This book deals with both the understanding of, and the explanation of, knowledge about the causes, processes, and patterns of convergence innovation. It argues that the process of convergence innovation is a continuous disequilibrium between reference technology and its matching technology, adjusting the optimal balance between the functions of the two technologies. Contributors describe how convergence innovation is a learning process that requires both vertical and horizontal convergence, and case studies explore the different types of convergence innovation such as outside-in and inside-out. Convergence innovation has been taking place mainly by applying IT technologies to vast areas of conventional technologies, so that individuals or firms reap the benefits of the convergence between IT and conventional technologies. Such innovations are made possible by convergence, and they ultimately improve the welfare of human beings as companies solve diverse problems and increase employment. Examples in this book include biochemical companies in Indonesia, who were able to increase their market shares in bio-fertilizer and bio-pesticide products through bio-based technological convergence; and textile machinery firms in South Korea who have been survived by achieving convergence innovation on their core competences. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Asian Journal of Technology Innovation.

First published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The purpose of this book, first published in 1982, is to probe the nature of the state in India and the role played by it in the evolution of the social economy, particularly in the growth of industry. In fact, the problematic of the state and its relationship with socio-economic progression or regression is a dialectic process. What this book does is attempt to unravel this dialectic, by following the theory and method of Maxism.

Supply Chain Management and Cost Management are important developments helping companies to respond to increased global competition and demanding customer needs. Within the 23 chapters of the book, more than 35 authors provide insights into new concepts for cost control in supply chains. The frameworks presented are illustrated with case studies from the automotive, textile, white goods, and transportation industry as well as from retailing. Academics will benefit from the wide range of approaches presented, while practitioners will learn from the examples how their own company and the supply chains which they compete in, can be brought to lower costs and better performance.

The structure and regulation of consumption and demand has recently become of great interest to sociologists and economists alike, and at the same time there is growing interest in trying to understand the patterns and drivers of technological innovation. This book, newly available in paperback, brings together a range of sociologists and economists to study the role of demand and consumption in the innovative process. The book starts with a broad conceptual overview of ways that the sociological and economics literatures address issues of innovation, demand and consumption. It goes on to offer different approaches to the economics of demand and innovation through an evolutionary framework, before reviewing how consumption fits into evolutionary models of economic development. Food consumption is then looked at as an example of innovation by demand, including an examination of the dynamic nature of socially-constituted consumption routines. The book includes a number of illuminating case studies, including an analysis of how black Americans use consumption to express collective identity, and a number of demand-innovation relationships within matrices or chains of producers and users or other actors, including service industries such as security, and the environmental performance of companies. The involvement of consumers in innovation is looked at, including an analysis of how consumer needs may be incorporated in the design of high-tech products. The final chapter argues for the need to build an economic sociology of demand that goes from micro-individual through to macro-structural features. This book is relevant to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 9, Industry, innovation and infrastructure -- .

This book examines Soviet agriculture in post-1945 Hungary. It demonstrates how the agrarian lobby, a development following the 1956 revolution, led to contact with the West which allowed for the creation of an effective agricultural system. The author argues that this 'Hungarian agricultural miracle,' a hybrid of American technology and Soviet structures, was fundamental to the success of Hungarian collectivization.

What does luxury value mean? What constitutes luxury, and what does not? While previous research has focused on luxury as a global business and how companies have generated, communicated and monetized luxury, this book draws on empirical research to examine how consumers understand and interact with it. It identifies the components of luxury value, as seen by consumers, and the most influential factors that shape these perceptions. Drawing on a range of disciplinary approaches, the author investigates how consumer segments differ in their perception of luxury products, and how different generations understand value. A comprehensive overview of consumer perceptions of luxury, this book is a must-read for those students and researchers interested in luxury studies.

This study examines how Puerto Rico's industrial development process has shaped and been shaped by the state, relations with Washington, and Puerto Rican society, especially in light of the economic crises of the 1970s and 1980s. Sherrie Baver posits that Puerto Rico's extreme integration into the U.S. political economy was an unintended consequence of the development model, and that its result has been a state whose tasks, such as securing an environment for private capital accumulation and income redistribution, have become increasingly regulated by the federal government, challenging Puerto Rico's commonwealth status. Recommended for scholars of Latin American Politics and Third World Development.

