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Companies typically mull over an alternative business model to counteract the effects of a presumably disruptive business model in their primary markets. The business models should be distinct from each other to prevent conflicts, but common synergies should be utilized. Guidelines on when and how to manage the distinctions between the business models are presented.

This paper presents research data gathered in France, Germany, and the US suggesting that, beginning in the 1990s, a new economy did develop. While not being what was expected or predicted, it is based upon IT, increased productivity and competition, and the speed of innovation and change.

The vast majority of new products are financially disappointing, and sometimes dismal failures. This article provides models for companies looking to develop a profitable new product: integrator, orchestrator, and licensor.

This paper evaluates the impact of introducing the quality standards ISO 9000ff series in innovative services companies and its impact upon service companies.

This paper points out the common-sense approach to managing a midsize company. Don't be distracted by the latest management fad. Instead, concentrate upon creating value and growth by focusing on untapped potential.

This paper presents research gathered from 131 robotics companies to show that old intraindustry knowledge can have a detrimental effect upon innovation, while old extraindustry knowledge can promote innovation.

Product safety has always been one of the main problems in engineering ethics. At times it has been discussed as primarily a problem of engineering ethics. However the right to safety is one of the four fundamental consumer rights and so it is an important theme also in business ethics. At the same time the problem of product safety is inseparably connected with business effectiveness: how much can we spend on product safety without making our production unprofitable? Below we will present a possible treatment of the safety problem in teaching business ethics to post-graduate industrial engineering students--as we deal with the problem in Tallinn Technical University. KEY WORDS: consumer's relative incompetence; innovation management, product ethical life cycle (stage of ignorance, stage of ethical dilemma, stage of legal regulations); producer's ethical sensitivity, product safety

Companies that achieve outstanding competitive performance succeed in to important areas. They consistently innovate, and they innovate to create value for the customer.

Creativity can result in a company losing its focus, and concentrating on impractical objectives. This process could ultimately ruin a company if not carefully managed. The author even goes so far as to describe innovative people as being irresponsible or at least not concerned about the outcome or implementation of their ideas.

The author points out that outsourcing can interfere with a company's plans to innovate.

Xerox Palo alto Research Center developed critically important improvements, but often failed to bring them to market. This history is used as an example of how companies should use research and development to reinvent the company.

The author puts forth seven ideas for managing innovation within a business. These are: unexpected occurrences, incongruities, process needs, industry and market changes, demographic changes, changes in perception, new knowledge.

Pursuing radical new business ideas and opportunities requires changes in management.

A growing number of companies are integrating failure into their management in order to improve innovation. Specific suggestions are offered to manage this process.

Despite what some executives may believe, research has shown that deadlines can interfere with innovation and creativity.

The question of how balance inspiring creativity with day-to-day needs is addressed. Specific suggestions are offered by a executives and officials at a number of companies and government agencies.

The optimal stopping model presented here explores opportunity assessment with reference to a tradeoff between, on the one hand, reducing decision accuracy and, on the other hand, both increasing search costs and a higher probability that the opportunity is grasped by a competitor. From this model we propose a heuristic that specifies three threshold lines to define four decision areas. Decision area 1 prescribes the business opportunity be accepted, decision areas 2 and 4 prescribe that search continue, and decision area 3 prescribes that the business opportunity be rejected. We use a simulation to investigate the robustness of the heuristic beyond the model's boundary conditions. Index Terms--Decision model, dynamic programming, entrepreneurship, innovation, opportunity recognition/search, optimal stopping, sequential information gathering.

Summary. This paper addresses three issues in the context of knowledge-intensive service (KIS) development, related to the competitive base of cities and the degree to which they possess distinctive sources of innovativeness. The first is, how may growing KIS, or consultancy, use influence client innovation? Although this is inherently difficult to demonstrate, the expertise and modes of operation of consultancies suggest that they do influence technical and organisational change amongst clients. The second issue is the segmentation of consultancy influence, especially by sector and types of firm. Finally, how far does the urban base of consultancy supply imply local, specifically urban, benefits for client innovation? Consultancy services are often delivered over wide areas from their urban bases, within national and international nexuses of corporate and public-sector service exchange. This question cannot be answered by focusing only on local exchange. Urban client-consultancy interaction needs to be set w ithin a national and even an international context of specialist expertise exchange.

