Self-Governance: Internationalization Management of Distinctive Higher Education Towards The World Class University

The purpose of this study is to describe the management of the internationalization process of higher education in the form of self-governance, strategic plans (vision, mission, and objectives), institutional management, curriculum and learning processes, and quality assurance. The research applied a qualitative approach. The scope of the research is limited to the policy/ legal framework for managing the internationalization of higher education at three Islamic universities in Yogyakarta, comprising the State Islamic University of Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, the Islamic University of Indonesia, and the Muhammadiyah University of Yogyakarta. The data collection was conducted through the techniques of; (1) participant observation, (2) in-depth interviews, and (3) document study. The data analyses used are (1) on-site data analysis and (2) cross-site data analysis. The results of the study showed that the process of self-governance towards higher education institutions with international competitiveness was divided into several stages, namely: determination of the vision, mission, and objectives; development of learning and curriculum which are equivalent to foreign universities; recruitment of foreign students and lecturers; and quality assurance that prioritizes technology, ISO standards, orientation changes, and overall quality assurance. The self-governance accommodates the rapid change and unpredictable education situation due to many factors such as technology, social changes, society health issue, and disruption advanced education in pandemic era. In the context of tertiary management, distinctive competences in the future need to be adapted to distinctive management courtesy. For example, the internalization of speech acts according to local culture is one of the characteristics that can improve the sustainability of higher education.

Knowledge, Competences and Competitive Advantage of the Green-Technology Companies in Poland

The article deals with the issue of competitive advantages based on the knowledge of Polish green-technology companies. It aims to identify the sources of knowledge and indicate companies’ competences in acquiring knowledge, which are believed to be the basis of their market success. Empirical research presented in this article was based on qualitative studies using in-depth interviews. The obtained results allowed to identify the most important sources of knowledge that can be structured into the following pillars: research and development works, knowledge on the competitors, customers and recipients, green technology domestic market, and foreign markets for green technologies. Moreover, it allowed to identify the competences of green-technology companies in Poland and describe the process of acquiring these competences. The analysis of the collected data and the obtained results allowed to create a model of acquiring new knowledge by green-technology companies in Poland, which serves as a basis for these companies to gain distinctive competences.

A Theoretical Framework for the Analysis of the Relationship Between Family Firms and Competitiveness

This chapter develops an additive model of the microeconomic sources of family firm (FF) competitiveness. Its main contribution is the proposal of a new explanatory framework with a perspective incorporating both ex post competitiveness and its determinants in a chain of multi-level causality. Based on fully-specified theory, the framework is designed to explain the complementarity of the effects of the firm's country, industry, district, strategy, and distinctive competences, focusing where appropriate on the case of the FF. The theoretical model also sheds light on the forces that influence the accumulation of sustainable competitive advantages. To that end, this chapter incorporates a particular focus on how the ownership and control structure affects the accumulation of intangible assets that give rise to the so-called family effect.

The Accumulation of Distinctive Competences in Family Firms

Taking as its basis the resource- and capability-based view of the firm, this study provides an in-depth exploration of the ability of the family tourism firm to accumulate and develop the distinctive competences that are key to its success. Specifically, the analysis centres on how the family tourism firm acquires distinctive competences through the development of managerial capabilities. Using structural equation modelling (SEM), the empirical analysis focuses on a sample of 1,019 Spanish tourism firms. The results of the study suggest that family businesses face certain problems in accumulating distinctive competences. Moreover, the study indicates that such problems are due in part to the difficulties of developing efficient managerial capabilities in this type of company, which is an obstacle to the accumulation and management of other distinctive competences.

