Innovation Parks in Canada / Innovation Parks became an innovation and economic development policy instrument in the Western world more than two decades ago. While Canada was slow to catch up to this phenomenon, it did eventually join the trend. This study analyzes the policy rationales for innovation parks in Canada through a national and sub-national lens. For this purpose, Ontario and Saskatchewan are chosen as comparative points. It compares the Saskatchewan Innovation Place (SIP), McMaster Innovation Park (MIP), and David Johnston Research and Technology Park (DJRTP). The study develops a three-pronged analysis of institutions, interests and ideas to explain why governments support innovation parks as a policy instrument. It is argued that the continued support of these initiatives is largely a function of institutional path-dependence and policy lock-ins manifest through sunk infrastructure investments, desire to balance different interest groups – mainly the commercial real estate sector and the organizations representing the research parks. These institutional and structural struggles are underpinned by the ideational frames of economic development and knowledge-based economic growth. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Utifrån dagens litteratur kring projektbaserade organisationer (PBO) kan tre problem identifieras: 1) motsägande resultat gällande om organisationsformen PBO främjar innovation, 2) överdrivet fokus på teknisk innovation i dessa sammanhang samt 3) bristfällig systematik i dessa typer av studier. Av denna anledning har vi genomfört en kvantitativ studie för att bidra med mer systematik i debatten kring PBO och innovation. Vi valde också att studera en annan typ av innovation i PBO-sammanhang, nämligen managementinnovation (MI). Studien syftar till att identifiera om det föreligger ett samband mellan MI och organisationsfaktorerna centralisering, samarbete och kommunikation, överkapacitet samt formalisering. Utöver detta skall studien identifiera om det föreligger något samband mellan den formella organisationsstrukturen PBO och MI, samt om sambanden mellan organisationsfaktorerna och MI är starkare eller svagare i en PBO-kontext. Studien genomfördes i Sverige med hjälp av en enkätundersökning. Urvalet uppgick till 500 företag vilka blev identifierade genom ett slumpmässigt stratifierat urval. Svarsfrekvensen uppgick till 192 företag vars svar sedan analyserades i statistikprogrammet SPSS genom regressionsanalyser. Slutsatsen av studien blev att vi på en femprocentig signifikansnivå bekräftade en av femton hypoteser, nämligen H8c. Hypotesen beskriver att sambandet mellan personalöverkapacitet och MI är starkare i en PBO än i andra organisationstyper. Utöver detta kunde vi bekräfta hypotes 9b på en tioprocentig signifikansnivå. Denna hypotes behandlade formalisering 2 och innebar att sambandet mellan formalisering 2 och MI är starkare i andra organisationstyper än i en PBO. Med detta sagt positionerar sig denna studie bland författarna som hävdar att det inte föreligger något samband mellan PBO och innovation. / We were able to identify three problems from today’s literature about project-based organizations: 1) conflicting results about whether PBOs further innovation or not, 2) excessive focus on technical innovation in this context, and 3) insufficient systematics in these kinds of studies. For that reason, we have carried through a quantitative study to contribute with more systematics in the debate about PBO and innovation. We also chose to study a different kind of innovation in the PBO context, namely Management Innovation (MI) This study aims to identify if there exist a correlation between MI and the organizational factors centralization, teamwork and communication, slack of resources and formalization. Beyond this the study aims to identify if there exist a correlation between the formal organizational structure PBO and MI, and if the connection between the organizational factors and MI is stronger or weaker in a PBO context.  A survey was carried out in Sweden. 500 companies were asked to participate and they were all selected through a random stratified sampling. The response rate was 192 and the information from the questionnaires was then analysed in the statistical software SPSS through regression analysis. With a significance level of five percent this study confirms one out of fifteen hypotheses. The confirmed hypothesis was H8c which states that the connection between personnel slack and MI is stronger in a PBO than other kinds of organizational structures. We also confirmed hypothesis 9b on a significance level of ten percent. H9b states that the connection between formalization 2 and MI is weaker in PBO than other kinds of organizations. Consequently, this study position itself alongside authors and studies that claim that it doesn’t exist a correlation between PBO and innovation.