This book describes why, for the past twenty-five years, Japanese productivity has been growing more rapidly than productivity in the U.S. Unlike other books on the subject of the Japanese success in manufacturing, it looks at what actually happens in factories. The author brings his experience of working at the Yanagicho Works of the Toshiba Corporation, in Kawasaki City. Like so many Japanese factories, this one is highly productive, efficient, and flexible. While the factory is ordinary looking on the outside, its workers are anything but ordinary as they constantly strive to improve the way they work and the quality of the products they produce. The key to this is the continuous creation and application of knowledge throughout the factory, from workers on the shop floor, to research and development engineers, to top management. Fruin explains how Japanese culture and religion prepare workers for their role in this process of creating and disseminating knowledge.

Major changes are taking place in the Chinese countryside as China rushes to modernizes and urbanizes its rural fabric. The transformation is improving the quality of life of rural inhabitants, but also brings about challenges as people strive to adjust. This book systematically examines the impact of change on the daily lives and activities of the residents of Sichuan Province, in China's South-west. It examines the themes of infrastructure, transport modes and preferences, sanitation, water conservation, earthquake and flood disaster preparedness, and the impact these have on villager behavior and quality of life. This book is an essential reference guide for graduate students and practitioners in the fields of rural planning, renewal, and construction.

This book is a definitive collection of Keith Pavitt's seminal articles in the analysis of technology and innovation. He presents realistic, empirical accounts of the economic impact of technological change on firms, emphasising the cognitive dimensions of technical change. The theme throughout is that technological knowledge remains largely tacit, and the transformation of advances in knowledge is complex, uncertain and requires continuous learning.The book explores the appropriate location of innovative activities, the size structure of innovating firms, the implications of technological trajectories for corporate strategies and organization, the influence of national systems of innovation on corporate behaviour and the usefulness of publicly funded research. The conclusions drawn challenge established theories, policies and practices. Technology, Management and Systems of Innovation will prove invaluable to students and scholars of both the economics and management of evolutionary technical change.

This book examines the uneven economy in Asia, showing how the pace of economic transformation affects prosperity and the emerging middle class. Using the Lewis turning point and the long run cycle of the rise and fall of nations as a framework, it demonstrates how demographic trends, digitization rates and consumer preferences creates business opportunities in a disruptive and uncertain world. This includes moves toward promoting Eurasian integration, restructuring of state-owned enterprises, green economy, and the digital economies - ecommerce, fintech and sharing economy. Vanity capital, longevity and leisure economies are also discussed. The author explains what drives creative disruption, technical innovation and their effect on manufacturing, consumers, businesses, and sustainability. It is essential reading for students, academics, executives, and business persons wanting in-depth coverage of the economic landscape in Asia.

The 2008 global financial crisis, together with the experience of de-industrialization across Western Europe over the last three decades, has focussed attention on financial regulation and industrial policy. Industry and finance policies have largely been discussed separately, and this book argues that the two should be considered together, in both analysis and policy formulation that deals with critical questions of how finance has intervened in industrial restructuring and how it might better serve the real economy. Moreover, policy debates have paid relatively little attention to the heterogeneous economic structures and growth trajectories of European economies, and the interconnectedness and interdependencies of growth paths that present specific challenges to policy and highlight the need for cooperation across the region. This book brings together leading scholars and policy makers to contribute to policy debates in three ways. First, it includes current discussions of banking policy, regulation, and reform to reassert the need for financial institutions that will back up and finance an industrial policy to revive the European economy. Second, it reviews the role of industrial and investment policy in supporting innovation, creating jobs, and generating sustainable economic growth. Third, it advances alternative policy proposals aimed at generating sustainable economic growth and employment in Europe. Part I analyses the nature of growth, industrial, and economic restructuring in relation to finance in the lead up to the crisis, at regional, national, and sector levels. Part II presents alternative and progressive policy proposals for growth and employment in Europe in light of the analysis presented in Part I.

This book investigates the effects of organizational contexts on the process of technological innovation. It analyses the internal organization of the firm as well as external influences, and examines how these factors affect a firm's innovative potential. The organization of the firm, it is argued, is intrinsic to the innovation process itself. The authors consider new concepts of the theory of the firm, look at evolutionary economics and concepts of innovation within this school of thought, and analyse national and sectoral systems of innovation. They discuss firm-specific knowledge and organization, and its effects on innovative opportunities. In addition, they pay special attention to a firm's ability to innovate in relation to incentives, and the sources of technology available to them. From this they conclude that organizational factors are primary features of the process of technical change. Included in the discussion are examinations of: * networks of collaborating firms in R&D activity * 'technology foresight' and the direction of future innovative activity in industrial sectors * the relationship between business units and corporate parents * government and regulatory agencies * the role of capital, and short termism in financial markets * the relationship between suppliers and customers Technological Change and Organization will be of welcomed by those interested in technological change and innovation, institutional and evolutionary economics, as well as to microeconomists interested in the theory of the firm and industrial organization.

