In recent years, social innovation has experienced a steep career. Numerous national governments and large organisations like the OECD, the European Commission and UNESCO have adopted the term. Social innovation basically means that people adopt new social practices in order to meet social needs in a different or more effective way. Prominent examples of the past are the Red Cross and the social welfare state or, at present, the internet 2.0 transforming our communication and cooperation schemes, requiring new management concepts, even empowering social revolutions. The traditional concept of innovation as successful new technological products needs fundamental rethinking in a society marked by knowledge and services, leading to a new and enriched paradigm of innovation. There is multiple evidence that social innovation will become of growing importance not only concerning social integration, equal opportunities and dealing with the greenhouse effects but also with regard to preserving and expanding the innovative capacity of companies and societies. While political authorities stress the social facets of social innovation, this book also encompasses its societal and systemic dimensions, collecting the scientific expertise of renowned experts and scholars from all over the world. Based on the contributions of the first world-wide science convention on social innovation from September 2011 in Vienna, the book provides an overview of scientific approaches to this still relatively new field. Forewords by Agnes HUBERT (Member of theBureau of European Policy Advisers (BEPA) of the European Commission) and Antonella Noya (Senior Policy Analyst at OECD, manager of the OECD LEED Forum on Social Innovations)

The aim of this volume is to further develop the relationship between culture and manifold phenomena of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship in order to promote further and better understanding how, why, and when these phenomena are manifested themselves across different cultures. Currently, cross-cultural research is one of the most dynamically and rapidly growing areas. At the same time, creativity, inventiveness, innovation, and entrepreneurship are championed in the literature as the critical element that is vital not just for companies, but also for the development of societies. A sizable body of research demonstrates that cultural differences may foster or inhibit creative, inventive, innovative and entrepreneurial activities; and each culture has its own strengths and weaknesses in these regards. Better understanding of cultural diversity in these phenomena can help to build on strengths and overcome weaknesses. Cross-cultural studies in this field represent a comparatively new class of interdisciplinary research. This is a field where cultural, sociological, psychological, historical, economic, management, technology and business studies closely intersect. In this book, a global team of researchers representing Europe, Asia, and the Americas review, analyze, structure, systematize and discuss various concepts, assumptions, speculations, theories, and empirical research which focus on the effect of national cultures on creativity, invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship. They argue that national culture is not only an extremely important determinant of innovation and business development, but also demonstrate that some aspects relating to these phenomena may be universal among all cultures, thereby identifying those factors that may easily be transferred across cultures from those that are unique to their specific context.

This book presents the proceedings of the 1st EAI International Conference on Technology, Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Education (TIE 2017), which took place at Canterbury Christ Church University on September 11-12, 2017. The central theme of the conference is creativity and innovation, especially in relation to technology, business, education, social and political needs that make modern society flourish. The proceedings feature papers from a cross-disciplinary audience that explore the process of creativity and innovation. The goal is that the various disciplines can learn from each other and see how they might benefit from the cross-fertilization of practices.

Across industries, firms vary broadly on how they operate with respect to their Research & Development (R&D) activities. This volume presents a holistic approach to evaluating the critical elements of R&D management, including planning, organization, portfolio management, project management, and knowledge transfer-by assessing R&D management from different sectors. Featuring empirical research and in-depth case studies from industries as diverse as medical imaging, electric vehicles, and cyber security, the authors identify common features of successful R&D management, despite fundamental differences, such as company size, number of employees, industry sector, and the R&D budget. In particular, they consider the implications for decision making with respect to resource allocation and investments, such as site selection, purchasing, and cross-departmental communication.

This book explores how contemporary organisations are abandoning conventional tactics in order to survive and grow in an incessantly shifting business landscape, analysing fundamental aspects of management, marketing and strategy from an interdisciplinary perspective. Focusing on the paradigms of neuro-marketing, innovative change management, motivational creativity, and customer data management, to name a few, the authors provide practical learning outcomes which reflect how organisations are seeking to adopt innovative means to innovative ends, targeting capacity building in multiple ways. Ultimately, this edited collection implicitly defines an organisational philosophy that incorporates functionality, but also embraces business notions pertaining to wider contextual transformations and environmental developments. Theoretical and practical contributions highlight the importance of multidisciplinary research to practical business success, making this book an invaluable read to both scholars and business executives.

