This thesis examines product innovation processes in small established enterprises. The research questions are: (1) what motivates small established enterprises to innovate, (2) how do small established enterprises perform product innovation, and (3) how do small established enterprises manage resource scarcity in their product innovation processes? To answer the research questions, a multiple case study approach was chosen with three small established enterprises as cases and different product innovation processes as embedded units of study. The data collection method used was observation during a period of five months, complemented by interviews and secondary data. Product innovation in small established enterprises seems to be motivated by solving existing customers’ problems and the need for a sustained steady cash flow. A steady cash flow is also found to be a prerequisite during the product innovation processes. Product innovation seems to occur when there is a risk of decreased cash flow and/or when existing customers can be satisfied with new products that increase their loyalty so as to secure future sales, cash flow, and the enterprise’s survival in the long run. Promising innovation ideas alone do not result in product innovation. An innovation idea must also have supportive existing customers for product innovation to occur. Product innovation processes in the studied small established enterprises are found highly context dependent, intertwined in operational processes and made possible by a small organic organization and closeness to existing customers. The product innovation processes are further found to follow a flexible and informal overall scheme optimized for decreasing market and technology uncertainty and risk, dealing with resource scarcity, and facilitating fast and easy commercialization to avoid or moderate dips in cash flow. The design processes within the innovation processes can be linearly structured or cyclical and experimental, depending on the experienced novelty. To manage resource scarcity during the product innovation processes, the studied small enterprises used many different bootstrapping methods in combination. These methods can be divided into three categories according to their overall functions: for using existing resources more efficiently, for increasing resources and to secure a fast payback on resources invested in NPD. The studied small enterprises were due to their resource scarcity further found to favor an innovation strategy, only involving new products done with known technology and targeting existing markets. This way to innovate, which creates new products in a resource-efficient way that are accepted by the enterprises’ existing markets, seems to prevent unsuccessful product innovation, while at the same time excluding technologically radical innovation and innovation targeting new markets. / <p>QC 20140102</p>

Made available in DSpace on 2010-04-20T20:15:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 61070100604.pdf: 938851 bytes, checksum: 96c41a2dd6d4e66940fcfb435d19a568 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-04-27T00:00:00Z / The goal of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the technological innovation process in Brazilian biotechnology firms. To achieve that, the study sought to: identify the most critical factors to the innovation process of the firms in this sector; analyze the sector’s dynamics and the contribution of universities and incubators to the innovation process and; evaluate how these elements affect the management process on technological innovation inside and outside the boundaries of the organization. This exploratory study with qualitative approach was based on multiple case study methodology and the results were interpreted using content analysis technique, as well as the analysis of secondary data. The study indicated that among the many obstacles to innovation, access to financial assets is the most critical. Partnerships, pointed as an alternative to this and other problems by reducing investments and risks and by providing access to qualified workforce, equipments and sophisticated laboratories, have been hindered by a series of institutional and regulatory factors – starting by the lack of clear laws and rules regarding intellectual property. On top of this there is still an incipient collaborative culture among firms. The results of the study show that Brazilian biotechnology firms try to compensate theses obstacles by providing agility to its internal processes, creating flexible organizational structures and an organizational environment favorable to innovation, which is internalized as practice in a tacit way. The management of innovation happens in an informal and little systematic way. Finally, the results show that the process of innovation in Brazilian biotechnology firms takes advantage of a pro-active attitude of managing and learning with the adversities adopted by these firms. / O objetivo deste trabalho é contribuir para o entendimento do processo de inovação tecnológica nas empresas brasileiras de biotecnologia. Para isso, procurou-se: identificar os fatores mais críticos ao processo de inovação das empresas do setor; analisar a dinâmica do setor e a contribuição das universidades e incubadoras para o processo de inovação e; avaliar como esses elementos afetam o processo de gestão da inovação tecnológica dentro e fora da organização. Este estudo exploratório de natureza qualitativa baseou-se na metodologia de estudo de casos múltiplos e para interpretação dos resultados foi utilizada a técnica da análise de conteúdo, bem como com a análise de dados secundários. O estudo indicou que entre os muitos obstáculos à inovação, o acesso ao financiamento é o mais crítico. As parcerias, apontadas como uma alternativa para esse e outros problemas por proporcionar a redução do investimento e do risco e o acesso à mão-de-obra qualificada, equipamentos e laboratórios sofisticados, têm sido prejudicadas em função de uma série de fatores institucionais e regulatórios – a começar pela falta de leis e de regras claras relativas à propriedade intelectual. Somando-se a isso uma incipiente cultura colaborativa entre empresas. Os resultados do estudo indicam que as empresas de biotecnologia brasileiras buscam compensar essas barreiras conferindo agilidade aos seus processos internos, criando estruturas organizacionais flexíveis e um ambiente organizacional favorável à inovação, que é internalizada, como prática, de maneira tácita. O processo de gestão da inovação ocorre de maneira informal e pouco sistematizada. Por fim, os resultados mostram que o processo de inovação nas empresas brasileiras de biotecnologia beneficia-se de uma postura pró-ativa adotada por elas de gerenciar e aprender com as adversidades.

