The agricultural sector of Andean countries like Peru and Bolivia perceives the consequences of climate change in increasing water stress due to melting glaciers and changing precipitation patterns. Therefore mainly subsistence agricultural systems are increasingly vulnerable. Traditional inhabitants of the tropical Andean region are aware of the recurrent diversity of climate related impacts and its consequences, thus livelihood strategies are based on principles of risk management. Andean farmers are nowadays applying traditional strategies in a combination of homegrown experimentation and scientific know-how to cope with and adapt to a changing climate. Understanding these adaptations has become one of the most important aspects of research into climate change impacts and vulnerability. It provides essential knowledge for developing and transferring strategies towards a sustainable management in agriculture and agroforestry systems. But there still is a lack of a comparative assessment, especially in regions with high impact of extreme climate conditions. The endogenously determined strategies, which are based on the experience of the farmers, are to be complemented by knowledge and experiences coming from outside farm-household systems and communities. In a collaborative way, this exogenous knowledge is to be placed at the disposal of local actors. The necessary network approach leads to a comprehensive involvement of local stakeholders. Therefore a participative network on climate change may work as a tool to bridge the gap between the global discourse on climate change and local action.

民國九十年左右，正值國內傳統行業轉型的年代，許多中小企業紛紛從所謂的夕陽工業轉型到科技業。近幾年來，政府也極力鼓勵民間企業自創品牌。但轉型成為自創品牌的企業寥寥可數，真正成功者更是少數。本研究試圖從台灣某家由傳統行業轉為自創品牌的中小企業來了解其建立品牌的經驗，除文獻探討及收集該公司之歷史資料外，並專訪該公司經理人後，進行個案分析及建立理論架構。此外，收集2000個顧客的調查資料與公司過去兩年來的銷售績效，以試圖了解競爭環境如何影響新自創品牌公司營運策略的調整，以及公司營運策略調整下，其創新研發與行銷之管理與運作。 本研究所得的重要結論有以下幾點： 一﹑新「自創品牌」公司面對競爭激烈的產業如何動態調整「營運策略」? 1. 新「自創品牌」公司的經營者對於所處競爭環境須有高度的靈敏度與機動性。 2. 資訊科技的運用可增加新「自創品牌」公司資訊的透明度與決策系統的正確性。 3. 新「自創品牌」公司正派的經營理念與形成的「品牌形象」與「企業形象」可獲得代工大廠的支持。 二﹑新「自創品牌」公司的「創新研發」與「行銷」之管理與運作為何？ 1. 新「自創品牌」公司內部「創新研發」機制是提升新「自創品牌」公司品牌知名度的關鍵。 2. 新「自創品牌」公司在「創新研發」的組織方面，會考慮藉由與異業的合作，以突破傳統的設計觀念。 3. 新「自創品牌」公司在選擇目標市場上，會鎖定利基市場與被忽略的市場，同時強調產品設計的「差異化」。 4. 集中於特定市場是擴張知名度是一較有效率的方法。 5. 新「自創品牌」公司初期階段會先以「創新研發」設計導向為主，當產品陸續被接受且市場擴大後，再轉為行銷導向。 6. 「自創品牌」公司基於產品價值的概念，其定價模式以「價值定價」而非一般傳統OEM廠商的成本加成定價。 7. 「產品品質」、「設計」與「服務體系」的整合對於新「自創品牌」公司品牌知名度與品牌認同的提升有很大的助益。 8. 新「自創品牌」公司的經營者品牌承諾的兌現，及品牌策略與產品定位的一致性，能獲得通路商及客戶的支持。 關鍵詞：營運策略，自創品牌，創新研發，行銷，差異化。 / Many small and medium-sized enterprises in Taiwan started to transform from conventional industries into high technology ones in the beginning of the 2000s, an era of transformation of the domestic industries in Taiwan. In recent years, the government also urges the private enterprises to establish their own brand . However, those that have transformed into new own brand manufacturers (OBMs) are few, and those successful even less. The study aims to explore the experience of a small and medium-sized enterprise that has transformed from a conventional industry into an own brand manufacturer. In addition to literature review and the collection of historical information of the company, the top executives and managers are interviewed in order to analyze the case and establish the theoretical framework. Furthermore, customer information and the sales performance over the past two years are collected to explore the influence of the competitive environment on adjustment of the business strategies of an OBM, and the company’s management and operation of the innovative research and development and marketing based on the adjustment. The conclusions drawn from the study are as following: 1. How does a new OBM dynamically adjust its business strategies to the keenly competitive environment of the industry? A. The CEO of a new OBM tends to show higher sensitivity and mobility to the competitive environment. B. The application of information technology enhances the transparency of the information of a new OBM and the accuracy of the decision-making system. C. The decent corporate ideology of a new OBM, its brand image and the corporate image are more likely to gain the support from the major original equipment manufacturers. 2. What is a new OBM’s management and operation of the innovative research and development and marketing? A. The innovative R&D mechanism of a new OBM is the key to the enhancement of its brand awareness. B. A new OBM may consider the inter-industry cooperation in order to make a breakthrough of traditional design concept. C. A new OBM may focus on niche markets and markets that are ignored, and put emphasis on the differentiation of product design simultaneously. D. Focusing on a certain market is a more efficient way to enhance brand awareness. E. A new OBM tends to adopt a design-oriented approach in the early stage, and consider turning to a customer-oriented or market-oriented approach when products are gradually accepted. F. A new OBM tends to adopt value pricing instead of traditional pricing. G. The integration of product quality, design and service system contributes a lot to the enhancement of brand awareness and brand identification. H. The fulfillment of the commitments of a brand by the manager of a new OBM and the consistency of brand strategy and product positioning are more likely to obtain the support from the distributors and the customers. Keywords: business strategy, own brand, innovative research and development, marketing, differentiation

