Browsing Department of Innovation and Organizational Economics (INO) by Year Published
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An Empirical TestDahlgren, Henrich (København, 2005)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This paper takes an economic approach to investigate the role of geographical proximity for organizing new product development (NPD) activities within inter-firm linkages. Product development theory and the resource-based view is discussed from an inter-firm perspective and contrasted to arguments in the literature on geographical economics. The approach in this paper assumes that geographical proximity is crucial for inter-firm learning, knowledge transfer and creation of capabilities to a higher extent in inter-firm linkages with a high level of interaction, in industries where knowledge is relatively more important as a resource and where collaboration partners are important. Hypotheses are tested by means of a quantitative analysis of a data set containing information about 4842 domestic and international inter-firm linkages of Danish firms in manufacturing industries. The findings in this analysis exhibit low support for the general role of geographical proximity for organizing NPD activities within inter-firm linkages. The result suggests that geographical proximity seems to play a role in inter-firm linkages in few cases. For instance, it is shown that knowledge intensive firms exhibit a propensity for international linkages. It is further suggested closer geographical distance for inter-firm linkages with medium and high level of interaction, suppliers or customers accounting for more than one third of total purchases or sales, and for linkages lasting for at least 10 years. Key words: capabilities, economics of localization, innovation, inter-firm linkages, knowledge, product development, proximity, resources JEL-codes: L23, L60, O32 URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7268 Files in this item: 1
lok_wp_1_2005.pdf (342.9Kb) -
Lessons from the Entertainment IndustriesLorenzen, Mark; Frederiksen, Lars (København, 2005)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The paper analyses management of product innovation in project-based industries, offering a view on management not only of firms, but also of markets. It first argues that projects are prominent in industries where the nature of consumer demand means that product innovation takes place as experimentation. Then, the paper argues that if skills needed for projects are very diverse and projects are complex, there are few internal managerial economies of projects, and the scope for management then transcends the boundaries of firms. In these cases, markets become organized in combinations of people, contracts, and other institutions, in order to facilitate the coordination of market-based projects. While contracts play a role, a continuous, active role of knowledgeable managers (leaders and boundary spanners) is also often necessary. Such managers --- and thus (core parts of) whole industries --- are embedded in project ecologies at particular places, which is why we see geographical clusters in many project-based industries. The paper is mainly conceptual, but develops its argument by drawing examples from the Entertainment industries throughout. Keywords: Project organization, product innovation, portfolio management of projects, entertainment industries JEL Classification: L22, O31, L82 URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7264 Files in this item: 1
wp_2005_01_maindoc.pdf (199.2Kb) -
How firms organize the production of user modifications in the computer games industryJeppesen, Lars Bo (København, 2004)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Modding – the modification of existing products by consumers – is increasingly exploited by manufacturers to enhance product development and sales. In the computer games industry modding has evolved into a development model in which users act as unpaid "complementors" to manufacturers’ product platforms. This article explains how manufacturers can profit from their abilities to organize and facilitate a process of innovation by user communities and capture the value of the innovations produced in such communities. When managed strategically, two distinct, but not mutually exclusive business models appear from the production of user complements: firstly, a manufacturer can let the (free) user complements "drift" in the user communities, where they increase the value to consumers of owning the given platform and thus can be expected to generate increased platform sales, and secondly, a manufacturer can incorporate and commercialize the best complements found in the user communities. Keywords: innovation, modding, user communities, software platform, business model. JEL code(s): L21; L23; O31; O32 URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7227 Files in this item: 1
wp 2004-03_main doc.pdf (265.4Kb) -
Approaches to Knowledge Management PracticeSanchez, Ron (København, 2004)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This paper explains two fundamental approaches to knowledge management. The tacit knowledge approach emphasizes understanding the kinds of knowledge that individuals in an organization have, moving people to transfer knowledge within an organization, and managing key individuals as knowledge creators and carriers. By contrast, the explicit knowledge approach emphasizes processes for articulating knowledge held by individuals, the design of organizational approaches for creating new knowledge, and the development of systems (including information systems) to disseminate articulated knowledge within an organization. The relative advantages and disadvantages of both approaches to knowledge management are summarized. A synthesis of tacit and knowledge management approaches is recommended to create a hybrid design for the knowledge management practices in a given organization. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7224 Files in this item: 1