Cette thèse a pour objet d’évaluer, de développer et de tester différentes méthodes qualitatives et manières d’évaluer ex-post les impacts et la contribution de la recherche sur les processus d’innovations et la société, par rapport à la transition à l’agriculture biologique.Nous avons réalisé deux cas d’études traitant de la transition à l’agriculture biologique. Le premier est le cas camarguais (en France) englobant un ensemble d’innovations techniques. Le second concerne le développement du produit biologique Ecostop pour protéger les abeilles contre la maladie de la varroatose en Bulgarie.Nous évaluons le potentiel d’une approche globale basée sur l’analyse participative du chemin de l’impact (PIPA) mais adaptée et complémentée par de nombreuses autres méthodes (premier article, partie 4), ainsi que le potentiel de l’analyse du réseau social (SNA) (deuxième article, partie 5) et de la théorie de l’acteur réseau (ANT) (troisième article, partie 6) pour l’évaluation ex-post des impacts et de la contribution de la recherche. Nous étudions les impacts de la recherche en Camargue et la manière dont ils ont été générés. Le cas Bulgare est seulement utilisé pour évaluer le potentiel d’ANT (avec le cas camarguais).L’approche basée sur PIPA permet d’évaluer avec succès les impacts et la contribution de la recherche. Nous avons pu mettre en évidence que la recherche a contribué au changement en Camargue à travers le développement d’interactions de co-apprentissage avec les producteurs bien que cela ne se soit pas avéré crucial pour le succès de l’innovation dans son ensemble. Les politiques agricoles, facteurs économiques, tests conduits indépendamment par les agriculteurs, et le cadre institutionnel, ont été les facteurs les plus importants et ayant eu le plus d’effets. En ce qui concerne SNA, il est apparu utile pour valider les dires des parties prenantes sur les relations entre acteurs ainsi que leurs implications sur la transition à l’agriculture biologique. Par exemple, le rôle grandissant joué par l’INRA (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique) au sein du réseau d’acteurs a été confirmé de même que sa contribution à la transition vers l’agriculture biologique. Quant à l’approche ANT, elle permet de mettre en avant les relations interpersonnelles d’acteurs et leurs effets sur le développement de l’innovation. Nous soulignons en particulier l’importance des leaders d’opinion au cours des phases d’implémentation et de diffusion ; et montrons également l’importance de problématiser les questions devant être traitées afin d’améliorer le succès des programmes de recherche. / This thesis intends to evaluate, develop and test different qualitative methods and ways of ex-post assessing the impacts and contribution of the research on innovation processes and the society, in relation to the transition to organic agriculture.We have conducted two case studies focusing on the transition to organic farming. First is the Camargue case (in France) that encompasses a broad range of technical innovations. Second is on the development of the organic product Ecostop to protect bees against the varroatosis disease in Bulgaria.We evaluate the potential of a broad approach based on the Participatory Impact Pathway Analysis (PIPA) and adapted & complemented by several other methods (first article, part 4), as well as the potential of the Social Network Analysis (SNA) (second paper, part 5) and of the Actor Network Theory (ANT) (third paper, part 6), in evaluating ex-post the impacts and contribution of the research. We study the impacts of the research in the Camargue and how they were generated. The Bulgarian case is only used to evaluate the potential of ANT (together with the Camargue case).The approach based on PIPA allows assessing successfully the impacts and contribution of the research. We could show that the research contributed to change in the Camargue by developing co-learning interactions with farmers although this was not critical to the success of the innovation as a whole. The agricultural policies, economic factors, the testing conducted independently by farmers, and the institutional framework, were the most important and influential factors. With respect to SNA, it was of interest to validate stakeholders’ views on actors’ relationships and their implications on the transition to organic farming. For example, the growing role played by INRA (National Research Agronomic Institute) within the actor network was confirmed as well as its contribution to the transition. As to ANT, it allows highlighting interpersonal actors’ relationships and their effects on the innovation development. We particularly underline the importance of opinion leaders in the phases of implementation and diffusion; and also show the importance of problematizing the issues to be tackled in order to increase the success of research programs.