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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
31

Technological Forecasting Based on Segmented Rate of Change

Lim, Dong-Joon 16 March 2015 (has links)
Consider the following questions in the early stage of new product development. What should be the target market for proposed design concepts? Who will be the competitors and how fast are they moving forward in terms of performance improvements? Ultimately, is the current design concept and targeted launch date feasible and competitive? To answer these questions, there is a need to integrate the product benchmarking with the assessment of performance improvement so that analysts can have a risk measure for their R&D target setting practices. Consequently, this study presents how time series benchmarking analysis can be used to assist scheduling new product releases. Specifically, the proposed model attempts to estimate the "auspicious" time by which proposed design concepts will be available as competitive products by taking into account the rate of performance improvement expected in a target segment. The empirical illustration of commercial airplane development has shown that this new method provides valuable information such as dominating designs, distinct segments, and the potential rate of performance improvement, which can be utilized in the early stage of new product development. In particular, six dominant airplanes are identified with corresponding local RoCs and, inter alia, technological advancement toward long-range and wide-body airplanes represents very competitive segments of the market with rapid changes. The resulting individualized RoCs are able to estimate the arrivals of four different design concepts, which is consistent with what has happened since 2007 in commercial airplane industry. In addition, the case study of the Exascale supercomputer development is presented to demonstrate the predictive use of the new method. The results indicate that the current development target of 2020 might entail technical risks considering the rate of change emphasizing power efficiency observed in the past. It is forecasted that either a Cray-built hybrid system using Intel processors or an IBM-built Blue Gene architecture system using PowerPC processors will likely achieve the goal between early 2021 and late 2022. This indicates that the challenge to improve the power efficiency by a factor of 23 would require the maximum delay of 4 years to reach the Exascale supercomputer compared to the existing performance curve.
32

Processo judicial eletrônico: uma abordagem metodológica para o processo de sua implementação / Electronic judicial process: a methodological approach to the process of its implementation

Martinez, Ramses Henrique 16 August 2012 (has links)
Esta tese realiza uma pesquisa exploratória no âmbito do PJe, Processo Judicial Eletrônico, de modo a prover uma abordagem metodológica para orientar o processo de construção de um modelo de governança do ecossistema, que suporte o processo de implementação, sustentação e evolução do PJe e de seu ambiente e permita sua adoção de forma mais ágil, eficiente e eficaz. A pesquisa empírica contempla o estudo desse modelo de caráter normativo do ecossistema e da gestão do projeto PJe dentro desse contexto. O presente trabalho realiza uma revisão da bibliografia existente sobre o tema e das questões a ele associadas. A partir dessa revisão, foi possível desenvolver o modelo de pesquisa. As metodologias de pesquisa utilizadas foram o estudo de caso e a pesquisa-ação, o que permitiu ao pesquisador o aprofundamento em alguns aspectos da governança do processo de implementação do PJe. A pesquisa foi realizada com base em conversações, observações e proposições feitas durante a participação do pesquisador em reuniões do Comitê Gestor do PJe, do CNJ, Conselho Nacional de Justiça. Essas conversações, observações e proposições foram feitas com base no modelo de pesquisa. / This paper makes an exploratory research concerning the PJe - Electronic Legal Proceeding - in order to provide a methodological approach to guide the process of building an ecosystem governance template that supports the process of implementing, sustaining, and evolving the PJe and its environment, and that allows for it to be adopted in a quicker and more effective way. The empirical research provides for the study of this regulatory template of the ecosystem and the management of the PJe project in that context. This paper reviews the existing literature on the subject and the issues related to it. From that review, it was possible to develop the research model. The research methodologies used were the case study and the action research, which allowed the researcher to go deep into some aspects of the governance of the PJe implementation process. The research was conducted based on discussions, notes, and propositions made during the researcher\'s participation in meetings with the PJe Management Committee of the CNJ - National Justice Board. These discussions, notes, and propositions were made based on the research model.
33

Development of a Technology Transfer Score for Evaluating Research Proposals: Case Study of Demand Response Technologies in the Pacific Northwest

