scholarly journals The social dynamics of heterogeneous innovation ecosystems

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 184797901772161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan-Peter Ferdinand ◽  
Uli Meyer

In this article, we develop a programmatic notion of innovation ecosystems, which emphasizes the analysis of different forms of distributed innovation without reducing the perspective to the role of a focal organization. It highlights relationships between communities and corporate firms as nexus for distributed innovation and elaborates how different facets of openness shape the dynamic of the ecosystem. Thus, our model allows for the analysis and comparison of a broad scope of constellations, their particular coordinating mechanisms as well as related advantages and disadvantages. We apply this framework to two specific cases of distributed innovation, the RepRap 3D printer and the ARA modular smartphone, in order to delineate how differences in the forms of openness affect the prevalent relationships between communities and firms as well as the constituting functions of their particular innovation ecosystem.

Africa ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Padrão Temudo

This article aims at contributing to our understanding of violence and warfare in contemporary West Africa by adopting a bi-focal analysis that looks both at power struggles within the urban elite and at the grassroots multi-ethnic setting in southern Guinea-Bissau. I pay close attention to the social dynamics of rural peoples' perspectives, coping strategies and inter-ethnic conflicts. Local conflicts are elucidated as an ongoing process that traverses times of war and peace. Although they are subject to manipulation by urban actors, local conflicts are also a matter of continuous negotiation and partial consensus at the grassroots. In stark contrast to this, the struggles in the ruling group are characterized by an escalating spiral of factionalism, diminishing compromises and elimination of rivals. By analysing the relationship between urban and rural actors and the role of cosmology, the article also aims to shed new light on the multiple shapes patron–client relations can assume in Africa.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-94
Author(s):  
Reza Abedi ◽  
Fatemeh Daneshvar Muhammadzadegan ◽  
Roqayyeh Sadat Hosseini Kerman ◽  
Fatemeh Miri Kolah Kaj

With an ever-increasing development of internet communications, human reactions have interred a new phase. The results of these communications are a most significant matter considered by the sociologists. Using the internet is developing and forms a significant part of individuals` lives. The advantages and disadvantages of this easiness in communicating and traveling through boundaries should be considered. Breaking the norms happened in the light of these reactions should be discussed, also increasing in awareness and availability to information, joining to global information networks and communication is another face of this placeless and timelessness. This contrasting face challenges the position of cyber space in the social communications, a challenge of which there is no escape by the society. In this research it is an attempt to criticize this challenge through criticizing the position of internet and to consider the role of social networks. We suppose that it is not possible to neglect the advantages of virtual space in developing a new level of human occasions but via this method lack of proper awareness in principle using of it results in some problems which should be covered by a proper training and comprehensive informing. Online spaces penetrate in human`s life in an extended way and it is a good opportunity to have good use from social networks as the basic condition. The results of this presence form reaction in individuals which will be considered in the present study.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 557-579
Author(s):  
Robert C. Ford ◽  
Keenan D. Yoho

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to illustrate, through the example of the Springfield Armory and its role in the development of interchangeable parts, the critical role of government in establishing a cluster of organizations that evolved into an innovation ecosystem primarily located in the Connecticut River Valley in the 1800s. Using the Springfield Armory example, we use the related but largely unjoined concepts of ecosystem and networks to show that these organizational forms are effective in driving innovation. Design/methodology/approach The design uses an in-depth analysis of the role of the Springfield Armory to explicate the joining of network and ecosystem theory as an early example of the importance of governmental funding and support for innovation. Findings The development of interchangeable parts in the American arms industry in the 19th century transformed manufacturing worldwide. At the heart of this transformation was the network of arms makers that developed in the Connecticut River Valley as a direct result of US Government investment and support. This network of arms makers evolved into an ecosystem of mutually reinforcing relationships as machine tool manufacturers benefited from an environment of free-flowing intellectual property, information and growing governmental demand for arms. The Armory illustrates the government’s role in initiating and sustaining clusters of innovation that otherwise might not have developed as quickly. Originality/value Much of the research on the role of government in creating innovation ecosystems and organizational networks is based on modern organizations. This use of the Springfield Armory in the early 1800s broadens the knowledge on how innovation ecosystems in conjunction with networked organizations can be created by governments serving the public good.


