scholarly journals Wicked problems: university research topic convergence despite divergence in local educational and innovation policies

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 108-124
Author(s):  
Mervi Friman ◽  
Dusan Schreiber ◽  
Arto Mutanen ◽  
Simu Perälä ◽  
Janne Salminen
Keyword(s):  
Education Research ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Wicked Problems ◽  
United Nations Economic Commission ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Societal Challenges ◽  
Economic Commission ◽  
Stakeholder Pressures ◽  
Innovation Policies

Purpose This study aims to determine how sustainable development (SD) demands (according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s (UNECE) SD themes from 2005) are connected to the contents of education, research, development and innovation (RDI) in higher education institutions (HEI). Education and the RDI nexus may affect HEI’s capability to handle SD-related wicked problems and enhance their societal impact. Design/methodology/approach This paper examined SD-oriented curricula contents of two universities (Brazil and Finland) and counted the number of SD-related research outcomes. In addition, conceptual modelling was used to analyse the mechanisms that may be directing HEIs’ SD work in local innovation. Findings The data showed a convergence deviation in the RDI of SD-related subjects between the two HEIs. There was no correlation between SD-oriented education and RDI-work in either HEI. Education and RDI processes have different UNECE SD themes at the focal point, and the education-research nexus is lacking. This difference indicates that new SD-related knowledge produced through RDI was not effectively used in education. Modelling revealed that the convergence in RDI outcomes arose from the same kind of local business, industry and societal challenges, implementing effective stakeholder pressures into HEIs. The results may indicate that stakeholder SD needs were not directly transferred into the competence qualification of the curriculum. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first quantitative study to reveal the independence of universities’ SD-related RDI subjects on educational curricula.

Silicon Valley, France and China: a comparative study of innovation systems and policies

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 194-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.C. Fung ◽  
Nathalie Aminian
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Innovation System ◽  
Silicon Valley ◽  
High Technology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Strong State ◽  
State Involvement ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Interesting Development ◽  
Innovation Policies

Purpose In this paper, the authors aim to examine some characteristics of the innovation system and policy in France and China. For comparison, they also highlight some high technology features of Silicon Valley and California. Design/methodology/approach The authors study the characteristics of innovation in France and in China. The authors examine the technology systems and policies in both countries and compare their features with those in Silicon Valley. Findings As far as France is concerned, it can be stated that the innovation system and policy are under transformation, going from a strong state involvement to a more decentralized framework. This evolution leads to a multi-level governance of the innovation system and to the emergence of new actors. For China, the most interesting development in China is the evolution of its internet-related sector. The authors argue here that the internet-driven economy is a radical, systemic technological change and it is rapidly growing in China. Originality/value One of the earliest papers comparing the innovation policies and activities in France, China and Silicon Valley.

Learning organization – organization emerging from presence

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-30
Author(s):  
Nataša Rupčić
Keyword(s):  
Learning Organization ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Wicked Problems ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the possibilities of transcending individual, organizational and social problems through the prism of presence as suggested by Senge et al. (2012). Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on the critical review of previous contributions. Findings The idea of a learning organization seems romantic and elusive, as well as difficult to implement, especially when the definition by Senge (1990) is considered. At the same time, organizational and social complexity is increasing and resulting in numerous difficult or wicked problems. To reach integrative and transcending solutions, a change in perception and surrender to presence is key. Research limitations/implications Conclusions provided in the paper could benefit from further practice to corroborate the findings. Practical implications Suggestions for practitioners have been provided on how to solve personal, organizational and social problems on the basis of the paradigm shift and the shift in perception. Originality/value In this paper, the individual, organizational and social dimensions in terms of their intricacies are considered and solutions are offered that could simultaneously solve wicked problems on all three levels.

Accounting-education trends by authors from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom

2016 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 390-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A. Bernardi ◽  
Taylor L. Delande ◽  
Kimberly A. Zamojcin
Keyword(s):  
Education Research ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Accounting Education ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Accounting Faculty ◽  
Journal Rankings ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Uk

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the trends in accounting-education publications and the influence of journal rankings for authors from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK. Design/methodology/approach – The authors included the publications in ten accounting-education journals for the 20-year period from 1993 to 2012. Findings – The data provide insights into the perceptions of accounting-education journals by authors from four countries. The authors found that, while the use of Accounting Education as a publication outlet for accounting authors from Australia and the UK was relatively stable, the use of Accounting Education as a publication outlet increased (decreased) for the accounting authors from New Zealand (Canada). The authors also found that, while coauthoring by the accounting authors from Australia and the UK increased slightly, coauthoring by the accounting authors from Canada and New Zealand increased during the 20-year period. Research limitations/implications – The data suggests a tendency by the authors from these four countries to publish their accounting-education research in journals that had been ranked as a top accounting journal. Originality/value – This paper is the first paper to consider trends in international accounting-education publications. The data in this research can be used by accounting faculty wishing to assess which journals their colleagues publish in most frequently.

