Innovation and Patenting within Containerized Liner Shipping

Increasingly, in many industries, companies commercialize their technology and innovations through patenting to gain an edge over competition. Within the maritime sector, while literature on innovation is expanding, issues related to the importance of intangible assets, such as patenting, for the participant firms of the industry remain unaddressed. Utilizing innovational frameworks and patent data withdrawn from European Patent Organization’s (EPO’s) database, the aim of this paper is to investigate the innovative level, in terms of patents granted, of incumbent market actors in liner shipping. Apart from patent counts, this exercise sheds light on the areas to which these patents apply, providing a classification while also investigating additional attributes which relate to patent citations, investors and applicants. Although results indicate a varying degree of utilization of the patenting system amongst liner carriers, they nonetheless affirm to some extent that knowledge creation is a valuable tool in the arsenal of some liner carriers, and that patenting is one of the various means utilized to enhance their market position and achieve a sustained competitive advantage. In addition, findings suggest that liner carriers’ innovative efforts have, based on the forward citations received, some significance, while they focus primarily the development of patented technologies which enhance the operational efficiency of their vessels. In this respect, the investigation undertaken sheds some light and provides a novel perspective on understanding the behaviour and innovative propensity of liner shipping companies.

How does successive inpatriation contribute to subsidiary capability building and subsidiary evolution? An organizational knowledge creation perspective

Intra-company knowledge transfer is a key source of competitive advantage for multinational companies (MNCs) and this knowledge is usually embedded in individuals. Drawing on organizational knowledge creation theory, we explore how inpatriation contributes to knowledge transfer and, in turn, subsidiary performance. Inpatriation involves the international assignment of employees from an MNC’s foreign subsidiary to its headquarters. Despite increasing attention to the role of inpatriation, we lack a clear understanding of whether and how inpatriates provide value to their subsidiaries after returning from headquarters. Through a qualitative case study of Japanese MNCs, we demonstrate the process through which inpatriates’ knowledge transfer contributes to subsidiary capability building and subsidiary evolution over time, and explain why successive inpatriation is thus critical to enhance subsidiary performance. Our theoretical model highlights the value of inpatriates as knowledge agents, reveals the process through which inpatriates transfer knowledge between HQ and subsidiaries, and provides a more nuanced understanding of the micro-foundations of intra-MNC knowledge transfer processes. Based on these findings, we argue that inpatriation is not merely a staffing method that is complementary to expatriation, but a key practice in its own right to support subsidiaries’ growth and performance.

Mediation role of service innovation in the effects of knowledge creation on marketing performance of restaurant

This work explores the effect of knowledge creation on service innovation and marketing performance among restaurants within the Kumasi Metropolis. A total of 200 restaurants were sampled for this work. The study adopted the use of questionnaire as the main data collection instrument to obtain the study responses. The information obtained from the structured questionnaire was analyzed using the multiple linear regression technique for analyzing mediation effects to arrive at the study results. The findings of the study indicate that there is a positive relationship between knowledge creation and service innovation. It was also found that service innovation has positive and significant effect on marketing performance. Furthermore, the study findings revealed that service innovation mediates the relationship between knowledge creation and marketing performance of restaurants. Based on the results, it was recommended that management invest in the creation of knowledge as this will drive innovativeness in the organization and subsequently lead to a higher marketing performance. The paper significantly discusses the body of knowledge concerning the effect of knowledge creation, service innovation and marketing performance in the restaurant context.

Adopting the Concept of ‘Ba' and the ‘SECI' Model in Developing Person-Centered Practices in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services

The concept of knowledge is divided into explicit and tacit knowledge; explicit knowledge refers to the knowledge that can be articulated, written and stored, while tacit knowledge refers to personal experiences, values, beliefs and emotions of an individual. By Nonaka's theory, explicit and tacit knowledge do not lie separately but interact together by interactions and relationships between human beings. Thus, the SECI model is based on the assumption that knowledge is created through the social interaction of tacit and explicit knowledge; known as knowledge conversion. The SECI model is based upon four modes of knowledge conversion; socialization, externalization, combination and internalization. 'Ba' is considered to be a shared platform for knowledge creation. 'Ba' is a shared space, be it physical, mental or a combination of both that serves as a foundation of knowledge creation. Ba involves sharing of tacit knowledge i.e. emotions, feelings, experiences and mental images. It also involves the formation of a collective relationship which is open to the sharing of practices, values, processes and culture. This concept focuses mainly on the individual as a person who holds the knowledge rather than just on the knowledge itself. It aims to create a common space to bring people together where they can dialogue to share and create knowledge. As in the relationships formed in person-centered practices, relationships formed in Ba are based on not just the sharing of objective knowledge but also on sharing values, beliefs, and emotions. It also reflects the formation of a person-centered environment as a basis for person-centered research where healthful relationships with the participants are formed. Furthermore, Ba will aid in creating a sense of connectiveness and dialogue, thus focusing on the idea that the development of new practices is done with others rather than to others. In this article we will discuss how these Eastern concepts can be adapted and used to develop person-centered practices within child and adolescent mental health services, specifically related to rehabilitation and recovery. The concepts of personhood will be discussed, followed by a reflection on current practices adopted when working with children and adolescents.

