Innovation in tennis: An overview of research

During the last decades the tennis ecosystem has been immersed in a gradual process of globalisation, professionalisation and commercialisation in an attempt to effectively respond to the increasing challenges of a rapidly evolving environment. This process has seen a number of innovations being applied in the sport. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of some of these practices as covered by both researchers and practitioners. It is concluded that research has mainly focused on technological innovations of tennis products created to increase the experience of the players. It is suggested that further studies should investigate service, policy and administrative innovations in the game.

EXPLORING INNOVATION MODES OF RUSSIAN INDUSTRIAL COMPANIES

In paper the empirical assessment of formation of innovative modes is presented to the industries. Relevance of research is caused by need of development of new tools of the analysis and stimulation of innovative development as industrial companies and national economy as a whole.Research objective – an assessment of the factors influencing innovative behavior of the company and allocation of innovative modes in the industry. Authors for the analysis of factors have used a method of the regression analysis of 627 Russian industrial companies given questioning, for allocation of innovative modes the clustering method is used with the help to – averages. In research factors are analysed: investments of the companies in researches and development, orientation to grocery and technological innovations, orientation to marketing innovations and creation of value, orientation to organizational and administrative innovations. Results of research show that in the Russian industrial sector it is possible to allocate innovative modes: “simulators”, “founders of valuable innovations”, “effective producers”, “technological innovators”, “radical innovators”. The “maturity levels” are developed for the allocated innovative modes depending on characteristics: opportunities the company independently to develop new products (services); improvement existing products, managements of researches and development, including coordination with external developers in network projects, strategic alliances, digital innovative platforms; generation and identification of new ideas; implementation of selection of ideas on the basis of the principles of compliance of strategy and their further development; identifications of new enterprise opportunities (studying of changes of environment and branch market, assessment of influence and identification of threats); providing a susceptibility to new technologies, a transfer of technologies; ensuring rationalization of system of production and management and commercial processes; improvement of operating technological processes; commercial use of objects of intellectual property. It is shown that the companies of higher level of an innovative mode make a bigger contribution to gross domestic product, create more workplaces and provide higher level of a salary, therefore development of the mechanism of stimulation of transition of the companies to more advanced level of an innovative mode is necessary.

An Exploratory Study of Types of Innovation in US Foundations

While foundations contribute in significant ways to the United States’ social, economic, and political life, they are experiencing increasing demands placed upon them by their own sector and need to respond to the major changes in their external environment. In order to create breakthrough solutions to long-standing problems, foundations have to become more innovative and seek to experiment and find new approaches. Unfortunately, innovation discourse within foundations has received little attention. This paper fills the gap in the literature as it describes the results of a study that explored different types of innovations implemented in foundations. More specifically, staff members of 17 US foundations that are known for supporting innovation in nonprofit organizations, were asked to describe programmatic and administrative innovations implemented in their own foundations. The results showed that foundations that support innovation are in fact innovative themselves. They implemented numerous innovations in programmatic and administrative, financial, and structural areas. This paper provides a rich description of a broad range of innovations implemented within each of those areas. The contribution of this study and insights are significant at this particular time when foundations’ roles and impact on social change are questioned. The results can enrich our discussion of where foundations can go from here in terms of becoming innovative themselves in order to be able to support and enhance innovation in the nonprofit sector.

Relación entre estrategias de negocios y características organizacionales con los tipos de innovación: aplicación en empresas de servicios

Various authors maintain that innovation practices depend on business strategies, therefore companies must configure an organizational structure that facilitates the coordination of tasks and allows objectives to be reached. In a sample of 203 service companies, an analysis was carried out of the influence of business strategies and organizational characteristics on technical innovation and administrative innovation. The results indicate that there is an important relationship between the business strategy and the technical and administrative innovations. On the other hand, organizational characteristics only had a significant relationship with technical innovation but not with the administrative innovation.