Author(s):  
Ellie R. Schainker

Chapter 3 explores the social dynamics of religious toleration and the confessional state from below by examining the spaces of Jewish conversion. The chapter presents a range of conversion narratives which locate interfaith encounters at the local tavern as the springboard for migrating to a different confessional community. It analyzes daily social interactions among Jewish and neighboring Polish, Lithuanian, Belorussian, and Ukrainian communities, and how these encounters nurtured intimate knowledge of other confessional lifestyles, facilitated interfaith relationships, and provided access to the personnel and institutions of other faiths. By taking a geographical approach, the chapter presents the western provincial towns and villages of imperial Russia as interreligious zones wherein conversion was predicated on interconfessional networks, sociability, and a personal familiarity with Christianity via its adherents. In exploring forms of encounter, the chapter highlights the role of the local godparent—often local elites or civil/military personnel—in facilitating confessional transfers.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maribel Guerrero ◽  
Carlos A. Santamaría-Velasco ◽  
Raj Mahto

PurposeThe authors propose a theoretical basis for understanding the role of ecosystem intermediaries in the configuration of social entrepreneurship identities in social purpose organisations (SPOs) and their business model innovations (BMIs).Design/methodology/approachAdopting a retrospective multiple-case study, the authors offer insights into the paths/elements that determine the building of 44 social entrepreneurship identities in the context of an emerging economy (Mexico).FindingsThe study sheds light on the role of intermediaries in the configuration of the entrepreneurial identities of Mexican SPOs and BMIs, as well as several externalities generated during the process of capturing the social and economic value, especially when social innovations are focussed on solving societal, economic and ecological social problems.Research limitations/implicationsThe first limitation is related to the analysis of intermediaries within the social entrepreneurship ecosystem, which needs more conceptual and empirical evidence. The second limitation is that the analysis focussed only on intervened SPOs, as the authors did not control for non-intervened SPOs. Thus, this allows for future in-depth analysis of intermediary efficiency in a focus group (intervened SPOs) and a control group (non-intervened SPOs).Practical implicationsThe study also provides insights for Mexican SPOs on how a social entrepreneurship identity helps to capture the value creation of social innovations within an innovation ecosystem. Indeed, it is strongly aligned with the United Nations' Social Development Goals.Originality/valueThe study enhances the discussion about how intermediaries could encourage social entrepreneurial identity, as well as how intermediary intervention could facilitate the design and implementation of BMIs in the innovation ecosystem.


Bankarstvo ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 109-139
Author(s):  
Vesna Martin

Central Bank digital currencies are a digital challenge to the international monetary and financial system. Since the development of cryptocurrency, such as bitcoin, the modern world has faced the possibility of digital technological transformation and providing a digital form of payment for the economy and the household. In addition, the announcement of a digital currency that would have a global reach, such as the Libre issued by the social network Facebook, raised questions about legal and regulatory safeguards, financial stability, and the role of the digital currency in society. All this influenced the leading central banks to recognize the need to conduct a detailed analysis of the possibilities of issuing digital currency of the central bank, which would be a supplement to the cash and non-cash form of payment. These analyzes include considering the advantages and disadvantages of that currency, determining its design and technological solution, as well as the necessary regulatory adjustments. In the coming period, we will witness a technological transformation in the operations of central banks, which, as before, should take care of preserving price and financial stability as its main goals, but also respond to new challenges of digital business.