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-02-24T18:04:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 NelyFS_DISSERT.pdf: 2762669 bytes, checksum: d3dfada1fb5b303580f2869a5876d1bd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-04-05 / The paper demonstrates how it is organized production chain of natural gas in Rio Grande do Norte and highlights some prospects for this sector. The study is backed by elements to understand the process of innovation as the driving force of capitalist dynamics as well as the features of the Brazilian economy in the years 1990 and 2000 that indicated the development of natural gas production in the energy matrix Brazil. It was found that the state has potiguar possibilities for structuring an energy based on elements from the region and with prospects of becoming self-sufficient in electricity, where natural gas has a share of participation in this segment. The automotive and industrial are the biggest consumers of this input. With emphasis on the textile industry. Signaling to a broad horizon of supply, this sector will depend on their investments in research and Deficient, and the policy adopted by government to develop the consumer market / O trabalho demonstra como est? organizada a cadeia produtiva de g?s natural no Rio Grande do Norte e ressalta algumas perspectivas para este setor. O estudo est? respaldado pelos elementos que permitem compreender o processo de inova??o enquanto for?a motriz da din?mica capitalista, bem como os aspectos que caracterizam a economia brasileira nos anos de 1990 e 2000 e, que sinalizaram para o desenvolvimento da produ??o de g?s natural na matriz energ?tica brasileira. Constatou-se que o estado potiguar tem possibilidades de estruturar uma matriz energ?tica embasada em elementos da pr?pria regi?o e com perspectivas de se tornar auto-suficiente em energia el?trica, onde o g?s natural tem uma parcela de participa??o neste segmento. O setor automotivo e industrial s?o os maiores consumidores desse insumo. Com destaque para a ind?stria t?xtil. Sinalizando para um horizonte amplo de oferta, este setor depender? de investimentos e pesquisas em sua infraestrura, e da pol?tica adotada pelo governo para desenvolver o mercado consumidor

Social media for innovation have been used by organizations all over the world to involve users in the innovation process. However, it has not been studied to a great extent within the public sector. The public sector context is different from other organization and focus on innovation to improve citizens’ service. This study aims to investigate how the public sector uses social media for innovation purposes, by conducting semi-structured interviews with employees at a municipality. The study showed that the public sectors adoptions of social media in their innovation process are sporadically applied. It showed that they do involve users in innovation, but mainly through face-to-face meetings. Communication is the common denominator in both the innovation procedures and the social media usage within the public sector. In conclusion, communication can be the road to innovation for the public sector.

Diplomová práce je zaměřena na měření efektivnosti procesních inovací ve společnosti Red Hat Czech s.r.o. Práce je rozdělena do tří částí. První část práce se zabývá teoretickými poznatky. Ve druhé části se jedná o představení společnosti a pochopení interních procesů a systémů firmy. Poslední část obsahuje návrhy na zlepšení tohoto projektu, které vychází z analýzy současné situace společnosti.

Electric drives used in automotive industry are often based on standard DC motor as it is widely recognised as mature and reliable technology. The most common applications of DC motors in automotive industry are starters and wind screen wiper motors. Aim of this thesis is to provide design overview of typical automotive DC motor therefore main parts and features of the machine will be described in detail. Main disadvantage of DC motor is „sliding contact“ between commutator and carbon brushes which introduces source of electromagnetic disturbance and requires regular maintenance. Within this project different aspects of DC motor design and innovation are expected to be tackled including examples of loss calculation.

