication.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2000

Jonathan P. Allen

Information systems (IS) are technology‐based innovations. Argues for the need to develop an approach to IS research based on studies of technological innovation in the social…

6364

Abstract

Information systems (IS) are technology‐based innovations. Argues for the need to develop an approach to IS research based on studies of technological innovation in the social sciences. While research on the adoption and diffusion of innovations has become a popular approach to implementation and use issues in IS research, IS research projects should be aware of both the strengths and limitations of traditional approaches to technological innovation, and should consider building upon newer approaches that address these limitations. Identifies alternative assumptions about the innovation process that are developing across a range of technological innovation studies, and offers examples of how these ideas can be used in IS research.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. 13 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 1980

Boris Ischboldin and John A. Sharp

The New Economic Society was formed in 1973 to promote the aims of the School of Economic Synthesis. Economic synthesis, since its early formation in the 1930s, has sought to…

Abstract

The New Economic Society was formed in 1973 to promote the aims of the School of Economic Synthesis. Economic synthesis, since its early formation in the 1930s, has sought to integrate historical economics with social and neo‐classical economics. As the academic movement toward economic synthesis broadened, a more formal organisation became necessary. The New Economic Society (International School of Economic Synthesis) is an interdisciplinary association open to economists and others who are interested in developing a more social and humanistic economics, and a more realistic and scientific understanding of modern developed and less developed societies. The membership includes persons from numerous academic disciplines in many countries; formal chapters of the Society exist in the United Kingdom, Germany, India and Israel. At present, the membership is developing on an informal basis and no dues are requested. Membership information may be obtained from the following persons.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 7 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Book part
Publication date: 12 November 2012

Oren Pizmony-Levy, Idit Livneh, Rinat Arviv-Elysahiv and Abraham Yogev

Similar to community colleges in the United States, the Israeli tertiary system includes two-year technological colleges, which provide students with a labor-market relevant…

Abstract

Similar to community colleges in the United States, the Israeli tertiary system includes two-year technological colleges, which provide students with a labor-market relevant qualification. Nonetheless, unlike the community colleges, the technological colleges are not considered to be part of the higher education system and their transfer function is irregular and confined. In order to understand these differences, the chapter has two complementary objectives: (a) to describe the emergence and development of technological colleges and (b) to evaluate the implications for social inequality in access to higher education in Israel. We use a mixed-methods research design, including analyzing primary and secondary sources describing the official policy and public discourse around these colleges (qualitative/historical research) and comparing students attending academic institutions to students attending technological colleges and students across different fields of study offered by these colleges (quantitative research). Drawing on Phillip's (2004) model for policy attraction in education, we find that technological colleges in Israel were based on the Dutch HTS model, while the founding of these colleges was initiated by local impulse. The implementation of the technological colleges in the Israeli context was shaped by a cultural logic for higher education that emphasizes research and knowledge production, creating a binary tertiary system. Drawing on sociological literature on diversification and stratification in tertiary education, we find that technological colleges attract more students from disadvantaged groups and more students with relatively low academic ability than academic institutions. In addition, within technological colleges, students from advantaged background and higher academic ability are more likely to study in more prestigious fields of study. These findings suggest that if policy makers in Israel aspire to increase access to higher education, they should rethink policy instruments and cultivate the transfer function of technological colleges. This is among the first studies to examine technological colleges in Israel and we conclude with different directions for further research.

Details

Community Colleges Worldwide: Investigating the Global Phenomenon
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-230-1

Article
Publication date: 1 November 2010

Yasser M. Al‐Saleh

This conceptual paper articulates an analytical framework, which collectively borrows from the concepts of Sectoral, National and Technological Innovation Systems, for examining…

Abstract

This conceptual paper articulates an analytical framework, which collectively borrows from the concepts of Sectoral, National and Technological Innovation Systems, for examining the prospects for the emergence of renewable energy industries in a given country. In order to examine the dynamics within the national energy system under consideration, a list of system functions has also been compiled from the literature. It is believed that the adoption of such a functions approach has the potential to enhance our understanding of the process of, and drivers behind, the emergence and transformation of energy innovation systems. Towards the end of this paper, other theoretical concepts are acknowledged as also relevant for investigating the potential establishment of renewable energy industries. While every theoretical approach has its strengths and weaknesses, an effort has been made in this paper to justify the adoption of a suitable framework that is based on the systems of innovation approach.