Estep, Judith 13 February 2017 (has links)
Investment in Research and Development (R&D) is necessary for innovation, allowing an organization to maintain a competitive edge. The U.S. Federal Government invests billions of dollars, primarily in basic research technologies to help fill the pipeline for other organizations to take the technology into commercialization. However, it is not about just investing in innovation, it is about converting that research into application. A cursory review of the research proposal evaluation criteria suggests that there is little to no emphasis placed on the transfer of research results. This effort is motivated by a need to move research into application. One segment that is facing technology challenges is the energy sector. Historically, the electric grid has been stable and predictable; therefore, there were no immediate drivers to innovate. However, an aging infrastructure, integration of renewable energy, and aggressive energy efficiency targets are motivating the need for research and to put promising results into application. Many technologies exist or are in development but the rate at which they are being adopted is slow. The goal of this research is to develop a decision model that can be used to identify the technology transfer potential of a research proposal. An organization can use the model to select the proposals whose research outcomes are more likely to move into application. The model begins to close the chasm between research and application -- otherwise known as the "valley of death." A comprehensive literature review was conducted to understand when the idea of technology application or transfer should begin. Next, the attributes that are necessary for successful technology transfer were identified. The emphasis of successful technology transfer occurs when there is a productive relationship between the researchers and the technology recipient. A hierarchical decision model, along with desirability curves, was used to understand the complexities of the researcher and recipient relationship, specific to technology transfer. In this research, the evaluation criteria of several research organizations were assessed to understand the extent to which the success attributes that were identified in literature were considered when reviewing research proposals. While some of the organizations included a few of the success attributes, none of the organizations considered all of the attributes. In addition, none of the organizations quantified the value of the success attributes. The effectiveness of the model relies extensively on expert judgments to complete the model validation and quantification. Subject matter experts ranging from senior executives with extensive experience in technology transfer to principal research investigators from national labs, universities, utilities, and non-profit research organizations were used to ensure a comprehensive and cross-functional validation and quantification of the decision model. The quantified model was validated using a case study involving demand response (DR) technology proposals in the Pacific Northwest. The DR technologies were selected based on their potential to solve some of the region's most prevalent issues. In addition, several sensitivity scenarios were developed to test the model's response to extreme case scenarios, impact of perturbations in expert responses, and if it can be applied to other than demand response technologies. In other words, is the model technology agnostic? In addition, the flexibility of the model to be used as a tool for communicating which success attributes in a research proposal are deficient and need strengthening and how improvements would increase the overall technology transfer score were assessed. The low scoring success attributes in the case study proposals (e.g. project meetings, etc.) were clearly identified as the areas to be improved for increasing the technology transfer score. As a communication tool, the model could help a research organization identify areas they could bolster to improve their overall technology transfer score. Similarly, the technology recipient could use the results to identify areas that need to be reinforced, as the research is ongoing. The research objective is to develop a decision model resulting in a technology transfer score that can be used to assess the technology transfer potential of a research proposal. The technology transfer score can be used by an organization in the development of a research portfolio. An organization's growth, in a highly competitive global market, hinges on superior R&D performance and the ability to apply the results. The energy sector is no different. While there is sufficient research being done to address the issues facing the utility industry, the rate at which technologies are adopted is lagging. The technology transfer score has the potential to increase the success of crossing the chasm to successful application by helping an organization make informed and deliberate decisions about their research portfolio.
34

A Scoring Model to Assess Organizations' Technology Transfer Capabilities: the Case of a Power Utility in the Northwest USA