Companies that strive for implementing a more holistic sustainability perspective, i.e. a socio-ecological sustainability perspective with a system view, need to recognize the integration ofsustainability methods into the product innovation process as a project in itself. To achieve thisan efficient method must be available to guide companies towards sustainable productdevelopment i.e. implementation of a strategic sustainability perspective in the early phases ofthe product innovation process, including a lifecycle thinking. To meet this challenge this thesisseeks to answer how a sustainability perspective can be integrated into product development to;facilliate a design team to identify critical areas in a products life cycle during the productinnovation process and with the help of sustainability methods guide the companies to a moresustainable future.The results is based on a literature study, interview- and workshops all conducted at a case-company were several barriers on why sustainability methods havn’t successfully been appliedwithin the companies were identified. The thesis identified the importance of having a morestructured and strategic product innovation process to enable a more holistic sustainabilitymindset within the company. The work contributed to a new product innovation process at thecase-company that allowed adapted sustainability methods to conveniently be integrated intothe working process. The process identified a handful of suitable sustainability methods thatfocus on the three sustainability dimensions (social, economic, ecological) to broaden thecompany’s understanding of sustainability. Selected methods were adapted, applied andvalidated at the case-company to ensure that they fulfilled their intended goals and can used toprovide a more holistic mindset and to identify hotspots in the product innovation process. / Företag som strävar efter att implementera ett bredare hållbarhetstänk, dvs ett socio-ekologiskthållbarhetsperspektiv med systemsyn, inom hela sin organisation behöver se integrationen avhållbarhetsmetoder och arbetsprocesser som ett projekt i sig. För att möjliggöra detta måste etteffektivt ramverk finnas för att hjälpa företagen i arbetet mot en hållbar produktutveckling. Föratt möta den här utmaningen söker den här uppsatsen svaret hur ett hållbarhetsperspektiv kanintegreras i produktutvecklingen inom industrin för att; underlätta för ett design team attidentifiera kritiska punkter på en produkts livcykel under produktinnovationsprocessen samthur hållbarhetsmetoder kan implementeras i processen för att navigera mot en mer hållbarindustri.Resultatet är baserat en litteraturstudie, intervjuer samt workshops på ett samarbetsföretag därett flertal barriärer vilket hindrar företag att mer effektivt navigera mot ett hållbar industriidentifierades. Studien identifierade vikten av att en strukturerad och strategiskproduktinnovationsprocess finns tillgänglig på företaget för att lättare välja och applicera ettstörre hållbarhetstänk inom företaget. Arbetet hjälpte samarbetsföretaget att ta fram en nyproduktinnovationsprocess för att på sådant sätt möjliggöra att hållbarhetsmetoder enklarekunde integreras på företaget. Processen identifierade ett flertal potentiella hållbarhetsmetodervilket fokuserade på att få med de tre olika hållbarhetsdimensionerna (social, ekonomisk,ekologisk) för att bredda samarbetsföretagets förståelse kring hållbarhet, hållbarproduktutveckling och hållbar utveckling. Intressanta hållbarhetsmetoder valdes ut för attanpassas och verifieras på företaget för att säkerställa att syftet av dem säkerställdes.

Bakgrund: Fastighetsbranschen klassificeras som en stabil bransch med fastigheter som fortsatt kommer behöva driftas och förvaltas, vilket har lett till få incitament att driva innovation i branschen. Spridningen av innovationer i branschen utgör en brist, även om tillgänglighet av innovationsmöjligheter finns. Medvetenhet om nödvändigheten av innovation inom fastighetsbranschen har dock ökat under de senaste decennierna, vilket har lett till att fastighetsbolagen gjort satsningar på att driva innovation i högre grad. Innovationsarbetet i fastighetsbranschen påverkas av flera externa och interna faktorer. Här råder det en kunskapslucka, då innovationsprocessen i fastighetsbranschen inte är tillräckligt studerat.   Syfte och Frågeställningar: Studiens syfte är att med hjälp av en komparativ studie utforska skillnader och likheter i olika fastighetsbolags innovationsarbete. För att besvara detta syfte har följande frågeställningar använts: “Vad är drivkraften till innovation för fastighetsbolagen inom branschen?” samt “Hur ser processen ut för innovationsskapande för aktörer inom fastighetsbranschen och finns det några skillnader samt likheter?”  Metod: Denna kvalitativa studie har en abduktiv ansats eftersom studiens teoretiska ramverk har utformats utifrån förintervjuer och en litteraturstudie. Empiriska data har samlats in genom primärdata i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer med fem olika fastighetsbolag vilka sedan har analyserats med en tematisk analysmetod.  Slutsats: Vad som driver innovation inom branschen visade sig vara följande områden: omvärldsanalys, hållbarhet, kunder, samarbeten samt intern vilja och drivkraft. Processen för innovationsskapande för de olika bolagen ser olika ut och processerna är individuella för bolagen. Bolagen har flertalet likheter i sina innovationsprocesser med tanke på medarbetarnas involvering, pilotprojekt och hur de mäter om en innovation har uppnått sitt syfte. Olikheter i processerna grundar sig ofta i initiativet till varför bolaget bedriver innovation och hur innovationsprocessen startas. Studien tyder på att de finns olika samarbets-nätverk kopplat till innovation. Samarbetet inom branschen är en viktig komponent i bolagens innovationsprocess och driver innovation i branschen. Ur intervjudatan framkommer det att hinder för branschen framför allt är den stora kapitalintensiteten och att incitament till innovation saknas på grund av den stabila konjunkturen i branschen. / Introduction: The real estate industry classifies as a stable industry with properties that will still need to be operated and managed, which led to few incentives to drive innovation in the industry. The spread of innovations in the industry constitutes a deficiency, even though there is an availability of innovation opportunities. Awareness of the necessity of innovation in the real estate industry has increased in recent decades which has led real estate companies to make efforts in pursuing innovation to a greater degree. The innovation work in the real estate industry is affected by several external and internal factors. There is a knowledge gap here because the innovation process in the real estate industry has not been sufficiently studied.   