scholarly journals Sustaining open innovation through a “Center of Excellence”

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 19-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth E. Richard ◽  
Jeffrey R. Davis ◽  
Jin H. Paik ◽  
Karim R. Lakhani

Purpose This paper presents NASA’s experience using a Center of Excellence (CoE) to scale and sustain an open innovation program as an effective problem-solving tool and includes strategic management recommendations for other organizations based on lessons learned. Design/methodology/approach This paper defines four phases of implementing an open innovation program: Learn, Pilot, Scale and Sustain. It provides guidance on the time required for each phase and recommendations for how to utilize a CoE to succeed. Recommendations are based upon the experience of NASA’s Human Health and Performance Directorate, and experience at the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard running hundreds of challenges with research and development organizations. Findings Lessons learned include the importance of grounding innovation initiatives in the business strategy, assessing the portfolio of work to select problems most amenable to solving via crowdsourcing methodology, framing problems that external parties can solve, thinking strategically about early wins, selecting the right platforms, developing criteria for evaluation, and advancing a culture of innovation. Establishing a CoE provides an effective infrastructure to address both technical and cultural issues. Originality/value The NASA experience spanned more than seven years from initial learnings about open innovation concepts to the successful scaling and sustaining of an open innovation program; this paper provides recommendations on how to decrease this timeline to three years.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rita Shakouri ◽  
Maziar Salahi

Purpose This paper aims to apply a new approach for resource sharing and efficiency estimation of subunits in the presence of non-discretionary factors and partial impacts among inputs and outputs in the data envelopment analysis (DEA) framework. Design/methodology/approach First, inspired by the Imanirad et al.’s model (2013), the authors consider that each decision-making unit (DMU) may consist of several subunits, that each of which can be affected by non-discretionary inputs. After that, the Banker and Morey’s model (1996) is used for modeling non-discretionary factors. For measuring performance of several subunits, which can be considered as DMUs, the aggregate efficiency is suggested. At last, the overall efficiency is computed and compared with each other. Findings One of the important features of proposed model is that each output in this model applies discretionary input according to its need; therefore, the result of this study will make it easier for the managers to make better decisions. Also, it indicates that significant predictions of the development of the overall efficiency of DMUs can be based on observing the development level of subunits because of the influence of non-discretionary input. Therefore, the proposed model provides a more reasonable and encompassing measure of performance in participating non-discretionary and discretionary inputs to better efficiency. An application of the proposed model for gaining efficiency of 17 road patrols is provided. Research limitations/implications More non-discretionary and discretionary inputs can be taken into consideration for a better analysis. This study provides us with a framework for performance measures along with useful managerial insights. Focusing upon the right scope of operations may help out the management in improving their overall efficiency and performance. In the recent highway maintenance management systems, the environmental differences exist among patrols and other geotechnical services under the climate diverse. Further, in some cases, there might exist more than one non-discretionary factor that can have different effects on the subunits’ performance. Practical implications The purpose of this paper was to measure the performance of a set of the roadway maintenance crews and to analyze the impact of non-discretionary inputs on the efficiency of the roadway maintenance. The application of the proposed model, on the one hand, showed that each output in this model uses discretionary input according to its requirement, and on the other hand, the result showed that meaningful predictions of the development of the overall efficiency of DMUs can be based on observing the development level of subunits because of the impact of non-discretionary input. Originality/value Providing information on resource sharing by taking into account non-discretionary factors for each subunit can help managers to make better decisions to increase the efficiency.


2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 470-474
Author(s):  
André de Serpa Soares

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to offer a response to the general proposed questions “Did the context of economic crisis affect the image of Portugal as a tourist destination? What were the answers and lessons learned?” from TAP Portugal perspective and what were, for the airline, the answers and lessons learned for the future. Design/methodology/approach – Major economic indicators in Portugal and Europe were compared with TAP numbers and Portuguese Travel and Tourism balance of payments. Findings – The image of Portugal as a tourist destination was not affected. Portugal managed to use the increase in international exposure to publicise itself for the right reasons. The key to future success lies on markets intelligence. Originality/value – This article constitutes an original viewpoint based on TAP market experience and may be useful for tourism and travel industry professionals, students and research community.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Oduro