Details

World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, vol. 7 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-5945

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 October 2012

Francesco Schiavone

This paper seeks to contribute to the literature about the resistance to industry technological change in old technology‐based communities of practice.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to contribute to the literature about the resistance to industry technological change in old technology‐based communities of practice.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reports an explanatory case study in order to achieve this purpose: the resistance to technological change of “hams”, the worldwide community of radio amateurs. The case study integrates primary and secondary data and information.

Findings

Change agents are critical actors in order to support the adoption of new technology into the community (but not the substitution of the old technology). These actors, in fact, work on the social and learning conditions affecting the process of diffusion of innovation within the “resisting” community.

Originality/value

The paper sheds light on the ambivalent responses to industry technological change in social systems by applying a specific multi‐level theoretical model of analysis about the limits to the diffusion of innovation within social systems.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 25 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 May 2022

Ibticem Ben Zammel and Tharwa Najar

Emphasis is placed on knowledge-sharing practices and their influence on the power structure influenced by the technological background of the organization. This paper aims to…

Abstract

Purpose

Emphasis is placed on knowledge-sharing practices and their influence on the power structure influenced by the technological background of the organization. This paper aims to focus on technological skills institutionalized to build organizational technological capital favoring the knowledge-sharing practices. It aims to extend the sociology literature by providing a conceptual background to explain the restructuring initiatives through the stabilizing role of technological capital.

Design/methodology/approach

Two comparative case studies have been conducted: the first study took place in a public company and the second study was carried out in a private company of telecommunication involving a documentary study, an observation and semi-structured interviews.

Findings

The findings in this paper show that the knowledge-sharing practices in the organizational field are stabilized by the technological capital. The technological capital promotes a knowledge management system and plays an important role in restructuring the established power within knowledge intensive organizations.

Practical implications

Chief executive officers are encouraged to promote sharing practices through developing an innovation culture and valuing technological skills. Relevance should be granted to the technological capital, which aligns the restructuring of a learning organization and promotes the knowledge management systems and stabilizes the organizational structure. Organizations should capitalize a set of technological skills as part of their organizational relevant capital.

Originality/value

Based on the practice theory of Bourdieu, this paper lights on the triad relation between knowledge sharing/organizational structure/technological capital through comparing between public/private management modes. A theoretical framework is proposed to overlap the ambiguity of the relation between knowledge and power.

Details

VINE Journal of Information and Knowledge Management Systems, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2059-5891

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 6 July 2011

Patrick Albert Palmieri, Lori T. Peterson and Luciano Bedoya Corazzo

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) views Health Information Technology (HIT) as an essential organizational prerequisite for the delivery of safe, reliable, and cost-effective health…

Abstract

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) views Health Information Technology (HIT) as an essential organizational prerequisite for the delivery of safe, reliable, and cost-effective health services. However, HIT presents the proverbial double-edged sword in generating solutions to improve system performance while facilitating the genesis of novel iatrogenic problems. Incongruent organizational processes give rise to technological iatrogenesis or the unintended consequences to system integrity and the resulting organizational outcomes potentiated by incongruent organizational–technological interfaces. HIT is a disruptive innovation for health services organizations but remains an overlooked organizational development (OD) concern.

Recognizing the technology–organizational misalignments that result from HIT adoption is important for leaders seeking to eliminate sources of system instability. The Health Information Technology Iatrogenesis Model (HITIM) provides leaders with a conceptual framework from which to consider HIT as an instrument for organizational development. Complexity and Diffusion of Innovation theories support the framework that suggests each HIT adoption functions as a technological change agent. As such, leaders need to provide operational oversight to managers undertaking system change via HIT implementation. Traditional risk management tools, such as Failure Mode Effect Analysis and Root Cause Analysis, provide proactive pre- and post-implementation appraisals to verify system stability and to enhance system reliability. Reconsidering the use of these tools within the context of a new framework offers leaders guidance when adopting HIT to achieve performance improvement and better outcomes.

Article
Publication date: 18 December 2008

Kanghwa Choi and Soo W. Kim

This paper describes a comprehensive approach to examine how technological innovation contributes to the renewal of a firm’s competences through its dynamic and reciprocal…

Abstract

This paper describes a comprehensive approach to examine how technological innovation contributes to the renewal of a firm’s competences through its dynamic and reciprocal relationship with R&D and product commercialization. Three theories of technology and innovation (the R&D and technological knowledge concept, product‐process concept, technological interdependence concept) are used to relate technology and innovation to strategic management. Based on these theories, this paper attempts to identify the dynamic relationship between product innovation and process innovation using system dynamics by investigating that aspect of the dynamic changes in the closed feedback circulation structure in which R&D investments drive the accumulation of technological knowledge.

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