Purpose and research questions: The purpose of the thesis is to explore differences and similarities in the innovation work of different real estate companies through a comparative study. To answer this purpose, the research questions used are: “What are the driving forces for innovation for real estate companies in the industry?” and “What does the process look like for innovation creation for players in the real estate industry and are there any differences and similarities?”.   Method: This qualitative study has an abductive approach, which has meant that the study has designed a theoretical frame of reference based on preliminary interviews and a literature review. This qualitative study has an abductive approach. The empirical data has been collected through primary data in the form of semi-structured interviews with five different real estate companies which then have been analysed using a thematic analysis method.   Conclusion: What drives innovation in the industry turned out to be the following areas: external analysis, sustainability, customers, collaborations, and internal will and drive. The process of creating innovation for the different companies looks different and the processes are individual for the companies. The companies have several similarities in their innovation processes in terms of employee involvement, pilot projects, and how they measure whether an innovation has achieved its purpose. Differences in the processes are often based on the initiative for why the company conducts innovation and how the innovation process is started. The study indicates that there are various collaborative networks linked to innovation. Collaboration in the industry is an important component in the companies' innovation process and drives innovation in the industry. The interview data shows that obstacles for the industry are primarily the large capital intensity and that incentives for innovation are lacking due to the stable economic situation in the industry.

Objective: Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death. The gold standard for their diagnosis and treatment are angiographic procedures. Clinicians rely on dedicated and specialized equipment for these interventions, e.g. angiography systems. The speed of the associated development is important as better technology enables progress in treatment methods and clinical outcomes. The goal of this article is to show how to optimize the innovation and development process such that it takes minimal time. Methods: 672 data sets on 302 topics were collected over 47 months during a long-term observation of the innovation and development process of angiographic systems. The total data collected is equivalent to efforts worth 30 man-years. This input was used to calculate key process parameters, analyse key process roles, evaluate the use of problem-solving methods and identify key technologies. We also developed a process model comprising the primary innovation sources, important input providers and key processes. This model is characterized by a continuous loop for the innovation and development process. Results: The conducted literature research identifies this closed loop process model as being unique in comparison to the well-established models proposed by Brockhoff, Cooper, Crawford, Durfee, Ebert, Eppinger, Hughes, Pleschak, Thom, Ulrich, Vahs and Witt. According to the best knowledge of the authors no comparable data collection has been performed and presented anywhere else yet. When analysing our 672 data sets, we found that the median process time ( in this data pool (n=672) was to be 10 weeks (p<0,05). The median number of task owners (xPA) per task across all topics was 2. Our data revealed that the number of task owners had a direct impact on the process time. For data sets with up to eight task owners the relationship between process time and task owners can be described as tPd=3.6*xPA^1.4. The median time of owning a topic was determined for Sales (7 weeks), Service (11 weeks), Customer Relationship Management (6 weeks), Product Lifecycle Management (10 weeks) and Research & Development (11 weeks). Main input providers were Sales (53%) and customers (28%). Sales (42%) and PLM (37%) are significant connectors. Problem solvers are PLM (35%), CRM (27%) and R&D (27%). The problem-solving methods were analysed and it was found that clarification (77%) as well as dialog and variation method (both 50%) were used most often. We found that changes to the application software (33%), mechanics, device interfaces and user interface (all 21%) are the four out of six components that were involved in most often. In the analysed datasets a potential of an up to 20% shorter process time was identified. Conclusion: This article proposes a new model for the innovation and development process. Based on our data, we recommend to apply a continuous loop process in the context of innovation and development of medical devices. Our results can, for example, be used for Activity Based Costing Approach or be applied to bring new or upgraded angiography systems faster to market benefitting patient outcome due to improved diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.