Do financial constraints moderate the relationship between innovation subsidies and firms' R&D investment?

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrique Acebo ◽  
José-Ángel Miguel-Dávila ◽  
Mariano Nieto
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Financial Constraints ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Economic Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Marginal Effects ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
D Investment ◽  
Innovation Policies

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse whether the effect of innovation subsidies on firms' R&D investment varies depending on whether the firm is suffering from financial constraints.Design/methodology/approachTo address this analysis, the authors provide a theoretical model and test their hypothesis using an econometric analysis of an unbalanced panel of 3,865 innovative Spanish firms during 2010–2017. They employ the SABI database to obtain firms' financial and economic data and incorporate firms' MORE financial rating. Specifically, the authors use the GMM-SYS technique to regress and measure the marginal effects of innovation subsidies size on firms' R&D investment and the influence of firms' financial constraints.FindingsThe results of this work indicate that financial constraints negatively moderate the effect of subsidies on R&D investment; that is, those firms that receive a subsidy and suffer financial constraints invest less in R&D projects than those which also receive the subsidy and do not suffer financial constraints. Besides, this work found that innovation subsidies alone do not significantly increase firms' R&D investment.Originality/valueFrom a neoclassical point of view, the existence of financial constraints is the justification of public innovation policies. However, due to the difficulty of measuring financial constraints, innovation literature has abandoned the analysis of this crucial variable. This work reintroduces this vital variable and analyses how it interacts with innovation subsidies on firms' R&D investment.

scholarly journals Addressing food insecurity: a systemic innovation approach

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 234-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Zivkovic
Keyword(s):  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Wicked Problems ◽  
Wicked Problem ◽  
Online Tool ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Systemic Innovation ◽  
Innovation Approach ◽  
First Time ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to question the utility of addressing food insecurity through food assistance programmes and by separating food security into pillars, and it argues for a systemic innovation and complexity approach. This is achieved by demonstrating that food insecurity is a wicked problem and therefore needs to be addressed holistically. Design/methodology/approach To establish that food insecurity is a wicked problem, characteristics of food insecurity are aligned to characteristics of wicked problems. The need to address wicked problems holistically through a systemic innovation approach and an understanding of complexity theory is discussed by referring to the literature. How to take such an approach for addressing food insecurity is illustrated by describing the use of an online tool that takes a systemic innovation and complexity approach. Findings Given food insecurity is a wicked problem and needs to be addressed holistically, the focus when addressing food insecurity should not be on programmes or pillars. Instead, it needs to be on increasing the coherence and building the adaptive capacity of food insecurity solution ecosystems. Practical implications This paper provides insights into the nature of food insecurity and how to address food insecurity. Originality/value For the first time, this paper aligns characteristics of food insecurity to characteristics of wicked problems and demonstrates how an online tool for systemic innovation can assist food insecurity solution ecosystems to address food insecurity.

Bouncecasting: a seminar gaming approach to foresight

foresight ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
James P. Kahan
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Wicked Problems ◽  
General Description ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Policy Problem ◽  
The Future ◽  
Multiple Characteristics ◽  
Multiple Scenarios

Purpose This paper aims to present “Bouncecasting,” a seminar gaming foresight approach useful for examining “wicked problems” where the path to the future is uncertain and malleable and where major stakeholders may have different preferences for different futures. The approach gets its name because it goes back and forth between forecasting and backcasting, provides for give and take among different groups of stakeholders and creates and compares multiple scenarios depicting plausible futures. Design/methodology/approach After defining Bouncecasting, presenting its main features and providing a recommended way of conducting Bouncecasting studies, the approach is illustrated by four Bouncecasting projects conducted between 1998 and 2004. Findings The four projects taken together show that Bouncecasting can be used to address a range of wicked problems in a practical way. The projects considered in sequence show the evolution of the method. Originality/value Bouncecasting is a way of doing foresight that examines in an integrated way multiple characteristics of a policy problem, thereby providing promising solutions for complex issues. Although there have been over a dozen Bouncecasting studies conducted by the author and different sets of colleagues, this is the first general description of the approach.