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The Effects of International Trade Fairs, Conventions and Other Professional GatheringsMaskell, Peter; Bathelt, Harald; Malmberg, Anders (København, 2004)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Business people and professionals regularly come together at conventions, congresses, conferences, trade fairs and exhibitions. Here, their latest and most advanced findings, inventions and products are revealed and evaluated by peers and competitors, as well as by customers and suppliers. Organising or participating in such events are means to identify the current market frontier, take stock of relative competitive positions and form future plans. These events exhibit many of the characteristics ascribed to permanent clusters, albeit in a temporary, periodic and intensified form. The temporary clusters are hotspots of intense knowledge exchange, network building and idea generation. In investigating the extent and nature of these phenomena, the present paper explores a number of issues. First, it shows that international trade fairs and other professional gatherings are events which enable firms to compare their own products with others which are available to the world market. Comparisons to and interactions with other firms stimulate processes of knowledge creation. Second, it demonstrates how trade fairs are important for firms when selecting partners with whom to develop global pipelines, enabling access to distant markets and technologies. Third, it compares such temporary clusters with permanent territorial hubs within their respective sector or industry. If regular participation in temporary clusters could satisfy a firm’s need to learn through interaction with suppliers, customers, peers and rivals, why is the phenomenon of permanent clustering so pervasive? The answer, it is claimed, lies in the restrictions imposed on economic activity when knowledge and ideas are transformed into valuable products and services. The paper sheds new light on how interaction among firms in current clusters coincides with the configuration of knowledge-intensive pipelines out of the cluster. It examines the procedures selected by firms in developing ideas or gaining access to new knowledge and compares these organisational forms to those chosen when using knowledge for commercial purposes. Keywords: economic geography, knowledge creation, clusters, temporary clusters, trade fairs, conventions, pipelines JEL-codes: D83, L22, O17, O18, R12 URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7222 Files in this item: 1
2004-04.pdf (1.004Mb) -
The personal attributes of innovative users in the case of computer-controlled musicJeppesen, Lars Bo; Frederiksen, Lars (København, 2004)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Studies of the sources of innovations have recognized that many innovations are developed by users. However, the fact that firms employ communities of users to strengthen their innovation process has not yet received much attention. In firm-established user communities users freely reveal innovations to a firm’s product platform, which in turn puts the firm in a favorable position (a) because these new product features become available to all users by sharing on a user-to-user basis, or (b) because it allows the firm to pick up the innovations and integrate them in future products and then benefit by selling them to all users. We study the key personal attributes of the individuals responsible for innovations and the creation of value in this organizational context, namely the innovative users, to explain why firm-established user communities work. Analyzing data derived from a web-based questionnaire generating 442 answers we find that innovative users are likely to be (i) hobbyists, an attribute that can be assumed to affect innovators’ willingness to share innovations (positively), and (ii) responsive to "firm-recognition" as a motivating factor for undertaking innovation, which explains their decision to join the firm’s domain. In agreement with earlier studies we also find that innovative users are likely to be "lead users", an attribute that we assume to affect the quality of user innovation. Whether or not a firm-established user community can be turned into an asset for the firm is to a great extent conditioned by the issues studied in this paper. Keywords: Innovation, User community, User Characteristics JEL code(s): L21; L23; O31; O32 URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7218 Files in this item: 1
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the case of the Øresund medi-tech plastic industrySornn-Friese, Henrik; Simoni Sørensen, Janne (København, 2003)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This paper investigates barriers to the process of regional economic development from a linkage perspective. It develops the concepts of linkage lock-in and switching costs as fundamental factors explaining some of the social dynamics of the process. The overall claim of the paper is that different types of costs and their determinants may lock firms in to existing linkages, creating a probable barrier to successful regional economic development. The paper defines linkage lock-in as the difficulty in switching to alternative linkage partners, even if this is desirable. Switching costs are the costs involved in terminating and forming linkages. The extent of transaction costs, dynamic transaction costs and opportunity costs delineate switching costs in interfirm linkages. The paper further elaborates on the concept of opportunity costs; it states that in dynamically competitive environments a class of opportunity costs, namely learning opportunity costs might arise as a result of the relative importance of learning and innovation. Learning opportunity costs are defined as the costs of missing key possibilities to learn in dynamically competitive environments. They are furthermore seen as being constituted by cognitive costs, which in turn are influenced by the existence of information costs. The theoretical argument is illustrated by a case study of the medical part of the Øresund medi-tech plastic industry. Key words: Regional economic development; interfirm linkages and switching costs; lock-in and learning; cross-border business; medi-tech plastic industry. JEL classifications: D83, L14, L22, L68, R58 URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7240 Files in this item: 1
