This research focused on collaborative ties in innovating teams in a research and development (R&D) environment of a technologically innovative R&D intensive manufacturing company. The purpose of the study was to determine the relative impact of, respectively, the strength of ties and the breadth of ties on the innovativeness of teams. Significant research has been carried out on strong and weak ties, and on ties related to social networks. The diversity of networks and their corresponding impact on innovation has also received attention. There has however been little focus in the academic literature on the simultaneous functioning of the strength of ties and breadth of ties and their impact on team innovation in the same study. This research has employed an innovative approach to data collection and a fairly novel and recent methodology for the modeling of the simultaneous configurations of the strength and breadth of ties in enriching the understanding of their contribution to team innovation. The innovativeness of work teams was determined through a team innovation survey administered to the heads of the groups in R&D and independent evaluators knowledgeable about the innovation activities of the teams rated E-mail reports on engagement between teams were used to develop measures for both tie strength and tie breadth. Tie strength for an individual was determined by counting the number of repeated interactions firstly with one's own team, secondly with the rest of teams in own R&D, thirdly with the rest of teams in the organization and finally with teams outside the organization. Tie breadth was determined from a count of the number of different people with whom communication took place for each individual. The same categories for tie breadth were created as for the tie strength for interactions above. Hypothesised relationships were tested through fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. The results showed that team innovation is mainly supported by tie strength within the organization. In terms of the simultaneous functioning of tie strength and tie breadth, the strongest results were obtained for the combinations of tie strength with the rest of own R&D and the organization, and tie breadth with the rest of own R&D and the organization. These interactions supported the hypothesis that a combination of strong ties and multiple ties provided the most conducive environment for optimal team innovation. These findings taken together supported the broad view that in mature industries dependent on highly technological processes, interaction within teams and within the firm would predominate, because a shared understanding of a specific strategy and technology base was required. In such a context, cross-divisional interaction also had utility for innovation, as was confirmed by the statistical analysis. It was the combination of many strong ties that produced optimal team innovation. Total external interactions (tie breadth) showed a weaker impact alone. In summary, this has shown that tie strength has a greater impact on innovation than tie breadth. These findings were derived from an R&D intensive mature industrial manufacturing context and variations in utility are likely to be context-dependent. However, should the company diversify its products or adopt newer technologies even in its mature state, then more external interaction has the potential to add value to the innovation process, as the literature suggests. Thus the study suggests indicated that internal collaboration is a key factor impacting positively on the innovativeness of teams. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / pagibs2014 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / PhD / Unrestricted

This paper reviews the literature on innovation in order to build an agenda for an investigation into the extent to which Metropolitan Retail, within Metropolitan Life Pty in South Africa, focuses on technology innovation capabilities and perspectives. The research was conducted in the areas of, technology innovation capabilities, perspectives guiding the business strategy to integrate and accelerate innovation and contextual aspects influencing innovation perspectives. The extent of focus by the firm on capabilities and perspectives was measured. Data gathered was disseminated and processed by means of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. The results on current focus indicate that the firm’s focus is mostly on improving core business, although the extent is less than adequate. In other words, generate incremental innovations that can be developed and implemented rapidly and inexpensively. This approach of implementing innovation is in line with the business strategy, more specifically, with the objective of reducing costs and making profits. The findings of the research further suggest that the firm should consider focusing mostly on exploiting strategic advantages. In many firms the fundamental emphasis on technology innovation in developing products, processes and services is thought to determine their ability to cope with never ending customer demands and competitive practices. Coupled with this thought is a reality of high failure rate of technology innovation projects. Against this backdrop, general managers are faced with strategic innovation options, which can make or break firms. Changes in the economic and government environments influence the innovation approach of the firm most. These changes have undoubtedly presented firms with opportunities as well as risks. Possibly the greatest challenge confronting general managers in this context is the building of critical capabilities to enhance the firm’s agility. This challenge presents opportunity for further research.