Aus Sicht der Innovationsforschung besteht der Kern eines erfolgreichen Unternehmens aus folgender Formel: Innovative Ideen + Gute Umsetzung = Unternehmenserfolg. Hierbei spielten Service Center in der allgemeinen Managementwahrnehmung bislang eine untergeordnete Rolle. Damit wird ihnen Unrecht getan. Denn im Innovationsprozess stehen die Service Center am Ende des Produktzyklus. Was übersehen wird, ist, dass sie zugleich den Anfang eines neuen Produktzyklus bilden können. Insbesondere da in den Service Centern alle Erfahrungen zusammen laufen - vor allem die der Kunden. Um dieses Missverhältnis zwischen allgemeiner Wahrnehmung und effektiver Bedeutung von Service Centern für den Innovationsprozess herauszuarbeiten und Korrekturmöglichkeiten aufzuzeigen, wurden im Rahmen der Dissertation informationstechnische Methoden und Werkzeuge entworfen, entwickelt und eingesetzt. Am Ende entstand daraus sogar ein eigenes Produkt, das in Kundensituationen eingesetzt werden kann.

Ett framgångsrikt innovationsarbete möjliggör för framtagningen och utvecklingen av nya och befintliga digitala produkter och tjänster. Digital innovation driver ett behov av att agera och samarbeta med andra företag och organisationer, vilket innebär att involveringen av externa aktörer kan leda till att utmaningar uppstår. Genom vår litteraturstudie har vi identifierat utmaningar, och undersökt hur dessa kan hanteras genom en kvalitativ intervjustudie, syftet med studien blir därför att genom en litteraturstudie skapa förståelse för vilka utmaningar som finns, samt identifiera hur dessa utmaningar kan hanteras genom en intervjustudie. De primära deltagarna i studien är anställda på ett etablerat och ledande företag som arbetar med digital innovation. Vi kommer att studera hur dessa utmaningar kan hanteras utifrån följande frågeställning: Hur kan utmaningar med involveringen av externa aktörer i digital innovation hanteras? Studiens resultat bidrar med föreslagna angreppssätt för att hantera utmaningar med involveringen av externa aktörer. / Successful innovation work enables the development of new and existing digital products andservices. Digital innovation drives a need to act and collaborate with other companies andorganizations, which means that involving external actors can lead to challenges. Through ourliterature study, we have identified challenges and investigated how these can be handledthrough qualitative interview studies. The purpose of the study is to create an understanding ofthe challenges that exist through a literature study, and to identify suggestions on how thesechallenges can be handled through interview studies. The primary participants in the study areemployees of an established and leading digital innovation company. We will study how thesechallenges can be addressed based on the following question: How can challenges with theinvolvement of external actors in digital innovation be handled? The study's results contributewith proposed approaches to succeed in dealing with challenges in the involvement of externalactors.

Innovation has proven to be an important way for companies to be competitive and relevant in a dynamic market. The construction industry has tended to focus on incremental innovations and is not as familiar with methods for developing radical innovations. Scenario-based portfolio management is a way of structuring radical innovation projects according to possible future scenarios. Within these portfolios, it is necessary to assign the different areas a priority order where the most prioritized areas require a sufficiently high inflow of ideas. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate how the innovation hub of a large Swedish company in the construction industry can steer the idea generation of radical innovations towards specific areas of development. By conducting internal and external semi-structured interviews, difficulties and opportunities in the company's idea generation could be identified. The results showed that the case company is missing specific methods to increase the number of generated ideas and that there is a lack of communication of the priority domains that exist in the innovation portfolio. It was also shown that there are some organizational difficulties for innovation in the construction industry. An analysis based on the results and a detailed literature study resulted in a number of recommendations. These recommendations demonstrate how open innovation as well as communication and changes in organizational structure should be implemented to achieve an increased number of ideas for the priority areas in a company's innovation portfolio. The recommendations from this study apply to large companies in the construction industry that work actively with innovation. / Innovation har visat sig vara ett viktigt sätt för företag att vara konkurrenskraftiga och relevanta på en dynamisk marknad. Byggindustrin har haft en tendens att fokusera på inkrementella innovationer och saknar i många fall utarbetade metoder för utveckling av radikala innovationer. Scenariobaserad portföljhantering är ett sätt att strukturera radikala innovationsprojekt efter möjliga framtidsscenarion. Inom dessa portföljer är det nödvändigt att tilldela de olika områdena en prioriteringsordning där de mest prioriterade områdena kräver ett tillräckligt högt inflöde av idéer. Syftet med denna studie var därför att undersöka hur innovationshubben på stort svenskt företag inom byggbranschen kan styra idégenerering av radikala innovationer mot ett specifikt utvecklingsområde. Genom att utföra interna samt externa semistrukturerade intervjuer kunde svårigheter och möjligheter i företagets idégenerering identifieras. Resultatet visade att det saknas specifika metoder för att öka mängden idéer som genereras, samt att det finns en brist på kommunikation av de prioriterade domäner som existerar i företagets innovationsportfölj. Det påvisades även att det finns vissa organisatoriska svårigheter för innovation kopplade till byggbranschen. En analys baserad på resultatet samt en utförlig litteraturstudie resulterade i ett antal rekommendationer. Dessa rekommendationer påvisar hur öppen innovation samt kommunikation och förändringar i organisationsstruktur bör implementeras för att uppnå en ökad mängd idéer till de prioriterade områdena i ett företags innovationsportfölj. Rekommendationerna från denna studie är applicerbara på stora företag inom byggbranschen som arbetar aktivt med innovation.