Leaders can shape an organisation through their behaviours and their vision. If an organisation lacks a clear vision or there is disengagement by the leadership team, then the results can be disastrous. In such circumstances change is needed. When change is needed, the value of safety can become a change agent. From the disciplines of leadership and safety comes the emerging topic of safety leadership. Through safety leadership, workplace challenges can be rectified and the desired behaviours reinforced. These challenges can span from a lack of leadership engagement, poor safety performance, complacency or lack of safety ownership. Understanding how safety leadership differs from other leadership theories can give you a competitive edge which is not solely based upon financial quotas, but instead based upon the moral code of ensuring the health and well-being of your employees. This book goes beyond mere safety slogans or anecdotal stories that relate to safety leadership. Instead an empirical and research-based approach will be shared which can help improve the overall culture of an organisation as well as the safety of employees. Tools, case studies, theories and practical applications will be shared which can help create the blueprint for organisational change that you seek. Even when things are working well, constant innovation and adoption of best practices can help companies go from good to great and leave a lasting legacy for employees and customers alike. Detailing the mechanics of safety leadership, this book will drive the change and results you want.

Leaders can shape an organisation through their behaviours and their vision. If an organisation lacks a clear vision or there is disengagement by the leadership team, then the results can be disastrous. In such circumstances change is needed. When change is needed, the value of safety can become a change agent. From the disciplines of leadership and safety comes the emerging topic of safety leadership. Through safety leadership, workplace challenges can be rectified and the desired behaviours reinforced. These challenges can span from a lack of leadership engagement, poor safety performance, complacency or lack of safety ownership. Understanding how safety leadership differs from other leadership theories can give you a competitive edge which is not solely based upon financial quotas, but instead based upon the moral code of ensuring the health and well-being of your employees. This book goes beyond mere safety slogans or anecdotal stories that relate to safety leadership. Instead an empirical and research-based approach will be shared which can help improve the overall culture of an organisation as well as the safety of employees. Tools, case studies, theories and practical applications will be shared which can help create the blueprint for organisational change that you seek. Even when things are working well, constant innovation and adoption of best practices can help companies go from good to great and leave a lasting legacy for employees and customers alike. Detailing the mechanics of safety leadership, this book will drive the change and results you want.

There is a growing interest in Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), particularly in infrastructure and public services. Under the scope of PPPs, renegotiations are becoming more relevant, as empirical evidence suggests that most PPP projects are inevitably renegotiated, i.e., the original contract needs to be adapted to new and unforeseen circumstances. Renegotiations have a substantial impact on the contract and performance of a PPP and usually represent significant costs for users and taxpayers. However, very little is known about the management and, mainly, the process of renegotiating that will, very likely, occur. This book provides a set of case-studies of PPP renegotiations in the transport sector. The authors illustrate the Portuguese experience, a country that has been using PPP extensively, particularly in transport. The case studies provide an extensive and detailed analysis on each aspect of the project and the renegotiation. What drives renegotiations? Why are some projects more renegotiated than others? What are the results? How can the performance of renegotiation processes be improved? These and other questions provide the basis for the discussions in this book. The novelty and value of the book come mainly from the extent of information available. Each case-study deals with these questions in much more detail than what is common in the case-studies approach.

At a time when state assistance to the arts sector has come under considerable scrutiny both in Europe and the United States, this book comprehensively examines the evolution of, and rationale for, state involvement with the so-called 'high' arts on both continents. This book offers an overview of the key economic issues arising in relation to the state and the arts in these regions, with a detailed analysis of the European and American models of state assistance to the high arts sector.John O'Hagan examines in detail the various channels - regulation, taxation and direct expenditure - through which the state interacts with the arts and compares and contrasts the experiences of America and Europe. Regulatory measures considered include the guarantee of artistic freedom, copyright, resale royalties for artists, and trade restrictions. He also considers taxation measures to support the arts, including deductions for charitable contributions to the arts, property tax exemption, and relief on artists' income. The discussion on direct expenditure covers state ownership of institutions, revenue funding and matching grants as well as new avenues of expenditure such as community arts/arts centres, and new revenue sources for this expenditure, such as lottery funding. Finally the book covers the non-profit making arts sector, and examines why it, and not the commercial sector, receives private and state funding. The State and the Arts will be indispensable for students and academics of public and social policy, cultural economics and public management. It will also be of considerable interest to policymakers and key players in the arts sector.