Lavoie, João Ricardo 10 May 2019 (has links)
This research intends to advance knowledge in the technology management field, most importantly in the study of organizations that develop technologies in-house and wish to enhance their technology transfer performance while maintaining adherence between R&D activities and overall business strategies. The objective was to build a multi-criteria decision-making model capable of producing a technology transfer score, which can be used by practitioners in order to assess and later improve their organizations' technology transfer capabilities -- ultimately aiming to improve technology development as a whole. The model was applied to a major power utility organization in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The introduction brings initial and basic information on the topic, along with the problem statement -- this chapter is aimed at situating the reader on the boundaries of the topic while highlighting its importance within the technology management field of study. The second chapter is the literature review. It brings general and specific information on technology transfer, as well as its complexities, gaps, relationship with other fields and the characteristics of this topic within the energy realm. It also tries to shed a light on how the alignment between R&D and business strategy is perceived by the literature, discussing some of the methods used and its shortcomings. Additionally, the literature review brings an analysis that builds the argument in favor of a continuous technology transfer process, and tries to show how it would be helpful in aligning R&D and business strategy. The third chapter presents the methodological approach -- hierarchical decision modeling (HDM) aided by action research -- which constitutes a methodological novelty piloted and validated throughout the development of the study. The fourth chapter details the model development process step-by-step, and the fifth chapter details the model application process with the analysis of the aforementioned organization. Additionally, results are interpreted and analyzed, and insights for the specific case and for technology managers in general are discussed. Lastly, the contributions of the study towards the advancement of the body of knowledge are discussed, as well as the study limitations and future research opportunities.
35

Innovation in the Australian wool industry : a sensemaking perspective

Sneddon, Joanne January 2008 (has links)
Achieving the successful development, transfer and adoption of new agricultural technology is a popular issue in the innovation literature. Innovation diffusion and economic theory has informed this literature by emphasising the central role that technology attributes and economic rationality play in the adoption of new technology. In agricultural innovation context, research has traditionally taken a technological determinist perspective, assuming that technologies shape society and that all technological change is positive and progressive. As a result of limitations of the linear, determinist perspective of agricultural innovation to explain how new technologies are adopted and diffused, social constructivist approaches to agricultural innovation have emerged as a complement to this approach. However, a unifying framework of the social construction of new agricultural technologies has not been presented in the agricultural innovation literature. In this study Karl Weicks seven properties of sensemaking are used as the foundation for the development of a unifying conceptual framework for the examination of the social construction of agricultural technology. This thesis is a study of sensemaking in the context of agricultural innovation. It examines how participants in the Australian wool industry make sense of new technologies and how that sensemaking shapes their use of new technologies over time. The focal innovation initiative studied in this thesis is the development, transfer, adoption and abandonment of objective wool fibre testing technologies. This initiative commenced in the 1960s and has resulted in significant changes in the way that Australian wool is produced, marketed and processed. An interpretive research paradigm is adopted in this study. A theory-building case study approach, combining quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis is used to capture the ongoing, iterative, enactive and social actions and interactions that occur throughout the agricultural innovation process. The case study is divided into three separate but interlocking empirical analyses which examine how industry participants' sensemaking shaped their use of wool testing technologies at the industry, technological system and individual farm level. The findings and implications of the three empirical studies in this thesis are discussed in relation to (1) the interpretation frameworks of agricultural industry participants and technology enactment, (2) the sensemaking process, (3) the social construction of shared technology frames, and (4) the social construction of industry belief systems. This study contributes to the debate on the social construction of agricultural technology and sensemaking in the innovation process by exploring the development, transfer, adoption and abandonment of new wool fibre testing technologies by industry participants over time. It builds on theoretical and empirical agricultural innovation and sensemaking research, and draws on a theoretical framework sensitive to the social construction of technology at the individual, group and industry levels. In doing so this study develops the concept of sensemaking in the agricultural innovation process as a way of deepening our understanding of how new agricultural technologies are transferred, adopted and diffused.
36