Dr. Danie Theron

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Uni- versity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fullfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering. Johannesburg, May 2018 / With the expected disruption of industry 4.0 and the current challenges that SMEs face in South Africa, there is an increasing threat that SMEs will lose any competitive advantage they currently have. This exploratory study investigates how South African manufacturing SMEs can remain competitive during the fourth industrial revolution. Data, in the form of current literature, was analysed using thematic content analysis. From the analysis process, 8 emergent themes were used to organise the results of the study. Notable findings towards generating competitive advantage included: The location of SMEs within clusters, collaboration with disruption leaders, the sharing of outcomes across the value chain, the shift of business models towards a service and software orientation, the use of data driven insights to find and capture high margin markets and the increased effectiveness of labour through technology use. The study also found that the use of the IoT and cloud computing can significantly reduce infrastructure requirements and promote a competitive advantage. / MT 2018

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / This dissertation studied the implementation of Outlook 98, Microsoft's desktop information management software, at Saybrook University and Bancroft Valley Bank (fictitious names). The major research question was, What does the life cycle of Outlook 98 at Saybrook University and Bancroft National Bank tell us about the pattern of implementation at these two sites, and what roles do users' "technological frames" play in each site's implementation process? Employing a qualitative methodology and a conceptual framework based on Wanda Orlikowski's works on "technological frames" (nature of technology, technology strategy and technology in use) and an "episodic" (three-stage) pattern of adaptation, the author conducted unstructured and structured interviews, directly observed meetings and training sessions, and analyzed existing documents to ascertain participants' experience with Outlook 98. The findings corroborated Orlikowski's descriptions of the frames and episodic adaptation, and uncovered three new insights related to the technological frames. First, the frames first appeared in a pre-implementation stage, or what Zaltman, Duncan and Holbek (1973) call the "Formation of Attitudes Toward the Innovation" substage of an innovation's initiation stage. The users' spontaneous and vivid figurative language-similes and metaphors-presented images of motion, rest and calm, and momentary stasis before further motion in the various stages. Second, users at both sites experienced "antecedent intolerance," the author's term for a drastic change in their nature of technology frame, from an originally negative perception of the new software and a reluctance to use it to an eventual refusal to give it up. The shift in their frames was so complete that it represented not merely a modification of the original frames but a replacement of them. And third, the findings suggest two new domains of technological frames: a User/Change Agent domain (users' and change agents' perceptions of each other) and a Learning the Technology domain, which the author feels is so important that he proposes a new ASK Model of Learning, an approach to training that would address users' attitudes in the pre-implementation stage and first stage of use, skills in the second stage, and knowledge in the third stage. / 2999-01-01

published_or_final_version / Comparative Literature / Master / Master of Philosophy

No description available.

