This book offers a unique guide to the three-dimensional (3D) printing of metals. It covers various aspects of additive, subtractive, and joining processes used to form three-dimensional parts with applications ranging from prototyping to production. Examining a variety of manufacturing technologies and their ability to produce both prototypes and functional production-quality parts, the individual chapters address metal components and discuss some of the important research challenges associated with the use of these technologies. As well as exploring the latest technologies currently under development, the book features unique sections on electron beam melting technology, material lifting, and the importance this science has in the engineering context. Presenting unique real-life case studies from industry, this book is also the first to offer the perspective of engineers who work in the field of aerospace and transportation systems, and who design components and manufacturing networks. Written by the leading experts in this field at universities and in industry, it provides a comprehensive textbook for students and an invaluable guide for practitioners

Technological innovation is fundamental to firm performance and economic prosperity. The aim of this book is to contribute to an in-depth understanding of collective innovation processes by analyzing publicly funded R&D cooperation and innovation networks in the German laser industry. Standing in a neo-Schumpeterian tradition, it employs interdisciplinary analytical concepts and draws upon a unique longitudinal dataset from the laser industry that covers more than two decades of observations. In brief, the book makes a valuable contribution by exploring how and why firm-specific R&D cooperation activities and network positions, large-scale network patterns, and evolutionary network change processes affect the innovative performance of laser source manufacturers in Germany.

Structural change in basic industries is usually interpreted as an autonomous economic process. Some authors claim that there is a tendency to use the "end of the era of materials", thus resulting in a decline of the basic industries. Such a process would obviously benefit the environment. Classic economic theories, which deal with structural change in a rather holistic way, correspond to this trend, predicting either a shift towards manufacturing and services or a relocation of old basic industries to developing countries. On the basis of this dematerialization hypothesis, comparative case studies analyze in detail the driving forces behind industrial restructuring with regard to different industries and countries in Europe, where such a decline has been observed in recent years.

In the late 1990s the idea of cross-sector collaborations was relatively new in Europe. The term 'partnership' was employed primarily to refer to partnerships between government and businesses, usually termed PPP (Public Private Partnerships). On the other hand 'strategic alliances' was the term employed for business-to-business partnerships. Until then 'sponsorship' was the most practised associational form between nonprofit organisations (NPOs) and businesses (BUSs), which was included within the broad area of corporate community involvement. The relations between NPOs and BUSs witnessed a gradual intensification over the last 200 years (Gray 1989; Young 1999; Austin 2000; Googins and Rochlin 2000) resulting in increased interactions within both the philanthropic and trans- tional types of relationships (Seitanidi and Ryan 2007). However, the more recent gradual prominence of the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) within all sectors of society elicited an intensification of the debate with regard to the responsibilities of each sector in addressing environmental and social issues. In effect, CSR contributed to the increase of the interactions across the sectors and propelled NPO-BUS Partnerships (a type of social partnership) as a key mechanism for corporations to delve into a process of engaging with NPOs in order to improve their business practices by contributing their resources to address social issues (Heap 1998; Mohiddin 1998; Fowler 2000; Googins and Rochlin 2000; Mancuso Brehm 2001; Drew 2003; Hemphill and Vonortas 2003).

This book covers the main topics that students need to learn in a course on Industrial Organization. It reviews the classic models and important empirical evidence related to the field. However, it will differ from prior textbooks in two ways. First, this book incorporates contributions from behavioral economics and neuroeconomics, providing the reader with a richer understanding of consumer preferences and the motivation for many of the business practices we see today. The book discusses how firms exploit consumers who are prone to making mistakes and who suffer from cognitive dissonance, attention lapses, and bounded rationality, for example and will help explain why firms invest in persuasive advertising, offer 30-day free trials, offer money-back guarantees, and engage in other observed phenomena that cannot be explained by the traditional approaches to industrial organization.

A second difference is that this book achieves a balance between textbooks that emphasize formal modeling and those that emphasize the history of the field, empirical evidence, case studies, and policy analysis. This text puts more emphasis on the micro-foundations (i.e., consumer and producer theory), classic game theoretic models, and recent contributions from behavioral economics that are pertinent to industrial organization. Each topic will begin with a discussion of relevant theory and models and will also include a discussion of concrete examples, empirical evidence, and evidence from case studies. This will provide students with a deeper understanding of firm and consumer behavior, of the factors that influence market structure and economic performance, and of policy issues involving imperfectly competitive markets. The book is intended to be a textbook for graduate students, MBAs and upper-level undergraduates and will use examples, graphical analysis, algebra, and simple calculus to explain important ideas and theories in industrial organization.

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This work examines the role of comptetence, organization and strategies of firms in industrial dynamics linking eceonomic, management and historical persectives. In the first part of the book, a series of economic and managerial contributions discuss the concepts, dimensions and effects of routines, competence, adaptation, learning, organizational structure and strategies in the evolution of industrial enterprises at the theoretical and empirical levels. In the second part of the book, a series of historical papers examine these issues in a long-term perspective for the United States, Japan and several European countries.