Innovation models and the front-end of product innovation

Van Zyl, Hillet 12 1900 (has links)
Thesis (MScEng (Industrial Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / This thesis explores the innovation survival issue. As role players in an increasingly global marketplace, businesses acknowledge that regular and constant innovation is the key to remaining competitive. In other words, in order to be successful, businesses are compelled to operate and produce products that will satisfy the changing market requirements and exploit new technology opportunities. The study also investigates the difficulties and risks associated with innovation activities. Secondly, with the goal of addressing the identified problems and risks, a study is made of formal innovation models. The different innovation models are then compared with each other and plotted on a general Innovation Landscape. The populated Innovation Landscape thus serves as a positioning guide to innovators, so that they can select the best-suited innovation model for a specific industry and project. A case study is then undertaken to test the level of applicability and the possible support that formal innovation models can offer to a real industrial problem. The case study focuses on the front-end of innovation and the formal innovation model studied was the W-Model. The W-Model is also critically evaluated, based on the results of the case study, in order to propose improvements so that it can better support future industry innovation applications.
37

Improbable circumstances strategic framework

Kennon, Denzil 03 1900 (has links)
Thesis (MScEng (Industrial Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH SUMMARY: The research documents the development of a conceptual framework, the improbable circumstances strategic (ICS) framework, which guides organisations in the preparation for improbable circumstances. Four fields include: strategic management, innovation, systems thinking and complexity theories (black swans). The black swan principle was introduced with its applicability to the 2008 economic crisis. The black swan is an event which is retrospective in its predictability, highly improbable and carries extreme impact. There are various principles to cope with black swans which will now play a role in strategic management. Strategic management is studied from a systems thinking perspective which is a school of thought that strategy is a process which an organisation should follow from analysis, synthesis, implementation through to the operation phase. Some tools applicable to the analysis and synthesis phases were studied to give a greater understanding of the current field of strategic management. Innovation is an underlying principle which supports the strategic process. Innovation is a field which is currently not playing a large role in the strategy process. The principles of the innovation life cycle, innovation management and open innovation were studied to support the framework as well as create awareness around the advantages thereof within the field strategy. The dissertation uses aspects of these four fields to form the ICS framework. The framework consists of four phases: the analysis phase; the improbable event creation phase; the fragility analysis phase; and the synthesis phase. The first three phases run parallel with the current analysis phase of strategic management as the ICS framework is not designed to replace the strategic management process, but to add to it. The synthesis phase is where the design of the strategic plan for improbable circumstances takes place. Each phase sets out the inputs, requirements and deliverables needed for the successful implementation of the framework. Some tools for each of the phases are given, but they are given merely as a guideline as different organisations have the infrastructure for different tools. The framework is partially validated by being able to apply various tools to each phase, but the framework’s place in the field of strategy should be validated. The validation is done through interviews with eight industry experts in the four fields of study discussed. The results show a positive response with a call for future study through implementation, a tracking of the framework through this implementation and critical factors that arise from that. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie navorsing beskryf die ontwikkeling van ‘n moontlike raamwerk; die onverwagte omstandigheids strategiese (ICS) raamwerk, wat organisasies met die voorbereiding vir onverwagte gebeure kan help. Vier areas word beskryf wat insluit: strategiese bestuur, innovasie, stelsels denke en kompleksiteitsteorie(swart swane). Die swart swaan beginsel is gebruik weens die toepasbaarheid daarvan op die ekonomiese krisis van 2008. ‘n Swart swaan is ‘n gebeurtenis wat terugwerkend voorspelbaar is, baie onwaarskynlik en ‘n groot impak het. Daar is verskeie beginsels om swart swane te hanteer wat vorentoe ‘n rol in strategiese bestuur kan speel. Strategiese bestuur word vanuit ‘n stelsels denke oogpunt bekyk wat strategie as die proses sien wat ‘n organisasie moet volg van analises, saamvoeging en implimentering tot die bedryfsfase. Sommige tegnieke wat op analises en sintese gerig is, is ondersoek om ‘n groter begrip van strategiese bestuur te gee. Innovasie is die onderliggende beginsel wat die strategiese proses ondersteun. Innovasie speel tans nie ‘n noemenswaardige rol in die strategie proses nie. Beginsels van die innovasie siklus, innovasiebestuur en oop innovasie is ondersoek om die raamwerk te ondersteun asook om ‘n bewuswording van die voordele daarvan in strategie uit te wys. Hierdie verhandeling bespreek vier fases van die ICS raamwerk: analises; die onverwagte gebeurtenis skepping; kwesbaarheids analises; en sintese fases. Die eerste drie fases word parallel met die bestaande analitiese fases van strategie bestuur as die ICS raamwerk gedoen en is nie ontwerp om die strategie bestuurs proses te vervang nie, maar om daartoe by te dra. Gedurende die sintese fase word die ontwerp van die strategiese plan vir onverwagte gebeure gedoen. Elke fase beskryf die toevoer, benodigdhede en aflewerbares nodig vir die suksesvolle implimentering van die raamwerk. Sommige hulpmiddels vir elk van die fases word gegee, maar slegs as ‘n riglyn want verskillende organisasies het die infrastruktuur vir verskillende hulpmiddels. Die raaamwerk word deels gekontroleer deur dat dit moontlik is om verskeie hulpmiddels op elke fase toe te pas, maar die plek van die raamwerk in die area van strategie moet gekontroleer word. Kontrole is gedoen deur dit met agt industrie kenners in die vier studie velde te bespreek. Die resultate toon ‘n positiewe reaksie vir toekomstige navorsing deur implimentering en die navolg van die raamwerk deur hierdie implimentering en die kritiese faktore wat daaruit mag voorvloei te doen.
38

