To properly understand the nature of the digital economy we need to investigate the phenomenon of a "ubiquitous computing system" (UCS). As defined by Robin Milner, this notion implies the following characteristics: (i) it will continually make decisions hitherto made by us; (ii) it will be vast, maybe 100 times today's systems; (iii) it must continually adapt, on-line, to new requirements; and, (iv) individual UCSs will interact with one another. This book argues that neoclassical approaches to modelling economic behaviour based on optimal control by "representative-agents" are ill-suited to a world typified by concurrency, decentralized control, and interaction. To this end, it argues for the development of new, process-based approaches to analysis, modelling, and simulation. The book provides the context-both philosophical and mathematical-for the construction and application of new, rigorous, and meaningful analytical tools. In terms of social theory, it adopts a Post-Cognitivist approach, the elements of which include the nature philosophy of Schelling, Marx's critique of political economy, Peircean Pragmatism, Whitehead's process philosophy, and Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology of the flesh, along with cognitive scientific notions of embodied cognition and neural Darwinism, as well as more questionable notions of artificial intelligence that are encompassed by the rubric of "perception-and-action-without-intelligence".

Alfred D. Chandler, Jr. was, by general consensus, the pre-eminent business historian of the twentieth century. Through a prodigious body of work, Chandler made the study of the evolution of business enterprise integral to the study of the evolution of economy and society. His work combined detailed historical investigations with grand sociological syntheses. As a result, Chandler's study of the modern business enterprise invited social scientists and business academics as well as historians to contribute to our understanding of a central institution of our time.
Chandler revealed how managerial activity was central to the functioning of successful industrial corporations, and hence to the performance of the economy as a whole. This book gathers together contributions from management scholars fundamentally influenced by the work of Chandler to discuss management innovation, the ways in which people who exercise strategic control over the allocation of resources put in place organizational structures that can enable an enterprise to prosper and grow. The volume offers a range of perspectives to examine the challenges that corporate management encounters.

This pioneering collection seeks to understand why and how some digital enterprises in Africa progress while others firms either stagnate or regress. Using a range of detailed case studies, it addresses the challenges and barriers that are in place and how some outstanding digital firms deal with operating in a hostile business environment. While digital platforms have created equal access for small businesses, many digital entrepreneurs in Africa continue to struggle with local environments replete with corruption, and other economic inefficiencies. The contributions move the debate forward by addressing the challenges, opportunities, and prospects of digital enterprise in Africa. Placing special emphasis on how African new entrant digital firms are shaping the landscape and forging a new beginning for Africa, this book offers entrepreneurial perspectives to both researchers and policy-makers seeking to support and stimulate entrepreneurship in the new era.

Over the last several decades there has been a growing interest in the relationship between entrepreneurship and university-industry collaboration, namely how such cooperation can benefit entrepreneurship development at individual, national, and regional levels. While there are several refereed journal articles on different aspects of university-industry cooperation, most studies dwell primarily on instruments such as spin-offs, incubators and graduate entrepreneurs. This collection offers the first book-length compendium of international comparative perspectives on university-industry cooperation. Entrepreneurship and Knowledge Exchange explores insights from a wide variety of countries of relevance to researchers as well as policy and decision makers, especially those working in developing economies. Seminal contributions from top academics in the field, such as Alan Gibb, Peter Scott, and Mary Walshok, are included. The issues of knowledge transfer, entrepreneurship, and regional/national economic regeneration have inspired countless programs and initiatives at national and regional levels, and the chapters in this book examine these initiatives, providing both a reference work and a record of practical experience.