Crowdsourcing, innovation and firm performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify whether firms that correctly use crowdfunding tools perform significantly better than firms that do not. For that purpose the authors develop a model that relates crowdfunding, innovation distinctive competences and its potential to create value in the firm. The authors want to know if crowdsourcing has more impact on Schumpeterian distinctive competences or continuous distinctive competences. Another aim is to create a new scale to measure the degree of crowdsourcing introduction in a firm. Design/methodology/approach – Within the knowledge intensive industries, the universe selected was the Chinese population of biotechnology and telecommunications industries. The information on the three variables was collected in a primary study, carried out by mail questionnaire. The questionnaire respondent was the manager of the firm. The measuring instrument was pre-tested in 30 firms, 15 from the biotechnology and 15 from the telecommunications industries. The fieldwork was undertaken between January and May 2013. The questionnaire was sent to all the firms making up the population. The sample finally included 393 firms (201 from the biotechnology industry and 192 from the telecommunications industry). Findings – Although the potential of crowdsourcing systems and its indirect relationship with firm performance is complex, the authors have showed that those firms who use these technologies to capture the knowledge of the customers and transform it in innovation competences can obtain a better performance. This result has important managerial implications. Biotechnology and telecommunications companies should use information systems in an efficient way to immediately satisfy constantly changeable customer desires and needs, since firms that are not able to generate this added value across their information and technology systems, risk being relegated to price competition. Firm information systems should be used strategically to develop a deep understanding of preferences and behaviors of its customers in order to foster loyalty and retention. One way to improve innovation competences in a firm is to introduce information technology applications oriented to capture the needs of the customers. Originality/value – This work is an interesting contribution to the literature in that it exacts a knowledge of the causal relationship between crowdsourcing and innovation. The implantation of crowdsourcing techniques is not able to directly improve firm performance, but it exerts an indirect influence by developing innovation distinctive competences. A firm will successfully introduce crowdsourcing if it is able to imbue their principles and practices with processes, routines and individuals, in order to increase its organizational memory and its ability to improve or create new products. The authors have created a new scale to measure the degree of crowdsourcing introduction in a firm. It meets all the sociometric properties required to social sciences.

Slices: what is next?

Subject area Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management. Study level/applicability This case is intended for teaching entrepreneurship and strategic management courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Case overview This is a field-researched real case about a growing food business started by local entrepreneurs in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Slices, a UAE-based organic food pioneer company is becoming popular in the UAE nowadays. The company was poised for growth as demand was exceeding all expectations. There were many challenges Slices had to face: increasing demand and brand awareness of Western Fast Food Giants; and what future skills Slices needed to develop to meet the regional and global challenges. Slices specializes in organic food, and they came up with different varieties in their menu every day. This, in turn, expanded the outlet greatly and they gained high revenues in a short period of time. Based on resource-based theory, Slices entrepreneurs have developed their business which is unique in terms of food with a flare of community service that involves offering healthy food to the customers and also a philanthropic attitude toward the poor. Slices is novel not only because they have more or better resources but also because of their distinctive competences (unique healthy food, community service and philanthropic attitude). Slices adopted a simple concept in which they sell their healthy food in a healthy atmosphere with delicious recipes that appeal to many different nationalities. But the challenges and hurdles are many which the company has to think of if they want to sustain in the long run. Faisal, Khalid, Hamad and Amina are wondering what their next step ought to be in light of the stiff competition. Do they have the dynamic capability to strategize? Do they have enough resources to expand locally and internationally? If yes, where and how? This case will enable the students to critically think in various facets and reach a decision based on the facts provided. Expected learning outcomes The case will help the students identify and evaluate the entrepreneurial strategy adopted by the company for start-up and future growth. This will also enable the students to critically think in various facets and reach a decision based on the facts provided. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email [email protected] to request teaching notes.

Knowledge Democracy as the New Mantra in Product Innovation

In this chapter we carry out a critical analysis of “knowledge democracy” as a new mantra or buzz-word in product innovation leadership. A new paradigm has revolutionized the traditional process of invention, which was previously associated with a hierarchical dissemination of new ideas and competitive hoarding of knowledge assets. This chapter contends that at this environment has been replaced by a collaboration economy (based on so-called “wikinomics”) in which democracy governs the process of knowledge creation and its strategic application. Leadership in product innovation does not rely on the innate internal qualities of organizations, but on the collaborative contribution of stakeholders in many of the activities that make up the NPD lifecycle. The authors suggest a new approach to mitigate factors that can otherwise reduce the value of the NPD process. The chapter then examines how to promote such open collaboration through the development of a new managerial mindset, the acquisition of new distinctive competences, the development of new organizational models, and the management of new collaborative technologies. The authors’ proposed framework of processes and competencies offers the potential for organizations to meet these needs.

Does Knowledge Management Improve Firm Performance? The Effect of Knowledge Distinctive Competences

In the resource-based view (RBV) approach, the knowledge border rests on the understanding of the distinctive competences creation and recreation process. Moreover, in spite of the importance of knowledge assets, how knowledge is generated in organizations is still an unknown factor. This research studies the effect of introducing knowledge management programs in the development of knowledge distinctive competences, as well as their capability to create economic rents. In addition, we established a conceptual delimitation of knowledge management as a directive system through a set of principles and practices, which is a theoretical innovation in this research line. The theoretical relationships we propose are tested in an empirical study carried out in 222 firms from the Spanish biotechnology and telecommunication sectors.