Knowledge assets in the supply chain

Tiseker, Nisar 03 1900 (has links)
Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In the global economy we are witness to the outcomes of supply chains in all of our diverse demand-driven purchasing decisions, be it fast moving consumer goods, electronic equipment or even automobiles. A great deal of exposure relating to the topic of supply chain is based on talk about supply chains and how they are delivering enormous value to companies such as General Electric, Dell and Wal-Mart. But what does all of this really mean? How can an even further exploitation of supply chains be used to gain competitive advantage over ever advancing competitors? Average is no longer sufficient to stay ahead of the pack in the demand vs. supply rat-race. Companies have to find and exploit unique characteristics in order to achieve true differentiation over companies competing in similar environments and sharing a common customer base. The exploitation of the capabilities of Supply Chain Management requires a theoretical and conceptual understanding of their underlying business processes as well as capabilities. It requires the fostering of an understanding of Business Process Reengineering via segmentation and analysis of the overall supply chain into the various basic components. The identification and evaluation of the associated measures and metrics within in the supply chain provides insight of how embedded knowledge is created and utilised in day-to-day operations, in order to ultimately deliver not only business value but a unique value proposition for the distinct market sectors. The scrutiny of the lubricants supply chain is used to gain an understanding of an application of supply chain principles in the oil and gas industry in South Africa, detailing the intrinsic business processes as well as their inherent measures and metrics. Particular attention is paid to the underlying measures and metrics developed and how they are utilised to enhance inherent decision making capability. Subsequent to the analysis of the lubricants supply chain, an exploration of core competencies is used to illustrate how the lubricants supply chain can be differentiated from competitors. These core competencies ultimately allows for greater competitive advantage, leapfrog of competitors and staying ahead of the pack. The final outcome of the thesis is to develop a framework using Boisot’s information space pertaining to codification and abstraction in order to map the processes required to plan, implement and review a generic lubricants supply chain. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In die globale ekonomie is ons getuie aan die uitkomste van voorsieningskanale in al ons diverse vraag-gedrewe aankope besluite, insluitend vinnig bewegende verbruikersgoedere, elektroniese toerusting of selfs motors. Daar is baie van blootstelling met betrekking tot die onderwerp van voorsieningskanale gebaseer op praat oor voorsieningskanale en hoe hul besig is om groot waarde aan maatskappye soos General Electric, Dell en Wal-Mart te lewer. Maar wat beteken dit alles nou eintlik? Hoe kan selfs 'n verdere ontginning van die aanbod van voorsieningskanale gebruik word om mededingende voordeel te verkry oor ons bevorderinge kompetisie? Middelmatigheid is nie meer voldoend om voor die pak te bly nie in die vraag vs. aanbod reis. Maatskappye moet unieke eienskappe vind en benut om ware differensiasie te bereik oor maatskappye meeding in' n soortgelyke omgewing en die deel van 'n gemeenskaplike kliënte basis. Die uitbuiting van die vermoëns van Voorsieningskanaal Bestuur vereis 'n teoretiese en konseptuele begrip van hulle onderliggende besigheids prosesse asook vermoëns. Dit vereis dat die bevordering van 'n begrip van Besigheidsprosesse Heringinering via segmentering en analise van die totale voorsieningskanale in verskillende basiese komponente. Die identifisering en evaluering van die gepaardgaande maatreëls en statistieke binne in die voorsieningskanaal bied insig van hoe vasgelegde kennis geskep is en benut word in dag-tot-dag bedrywighede, ten einde te maak om uiteindelik nie net maatskappy se waarde, maar 'n unieke waarde proposisie te lewer vir die verskillende mark sektore. Die toetsing van die smeermiddels voorsieningskanaal word gebruik om 'n begrip van 'n aansoek van voorsieningskanaal beginsels in die olie en gas industrie in Suid-Afrika te verkry, met besonderhede oor die intrinsieke besigheid prosesse, sowel as hul inherente maatreëls en statistieke. Besondere aandag word geskenk aan die onderliggende maatreëls en statistieke ontwikkel en hul aanwending om inherente vermoë besluitneming te verbeter. Na afloop van die analise van die smeermiddels voorsieningskanaal, word 'n verkenning van kern vaardighede gebruik om te illustreer hoe die smeermiddels voorsieningskanaal kan onderskei word van die kompetisie. Dit kan uiteindelik kernvaardighede vir 'n groter mededingende voordeel lewer, die haasje van mededingers en die pak aanloop. Die finale uitkoms van die tesis is om 'n raamwerk te ontwikkel met behulp van Boisot se inligting spasie met betrekking tot codificasie en abstraksie om die prosesse wat nodig is vir die beplaning, implementering en hersiening van' n generiese smeermiddels voorsieningskanaal te skep.
39