Purpose Open innovation (OI) is now recognized as one essential innovation paradigm to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) quell their liability of newness and smallness. However, little is known about SMEs’ OI barriers, particularly in emerging economies. Drawing on both network and transaction cost theory, this study aims to explore the barriers to SMEs’ OI adoption in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted an exploratory sequential research design that involved both qualitative and quantitative study methodologies. A total of 644 responses (21 survey interviews and 623 usable questionnaires) across SMEs in Ghana were collected and analyzed in the study. A qualitative analysis involving quotations extracted from the respondent’s statement was used to present the qualitative findings, whereas SEM-partial least square, co-variance approach, was used to analyze the formulated hypotheses. Findings Results show that significant barriers to SMEs OI adoption are collaboration barriers – difficulty in finding the right partners and problems of cooperation and coordination of operational functions; organizational barriers – lack of flexible internal procedures and structures and organizational inertia; and strategic barriers – opportunistic behavior of partners and lack of strategic and resource fit. Contrary to existing findings, financial and knowledge barriers were disclosed as driving factors, rather than barriers, to SMEs’ OI adoption; these findings challenge conventional thinking about SMEs’ major OI barriers. Research limitations/implications This study focuses on only SMEs in one emerging economy, namely, Ghana, which may limit the generalization of the findings. Practical implications The findings of this study, while limited to Ghana, offer useful insights to SMEs managers, development practitioners and policymakers respecting the overall importance of the OI model, its associated impediments, as well as the strategic measures to quell those barriers. Originality/value This study provides a pioneering empirical investigation into the main barriers to SMEs’ OI adoption in a less-explored emerging market context through a mixed research approach.


Author(s):  
Paul Ballman

Purpose This paper addresses one particular type of cliff edge – “Unknown Knowns” that organizations are often headed for and suggests ways in which it can be avoided. Design/methodology/approach The paper reports lessons learned through the author’s experience and draws on relevant literature. Findings Apparently unforeseen cliffs are actually well known about, deep in the organization, well ahead of time and either nobody is talking or nobody is listening. Practical Implications People need to change their cultures to ensure that the “Cassandras” (people who can be seen as “negative” and problem rather than solution focused) are genuinely listened to. Originality/value New scandals break every month. At the time of writing, the latest is Volkswagen (VW) emissions testing, itself a classic example of an unknown-known cliff.


2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 690-712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jayanth Jayaram ◽  
Keah Choon Tan ◽  
Tritos Laosirihongthong

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the direct influence of three types of operations management practices, namely total quality management (TQM), lean manufacturing (LEAN), and supply chain management (SCM) on operational performance. Design/methodology/approach – Cluster analysis is used to classify data collected from Thai manufacturing firms into three business strategy clusters of cost leadership, differentiation, and focussed strategy. Next, multiple-regression analysis was used to test the relationships between operations management practices and performance in each of the three strategy clusters. Findings – Results show that all three operations management practices were significantly associated with performance including the interaction of TQM and SCM. Also, the interaction of LEAN and SCM significantly affected performance for firms pursuing focussed business strategy. Practical implications – Manufacturers in developing nations can use this result to deploy appropriate operations management practices to enhance their competitive edge. Originality/value – This study explores the cross-functional alignment between strategies and practices, which have been transferred from developed to developing countries.


2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 1151-1159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Folker Meyer ◽  
Saurabh Bagchi ◽  
Somali Chaterji ◽  
Wolfgang Gerlach ◽  
Ananth Grama ◽  
...  

Abstract As technologies change, MG-RAST is adapting. Newly available software is being included to improve accuracy and performance. As a computational service constantly running large volume scientific workflows, MG-RAST is the right location to perform benchmarking and implement algorithmic or platform improvements, in many cases involving trade-offs between specificity, sensitivity and run-time cost. The work in [Glass EM, Dribinsky Y, Yilmaz P, et al. ISME J 2014;8:1–3] is an example; we use existing well-studied data sets as gold standards representing different environments and different technologies to evaluate any changes to the pipeline. Currently, we use well-understood data sets in MG-RAST as platform for benchmarking. The use of artificial data sets for pipeline performance optimization has not added value, as these data sets are not presenting the same challenges as real-world data sets. In addition, the MG-RAST team welcomes suggestions for improvements of the workflow. We are currently working on versions 4.02 and 4.1, both of which contain significant input from the community and our partners that will enable double barcoding, stronger inferences supported by longer-read technologies, and will increase throughput while maintaining sensitivity by using Diamond and SortMeRNA. On the technical platform side, the MG-RAST team intends to support the Common Workflow Language as a standard to specify bioinformatics workflows, both to facilitate development and efficient high-performance implementation of the community’s data analysis tasks.