Summary. This paper reports the findings of a survey of innovative firms in the South East of England undertaken during 1999/2000. It is argued that in order to explain the observed concentration of innovation in a limited number of cities both in the US and in Europe it is necessary to consider both local knowledge spillovers and international knowledge transfers. Knowledge and experience are argued to be important in overcoming the uncertainties that characterise the innovation process. The survey reported here shows that two main categories of knowledge are important for SMEs. These are first mainly supply-side local knowledge spillovers from suppliers, collaborators and HEIs. Secondly, they are often demand-side national and international knowledge transfers from clients, customers and their international distributors. Cities rich in both local capacity and international connections are usually the locations for high levels of innovation among the firms based in them.

The reasons why corporations search for external sources of business innovation through strategic alliances, mergers and acquisition of other companies is examined.

The management of innovation is analyzed at an unidentified telecommunications equipment manufacturer. Managers at the company valued innovation, and said the company valued innovation but sometimes the managers felt innovative ideas were blocked by the top levels of management.

The impact of innovation on economic performance in the United Kingdom is examined and this paper finds that as the U.S. market values research and development, so is its impact in the United Kingdom.

This paper examines the competitive dynamics in a standard-based industry through a historical observation of the U.S. home video game industry. The paper focuses on the theoretical issues of switching costs, installed base, and complementary goods as critical factors of dominant designs and firm success in a network-based industry. Our analysis reveals multiple stages of technological innovations and changes of market leadership and industry standards during a relatively short history of the industry. The industry exhibits six generations of technological changes in video game consoles and complementary products, with each generation represented by a new set of competitors, dominant designs, and market leaders out-competing the leaders of the prior generation. Our analysis confirms the efficacy of traditional tenets of successful strategic management in a network-based industry, such as the importance of technological innovation, building entry barriers, protecting firm-specific assets, competitive pricing, brand recognition, and effective channel management. These traditional strategies, however, should be geared to achieve new strategic goals, such as building installed base and a network of complementary products, that are critical success factors in competing in a network-based industry. Index Terms--Innovation, network effects, standard based industries, video games.

This paper studies the joint evolution of factor prices, factor shares and the type of technical progress. Its main aim is to give a microeconomic foundation to the Hypothesis of Induced Innovation of the earlier literature, which assumes that the type of progress at any moment of time is chosen so as to maximize the current rate of output growth. An important conclusion of the Hypothesis of Induced Innovation is that in the long run factor-augmenting technical progress takes the form of pure labour augmentation.