2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jindrich Spicka

PurposeInnovation ecosystems face many environmental challenges. The literature review shows that innovation ecosystems accelerate innovation activity, but empirical studies have not provided enough case studies focusing on the minimum-waste business strategy as one aspect of the circular economy. Various forms of interaction between members occur in the innovation ecosystems, which determines the level of cooperation. This paper aims to show the structure and forms of cooperation in an innovation ecosystem using the Czech Hemp Cluster (CHC) and its surroundings and suggest research directions in the field of interaction between members in an innovation ecosystem. Although hemp is associated with the production and distribution of narcotics, it is a versatile plant supporting the minimum-waste business strategy.Design/methodology/approachThe research is based on a theoretical part of a literature review of major scientific articles on innovation ecosystems from 2016 to 2021. The case study of the CHC and the hemp ecosystem is based on qualitative research in the form of a content analysis of the mission of the cluster members. In addition to content analysis, the classic multidimensional scaling method and hierarchical cluster analysis were used to reveal ecological guilds.FindingsThe case study highlighted the specific relationship between the cluster and the ecosystem. The cluster does not determine the ecosystem boundaries, but the ecosystem is a much broader system of cooperation and interaction between organisations. Clusters emerge after an ecosystem has existed for a particular time to coordinate collaboration and information between organisations and stakeholders. The analysis of the CHC revealed the specific role of non-profit organisations (NPOs) in the innovation ecosystem. NPOs are not engaged in primary functions in the value chain, but they provide supporting activities through coordinated networking, disseminating information on innovation, awareness-raising and stakeholder education. Compared to natural ecosystems, innovation ecosystems are typically characterised by higher forms of collaboration between members.Research limitations/implicationsAn exciting opportunity for research on innovation ecosystems is the ecological guilds taken from natural ecosystems and whose identification can help define the boundaries of innovation ecosystems. An opportunity for further research is the comparison of NPO-based and government-based clusters playing a central role in developing innovation ecosystems. Regarding the problematic generalisability of the case study to the entire agricultural production, a challenge is a search for minimum-waste business models in agriculture characterised by the biological nature of production.Originality/valueTheoretical and empirical studies have not yet considered innovation ecosystems in the minimum-waste context to a sufficient extent. The paper builds on previous scholarly studies focusing on innovation ecosystems and, for the first time, discusses the role of NPOs in the innovation ecosystem. The CHC case study adds a suitable minimum-waste business model to the still very scarce literature on sustainable innovation ecosystems. The article discusses the purpose and forms of cooperation in an innovation ecosystem, identifies a complementarity of roles in the innovation cluster and describes the interrelationship between the cluster and the ecosystem. Discussion of the ecosystem leader in the cluster-based innovation ecosystem shows the differences between Czech, Polish and German life science ecosystems.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (05) ◽  
pp. 1640009
Author(s):  
Luca Gastaldi ◽  
Mariano Corso

Organizations are increasingly shifting from innovation initiatives centered on internal resources to initiatives centered on sharing resources, knowledge and expertise in ecosystems. In these settings, most innovation efforts have to be designed and accomplished at an interorganizational level to produce outcomes. Drawing on the experience of an applied research center in Italy, we explain why academics are in one of the best positions to orchestrate innovation ecosystems. Two main rationales support this key role. The first is associated with the fact that academics are in an independent position, which is neutral and represents a middle ground between the different organizations that share knowledge to ignite and sustain innovation at an ecosystem level. The second rationale is associated with the levels of compliance and complementarity that academics have with the main purposes for which knowledge within an innovation ecosystem is created and leveraged. Two design choices seem necessary to materialize the potential key orchestrator role of academics: (i) the extensive use of multiple approaches of collaborative research; (ii) the creation and maintenance of a knowledge platform allowing academics to progressively diffuse and leverage the ecosystem-based learning mechanisms underlying each innovation effort.


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-132
Author(s):  
Saghar Sadeghian

This article is about the struggles of a persecuted confessional minority in Qajar Iran. It shows that the massacre of the Bahāʾis in Isfahan in 1903 was representative of the ongoing power struggles in the city. Previous scholarship that has briefly explored these events has relied primarily on a handful of British diplomatic sources. Drawing on unexplored documents in British and Iranian archives, this article provides crucial details about the social dynamics on the ground and stresses the role of key actors involved in this episode in Iranian history. In the process, the article puts together the socio-economic contexts of the events in Isfahan, explains why the Bahāʾis sought foreign protection, and analyzes the attitudes of powerful local actors such as Zell al-Soltān and Āqā Najafi.


1995 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 367-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Stoller

AbstractThis article locates the first regime of Alfonso López Pumarejo (the Revolutión en marcha, 1934–8) within the social dynamics of Colombia's polarised party system, rather than the developmentalist and class dynamics that are frequently invoked. López's economic and political thought is shown to be far closer to the partisan and antistatist traditions of Colombian liberalism than is often assumed, and his rise to power is depicted as a victory of political strategy rather than class alliances. After surveying the role of the Acción Liberal group of intellectuals in the radicalisation of Liberal discourse, culminating in the constitutional reform of 1936, the article offers hypotheses about the transitory nature of López-era Liberal radicalism.


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