This book introduces cutting-edge issues and thought-provoking concepts on innovation management. It illustrates how robotic developments allow new powerful support functionalities for harnessing workplace innovations and new types of work in enterprises. In particular, low status jobs-heavy, repetitive and dangerous jobs-are disappearing and increasingly replaced by creative and meaningful work. It situates the research within theoretical developments and academic literature in business and management studies on innovation networks and partnerships. The book then introduces the notion of "friction management," which invites us to re-examine creative tensions and explore how contradictions may spur or restrain change and innovation in this landscape. Innovation and change challenge established patterns, cultures, value systems, interests and network configurations-which creates a variety of frictions. Therefore, a theory of friction management is crucial, particularly in innovation-intensive industries, and can help professionals to understand change and the dynamics of innovation so that they can orchestrate events and learn to distinguish between the creative and negative frictions that can arise and that are important for change and the innovation process. Thus, the goal of friction management is to orchestrate, mobilize and (re)combine key organizational resources to strategically increase innovation capacity and promote dynamic renewal and creativity. It will be of interest to scholars and postgraduates in the areas of innovation management, sociology and business administration.

When one considers broadband, the Internet immediately springs to mind. However, broadband is impacting society in many ways. For instance, broadband networks can be used to deliver healthcare or community related services to individuals who don't have computers, have distance as an issue to contend with, or don't use the internet. Broadband can support better management of scarce energy resources with the advent of smart grids, enables improved teleworking capacity and opens up a world of new entertainment possibilities. Yet scholarly examinations of broadband technology have so far examined adoption, usage, or diffusion but missed exploring the capacity of broadband networks to enable new applications, the management aspects of funding and developing broadband-enabled services, or the policy environment in which such networks are developed. This book explores a wide range of issues associated with the deployment and use of broadband including its impacts on individuals, organizations, and society, and offers a generalist understanding of the technical aspects of broadband. Management of Broadband Technology and Innovation offers insights on broadband from the perspectives of Information Systems, Management, Strategy, and Communications Policy scholars, drawing on research from these disciplines to inform diverse aspects of broadband deployment, policy, and use. Issues associated with a subject technical in nature, but now researched in many ways, are emphasised. This book explains various softer aspects of broadband deployment and use, focusing on the benefits of broadband rather than on details of the technology.

Competition and intellectual property rights (IPRs) are both necessary for a market to work efficiently and to promote consumer welfare. Properly applied, intellectual property rules define a legal framework which allows undertakings to profit from their inventions. This in turn encourages competition among firms and enhances dynamic efficiency, to the benefit of consumer welfare. Standard setting represents one of the fields where the interaction between competition law and IPRs clearly comes to light. The collaborative goal of standard setting organizations (SSOs) is to adopt and promote standards that either do not conflict with anyone's right or, if they do, are developed under condition that patents are licensed under defined terms. This book examines the tension between IPRs and competition in the standard setting field which can arise when innovators over-exploit the rights they have been granted and hold up an entire industry. The book compares EU and U.S. jurisdictions with a particular focus on the IT and telecommunication sectors. It scrutinizes those practices which could harm standard setting and its goals, looking at misleading conducts by SSOs' members which may lead to breach the EU and U.S. antitrust provisions on abuse of market power. Recent developments in EU and U.S. standard setting are analysed highlighting the differences in enforcement approaches. The book considers how the optimal balance between IPRs and industry standards can be struck, suggesting a policy model which takes into account both innovators' interests and SSOs' goals.

Concise yet comprehensive, Product Planning Essentials addresses the complex, interdisciplinary nature of product development and product management. It covers strategic issues that emerge during the product life cycle, including identifying opportunities, idea generation and evaluation, technical development, commercialization, and eventual product dismissal. Special topics include public policy, international issues, and intellectual property. An interesting summary of product development best practices from several companies appears at the end of the book. Instructors, students and practitioners will appreciate the balanced managerial and how-to orientation.

This volume presents a selection of the Proceedings of the Workshop on Anticipation, Agency and Complexity held in Trento (Italy) on April 2017. The contributions contained in the book brilliantly revolve around three core concepts: agency, complexity and anticipation, giving precious insights to further define the discipline of anticipation. In a world that moves increasingly fast, constantly on the verge of disruptive events, more and more scholars and practitioners in any field feel in need of new approaches to make sense of the complexity and uncertainty that the future seems to bear. The theory of anticipation tries to describe how possible futures are intrinsically intertwined with the present.