This superb text defines and describes modern industrial policy. For many years economists, politicians, and policymakers have worried over inward-looking and damaging industrial policies, associating them with poor economic performance and arrested industrial development. At last we have a book which identifies and analyses new forms of modern industrial policy which work effectively and are able to overcome the problems of the past. The book is replete with concrete examples and new conceptual developments, showing how modern industrial policy is able to initiate, upgrade, and transform economic activity for the benefit of all. The evidence is used to provide a new theory of industrial policy, distinguishing modern industrial policy from the practices of the past - leaving no room for doubt as to how policymakers should proceed in the twenty-first century. Essential reading for policymakers, analysts, scholars, teachers, and consultants concerned with industrial policy and modern economic development.' - Mike Hobday, University of Brighton, UK'Jesus Felipe is to be congratulated for assembling a first-rate group of authors to address one of the most important policy issues of our time. Their main contention is that, to succeed, latecomer developing countries need a 'modern industrial policy'. Aware of the pitfalls, they provide empirical evidence in support of their arguments. The country studies are particularly interesting. A stimulating volume that deserves to be read, including by the skeptics.' - Hal Hill, Australian National University Development and Modern Industrial Policy in Practice provides an up-to-date analysis of industrial policy. Modern industrial policy refers to the set of actions and strategies used to favor the more dynamic sectors of the economy. A key aspect of modern industrial policy is embedding private initiative in a framework of public action to encourage diversification, upgrading, and technological dynamism to achieve development in the twenty-first century. The book reviews key questions that policymakers ask about industrial policy, such as: who selects sectors; what is the rationale for sector selection; what are the main tools to promote sectors?, what is the role of human capital; and what are the mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation? Expert contributors discuss how to undertake industrial policy effectively and examine the experiences of Australia, the EU, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, and the US. Policymakers, multilateral development institutions, and scholars will find the discussions on industrial policy, structural transformation, economic diversification and upgrading, and capabilities to be useful and practical. Contributors: F. Block, J.-M. Chang, K. Farla, J. Felipe, F. Guadagno, C.A. Hidalgo, M.R. Keller, M.H. Khan, K. Lee, J.Y. Lin, C. Long, W.F. Mitchell, C. Rhee, T. Siew Yean, B. Verspagen, Y. Wang, X. Zhang

Main headings: Introduction. - A psychological view on industrial transformation and behaviour. - Sociological perspectives for industrial transformation. - Industrial transformation and international law. - contributions to transformation research from political science. - Ecological economics and industrial transformation. - An evolutionary economics perspective on industrial transformation. - A neo-classical economics view on technological transitions. - Multi-level perspective on system innovation: relevance for industrial transformation. - Managing transitions for sustainable development. - Discussion & conclusions.

This volume examines the role of Chinese businesses and industries in Asian production networks. By presenting different case studies of the Asian region, the contributors illustrate how China successfully exports the Chinese business model, based on Chinese ethics, social networks and production integration. The contributors also discuss topics such as the implications and ramifications of global product sharing within Asia; the prospects of free trade agreements in Asia; the economic advantages of Chinese family lineage and Guanxi an influential Chinese network; collaboration of overseas Chinese with mainland Chinese, as well as direct Chinese business involvement and investment in other Asian countries.

Traces the material fortunes of the abbot and convent of Westminster and describes the changing policies which the monks brought to bear on their estates, and the responses of their tenants to those policies.

To date, the formulation of a systematic theory of the organization of markets has proved to be a difficult task and remains unfinished. Nevertheless, explanations do exist as to why, under given conditions, the basic activities of trade are organized in one particular fashion rather than another. This invaluable collection of essays brings together important papers by authors working in the tradition of the new institutional economics. The editors have provided an original introduction which presents a comprehensive overview of their selection. The volume is an essential source of reference and an excellent resource for economists, students of public policy, sociologists, political scientists and legal analysts.

Emerging business models, value configurations, and information technologies interact over time to create competitive advantage. Modern information technology has to be studied, understood, and applied along the time dimension of months and years, where changes are the rule. Such changes created by interactions between business elements and resources are very well suited for system dynamics modeling. ""Business Dynamics in Information Technology"" presents business-technology alignment processes, interaction processes, and decision processes, helping the reader study information technology from a dynamic, rather than a static, perspective. By introducing two simple tools from system dynamic modeling - causal loops and reference modes - the dynamic perspective will become important to both students and practitioners in the future.

This book addresses the issue of intangibles' contribution to growth at macroeconomic and microeconomic levels. It provides a review of a set of new approaches to innovation growth. It also considers the issue of how to invest in intangibles, especially with regard to the market failure issue. The book focusses on three major themes: First it provides a better understanding of how intangibles contribute to economic growth and value creation. In a second part it presents emerging practices as well as examples of market failure, analyzing managerial practices in relationship to market imperfections. Finally the book links the value of intangibles with innovation and the performance of firms."

