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Selected aspects of a theory of social change formulated by Everett E. Hagen are related to observation made by the author on an Indian Reservation in western Canada. Field data serve to illustrate a number of propositions derived from Hagen's theory, and furnish a basis tor the discussion of some possible theoretical shortcomings. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

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Our vision for this special issue was simple: to inspire clinician innovators working in integrated care to not only consume the literature but also contribute to it.

The adequacy of existing transport infrastructure to four distinct clusters in Austria's key regions is tested by examining the willingness of logistics managers to pay for additional service improvements. Findings show an overall willingness to pay for multiple service improvements; this reveals a general dissatisfaction with current shipping options, regardless of transport mode, where rail mode services ("Bahn") provoke the greatest dissatisfaction. Willingness to pay for improvements generally increases by degrees of regional EU remoteness and relative youth of cluster industries, as hypothesized from Schumpterian assumptions concerning infrastructure innovation. / Series: SRE - Discussion Papers

<p>The Psychology Driving and Barriers to Skunk Work Projects (referred to throughout this thesis as the paper) represents a study predominantly on Tetra Pak from a selective perspective, the innovators. Innovators both past&present whose initiatives contribute to the well being of Tetra Pak as well as one from Ericsson were consulted. As with individuals, organizations possess definable characters that are influenced by the various stages of their life cycle. Theories of corporate life cycle phases and organizational character analysis were therefore employed to identify and explain organizational barriers to skunk work leaders&managers. Predicated on the Organizational Character Index survey developed by William Bridges PhD (himself a recognized leader in the field of transition management) and administered to sixty-one managers within a Tetra Pak business unit established the benchmark. The organizational character was identified and expressed as Myers-Briggs Personality Type ISFP (introverted - sensing - feeling - perceiving). Benchmark in hand, it was then to ascertain the barriers or resistance that skunk work leaders&managers encounter when promoting new ideas. The diversity of the barriers led to the clustering of nine categories compiled from the skunk leaders personal interviews. The nine categories are assumptions, change, communication, competences, culture shift, human dynamics, management, sponsorship and vision. In addition the six interviewees assisted in determining that Tetra Pak business unit had reached the end of a Mature&Consolidating phase of its’ organizational life cycle according to Larraine Segil’s definition. The perception however is that Tetra Pak business unit is already in the declining phase, descriptive of a phase in transition. Bearing in mind that this view of Tetra Pak is shared by a select few of highly regarded innovators and does not represent a collective perception of Tetra Pak. Triangulation of the findings supported the hypothesis (H1). In identifying both the organizational character and stage of its’ life cycle it is possible to diagnose&subsequently engineer an environment for innovation. It was understood that the initiative is to be management supported. This paper concludes with the realization that the resources&knowledge leading to innovation exist. Further it suggests how to foster a corporate innovative culture by championing an environmental climate for innovation.</p>

The Psychology Driving and Barriers to Skunk Work Projects (referred to throughout this thesis as the paper) represents a study predominantly on Tetra Pak from a selective perspective, the innovators. Innovators both past&amp;present whose initiatives contribute to the well being of Tetra Pak as well as one from Ericsson were consulted. As with individuals, organizations possess definable characters that are influenced by the various stages of their life cycle. Theories of corporate life cycle phases and organizational character analysis were therefore employed to identify and explain organizational barriers to skunk work leaders&amp;managers. Predicated on the Organizational Character Index survey developed by William Bridges PhD (himself a recognized leader in the field of transition management) and administered to sixty-one managers within a Tetra Pak business unit established the benchmark. The organizational character was identified and expressed as Myers-Briggs Personality Type ISFP (introverted - sensing - feeling - perceiving). Benchmark in hand, it was then to ascertain the barriers or resistance that skunk work leaders&amp;managers encounter when promoting new ideas. The diversity of the barriers led to the clustering of nine categories compiled from the skunk leaders personal interviews. The nine categories are assumptions, change, communication, competences, culture shift, human dynamics, management, sponsorship and vision. In addition the six interviewees assisted in determining that Tetra Pak business unit had reached the end of a Mature&amp;Consolidating phase of its’ organizational life cycle according to Larraine Segil’s definition. The perception however is that Tetra Pak business unit is already in the declining phase, descriptive of a phase in transition. Bearing in mind that this view of Tetra Pak is shared by a select few of highly regarded innovators and does not represent a collective perception of Tetra Pak. Triangulation of the findings supported the hypothesis (H1). In identifying both the organizational character and stage of its’ life cycle it is possible to diagnose&amp;subsequently engineer an environment for innovation. It was understood that the initiative is to be management supported. This paper concludes with the realization that the resources&amp;knowledge leading to innovation exist. Further it suggests how to foster a corporate innovative culture by championing an environmental climate for innovation.