Category management is one of the biggest contributors of commercial value in the area of procurement and supply chain. With a proven track record of successful delivery since the early 1990s, it helps organisations gather and analyse key data about their procurement spend before subsequently creating and delivering value-adding strategies that change the value proposition from supply chains. The aim of category management is to find long-term breakthrough strategies that help lift an organisation's commercial performance to a new level. Because of its strategic long-term orientation and complex execution, category management has long been the preserve of commercial consulting companies - in effect a 'black box' toolkit shrouded in expensive methodologies. This practical handbook lifts the lid on category management by providing readers with a step-by-step process and established toolkit that allows them a 'do-it-yourself' approach. Each activity is presented as a simple tool or technique for practitioners to apply to their own organisations. To support each activity, easy-to- use templates and checklists have been provided, together with simple but practical hints and tips for implementation. This handbook is a 'must read' for all procurement and supplychain managers looking to find significant improvements in their organisations. Its practical approach cuts through long-winded consultant-speak and provides an easy-to-use practical toolkit for everyday application.

Originally published in 1989 this book gives an overview of the empirical work on new technology objectives, together with an analysis of management strategies for adoption at the corporate, technological and people levels. It also reviews previous work on the extent to which staff at different levels, and from different specialism, are involved in decision-making, as well as the adoption process more generally. The book looks at different approaches to analysing organizational contexts and provides a framework for studying the stages of the adoption process. The book includes case studies - two in financial services and two in engineering contexts.

This book, originally published in 1984, established the need for a strategic managerial response to the new technology, which relies on an understanding of the real effects of technology - on organisational structure, manageemnt style and employee relations. It assesses the impact of the new information technology on manufacturing systems, employment levels and types, industrial relations and finally on marketing and external relationships.

Originally published in 1993 this book presents the findings of 14 teams involved in a research initiative to examine the initiation and resonse to innovation in firms. It draws together the many strands which were discovered to influence the successful generation and adoption of new technologies. The core issues in technology management are looked at, including skills and expertise, markets and marketing, finance and the issue of technology collaboration both on a domestic and international basis. Technology is shown to be at the very heart of corporate strategy and policy formation.

Originally published in 1987, this book explores the history and geography of the computer industry in Britain and the evolution of the market leader firms, STC ICL and IBM (UK). It also examines the rising rate of new firm formation in the 1980s and the technology policies adopted by successive governments and analyses how well the industry is placed to cope with the challenges of technological change and increased international competition.

Originally published in 1967 and the result of extensive interviews and case studies, this book examines the implications of technical change. Although focussed on the early introduction of computers the kinds of problems discussed in this book are found in technical change more widely and the book therefore continues to have enduring relevance. The book is divided into three parts - an attitude survey of the administrative staff in departments affected by the introduction of computers, a study of the mechanisms of change and a second survey and re-examination of departmental organisation and work flow.

Originally published in 1992 and now with an updated Preface this book analyses the development of innovations using a network perspective. The book offers practical guidelines with direct managerial relevance based on evidence collected from twenty-two case studies. First introducing theories of product development, adoption and diffusion, it then places them in the context of industrial networks, investigating such topics as user-involvement, interaction and market strategies. The book is essential reading for students of marketing, technology and strategy.

Originally published in 1992, this study looks at the ways in which company and campus can co-operate to spread the risk and cost of research. It analyses joint ventures in an international context, focusing particularly on the USA, France and Japan, comparing their management strategies with the UK in a variety of industries. It discusses issues such as the brain drain and the growth of science parks, looking at the most succesful industrial policies. With its focus on technology transfer, joint ventures and strategic management this book will appeal to the practising manager as well as the academic.