O setor de software é muito dinâmico e competitivo, o que obriga as empresas a constantemente se transformar, seja pela incorporação de novas tecnologias, pela implementação de inovações em produtos e serviços, ou pela exploração de novos modelos de negócio. Neste cenário, empresas de software, para se manterem competitivas, precisam desenvolver rotinas de inteligência tecnológica (IT) que permitam coletar, analisar e tomar decisões sobre oportunidades e ameaças tecnológicas. Empresas de diversos setores têm adotado uma técnica de IT denominada roadmap tecnológico, que sucintamente representa uma visão de futuro que identifica a rota tecnológica, ou seja, as tecnologias a serem adotadas no futuro, associadas aos produtos a serem desenvolvidos e aos mercados a serem explorados. Neste contexto, esta tese procurou responder à questão \"Como empresas brasileiras de software realizam atividades de elaboração de roadmap tecnológico?\". Com base na literatura sobre roadmaps foi possível elaborar um modelo conceitual com as principais características identificadas em termos de objetivos, fontes de informação, barreiras, processo/conteúdo e benefícios dos roadmaps. Foi adotada a metodologia de estudos de casos múltiplos, com amostragem intencional, sendo selecionadas duas empresas de pequeno, duas de médio e duas de grande porte. O modelo conceitual elaborado para esta tese se mostrou muito útil, pois permitiu descrever os casos analisando sempre as mesmas dimensões, facilitando a comparação. Foi possível verificar, por exemplo, as características da atividade de elaboração de roadmaps importantes para todas as empresas estudadas, bem como aquelas importantes apenas para empresas de grande porte. Os casos evidenciam que há duas importantes influências do porte da empresa sobre a atividade de elaboração de roadmaps. Primeiro, a complexidade das interações internas e externas durante todo o processo é maior nas grandes empresas. Segundo, a organização do processo também é mais elaborada nas grandes empresas. Adicionalmente, este estudo permitiu identificar particularidades do setor de software com relação à elaboração de roadmaps: a) Foco no curto prazo - as empresas pesquisadas possuem foco no curto prazo, em geral trabalhando nas decisões tecnológicas e de funcionalidades para a próxima versão de seus produtos; e, b) Gestão de códigos do software - a estratégia da empresa sobre códigos ativos (ou seja, vigentes em clientes) a serem mantidos está relacionada ao roadmap e pode limitar o potencial de crescimento da firma. Visando cobrir um hiato existente entre a prática das empresas estudadas (foco em curto prazo) e a literatura (foco em longo prazo), é apresentada nesta tese uma proposta de metodologia para elaboração de roadmap tecnológico de longo prazo para empresas de software. Este estudo traz contribuições práticas e teóricas. Empresas de software, e eventualmente de setores correlatos, podem se beneficiar deste estudo por permitir comparar sua atividade de elaboração de roadmaps com a das empresas estudadas, bem como identificar pontos para aprimoramento à medida que planeja crescer. Do ponto de vista acadêmico, este estudo oferece diversas contribuições. Primeiramente, o modelo conceitual adotado nesta tese pode ser utilizado em outros estudos sobre roadmaps, inclusive em outros setores. Os estudos de caso evidenciam como a atividade de elaboração de roadmaps se diferencia em empresas de diferentes portes. Por fim, foram identificadas particularidades das empresas de software na atividade de elaboração de roadmaps. / The software industry is highly dynamic and competitive. Companies competing in this industry must continuously transform themselves, through the incorporation of new technologies, innovation in products and services, or the exploration of new business models. Given this scenario, in order to remain competitive, software companies should develop technological intelligence (TI) routines to enable them to collect, analyse and make decisions regarding technological opportunities and threats. Companies from different industries are adopting a TI technique named technological roadmapping, which succinctly presents a future vision that identifies a technological path, that is, the technologies to be adopted in the future, together with the products to be developed and markets to be explored. Against this backdrop, this thesis addresses the question of \"How do Brazilian software companies carry out technological roadmapping activities?\" Based on the literature on roadmaps it has been possible to develop a conceptual model with the main characteristics in terms of objectives, sources of information, barriers, components and benefits of roadmaps. A multiple case studies methodology was adopted, with an intentional sample. Two small, two medium and two large companies were selected. The conceptual model developed for this thesis proved effective, as it enabled the description of the cases while always analysing the same dimensions, which facilitated the comparison. It was possible to verify, for example, the characteristics of the roadmapping activity important for all the companies studied, as well as those important only for large companies. The cases show that there are two important influences on roadmapping activities stemming from the size of the firm. First, the complexity of internal and external interactions throughout the process is greater for large companies. Second, the organization of the process is also more developed in large companies. Furthermore, this study identified some characteristics unique to the software industry with regards to the development of roadmaps: a) Focus on the short term - the companies surveyed have focused on the short-term, typically working with technology decisions and features for the next version of products; and, b) Management of software codes - the company\'s strategy for active codes (i.e. currently used with clients) to be maintained is related to the roadmap and may limit the potential growth of the firm. With a view to bridging a gap that exists between the practice of the companies studied (focus on short-term) and literature on the subject (focus on long-term), a proposed methodology for developing a long-term technological roadmap for software companies is presented in this thesis. This study presents theoretical and practical contributions. Software companies, and possibly related industries, can benefit from this study by comparing their roadmapping activities to those from the companies studied, and identifying points for improvement as they plan to grow. From an academic perspective, this study offers several contributions. First, the conceptual model adopted in this thesis can be used in other roadmap studies, including in other sectors. The case studies show how the roadmapping activities differ in firms of different sizes. Finally, characteristics specifically related to software companies in the roadmapping activity have been identified.

The theoretical basis for using electron mirrors as correctors of chromatic aberration is presented and an experimental verification of correction of chromatic aberration is demonstrated. A hyperbolic electrostatic electron mirror operating in its converging range and at unity magnification was used as a corrector. A novel separating system with deflections taking place at image planes was developed to implement the mirror without impairing the resolution. Correction was demonstrated in an electron optical probe system. The chromatic aberration was measured by means of the shadows cast by a fine mesh placed near the final image. The experimental method and equipment are described. The experiment serves as a verification of the theory as well as a successful test of the method of separating the electron beams traveling to and from the mirror.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Delaware, 2007. / Principal faculty advisor: William Latham, III, Dept. of Economics. Includes bibliographical references.