2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 47-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Kupp ◽  
Moyra Marval ◽  
Peter Borchers

Purpose This paper aims to examine the experience of hub:raum, the accelerator program of Deutsche Telekom, to deduce potential success factors. In today’s fast-paced world, large companies strive to keep up with the disruptive changes in their markets brought by innovative startups. In face of these challenges, the paradigm of open innovation encourages firms to use internal ideas and external sources of knowledge to advance their innovation output (Chesbrough, 2003). Yet, in practice, this is much easier said than done, particularly when large firms engage in partnerships with startups. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on interviews and academic collaboration with hub:raum. Findings From the five years of experience since the foundation of hub:raum, one of the first German corporate accelerators, the authors have seen five key success factors: transparent and aligned goals, an independent team of startup advocates, a large and committed external network, top-management backing, long-term objectives and performance indicators. Research limitations/implications This paper is based on the case study of hub:raum. There are several limitations to this approach. Hub:raum has a clear industry focus in the information and communications technology industry and also acting international has a strong German and European focus. Practical implications Based on the identified five success factors, executives working with or designing accelerator programs can significantly increase the chances of success of these kind of programs. Constantly working on the right alignment of these factors with the overall objective of the incubator program is the key task of the management. Social implications Designing and running corporate accelerator programs more successfully will also help to enable more startups to join forces with corporates, creating more jobs and developing successful product innovation. Originality/value The paper is based on working for five years closely with the hub:raum management, a series of interviews and longitudinal study of this specific accelerator program.


Author(s):  
Ali Wardhana

<h5><em>Only by deliver right value on the right target consumen, strategy will be achievie. Therefore, value proposition play role as media to describe business strategy and as significant contributor to business strategy and performance. Accroding that explanation, this research aims to compose value propositions at Eko Nugroho Art Class (ENAC). Methodology: use individual depth interview with owner, director and psikolog. Reseatch strart with observation at ENAC, interview abouttarget consumers and value propositions.</em></h5><h5><em>Findings : value proposition from Eko Nugroho Art Class is give a play room  through art without limitation, promote freedom of expression. </em></h5><h5><em>Implication : each individu have a same value and at the same time they also creative thinking for run the value.</em><em></em></h5><h5><em> </em></h5><p><strong><em>Keywords</em></strong><strong><em>: </em></strong><em>Eko Nugroho Art Class, Value Proposition</em></p>


2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 1167-1195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andres Ramirez-Portilla ◽  
Enrico Cagno ◽  
Terrence E. Brown

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence that adopting open innovation (OI) has on the innovativeness and performance of specialized small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This paper also examines the adoption of OI within a firm’s practices and models, and within the three dimensions of firm sustainability. Design/methodology/approach Survey data from 48 specialized SMEs manufacturing supercars were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. SmartPLS software was used to conduct a path analysis and test the proposed framework. Findings The findings suggest that high adoption of OI models tends to increase firm innovativeness. Similarly, the adoption of OI practices has a positive effect on innovativeness but to a lesser extent than OI models. The moderation results of innovativeness further show that OI models and practices can benefit the performance of SMEs. Specifically, two dimensions of performance – environmental and social performance – were found to be greatly influenced by OI. Research limitations/implications Due to parsimony in the investigated model, this study only focuses on OI adoption as practices and models without considering its drivers or other contingency factors. Practical implications This paper could help practitioners in SMEs better understand the benefits of adopting OI to be more innovative but also more sustainable. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature on the role of OI practices and models regarding the dimensions of firm sustainability performance by being the first paper to investigate this relationship in the context of small and medium manufacturers of supercars.


2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 25-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sayan Chatterjee ◽  
Venkat Narayanan ◽  
William Malek

Purpose This article describes an approach to strategy execution using lessons learned from improvement efforts to the sales incentive compensation (SIC) business processes and IT systems in Cisco Systems. Design/methodology/approach This case outlines an alternative approach to strategy execution–a COAR strategy map methodology– illustrated with lessons learned from efforts to improve the sales incentive compensation business processes and IT systems in Cisco Systems.” Findings By following a structured and systematic process, organizations can implement a process for strategy execution that is effective and repeatable. In executing strategy, stay focused on how to translate the decisions taken while defining business strategy into operations. As business strategy changes, elements of the strategy execution must change as well. Research limitations/implications This case is primarily a guide to strategy execution and is not meant to be a prescription for a cutting edge sales compensation plan. Practical implications Although the examples used in this article relate to SIC business processes, the lessons learned can be applied to strategy execution in general. Originality/value It is this “peek forward” into a virtual execution setting, and the opportunity to use it as a scenario-like tool to test alternatives, that increases the likelihood that managers will devise a stable and executable strategy.


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