Processo judicial eletrônico: uma abordagem metodológica para o processo de sua implementação / Electronic judicial process: a methodological approach to the process of its implementation

Ramses Henrique Martinez 16 August 2012 (has links)
Esta tese realiza uma pesquisa exploratória no âmbito do PJe, Processo Judicial Eletrônico, de modo a prover uma abordagem metodológica para orientar o processo de construção de um modelo de governança do ecossistema, que suporte o processo de implementação, sustentação e evolução do PJe e de seu ambiente e permita sua adoção de forma mais ágil, eficiente e eficaz. A pesquisa empírica contempla o estudo desse modelo de caráter normativo do ecossistema e da gestão do projeto PJe dentro desse contexto. O presente trabalho realiza uma revisão da bibliografia existente sobre o tema e das questões a ele associadas. A partir dessa revisão, foi possível desenvolver o modelo de pesquisa. As metodologias de pesquisa utilizadas foram o estudo de caso e a pesquisa-ação, o que permitiu ao pesquisador o aprofundamento em alguns aspectos da governança do processo de implementação do PJe. A pesquisa foi realizada com base em conversações, observações e proposições feitas durante a participação do pesquisador em reuniões do Comitê Gestor do PJe, do CNJ, Conselho Nacional de Justiça. Essas conversações, observações e proposições foram feitas com base no modelo de pesquisa. / This paper makes an exploratory research concerning the PJe - Electronic Legal Proceeding - in order to provide a methodological approach to guide the process of building an ecosystem governance template that supports the process of implementing, sustaining, and evolving the PJe and its environment, and that allows for it to be adopted in a quicker and more effective way. The empirical research provides for the study of this regulatory template of the ecosystem and the management of the PJe project in that context. This paper reviews the existing literature on the subject and the issues related to it. From that review, it was possible to develop the research model. The research methodologies used were the case study and the action research, which allowed the researcher to go deep into some aspects of the governance of the PJe implementation process. The research was conducted based on discussions, notes, and propositions made during the researcher\'s participation in meetings with the PJe Management Committee of the CNJ - National Justice Board. These discussions, notes, and propositions were made based on the research model.
40