Contributing to recent debate on the emergence of digital and agile work, this book explores the implications for labour and employment relations within and beyond organizational boundaries. Taking a multidisciplinary approach to the key issues and challenges of digitalization, this collection covers topics such as the gig economy, crowdworking and Industry 4.0. Theory and analysis are combined as the authors examine the impact of digital and smart work on organization, HRM and labour law. With comprehensive empirical evidence for those interested in understanding the more complex trajectories of today's transforming work relationships, this book will not only appeal to students and academics but also to policy-makers, trade unionists and employers' organizations.

This book introduces students to business process management, an approach that aims to align the organization's business processes with the demands of the marketplace. Processes serve as a coordination mechanism, and the aim of business process management is to improve the organization's effectiveness and efficiency in adapting to change, and maintaining competitive advantage. In Business Process Management, Kumar argues for the value of looking at businesses as a collection of processes that cut across departments, and for breaking down functional silos. The book provides an overview of the basic concepts in this field before moving on to more advanced topics such as process verification, flexible processes, process security and evaluation, resource assignment, and social networks. One chapter of the book is also devoted to process analytics. The book concludes with an examination of the future directions of the discipline. Blending a strong grounding in current research with a focus on concepts and tools, Business Process Management is an accessible textbook full of practical examples and cases that will appeal to upper level students.

This book proposes that organizational policies are what ensure the institutionalization and sustainability of futures thinking in organizations. It presents several case studies from corporations and other institutions that describe effective use of foresight methods and internal policies to respond to rapid change. The case studies address changing trends in technology, globalization and/or workforce diversity, and the impact on the economic and political well-being of the organization. The editors also develop an organizational capability maturity model for futures thinking as well as providing questions for discussion that promote critical review of each case chapter. This book will inform scholars and organizational leaders how best to utilize foresight methodologies and organizational policies to sustain successful management strategies within futures thinking organizations. Chapter 9 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

Managing Emerging Technologies for Socio-Economic Impact is an important contribution to both the literature and practice of managing emerging technology. Importantly, this book not only considers the economic impact but also the wider societal impact and benefit. It is recommended reading for all those who aspire to steward emergent technologies into reality.' - Martin Curley, Vice President, Director, Intel Labs Europe, Intel Corporation'This book offers a series of fascinating studies about the emergence of new technologies in different eco-systems of university-industry-government relations.' - Loet Leydesdorff, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands 'The chapters in this exciting new book explore the ways in which new technologies emerge, develop and are then commercialized. The chapters, many of which are by exciting young European scholars, are both theoretically and empirically sophisticated. If the reader is interested in how emerging technologies create socio-economic impact, this book will provide them with unique new insights. I recommend the book to all readers.'- Martin Kenney, University of California, Davis, US The development of emerging technologies demands a rapidly expanding knowledge base and intensive collaboration across organizational, institutional and cultural borders. This book is the first of its kind to focus on the management of key emerging technologies and their social and economic impact in Europe. Split into four parts, across 17 chapters, the scholars offer multiple levels of analysis concerning the management of emerging technologies across various sectors ranging from nanotechnology, renewable energy and cloud computing to synthetic biology and particle therapy for cancer. They present their research findings in critical areas including: - organizational capabilities for technological innovation in key enabling technologies - collaboration and networking to shape their emergence and progression - strategic challenges for policy makers who influence the sustainable and responsible development of emerging technologies - how such technologies affect work and communication practices in a variety of organizational settings. This book is a must-read for innovation practitioners, academics and policy makers who take interest in the on going debate about how to shape innovation policy and manage emerging technologies. Contributors: A. Alexiou, D.G. Assimakopoulos, A. Carafa, D. Cotta, J.P. Damijan, E. Dolgova, R. Dombrovski, D. van Doren, M. Drenkovska, P. Durgam, A. Es-Sajjade, B. Gao, S. Khanagha, J.P. Madiedo, N. Maya, I. Oshri, D. Pacauskas, K. Pandza, A. Parker, M. Pero, T. Reiss, M. Rossi, F. Salvador, B. Schrempf, J. Sidhu, H.W. Volberda, T.A Wilkins, M. Wolf