Financial innovation is a process that is not fully understood because of ~ts nebulous nature and the difficulties in determining its causes and effects. The pace of financial innovation has increased rapidly in recent years. With this increased level of new financial instruments and processes has also come the realisation that financial innovation may well influence the successful application of monetary policy. Under certain circumstances monetary policy may hampered or may be rendered ineffective by financial innovation. This dissertation examines the nature and causes of financial innovation and its implication for the successful application of monetary policy both internationally and in South Africa. / Economics / M. Com (Economics)

A presente investigação científica discorre acerca da economia da inovação tendo como pano de fundo a moderna economia da empresa, explorando aspectos empíricos da Europa e um estudo de caso sobre a inovação nas micro e pequenas empresas de calçados dos vales do Sinos e do Paranhana. As bases deste estudo estão calcadas na teroria da inovação sob a ótica da teoria da firma. Para alcance dos objetivos foi realizada uma pesquisa bibliográfica buscando identificar o atual estágio das empresas europeias em comparação com as empresas brasileiras. Já o estudo de campo buscou identificar como se dá o processo de inovação nas micro e pequenas indústrias calçadistas dos Vales do Sinos e do Paranhana. Como instrumento de análise se utilizou a ferramenta do radar da inovação, objetivando identificar diferenças e similaridades entre a realidade europeia e a realidade das micro e pequenas empresas. A base deste estudo de campo surgiu da oportunidade de utilizar a pesquisa desenvolvida pela FAPERGS em conjunto com o SEBRAE, em que o autor autou como pesquisador. As evidências mostram que, para se destacar, em inovação seria necessário um equilíbrio entre todos os indicadores e que este seria um dos pontos fracos dos líderes em inovação do Cluster formado pelos Vales do Sinos e do Paranhana. / This scientific research discusses about the innovation economics, having as background the company’s modern economy, exploring empirical aspects of Europe and a case study about the innovation in micro and small footwear enterprises of Vale do Sinos and Vale do Paranhana. The basis of this study is grounded on the theory of innovation from the perspective of the theory of the firm. In order to reach the objectives, a bibliographical research was conducted, seeking to identify the current stage of European companies in comparison to Brazilian companies. On the other hand, the field work sought to identify how the process of innovation takes place in micro and small enterprises footwear of Vale do Sinos and Vale do Paranhana. As an analysis tool, the innovation radar was used, aiming at identifying similarities and differences between the European reality and the reality of micro and small enterprises. The basis of this field work arose from de opportunity to use the research developed by FAPERGS together with SEBRAE, in which the author acted as a researcher. The evidences show that, in order to excel in innovation, it would be necessary to have a balance between all indicators and that this would be one of the weaknesses of the leaders in innovation cluster formed by Vale do Sinos and Vale do Paranhana.