Abstract   This study addresses the research gap on knowledge transfer on a team level, by examining the potential and realized Absorptive Capacity (ACAP) on the receiver's side and potential and realized Disseminative Capacity (DCAP) on the sender's side. The research question and purpose relate to how ACAP and DCAP can aid innovation development teams in reaching their goals and what role social integration mechanisms play in this process. We develop a theoretical framework in which we synthesize existing literature and through which we analyzed the empirical data.   We follow a qualitative method and employ a single case strategy that fits our empirical data and allows to gain an understanding of social dynamics underlying knowledge transfer. The data was collected through interviews in the R&D department of Atlas Copco, a large Swedish multinational corporation that operates in the mining and tunneling industry. From our analysis we conclude that social integration mechanisms can be used in order to lower the gap between potential and realized capacities. This can in turn lead to a higher innovative output of teams.

Fügen und Montieren spielt seit jeher eine entscheidende Rolle in der Herstellung von Alltags- bis hin zu Hochtechnologieprodukten. Die Füge- und Montagetechnik ist an der Technischen Universität Chemnitz fast seit ihrer Gründung eine etablierte Wissenschaftsdisziplin. So wurde bereits 1922 an der damaligen staatlichen Gewerbeakademie als erste Hochschule Deutschlands das Fachgebiet Schweißtechnik in Lehre und Forschung eingerichtet. Mit der wissenschaftlichen Fachkonferenzreihe FüMoTeC will das Institut für Füge- und Montagetechnik (IFMT) der Technischen Universität Chemnitz seine laufenden Erkenntnisse in Wissenschaft und Forschung einem breiten Publikum zugänglich machen aber auch eine Plattform für Industrie und Wissenschaft zur Diskussion füge- und montagetechnischer Aspekte bieten. / Joining and Assembly has always played a crucial role in the production of everyday up to high-technology products. These research priorities are well-established scientific disciplines at the Technische Universität Chemnitz almost since its foundation. Already in 1922 at the former state “Gewerbeakademie” the field of welding technology was set up in teaching and research for the first time in Germany. With the scientific conference series FüMoTeC the institute for joining and assembly technology (IFMT) of the Technische Universität Chemnitz wants to present current findings in science and research to a broad audience as well as offering a platform for industry and academia for discussions.

Collaboration between academic and corporate entities has increased in recent years. On many occasions Government actors (e.g. federal laboratories) will participate in these collaborations, especially when advanced technologies are involved. The following inquiry considers the degree to which the federal entities add (scientific) value to University-Industry partnerships and how this value is spatially mediated. Quantifying degrees of the value that Government actors induce across the spectrum of University-Industry collaborative arrangements is useful for identifying scales at which intervention by federal agents is more effective and/or justified. It is anticipated that the value-added by federal agents in University-Industry collaboration is not spatially uniform but will exhibit greater profitability across specific scales of interaction. Comparing these against actual scales of interaction provides room for discussion on whether Government actors engage Universities and Industry at scales that optimize the value they introduce to these partnerships.

Biotechnology in BC is getting a boost through the Centre for Drug Research and Development, a non-profit organization aimed at driving drug development.