SIMMIE J., SENNETT J., WOOD P. and HART D. (2002) Innovation in Europe: a tale of networks, knowledge and trade in five cities, Reg. Studies 36, 47-64. This paper identifies four groups of theory that seek to explain the relationships between innovation and space. These are traditional agglomeration theory networking, learning and new competitiveness theory. Evidence on the last three, most recent theories is sought by analysing the results of comparable surveys of innovative firms in Amsterdam, London, Milan, Paris and Stuttgart. The empirical results show that differences occur in the external relationships between firms and the global economy with respect to specific innovation projects. Broadly speaking the main differences identified show that in regional cities such as Stuttgart and Milan innovative activities are more linked to their regional and national economies than they are in the international world cities such as Paris and London. This suggests that attempts to generalize the network paradigm on industrial production are premature at least as far as innovation is concerned. Conversely the data demonstrate the significance of trading systems between firms both in terms of knowledge acquisition and the supply of inputs to, and demands for, innovation. Many of these are located internationally. International innovation trading systems are therefore shown to be key features of the geography of innovation. Innovation Agglomeration Networks Knowledge Competitiveness Trade SIMMIE J., SENNETT J., WOOD P. et HART D. (2002) L'innovation en Europe: une histoire de reseaux, de connaissances et de commerce dans cinq grandes villes, Reg. Studies 36, 47-64. Cet article identifie quatre groupes de theories qui cherchent a expliquer le rapport entre l'innovation et l'espace: a savoir, la theorie d'agglomeration classique, la constitution de reseaux, l'apprentissage, et la nouvelle theorie de competitivite. A partir d'une analyse des resultats provenant des enquetes comparables aupres des entreprises innovatrices situees a Amsterdam, Londres, a Milan, Paris et a Stuttgart, on cherche des preuves en ce qui concerne les trois dernieres theories, qui sont les plus recentes Les resultats empiriques laissent voir qu'il existe des differences dans les rapports externes entre des entreprises et l'economie mondiale quant certains projets a cractere innovateur. En regle generale, les principales differences identifiees demontrent que dans les grandes villes d'importance regionale, voire Stuttgart et Milan, les projets a caractere innovateur s'averent plus lies aux economies regionale et nationale que ne le sont les grandes villes d'importance internationale, voire Paris et Londres. Cela laisse supposer que les tentatives de generaliser le paradigme des reseaux a propos de la production industrielle sont prematurees, du moins pour ce qui est de l'innovation. Par contre, les donnees demontrent l'importance des systemes d'echanges interentreprises, la fois en termes de l'acquisition de connaissances, l'offre de facteurs necessaires a l'innovation et la demande d'innovations, disponibles en large partie sur le plan international. Il s'savere alors que les systemes d'echanges relatifs a l'innovation internationale sont des elements cles de la geographie de l'innovation. Innovation Agglomeration Reseaux Connaissances Competitivite Echanges SIMMIE J., SENNETT J., WOOD P. und HART D. (2002) Innovation in Europa: eine Geschichte von Rechnerverbund, Kenntnissen und Handel in funf Stadten, Reg. Studies 36, 47-64. Dieser Aufsatz stellt vier Theoriekreise heraus, die Beziehungen zwischen Innovation und Raum zu erklaren suchen: die traditionelle Agglomerationstheorie, Rechnerverbund, Lernen und die neue Theorie der Wettbewerbsfahigkeit. Beweise der drei letztere n, erst kurzlich aufgestellten Theorien werden mittels Analyse der Ergebnisse vergleichbarer Untersuchungen innovativer Firmen in Amsterdam, London, Mailand, Paris und Stuttgart aufgestellt. Die empirischen Ergebnisse zeigen, da[beta] im Hinblick auf spezifische Innovationsprojekte Unterschiede in den Au[beta]enbeziehungen zwischen Firmen und der globalen Wirtschaft auftreten. Allgemein gesehen, zeigen die Hauptunterschiede, die als solche erkannt werden, de[beta] in regionalen Hauptstadten wie Stuttgart und Mailand innovative Tatigkeit enger mit der Regional- und Landeswirtschaft verknupft ist als in internationalen Weltstadten wie Paris und London. Dies legt nahe, da[beta] Versuche, das Musterbeispiel des Rechnerverbunds fur Industrieproduktion zu verallgemeinern, verfuht sind, zumindest insoweit als sie Innovation betreffen. Umgekehrt zeigen die Daten die Signifikanz der Handelssysteme zwischen Firmen auf, und zwar sowohl in Bezug auf ihre Aneignung von Kenntnissen als auch hinsichtlich des Angebots von Au fwand fur und der Nachfrage nach Innovation. Viele davon haben internationale Standorte. Internationale, Innovationshandel betreibende Systeme erweisen sich deshalb als die Hauptzuge der Innovationsgeographie. Innovation Ballung Rechnungsverbund Kenntnisse Wettbewersfahigkeit Handel

Understanding the obstacles and facilitators of organizational innovation adoption helps innovation marketers increase their effectiveness. The study proposes a framework of organizational adoption. Organization size, structure and innovativeness all affect innovation adoption. Supplier targeting can increase the likelihood of innovation adoption.

This research paper examines economic growth, innovation and the spillover of knowledge that encourages and geographically-linked specialty industries. The research indicates a positive link between innovation and business concentration.

This paper notes that discovering an innovative product idea in a market research to address a real need in a saturation zone is likely to be discovered at the same time by a competitor. A model to assess the odds is proposed and evaluated.

Abstract The literature on 'national systems of innovation' emphasizes that the innovative capacity of nations depends on their institutions. This paper investigates the influence of an ideal-typical institution, law and [...]