Financial innovation is a process that is not fully understood because of ~ts nebulous nature and the difficulties in determining its causes and effects. The pace of financial innovation has increased rapidly in recent years. With this increased level of new financial instruments and processes has also come the realisation that financial innovation may well influence the successful application of monetary policy. Under certain circumstances monetary policy may hampered or may be rendered ineffective by financial innovation. This dissertation examines the nature and causes of financial innovation and its implication for the successful application of monetary policy both internationally and in South Africa. / Economics / M. Com (Economics)

A presente investigação científica discorre acerca da economia da inovação tendo como pano de fundo a moderna economia da empresa, explorando aspectos empíricos da Europa e um estudo de caso sobre a inovação nas micro e pequenas empresas de calçados dos vales do Sinos e do Paranhana. As bases deste estudo estão calcadas na teroria da inovação sob a ótica da teoria da firma. Para alcance dos objetivos foi realizada uma pesquisa bibliográfica buscando identificar o atual estágio das empresas europeias em comparação com as empresas brasileiras. Já o estudo de campo buscou identificar como se dá o processo de inovação nas micro e pequenas indústrias calçadistas dos Vales do Sinos e do Paranhana. Como instrumento de análise se utilizou a ferramenta do radar da inovação, objetivando identificar diferenças e similaridades entre a realidade europeia e a realidade das micro e pequenas empresas. A base deste estudo de campo surgiu da oportunidade de utilizar a pesquisa desenvolvida pela FAPERGS em conjunto com o SEBRAE, em que o autor autou como pesquisador. As evidências mostram que, para se destacar, em inovação seria necessário um equilíbrio entre todos os indicadores e que este seria um dos pontos fracos dos líderes em inovação do Cluster formado pelos Vales do Sinos e do Paranhana. / This scientific research discusses about the innovation economics, having as background the company’s modern economy, exploring empirical aspects of Europe and a case study about the innovation in micro and small footwear enterprises of Vale do Sinos and Vale do Paranhana. The basis of this study is grounded on the theory of innovation from the perspective of the theory of the firm. In order to reach the objectives, a bibliographical research was conducted, seeking to identify the current stage of European companies in comparison to Brazilian companies. On the other hand, the field work sought to identify how the process of innovation takes place in micro and small enterprises footwear of Vale do Sinos and Vale do Paranhana. As an analysis tool, the innovation radar was used, aiming at identifying similarities and differences between the European reality and the reality of micro and small enterprises. The basis of this field work arose from de opportunity to use the research developed by FAPERGS together with SEBRAE, in which the author acted as a researcher. The evidences show that, in order to excel in innovation, it would be necessary to have a balance between all indicators and that this would be one of the weaknesses of the leaders in innovation cluster formed by Vale do Sinos and Vale do Paranhana.

A presente investigação científica discorre acerca da economia da inovação tendo como pano de fundo a moderna economia da empresa, explorando aspectos empíricos da Europa e um estudo de caso sobre a inovação nas micro e pequenas empresas de calçados dos vales do Sinos e do Paranhana. As bases deste estudo estão calcadas na teroria da inovação sob a ótica da teoria da firma. Para alcance dos objetivos foi realizada uma pesquisa bibliográfica buscando identificar o atual estágio das empresas europeias em comparação com as empresas brasileiras. Já o estudo de campo buscou identificar como se dá o processo de inovação nas micro e pequenas indústrias calçadistas dos Vales do Sinos e do Paranhana. Como instrumento de análise se utilizou a ferramenta do radar da inovação, objetivando identificar diferenças e similaridades entre a realidade europeia e a realidade das micro e pequenas empresas. A base deste estudo de campo surgiu da oportunidade de utilizar a pesquisa desenvolvida pela FAPERGS em conjunto com o SEBRAE, em que o autor autou como pesquisador. As evidências mostram que, para se destacar, em inovação seria necessário um equilíbrio entre todos os indicadores e que este seria um dos pontos fracos dos líderes em inovação do Cluster formado pelos Vales do Sinos e do Paranhana. / This scientific research discusses about the innovation economics, having as background the company’s modern economy, exploring empirical aspects of Europe and a case study about the innovation in micro and small footwear enterprises of Vale do Sinos and Vale do Paranhana. The basis of this study is grounded on the theory of innovation from the perspective of the theory of the firm. In order to reach the objectives, a bibliographical research was conducted, seeking to identify the current stage of European companies in comparison to Brazilian companies. On the other hand, the field work sought to identify how the process of innovation takes place in micro and small enterprises footwear of Vale do Sinos and Vale do Paranhana. As an analysis tool, the innovation radar was used, aiming at identifying similarities and differences between the European reality and the reality of micro and small enterprises. The basis of this field work arose from de opportunity to use the research developed by FAPERGS together with SEBRAE, in which the author acted as a researcher. The evidences show that, in order to excel in innovation, it would be necessary to have a balance between all indicators and that this would be one of the weaknesses of the leaders in innovation cluster formed by Vale do Sinos and Vale do Paranhana.