This book provides a comprehensive examination of the many factors that influence the internationalisation of SMEs into China. SMEs represent more than 50 percent of the economic activity and employment in China. This book explores the experiences of SMEs that have internationalised to China from Australia. Australian SMEs are at the forefront of foreign SMEs in China with over 5000 Australian SMEs currently operating in China and a long history of association. The book is unique in that it presents a multidisciplinary perspective of the subject, considering seven different discipline perspectives (internationalisation, innovation, entrepreneurship, networks, resources, human resource management and barriers and liabilities). This makes the book one of the most comprehensive treatments of internationalisation to China so far. Each chapter in the book deals with a different perspective and includes own separate analysis. The chapters commence with a consideration of the current knowledge on internationalising to China for each perspective, analyse the interviews of representatives of 35 SMEs operating in China and then draw conclusions which are relevant to students, scholars and professionals. Each chapter includes extensive examples from the interviews. This integrated book is particularly useful for small business owners, international business management consultants, instructors and students.

A myriad of security vulnerabilities in the software and hardware we use today can be exploited by an attacker, any attacker. The knowledge necessary to successfully intercept your data and voice links and bug your computers is widespread and not limited to the intelligence apparatus. Consequently, the knowledge required can - at least in part - also easily be accessed by criminals trying to 'transfer your wealth' and competitors looking for your trade secrets. The temptation to use these easily accessible resources to the disadvantage of a rival company grows as global competition gets fiercer. Corporate espionage is nothing new, but since the dawn of the Internet Age the rules have changed. It is no longer necessary to be on-site to steal proprietary information. Cyberattacks today are cheap and attackers run a very low risk of getting caught, as attacks can be executed from anywhere in the world - an ideal breeding ground for criminal activities - and the consequences can be disastrous. In Understanding Cyber Risk: Protecting your Corporate Assets the author provides a wealth of real world examples from diverse industries from all over the world on how company assets are attacked via the cyber world. The cases clearly show that every organization can fall victim to a cyberattack, regardless of the size or country of origin. He also offers specific advice on how to protect core assets and company secrets. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in cyber security, and the use of cyberattacks in corporate espionage.

Over last few decades, the world has witnessed, the process of rapid diffusion of new information and communication technologies (ICT) that enforced remarkable changes and structural shifts going far beyond economic sphere of life. ICT become fast available widespread and rapidly growing access to and use of ICT, additionally enhances the process of technological substitution, which consists in switching from the 'old' to 'new' technological solutions. The on-going digital revolution, undeniably, pervasively impacts and reshapes societies and economies, hence deserves special attention and interest. This book provides extensive evidence on information and communication technologies development diffusion patterns, unveils specific 'network effects' that enhance rapid spread of ICT, and detect major macroeconomic determinants of this process, across 36 Asian economies over the period 1980-2015. Moreover, this research traces country-specific patterns of the unique process. We consider two types of technological substitution, namely: 'fixed-to-mobile' type technological substitution process encompasses switching from fixed telephony ('old technology') to mobile telephony ('new technology'); while the 'fixed-to-wireless' type technological substitution - switching from fixed (narrowband and/or broadband) fixed Internet networks ('old technologies') to wireless (mainly broadband) Internet networks ('new technologies'). Moreover, this study empirically identifies the potential effect of selected macroeconomic factors, which may potentially enhance dynamic spread of ICT.

Over the last few decades universities in Australia and overseas have been criticized for not meeting the needs and expectations of the societies in which they operate. At the heart of this problem is their strategy. This book reviews the organizational-level strategies of some of Australia's prominent universities. It is based on their public documents that boldly report how they see their role in society and how they intend to navigate the future. These strategic statements are written to proclaim relevance, showcase achievements, attract students, and help to gain the support of the communities in which they operate. Using a strategy framework taught in their business schools, this book suggests that most such statements are deficient. Grand aspirations substitute for realistic operations and outcomes. The analysis also suggests that many of Australia's universities are poorly governed and have become too complex and bureaucratic. A greater focus on their core responsibilities would help alleviate their current funding predicament.