Islam, Modernity and the Concept of Progress (Islam, Pemodenan dan Konsep Kemajuan)

This paper aims to review definitions and scope of modernity and analyze it in the context of a specific religion, Islam. The paper then highlights the harmony between progress and Islam based on the historical examples from the glorious eras of Islamic civilization in Andalusia and the Abbasid caliphate, in which modernity and religion were complementary in producing the novel innovations of that time. Knowledge creation and technological advancements were strongly pursued during that time by numerous renowned Muslim scholars, intellectuals and philosophers. This paper then examines the current situation in the Muslim world. The majority of Muslim nations are backward, impoverished and stagnant due to rigidity and restrictions in political and intellectual freedom, in addition to gender inequality and discrimination. As the paper finds, these unprecedented qualities are not a part of Islamic teachings, but the consequential effect of post colonialism and the politicization of religion by certain squatters using Islam for political interests and purposes. Keywords: Modernity, Islam, Islamic Civilization and innovations, Muslim Spain, Abbasid Caliphate, Modernity today, Islam and modernity. Abstrak Penulisan ini bertujuan untuk mengulas definisi, dan skop kemodenan seta menganalisa hubungan antara modernisasi dengan agama iaitu, Islam. Terbukti pemodenan boleh wujud dengan keharmonian antara kemajuan dan Islam itu sendiri dengan mengaplikasikan contoh sejarah daripada zaman kegemilangan tamadun Islam seperti di Andalusia dan Abbasiyah dimana pemodenan dan agama saling berkait rapat antara satu sama lain untuk menghasilkan inovasi yang terbaik pada waktu itu. Penciptaan ilmu pengetahuan dan kemajuan teknologi tercetus dengan kelahiran ulama, ahli intelek dan ahli falsafah Muslim. Selain itu, bahagian berikut bagi penulisan ini mengkaji situasi masa kini di dunia Islam dimana majoriti negara Islam dikatakan mundur, dibelenggu kemiskinan dan berfikiran jumud disebabkan ketegasan dan pembatasan didalam kebebasan berpolitik dan intelek, kesaksamaan jantina dan diskriminasi. Penulisan ini menemui, sifat sifat negatif tersebut tercetus bukan berdasarkan daripada ajaran Islam, tetapi kesan daripada pasca penjajahan dan pempolitikan berlandaskan agama daripada puak tertentu yang menggunakan Islam atas tujuan kepentingan politik. Kata Kunci: Pemodenan, Islam, Tamadun Islam dan inovasi, Muslim Sepanyol, Khalifah Abbasiyah, Kemodenan hari ini, Islam dan pemodenan.

New light on the role of instruments in exploration during the 1830 s

This paper sets out a new interpretation of the agency of scientific instruments in the field. It uses Actor Network Theory as a conceptual framework, which invokes the concept of non-human agency, meaning that scientific instruments can affect outcomes and processes. It argues that the instruments taken on expeditions by travellers on behalf of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) had agency in knowledge creation simply by being present. Having bequeathed the instruments, the RGS had sanctioned the expedition, and knowledge had to result regardless of whether the instruments had been utilized as intended. The paper builds on the work of historians on the morality of precision, but, by engaging in a detailed comparison of rhetoric and action in two case studies, it suggests a different approach. Observing the strategies of the RGS for knowledge creation in varying circumstances, it argues that the instruments had agency owing to their embedded resource rather than their tangible numerical outputs. The instruments did not always work as mediators between humans and natural phenomena, as the human actants were not able to exploit them as such. Nevertheless, they had agency in knowledge creation as their presence ensured success. The paper is based on published and unpublished material, the latter in the RGS–Institute of British Geographers archives.