This dissertation endeavours to address an identified gap in literature concerning the relationship between New Zealand and the European Union (EU) in the field of research, science and technology (RS&T). Examination of the partnership begins with the creation of the Science and Technological Cooperation (STC) Arrangement in 1991 and comes to a close in 2008, following the Arrangement’s ‘upgrade’ to an STC Agreement on 16 July. During this time, the intensification of the EU’s activities in RS&T is evident. The Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) currently constitutes the most internationalised Programme to date. Identifying the complementary nature of New Zealand and EU research priorities thus suggests that now, more than ever, the New Zealand research community stands to gain from participation within such an inclusive venture. Aiming to assess the current status of New Zealand-EU research collaboration, the research identifies a number of recurring themes, both positive and negative, that influence the nature of the RS&T relationship. These themes focus on problems concerning visibility within the EU, geographical isolation from this important market, an absence of targeted domestic funding for New Zealand-EU RS&T collaboration and the unwieldy bureaucratic process of the Framework Programme. The research also determines the importance of both ‘official’ and ‘informal’ mechanisms’ in combating the outlined collaborative bottlenecks. Taking these themes into account, the thesis ultimately looks to provide recommendations concerning the future of New Zealand-EU engagement in this field.

<p>Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2007</p>

Business process management (BPM) is a philosophical approach to organisation-wide management in which the focus is on the processes through which it operates, and in particular the streamlining and optimising of these processes, for which software solutions may be used. CTexT is an intrapreneurial software organisation that has been experiencing problems with software development due to a lack of formal processes relating to customer support, versioning, configuration, quality, risk and project management. The objective of the study is to determine whether the implementation of an electronic BPM system can effectively solve CTexT's development problems and thereby improve its overall software development capacity. More specifically, the focus is on i) the effect of the resulting standardisation on creativity and innovation, and ii) implementation matters, such as the type of processes that can be subjected to an electronic system, and how CTexT can overcome the time and cost constraints of such a system. The study investigates these questions by means of a literature investigation in combination with interviews with knowledgeable respondents from other innovative and software organisations. Interviews with six employees from CTexT determine the relevance of these findings and highlight critical areas for process improvement. Since BPM systems improve organisational efficiencies and are generally employed in larger corporate contexts marked by transactional and repetitive activities where they enforce administrative rules, the conclusion is drawn that a BPM system will not be suitable for an intrapreneurial organisation, and that it is likely to cause more disruption to the creative environment than improve its operations. It is further shown that although a BPM system is theoretically applicable to software development, it generally does not seem to be applied practically in the industry, and the suitability of this process as manageable through a BPM system is seriously questioned. Instead, the research points to improvement through the application of software development methodologies and a holistic approach towards BPM. The investigation at CTexT confirms that its development problems relate to flawed methodologies and that remedies should therefore focus on improving its methodologies and controlling certain aspects of the software development life cycle by means of suitable software tools. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007

This study looks at Open Innovation in Research and Development projects and explores the nature of collaboration and leadership characteristics. Thereby perspectives of both industrial and academic partners are considered, focusing primarily on the project level of the collaboration. It is based on the understanding that leadership plays a crucial role in bringing the partners successfully together, based on the prior understanding that academia and industry are potentially different in the nature, objectives and working dynamics of research and development.   This thesis begins with examining the existing literature on the concept of Open Innovation, including benefits and drawbacks of such projects. This leads to uncovering the managerial challenges that such projects encounter which can be mitigated by effective leadership. For this reason, relevant theories on leadership are explored, especially focusing on leadership in R&amp;D contexts, as these kind of projects have special requirements from leaders that differ from traditional projects.  This research is qualitative in nature and takes an abductive approach to theory. 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted, consulting with heads of R&amp;D departments from industrial companies, professors in charge of research labs at universities and representatives from intermediary organisations. The study is exploratory and cross-sectional in nature, as open innovation collaborations in Sweden, the UK and the Netherlands were in the centre of attention. The process of analysis implied the use of a template analysis, which provided the researchers with enough flexibility to code, categorize, and interpret necessary findings. The results show that the nature of Open Innovation collaborations differs from case to case, from mere contractual relationships to collaborative partnerships with a high level of interaction on a daily basis. The key motive for both partners is finance-based, as the universities gain access to funding and the company can save on research expenses. Additionally, companies benefit from access to academic expertise and from potential governmental funding.  Further, there is not a single leader in an industry-university collaboration, rather each entity has a leader of their own and collaborative working is fostered by them. It is deduced that no single leadership theory fits best in the operational level of R&amp;D open innovation functioning, rather it is a mixture of a few popular theories which were predominant in collaborative relationships. The characteristics of leaders in open innovation were deduced and autonomy, communication and joint problem-solving have a prominent role in furthering the R&amp;D collaborative relationship. As a result, a connection between leadership and Open Innovation collaborations was explored.