Andrew Hargadon [coauthor, 'When Innovations Meet Institutions: Edison and the Design of the Electric Light'] is an associate professor of technology management at the University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616 (e-mail: abhargadon@ucdavis.edu). His research focuses on problem solving, innovation, and the interaction between work and technology in organizational contexts. He is the author of 'Technology Brokering and Innovation in a Product Development Firm,' with R. I. Sutton (Administrative Science Quarterly, 42: 716-749), and 'Action and Possibility: Reconciling Dual Perspectives of Knowledge in Organizations,' with A. Fanelli (Organization Science, forthcoming). He earned his M.S. in mechanical engineering-product design from Stanford University and worked as a product designer in Silicon Valley before earning his Ph.D. from the Department of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management at Stanford University. Yellowlees Douglas [coauthor, 'When Innovations Meet Institutions: Edison and the Design of the Electric Light'] is an associate professor of English at the University of Florida, P.O. Box 117310, Gainesville, FL 32611-7310 (e-mail:jdouglas@nwe.ufl.edu). A specialist in narrative and interactive media, she has published thirty articles in nine disciplines on technology, including articles in Leonardo, TDR, and the Social Science Computer Review, as well as The End of Books or Books without End? Reading Interactive Narratives (University of Michigan Press, 2000). She is currently working under the auspices of an NSF grant on the use of schema theory in the creation of finite state machines. She earned her M.A. in English from the University of Michigan and her Ph.D. in English education from New York University., ********** This paper considers the role of design, as the emergent arrangement of concrete details that embodies a new idea, in mediating between innovations and established institutional fields as entrepreneurs [...]

This is a study on how and why firms that operate in the same line of business differ and explains their diversity in behavior and performance. This paper draws a parallel in the development of seven cellular phone services.

Competitive interaction among firms is studied and research finds that relative market shares are accounted for by the characteristics of the firms' sequences of competitive actions.

The purpose of this paper is to explain why some markets for financial products take off while others vanish as soon as they have emerged. To this end, we model an infinite sequence of CAPM-economies in which financial products can be used for insurance purposes. Agents' participation in these financial products, however, is restricted. Consecutive stage economies are linked by a mapping ('transition function') which determines the next period's participation structure from the preceding period's participation. The transition function generates a dynamic process of market participation which is driven by the percentage of informed traders and the rate at which a new asset is adopted. We then analyse the evolutionary stability of stationary equilibria. In accordance with the empirical literature on financial innovation, it is obtained that the success of a financial innovation, a mutation, depends on a sufficiently high trading volume, marketing, and new and differentiated hedging opportunities. In particular, a set of complete markets forming a stationary, equilibrium is robust with respect to any further financial innovation while this is not necessarily true for a set of incomplete markets. 'There is no generally accepted theory of financial innovation, but some broad generalizations of the innovation process are possible. What matters is not the invention of a financial product or process (which is often obscure) but its diffusion through the market environment'. Ted Padolski (1987) in: The New Palgrave on Money and Finance: Financial Innovation and Money Supply (p. 68)

Is more intense product market competition and imitation good or bad for growth? This question is addressed in the context of an endogenous growth model with 'step-by-step' innovations, in which technological laggards must first catch up with the leading-edge technology before battling for technological leadership in the future. In contrast to earlier Schumpeterian models in which innovations are always made by outsider firms who earn no rents if they fail to innovate and become monopolies if they do innovate, here we find: first, that the usual Schumpeterian effect of more intense product market competition (PMC) is almost always outweighed by the increased incentive for firms to innovate in order to escape competition, so that PMC has a positive effect on growth; second, that a little imitation is almost always growth-enhancing, as it promotes more frequent neck-and-neck competition, but too much imitation is unambiguously growth-reducing. The model thus points to complementary roles for competition (anti-trust) policy and patent policy.

L'impact de l'apprentissage sur le processus d'innovation demeure meconnu et les etudes sur le sujet ne procurent pas suffisamment de resultats quantitatifs et fondes sur des donnees obtenues dans les [...]

Research presented concerns the effect of acquisitions in the chemicals industry on the innovation performance of the acquiring businesses, focusing both on technological and non-technological acquisitions. Findings suggest that the size of the transferred knowledge base increases innovation in technological acquisitions, while non-technological innovations do not significantly impact the subsequent output of innovation.

This article examines how large established companies can support breakthrough innovations through opportunity recognition. Research on innovation projects in 10 US firms indicate that inefficiencies in managerial and organizational processes hinder innovation development, and ways for executives to encourage innovation in processes and people are addressed.