Knowledge management and the competitiveness of small construction firms

Purpose This paper aims to discuss the mediating effects of innovation on the relationship between knowledge management and firm competitiveness. Design/methodology/approach A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from small construction firms in the Eastern Region of Peninsular Malaysia. Out of the 190 construction firms surveyed, 153 (80.5%) respondents returned their completed questionnaire. These were used for data analysis. The data were then analyzed using the covariance-based structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings Knowledge management had a direct and significant positive effect on firm competitiveness. Nonetheless, the effect of knowledge management on firm competitiveness was mediated by innovation. This indicates that knowledge management should be supported by technical and administrative innovations in the firm. Research limitations/implications The data collected were from a limited sample of construction firms. In addition, conducting a study on a region of Malaysia may limit the generalizability of the model. Practical implications While knowledge management is crucial for a firm’s competitiveness, technical and administrative innovations must be concurrently improved for a stronger firm competitiveness. This is especially true in terms of financial strength and core competence. Originality/value This paper provides some empirical evidence that technical and administrative innovations fully mediated the relationship between knowledge management and firm competitiveness. The results consolidate the resource-based view on the importance of internal resource and capability of the firm and improve KM research area. It also strengthens the view that KM is a critical factor for firm competitiveness, but a good KM without strong innovation will not increase the competitiveness of small construction firms.

Administrative Innovations as Necessary Condition of Competitiveness in Schools

In the present-day education environment, requiring managerial flexibility in assessing ongoing changes, innovation becomes a prerequisite for effective management, and professional and psychological readiness of managers to apply management innovation – an indicator of managerial potential. Management innovation is today the “bottleneck” of educational management theory and practice. There are no theoretical models that are directly related to managerial innovation; technological innovations take priority in the practice of educational management; incorrect interpretation of innovations blunts their effectiveness. The school's competitive advantage today is not determined primarily by capital accumulation, but by the ability of management to initiate, appreciate and use changes, to learn faster than the rest from the experience of the changes. New theories of growth emphasize that it is the development of innovations that is an engine of sustainable educational growth. These circumstances determine management innovations as the domain that is the most in-demand for the development of education under the conditions of today.

Pengaruh Strategi Kompetitif Terhadap Inovasi Perusahaan Yang Bergerak Di Industri Kertas

This study aims to analyzing the influence of competitive strategies (cost leadership, differentiation and focusz) on corporate innovation (product, process and administrative innovations) in paper industry. The population in this study were employees of PT. X and PT. Y. The sampling method used was probability sampling and was determined to be 86 respondents of both firms. The analytical method used in this study is the analysis of the Stuctural Equation Model (SEM) with the AMOS program. The results showed that 1) Cost Leadership, Differentiation, Focus proved to have a significant positive effect on Product Innovation, 2) Cost Leadership, Differentiation, Focus proved to have a significant positive effect on Process Innovation, 3) Cost Leadership, Differentiation, Focus proved to have a significant positive effect on Administrative Innovation. For this reason, companies are expected to continue to innovate to increase customer satisfaction by paying attention to their competitive advantages such as maintaining cost advantages, maintaining strong brand identification and focusing on achieving competitive advantage.

The performance implications of the UNE 166.000 standardised innovation management system

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effects of implementing a standardised innovation management system (SIMS) in accordance with the Spanish UNE 166.000 standard on technological and administrative innovations and company performance. Design/methodology/approach Structural equation modelling was used to test the research hypotheses with a sample of 200 manufacturing companies. Findings The results obtained show that implementing the SIMS promotes all types of innovations and their results. In addition, a positive relationship is found between administrative and technological innovation. Research limitations/implications The results of this paper show the importance of innovation management systems for the effective development of innovation processes. Despite the limitations that may arise from differences between the measurements and actual implementation, the application of a system of standard-based innovation management encourages the development of different types of innovation. Practical implications The research validates the use of standardisation for the development of innovation as a useful tool for the management of innovation in the company. The UNE 166.000 standard provides a guide for those companies that intend to develop more effectively administrative and technological innovations. Originality/value This is the first known paper testing the implications of UNE 166.000 SIMS on both organisational innovation and performance in a sample of companies.