This volume is motivated by key questions and challenges associated with reviving and developing a comparative perspective. One organizing theme of the volume is to present comparative analysis as a means to explain and describe organizational heterogeneity, at varying levels and contexts. While much empirical work looks for the sources of homogeneity within fields, industries, etc., we believe that one advantage of doing comparative analysis is to make assessments of the observed differences between organizations. Thus, we have asked all of the authors to consider how their style of comparative analysis enhances our understanding of organizational heterogeneity. The volume consists of two sections: an introductory essay section and a section where authors focus on specific theoretical, methodological and empirical topics. A couple of papers are original empirical analyses that use a comparative logic or method. We expect that each paper, in addition to providing a theoretical contribution, will offer a meta-discussion that explains how taking a comparative approach enhances our understanding of the phenomenon of interest.

While China is known for its immense manufacturing base, in recent years the Chinese government has assigned a high priority to science and technology services as its future growth sectors. The Chinese government is supporting this vision with the establishment of research and technology parks, favorable tax incentives, policy reform, grants to help Chinese firms achieve certifications, investments in infrastructure, and promotion of IT outsourcing (ITO) and business process outsourcing (BPO) services. Beyond the aspirations of its leaders, is China ready to compete in the global ITO and BPO markets? How can Western managers successfully engage Chinese ITO/BPO suppliers?
In this book, top scholars and practitioners doing leading research on China's ITO and BPO sector help answer these questions. All told, this book reports on findings from 519 interviews, 305 surveys, 11 detailed case studies, and 34 formal presentations. Authors analyze the strengths and weaknesses of China's ITO and BPO markets, categorize and analyze Chinese suppliers, project future trends in China's ITO and BPO capabilities, and prescribe lessons for Western managers seeking to engage Chinese suppliers. Several chapters contain studies of Chinese suppliers and clients engaged in particular ITO or BPO services, including, procurement, media relations, logistics, and research and development. Overall, the Chinese ITO and BPO markets are changing rapidly as they both respond to and help form the global outsourcing landscape. This book provides an in-depth, contemporary view on where China is heading, how it is going to get there, and how companies and countries can engage with China's emerging outsourcing capabilities.

What are the challenges and action points for agricultural sustainability in Sub-Saharan Africa? This open access collection of papers offers technical analyses, policy recommendations and an overview of success stories to date. Each carefully selected paper provides valuable insights for improved policy making and defines relevant strategic priorities on Africa's sustainable transformation process, which is in line with the international development agenda. Although agriculture remains the main source of income for Africa's population, the sector is rain-fed subjecting it to the vagaries of weather and climate change. This volume demonstrates the rationale of developing a competitive, inclusive and sustainable agribusiness sector for Africa's food security and structural transformation. From the impact of Bioenergy crop adoption and Drought Index Insurance to Agro-Industrialization, this volume is important reading for individual researchers, academic associations and professional bodies interested in African agricultural development.

International business is synonymous with big challenges. Cultural and institutional complexities remain ever potent, so are newer concerns like climate change and international terrorism. This timely book examines these challenges from the perspectives of different international business actors.

Understanding and Managing IT Outsourcing explains and illustrates how uncertainty and trust interact with each other, and how an understanding of this interaction is critical to success in IT outsourcing. A partnership approach that is built on trust can be the determinant of success but this book explains in which particular outsourcing context this approach is likely to pay dividends.

Socially Responsible Outsourcing is an edited collection that focus on the topic of socially responsible outsourcing (SRO) including research frameworks, rich case studies, and an SRO agenda for the future.

This is the first practical step-by-step guide to strategic planning specifically written for managers of all types of nonprofit organizations, large and small. Born out of one such manager's own successful planning efforts, it details the key techniques involved in strategy planning, such as: identifying organizational needs, guiding goal development, targeting markets, and developing marketing plans. Discussing a broad range of nonprofit organizations, Strategic Planning fo Nonprofit Organizations provides the nonprofit manager with the basic planning and implementation tools essential to the success of his or her organization.

The contributors to this text aim to promote the understanding of the contemporary world economy by confronting the challenges that have to be faced in elaborating new tools of analysis. The text presents inquiries into the contemporary world economy, namely: the economic success of East Asia; political and organizational restructuring in Western, industrial countries; and the post-communist transformation process in former centrally planned economies.

Economics of Research and Development is a research review of the major readings in the development of this topic, from its origins in the work of Kenneth Arrow, Robert Solow, and Zvi Griliches to present day concerns with the financing of R&D and measurement of its returns. Topics covered include historical perspectives, market structure and the various ways R&D is conducted, the role of venture capital and government incentives, the measurement of R&D returns including spillovers to other firms or countries and the contribution of R&D to economic growth. This research review serves as an invaluable reference for those who would like to have a review of the seminal papers on R&D collected into a single source.

This book discusses digitalization trends and their concrete applications in business and societal contexts. It summarizes new findings from research, teaching and management activities comprising digital transformation, e-business, the representation of knowledge, human-computer interaction and business optimization. The trends discussed include artificial intelligence, virtual reality, robotics, blockchain, and many more. Professors and researchers who conduct research and teach at the interface between academia and business present the latest advances in their field. The book adopts the philosophy of applied sciences and combines both rigorous research and practical applications. As such, it addresses the needs of both professors and researchers, who are constantly seeking inspiration, and of managers seeking to tap the potential of the latest trends to take their business to the next level. Readers will find answers to pressing questions that arise in their daily work.