Elite maintenance work across the Covid-19 crisis: a critical view on power and language

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Suhaib Riaz ◽  
Sean Buchanan
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
System Change ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Critical Perspective ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Societal Challenges ◽  
System Maintenance ◽  
Maintenance Work ◽  
Critical Interpretation

Purpose This paper aims to present a critical interpretation of unfolding events related to corporate and policymaking elites during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic crisis to serve as a point of contrast to mainstream views. Design/methodology/approach Drawing upon literature on elite maintenance and power, learning from recent previous crises and emerging evidence during the Covid-19 pandemic crisis, this study develops arguments to question and problematize the exercise of power by elites toward maintenance of existing systems across the pandemic. Findings Critical examination points attention to three related but analytically distinct strategies in the exercise of elite power: reinforcing myths, redirecting blame and reclaiming positions, all directed to maintain the system and preserve power. The potential effects of this ongoing elite maintenance are highlighted, revealing the old and new forms of power likely to emerge at the corporate, national and global levels across the pandemic crisis and endure beyond it. Social implications It is hoped that the critical examination here may build more awareness about the deep and complex nature of elite power and systems across the globe that preclude meaningful system change to address societal challenges. It may thereby provide more informed engagement toward system change. Originality/value The main originality of the paper lies in its attempt to tie together the various types of elite maintenance works and their potential effects into an overarching narrative. Making these connections and interpreting them from a critical perspective provides a rare large-canvas picture of elite power and system maintenance, particularly across a global crisis.

Managing the wickedness of socially responsible marketing

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 10-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dale Fodness
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Wicked Problems ◽  
Complexity Science ◽  
Sense Making ◽  
Problem Recognition ◽  
Socially Responsible ◽  
Successful Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sustainable Marketing ◽  
Sustainability Challenges

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the wicked problems inherent in socially responsible marketing and to provide practical insights into their management. Design/methodology/approach – This paper applies learning from three related conceptual areas (the Cynefin framework, complexity science and wicked problems) to think about sustainable marketing in new ways. Findings – Sustainability challenges the effectiveness of traditional marketing thought and action. New and emerging approaches and tools in sense-making, complexity science and problem recognition are needed to help ensure the successful development and implementation of sustainable marketing. Originality/value – Growing concern for so-called “wicked problems” appears in the literature of a number of disciplines in both the hard and soft sciences. Although the concept has appeared in the management and strategy literature, it is relatively unknown in marketing.

An integrative methodology for creatively exploring decision choices

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 3-9
Author(s):  
Jennifer Riel ◽  
Roger Martin
Keyword(s):  
Customer Service ◽  
Business School ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Wicked Problems ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Direct Sales ◽  
Sales Organization ◽  
Decision Choices ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Vexing Problem

Purpose The authors translate their the concept of integrative thinking into a repeatable methodology, supported by a set of tools for thinking through difficult or “wicked“ problems, a process that offers a better chance of rejecting false choices and of finding a way through to an innovative alternative. Design/methodology/approach The authors divide their process into four phases. A case example illustrates each phase. Findings The four phases that make up the integrative thinking 10;process: articulating opposing ways to solve a vexing problem; analyzing those opposing models to truly understand them; attempting to resolve the antithetical approaches of the opposing models by creating new models that contain elements of the original alternatives but are superior to either one and testing the potential new solutions. Research limitations/implications Additional examples and detailed guidance is provided in the authors new book “Creating Great Choices: A Leader’s Guide to Integrative Thinking,” (Harvard Business School Press, 2017). Practical implications Several corporate examples of “wicked” problems to which integrative thinking might be applied are: After a merger, the combined sales organization is riven by dissension between proponents of two opposite approaches – one using direct sales and the other channel partners. The CEO of a retail bank struggling to manage the conflicting goals of increasing efficiency and improving customer service. Originality/value Applied thoughtfully, this new and tested methodology gives leaders at all levels a fighting chance at solving challenging problems and creating breakthrough choices.

scholarly journals Broadening the brandfest: play and ludic agency

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dannie Kjeldgaard ◽  
Matthias Bode
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Play Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Marketing Literature ◽  
Brand Meaning ◽  
Brand Involvement ◽  
Multiple Meanings ◽  
Social Engagements ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Brandfests are conceptualized as marketer-initiated events that facilitate consumers’ individual and social engagements with brands. After its inception in the late 1990s, the concept of brandfests was quickly folded into the concept of brand community, leaving conceptual and strategic opportunities untapped. The purpose of the paper is to suggest a broadened conceptualization of brandfests based on the play theory and the notion of ludic interagency. Design/methodology/approach This paper includes a longitudinal study and ethnographic method. Findings Unlike previously studied brandfests, this context entails a low-involvement product, a brand that is not the focal point for participants, a broad range of market-facing enactors, shifting roles and the realization of multiple meanings and values for multiple enactors. The findings demonstrate that brand meaning and value can be constituted through ludic engagement of a broad range of market-facing enactors through a ludic spectacle such as a brandfest. Moreover, the authors find that this can go on outside the established spatial and temporal frames normally considered by the marketing literature. Research limitations/implications This has implications for theories of emplacement (servicescape) and brand meaning actualization in terms of where, when and whom is involved in brand meaning actualization. Practical implications The paper develops four strategic propositions which broaden the type of brandfests that allow managers to define a range of potential strategies for engaging consumers and other enactors in a broader range of brandfests. Originality/value The paper reconceptualizes a dormant concept in the marketing literature to develop strategic implications based on the play theory. It challenges the prevalent centrality of the brand and consumer brand involvement.

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