Leveraging connectivity to innovate for a differentiated customer experience : a study into the management of interaction between financial services organisations and their external environment to enhance the innovation process for the delivery of a differentiated customer experience

Ganzevoort, Boto Wybrand 03 1900 (has links)
Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The high degree of extant commoditisation of organizations and their value propositions in the financial services industry has necessitated organizations in the industry to seek differentiation from the competition. Innovation has generally been accepted as a way for organizations to create differentiation by adding value to the organization. Until recently the focus of innovation activities has been limited to the product or the service of the organization. Recent emphasis has however shifted the innovation mandate to more holistically consider the total experience the customer has when interacting with the organization. This study concerns itself with the organizational activities required to innovate the customer experience. The main argumentation adopted by the thesis suggests that organizations need to constantly leverage their connectivity, forward and backward in value systems, across organizational boundaries to enhance the customer experience innovatively. Leveraging the organization's connectivity creates advantages for both radical and incremental innovation management to thereby improve and sustain the organization's profitability. The study commences by critically analysing the total customer expenence and then describing how the customer experience can create differentiation for the organization. The second part of the study scrutinises innovation literature to gain an understanding of how and where organizations can benefit in the management of innovation. The third part of the study reveals multi-channel management as a method that can be utilised to deliver the customer experience innovatively and benefit the organization in the continuous innovation of the customer experience. The study culminates in a preliminary model that conceptualises the leveraging of connectivity in the innovation process necessary within the organization for the innovation of a differentiated customer experience. Limitations of the study are described, and recommendations are made for both further research and the application of the study to the business environment. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Ondernemings in die finansiële dienste industrie ondervind huidiglik dat hul waardeproposisies relatief maklik in kommoditeite verander. Dit noodsaak ondernemings in hierdie industrie tot toenemende innoverende differensiasie om daardeur 'n voorsprong op konkurrente in die mark te verkry. Innovasie word algemeen aanvaar as die manier waarop organisasies waarde kan toevoeg om sodoende differensiasie te bewerkstellig. Tot onlangs was die fokus van innovasie-aktiwiteite beperk tot die produk of diens van 'n onderneming. Die moderne tendens is dat die klem in die innovasiemandaat verskuif om die totale ervaring in die interaksieproses tussen onderneming en kliënt holisties te benader. Hierdie studie konsentreer op die organisatoriese aktiwiteite wat benodig word in die innoveering van die kliënt se ervaring. Die hoof argument wat deur die tesis aanvaar word, beklemtoon dat ondernemings deurlopend hul konnektiwiteit voor- en terugwaarts in die waardesisteem, moet hefboom oor organisatoriese grense heen, om daardeur die innovasieproses van die kliënte-ervaring te bevorder. Om die onderneming se konnektiwiteit op hierdie wyse te hefboom, skep voordele vir beide radikale en inkrementele innovasie bestuur waardeur die onderneming se winsgewendheid volgehou en verbeter kan word. In die aanvang van die studie word gepoog om die totale verbruikerservaring krities te analiseer; daarna word uiteengesit hoe die kliënte-ervaring vir die onderneming differensiasie kan skep. Die tweede deel van die studie ondersoek literatuur wat betrekking het op innovasie om daardeur te verstaan hoe en waar ondernemings voordeel kan trek uit die bestuur van innovasie. Die derde deel van die studie stel multikanaal-bestuur voor as 'n metode om die beoogde kliënte-ervaring te weeg te bring, maar ook as 'n manier om die onderneming te bevoordeel in die deurlopende innovasie van die verbuiker se ervaring. Die studie resulteer in 'n voorlopige model wat die hefboom van konnektiwiteit in die innovasie proses vir 'n gedifferensieerde kliënte-ervaring konseptualiseer. Ten slotte word die beperkings van die studie omskryf en aanbevelings word gemaak vir beide navorsingsdoeleindes, en die toepassing van die studie tot die praktiese sakeomgewing.

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