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Learning and innovation outside the filmJeppesen, Lars Bo; Molin, Måns J. (København, 2003)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: 1 Abstract: This study describes a process in which a firm relies on an external consumer community for innovation. While it has been recognized that users may sometimes innovate, little is known about what commercial firms can do to motivate and capture such innovations and their related benefits. We contribute to the strategy literature by suggesting that learning and innovation efforts from which a firm may benefit need not necessarily be located within the organization, but may well reside in the consumer environment. We also contribute to the existing theory on "user-driven innovation" by showing what firms purposively can do to generate consumer innovation efforts. An explorative case study shows that consumer innovation can be structured, motivated, and partly organized by a commercial firm that lays out the infrastructure for interactive learning by consumers in a public Keywords: Product Development, Consumer-to-Consumer Interaction, Learning, Consumer Innovation, Community, User-toolkits. JEL code(s): L21; L23; O31; O32 URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7281 Files in this item: 1
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Individuals, Teams and Research Infrastructure in the European UnionFoss, Kirsten; Foss, Nicolai (København, 2003)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This report maps research in institutional economics in management science in the European Union for the 1995 to 2002 period. The reports applies Internet search based on a university listing, search on journal databases, key informants and an internet-based survey. 195 researchers are identified. In (sub-)disciplinary terms, organization, strategy, corporate governance, and international business are the major areas of application of institutional economics ideas. In terms of countries, the EU strongholds are Holland, Denmark, UK, and Germany. There is apparently no or very little relevant research in Ireland, Portugal, Luxembourg and Greece. Based on the findings of the report, it seems warranted to characterize the EU research effort in the field as being rather dispersed and uncoordinated. Thus, there are no specialized journals, associations or PhD courses. This state of affairs is partly explainable by the highly pragmatic way in which research in management science is typically conducted (so that institutional economics approaches are likely to be merely one type of input among many). Keywords Institutional economics, management science, European union. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7278 Files in this item: 1
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The Case of 'Making-or-Buying' ArticlesVang, Jan (København, 2003)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: In this paper the two canonical theories of the firm - transaction costs economics and the knowledge-based view of the firm – predictions on ‘make-or-buy’ are tested on the news industry. The news industry provides an interesting case on which to test the two theories since it is characterized by a high degree of urgency. Urgency refers to the need to catch and process inputs fast. A tendency that is becoming more widespread in other industries where the production cycle tends to be reduced. The test is don on original data on the newspaper industry collected by the author. The conclusions drawn are that that newspapers are organized differently than is predicted from the knowledge-based view of the firm and transaction cost economics. The newspapers do no specialize in core competencies measured in terms of topics covered. On the contrary, a precondition for outsourcing is well-developed competencies in house. The widespread use of integration cannot either be explained as a solution to hold up either, such as transaction cost economics predicts. The reason behind has to be sought in urgency. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7259 Files in this item: 1
03-13.pdf (345.4Kb) -
an evolutionary perspective on outsourcingMahnke, Volker (København, 2002)[More information][Less information]
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Knudsen, Christian (København, 2002)[More information][Less information]
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between the "unification" and "fragmentation" trapKnudsen, Christian (København, 2002)[More information][Less information]
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Knudsen, Christian (København, 2002)[More information][Less information]
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a property rights-based view of competitive strategyFoss, Kirsten; Foss, Nicolai Juul (København, 2002)[More information][Less information]
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Jeppesen, Lars Bo (København, 2002)[More information][Less information]
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Foss, Kirsten; Foss, Nicolai Juul; Klein, Peter G.; Klein, Sandra K. (København, 2002)[More information][Less information]
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Foss, Nicolai Juul (København, 2001)[More information][Less information]
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a crucial capability for value creation in the network economyFoss, Nicolai Juul (København, 2001)[More information][Less information]
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a taxonomy of knowledge transfer costsHusman, Tina Brandt (København, 2001)[More information][Less information]