El propósito de esta tesis es triple e intenta comprender un importante resultado de la innovación organizativa: la innovación de proceso. Primero, el artículo aborda un tema en emergente crecimiento: la importancia de los innovadores no-I+D (innovadores sin I+D que innovan). Segundo, el artículo explora y arroja luz sobre el fenómeno de la innovación de proceso que ha recibido menos atención por parte de los académicos en los últimos años, más centrados en el fenómeno de la innovación de producto. En tercer lugar, el artículo también busca ideas para determinar el grado en que las actividades de innovación de proceso son interdependientes de la innovación de producto. La tesis constituye un intento de obtener una fértil síntesis de los estímulos de la innovación de proceso y sus resultados usando diferentes disciplinas económicas para complementar la perspectiva de la innovación organizativa. El estudio está basado en los datos de la encuesta CIS de España e incluye 16.843 firmas que respondieron haber introducido cualquier tipo de resultado innovador en sectores manufactureros y de servicios (a partir de una encuesta de 33.363 empresas). En general, los resultados subrayan el hecho de que la actividad de innovación de proceso en contextos de media y baja tecnología, es explicada principalmente por los esfuerzos no-I+D, mostrando una baja dependencia del suministro externo de inputs, por ejemplo fuentes externas de conocimiento, el tamaño no es importante y los recursos internos pueden sustituir a los externos, con un enfoque más interno de la generación de conocimiento. La tesis presenta también importantes implicaciones para los políticos, sobre todo frente a los problemas de selectividad de la muestra usualmente observados en la mayoría de estudios de innovación de proceso. / Boronat Moll, C. (2012). ANÁLISIS DE LA INNOVACIÓN EN PROCESO Y ESTUDIO DE LOS NON-R&D INNOVATORS. EVIDENCIA EMPÍRICA PARA ESPAÑA [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/19210 / Palancia

To remain competitive and create a sustainable business, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) need to develop both incremental and radical innovation. What many companies struggle with is to evaluate the potential of innovation initiatives. The development of products and innovations has over the years changed from a traditional technocentric view into a more human-centered view with the user’s desirability in focus. Also, the increased global competition and interest in business model innovation are forcing companies to verify the viability of the offering to their customers. While Technology Readiness Level (TRL) is an established tool for evaluating the technology, there are no holistic methods which also evaluates the readiness of the users and business.  The purpose of this thesis was to review available theory and methods used for evaluating the potential and readiness of innovation initiatives and to develop a holistic methodology to link the business, user, and technology related innovation activities. The innovation readiness is a combination of business, user, and technology readiness. The study started with a literature study where existing methods were presented from the three aspects; business, user, and technology. Since many critical decisions are made in the front-end of the innovation, the focus in the study has been to identify methods in the early stages of the process. This thesis was performed in collaboration with Company X, a global equipment manufacturer which also was the main object in this study. The findings from a case study performed at Company X were verified by comparing the identified methods and processes used at five external companies. Data was gathered by conducting semi-structured interviews both at Company X and the external companies and finding were compared in a cross-case analysis. In general, the methods used at the OEMs are quite similar, and all manage to balance the three aspects; business, user, and technology.  Based on the findings from the study of the companies and the literature review, a methodology framework is suggested which presents existing evaluating methods from the three aspects business, user, and technology. / För att förbli konkurrenskraftiga och för att skapa en hållbar affärsmodell behöver OEM:s utveckla både inkrementell och radikal innovation. Vad många företag arbetar hårt med är att utvärdera potentialen i innovationsinitiativ. Utvecklingen av produkter och innovationer har genom åren förändrats från en traditionell utveckling med tekniken i centrum till en mer användare-centrerad vy med fokus på användarens intresse av produkten. Dessutom har den ökade globala konkurrensen och intresset för affärsmodellinnovation har ökat intresset hos företagen att verifiera lönsamheten i deras erbjudanden till sina kunder. Medan TRL är ett etablerat verktyg för utvärdering av teknik finns det inga holistiska metoder som även utvärderar användarnas och företagets mognadsgrad och beredskapsnivå. Syftet med detta var att se över tillgänglig teori och metoder för att utvärdera potentialen och mognadsgraden av innovationsinitiativ och att utveckla en holistisk metod för att länka innovations aktiviteter relaterade till affär, användare och teknik. Mognadsgraden av innovation består av en kombination av affärens, användarens och teknikens mognadsgrad. Studien inleddes med en litteraturstudie där befintliga metoder presenterades från de tre aspekterna affär, användare och teknik. Fokus i studien har varit att identifiera metoder i de tidiga stadierna av processen då många kritiska beslut tas i början av innovationsprocessen. Detta examensarbete utfördes i samarbete med Företag X som är en global utrustningstillverkare och som även var huvudobjektet i denna studie. En fallstudie utfördes på Företag X och resultaten från studien verifierades genom att jämföra det med de identifierade metoder och processer som används på fem externa företag. Data samlades in genom att genomföra halvstrukturerade intervjuer både hos Företag X och de externa företagen och resultatet jämfördes i en tvärgående analys. Generellt sätt är metoderna som används hos OEM-tillverkarna ganska lika och alla lyckas balansera de tre aspekterna affär, användare och teknik. Baserat på resultaten från studien av företagen och litteraturundersökningen föreslås en metod som presenterar befintliga utvärderingsmetoder från de tre aspekterna affärer, användare och teknik.