Competition and Innovation in Markets with Technology Leaders

In this article, we consider technology leaders (which are innovators) and technology followers (which are non-innovators) to provide a new theoretical explanation for the well-cited empirical evidence of an inverted-U relationship between competition and aggregate innovation. We consider a two-stage game with a deterministic Research and Development (R&D) process, where the leaders first determine their R&D investments simultaneously and then all leaders and followers determine their outputs simultaneously. We show that the inverted-U relationship between competition and aggregate innovation occurs if competition is affected by the number of technology followers. However, the presence of more technology leaders decreases individual R&D investments while increasing aggregate R&D investments. If the total number of firms remains the same but the composition of technology leaders and followers changes in favor of leaders (followers), individual R&D investments decrease (increase) but aggregate R&D investments increase (decrease). The relationship between competition and R&D investments can be U-shaped if the intensity of competition is measured by product substitutability. Contrary to the standard expectation, the presence of more firms may reduce welfare.

Energy Communities: How Tools Can Facilitate Their Enhancement

This workshop brought together a selection of H2020 EU-funded projects to offer an overview of different tools used for the optimization of local energy networks and demonstrate how to facilitate grid interaction from the perspective of technology leaders representing four H2020 projects. This session offered a unique opportunity to discuss different approaches and compare the frameworks, practices, and tools used by different energy communities.

NZ school librarians, technology leaders?

<p>The purpose of this qualitative research study is to examine what role and views New Zealand school librarians currently have within their schools as technology leaders. At a time of technological developments in education, with both access to and implementation of ICT within school curriculums, what aids and hinders school librarian’s position as a technology manager? A variety of Auckland secondary schools were approached requesting a 30-60 minute interview with one of their librarians. Of the ones that agreed eight semi-structured interviews took place. The librarians were asked 14 open ended questions, some which were investigated further when necessary, and their answers were recorded, transcribed and results were drawn from their information. My results found that the majority of librarians felt well supported by their colleagues. Each school, had its own distinct hierarchy that effected the way librarians conducted their jobs and the place they had. Most librarians felt that their role was not meant to be a “technology leader” per-say, but rather someone that would incorporate it within the library to make the library a useful resource. Some schools had specific positions for their librarians to partake in technology leadership. This made the library more of an ICT focus for the school. Overall the librarians all had a variety of experiences, mostly stemming from the hierarchical dynamics within the schools and their own education in the library field. The implication for schools and their librarians, from this research may aid in considering the hierarchical set up their school currently has, how librarians view their role and what is a ‘norm’ versus alternative ideas. I think the discovery also reveals the various attitudes towards technology. This research may also increase awareness of the possible roles for school librarians in the future.</p>

NZ school librarians, technology leaders?

<p>The purpose of this qualitative research study is to examine what role and views New Zealand school librarians currently have within their schools as technology leaders. At a time of technological developments in education, with both access to and implementation of ICT within school curriculums, what aids and hinders school librarian’s position as a technology manager? A variety of Auckland secondary schools were approached requesting a 30-60 minute interview with one of their librarians. Of the ones that agreed eight semi-structured interviews took place. The librarians were asked 14 open ended questions, some which were investigated further when necessary, and their answers were recorded, transcribed and results were drawn from their information. My results found that the majority of librarians felt well supported by their colleagues. Each school, had its own distinct hierarchy that effected the way librarians conducted their jobs and the place they had. Most librarians felt that their role was not meant to be a “technology leader” per-say, but rather someone that would incorporate it within the library to make the library a useful resource. Some schools had specific positions for their librarians to partake in technology leadership. This made the library more of an ICT focus for the school. Overall the librarians all had a variety of experiences, mostly stemming from the hierarchical dynamics within the schools and their own education in the library field. The implication for schools and their librarians, from this research may aid in considering the hierarchical set up their school currently has, how librarians view their role and what is a ‘norm’ versus alternative ideas. I think the discovery also reveals the various attitudes towards technology. This research may also increase awareness of the possible roles for school librarians in the future.</p>

A Survey on the Application of Enterprise Architecture in Healthcare Systems

Enterprise architecture (EA) has been present in scientific literature since the 1980s and has branched out into several research fields. EA delivers value by presenting business and information technology leaders with recommendations for adjusting policies to achieve business goals. Although there are many works on the EA application in healthcare systems, the literature lacks studies that provide a systematic approach to this topic. This work presents a broad systematic literature review (SLR) to select studies demonstrating current EA practices in healthcare systems. The researchers established an SLR protocol returning 280 primary studies after the first step of the data selection and a consolidated inclusion of 46 articles after the second step. They assessed the level of disagreement during the team's evaluations using Cohen's Kappa. This SLR revealed essential aspects of state-of-the-art EA application in healthcare systems, such as the challenges, positive impacts, and critical success factors described by the studies' authors based on empirical approaches.

The future of work: how HR drives digital transformation in the new normal

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to shed light on how organisations can leverage digital transformation by discussing the importance of having a zero-trust approach when it comes to security. This is something that is imperative, and so this paper aims to provide advice on how organisations can keep their networks and systems safe from cyberattacks and opportunistic cybercriminals. Design/methodology/approach This paper is a thought leadership piece and draws on Tata Consultancy Services (TCS’) COVID-19 Business Impact Survey, which surveys nearly 300 executives on how they are planning and managing the near and long-term impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Those surveyed represented mostly large companies across 11 countries in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Moreover, 63% of these companies had an annual revenue of over $5bn. Findings The findings from the survey revealed that most organisations lack digital capabilities, and the coronavirus pandemic is exposing these weaknesses. It found that companies with essential digital capabilities (“leaders”) have held up better during the pandemic than those without (“followers). Moreover, the survey demonstrated that there is a significant lack of clarity on how to strategically move on multiple digital fronts cost-effectively. Originality/value As TCS is a global leader in information technology services, consulting and business solutions, this paper provides value to senior business and technology leaders in organisations that hold influence over the company’s security strategies. By focussing on zero trust, this paper recommends how such leaders can rethink and reassess their business strategy to thrive in a post-pandemic world.