How do high wage countries stay rich in a global digital economy? How Revolutionary was the Digital Revolution constructs a framework for analyzing the international digital era: one that examines the ability of political actors to innovate and experiment in spite of, or perhaps because of, the constraints posed by digital technology. In order to assess the revolutionary nature of the digital era, this book takes four overlapping approaches. First, it examines the reaction of nations, specifically Finland, Japan, and emerging markets, to the dual challenges of globalization and technological change. This section identifies both successful and failed national experiments intended to deal with these dual pressures. Second, it assesses corporate attempts to leverage digital technology to reorganize work. A broad range of issues including off-shoring, open source production systems, and knowledge management are addressed. Third, devoting detailed analysis to the case of mobile telephones, the book offers insights into the political economy of market evolution in the digital era. The final section considers the political ramifications of information technology for critical societal debates ranging from privacy to intellectual property. The contributors to the book map out how the digital revolution shakes up politics, creating new economic and political winners and losers. In order to do so, they connect theories of political economy to the implications of digital technology for international as well as national markets.

This unique book - informed by ten years' research - focuses on intellectual property and charts the global transition towards intellectual capitalism with technology-based corporations as prime movers. The book gives a comprehensive overview of the history and fundamentals of intellectual property as well as a textbook introduction to the field. The book sheds new light on the economics and management of intellectual property in large corporations in Europe, Japan and the US. Special emphasis is given to strategies for the acquisition and commercialization of new technologies, patent strategies and strategies for secrecy and trademark, technology intelligence and corporate management of intellectual property. It includes an in-depth study of leading large corporations in Japan - including Canon, Hitachi, Toshiba and Sony. In conclusion, it explores the possible evolution of intellectual property management towards a distributed intellectual capital management in the context of a wider transition to intellectual capitalism, fueled by new technologies in general and new infocom technologies in particular. The book will have particular appeal to practitioners such as managers, economists, engineers and lawyers as well as students and scholars of industrial organization, economics of innovation and technical change, and management of technology.

This volume presents the proceedings of the 4th International Scientific and Practical Conference on Digital Economy and Finances (DEFIN22) at the Saint-Petersburg University of Management Technologies and Economics (UMTE), which took place in March 2022. It includes the newest research on the impact of new digital technologies on the growth and capitalization of companies and the labor market. The volume discusses the problems of situational modeling of economic processes and the creation of "digital twins" of enterprises. The contributions analyse how big data and artificial intelligence technologies are shaping the financial markets.

Rising Consumer Materialism presents a theoretical advancement of materialism research. It identifies eight areas of a consumer's life that are inter-disciplinary and of prime importance towards promoting happy and rewarding lifestyles. This study examines the pre-planned purchase process as the primary step towards satisfactory consumption. The theoretical framework provides a stream of research possibilities that guide readers towards healthy consumption patterns. Therefore, the book offers practical solutions to problems such as loneliness and unhappiness. It advocates a new dimension of consumption activity and lifestyle choices that can help to re-socialize and improve social bonds; hitting materialism right at its core, making the consumption experience well informed and beneficial for the consumer as well as society. Together, pre-planned engaging, intrinsic experiential purchases with a view to environmentalism, religiosity, social giving, social support and nostalgia can cure the excessive emphasis on acquiring and showing off valuables that are disruptive to a consumer's social affiliations and subjective wellbeing. Rather than utilizing material possessions as a proxy measure for success and happiness resulting in only temporary happiness, discontent, continuous brand/product switching, undesirable post purchase evaluations and shifting brand loyalties, the book establishes alternative mechanisms for achieving happiness. The integrated framework provides a comprehensive solution rather than a half-baked specific situational-based intervention and is a must read for academics, students and consumers alike.

The principles of sociotechnology derive from 19th century movements towards democracy equality in society. Due to its origins, it has been concerned specifically with the workplace but we now see that the concepts and principles apply much further or could apply to the way we design technology for the social environment as a whole. The word sociotechnical is now used by some authors to refer to the interaction between society's complex infrastructures and human behavior. Technological Change and Societal Growth: Analyzing the Future focuses on new ideas and approaches, including studies of the practical implementation of practitioners, academics, researchers, and students. The aim of the book is to bring together the expertise of people who have worked practically in a changing society across the world for people in the field of organizational development and technology studies including information systems development and implementation.

Over the past several years, productivity improvement has become an increasingly vital economic issue for economies and individual firms. This book, first published in 1996, examines empirically relationships between changes in catalyst financial commitments (ie, research and development projects and capital improvements) and productivity/profitability changes, and relationships between productivity changes and profitability changes in selected manufacturing industries and companies.