This book finds that the R&D and technological innovation of a country is not a result, but a factor, of sustained economic growth. Bazhal develops Schumpeter's theory to argue that genuine economic growth - especially in transitioning and developing countries - is only possible with innovation. With a particular focus on the work of Ukrainian economists, Tugan-Batanobvsky and Vernadsky, the text seeks to move the discipline forward and explain why innovation has become a primary factor of economic development in recent decades and why its role will become even more dominant in the future. Chapters interrogate whether modern economic theory can explain how we ensure the effective functioning of the market economy. The book shows that explanations of economists and politicians regarding the nature of the current economic and financial crisis, and the causes of huge gaps in levels of wealth in market economies, demonstrates that there are not enough satisfactory answers to this question.

What is science? How is it performed? Is science only a method or is it also an institution? These are questions at the core of Managing Science, a handbook on how scientific research is conducted and its results disseminated. Knowledge creation occurs through scientific research in universities, industrial laboratories, and government agencies. Any knowledge management system needs to promote effective research processes to foster innovation, and, ultimately, to channel that innovation into economic competitiveness and wealth. However, science is a complicated topic. It includes both methodological aspects and organizational aspects, which have traditionally been discussed in isolation from each other. In Managing Science, Frederick Betz presents a holistic approach to science, incorporating both philosophical and practical elements, in a framework that integrates scientific method, content, administration and application. Illustrating all of the key concepts with illustrative case studies (both historical and contemporary, and from a wide spectrum of fields), Betz provides in-depth discussion of the process of science. He addresses the social, organizational, institutional, and infrastructural context through which research projects are designed and their results applied, along the path from experimentation to innovation to commercialization of new products, services, and processes. This practical approach to science is the foundation of today's knowledge-intensive and technology-enabled industries, and positions the management of science within the broader context of knowledge management and its implications for organizations, industries, and regional and national technology management policies. Managing Science will be an essential resource for students in all areas of research, industry scientists and R&D specialists, policymakers and university administrators, and anyone concerned with the application of research to economic growth and development.

This book offers readers essential orientation on cybersecurity safeguards, and first and foremost helps them find the right balance between financial expenditures and risk mitigation. This is achieved by pursuing a multi-disciplinary approach that combines well-founded methods from economics and the computer sciences. Established decision making techniques are embedded into a walk-through for the complete lifecycle of cybersecurity investments. Insights into the economic aspect of the costs and benefits of cybersecurity are supplemented by established and innovative economic indicators. Readers will find practical tools and techniques to support reasonable decision making in cybersecurity investments. Further, they will be equipped to encourage a common understanding using economic aspects, and to provide cost transparency for the senior management.

The MCPC 2014 is a multi-track conference featuring a combination of high profile keynotes with expert talks, panel discussions, paper sessions, workshops, receptions, and much more. While it is devoted to sharing and discussing the latest research in the field, the MCPC conference has a strong focus on real life applications. Since its beginning, the MCPC conference has had an equal share of participants, practitioners and academics/researchers. This makes the MCPC conference truly unique among many conferences. It strives to connect MCPC thinkers, first movers, entrepreneurs, technology developers, and researchers with people applying these strategies in practice. Twenty years ago Mass Customization was acknowledged as the "New Frontier in Business Competition". Ever since, industry has been applying the concept and researchers have developed the topic into a well-established research area and businesses have formed new strategies. More knowledge, methods and technologies are available now than ever before. Along with general Mass Customization topics, this conference addresses Mass Customization from a historical perspective, looking at both mass customization in the past 20 years and towards the new frontiers in the 20 years to come. This book presents the latest research from the worldwide MCPC community bringing together the new thoughts and results from various disciplines within the field.

This edited book is at the intersection of the discussion on family-owned business, the CSR agenda and company competition in Europe. The authors contribute to the debates on corporate social responsibility by arguing that formal management systems are not the one-size-fits-all solution they are typically presented to be. Exploring alternative interpretations of the profile environmental management activities have in SMEs, the book evaluates the way in which cultural and ethical values are embedded in European SMEs in order to drive and orientate CSR successfully without following the mainstream 'systems' approach. It addresses several values of thought within the CSR debate such as intrinsic CSR, the role of virtue ethics and moral theory in corporate culture, environmental sustainability and vision-driven CSR. Focusing on a European perspective, the book heuristically explores an alternative model for the integration of CSR, innovation dynamics and economic success driven by intrinsic values rather than extrinsic post-decision rationalisations.

This book uses a variety of empirical cases on topics including drug development, egg donation, and governance of healthcare facilities, to investigate how actors navigate the uncertainties that permeate the interfaces of health, technologies, and politics in post-Soviet settings and what the implications of their chosen navigation routes are. Contemporary societies are imbued with uncertainties, but the authors focus on settings where uncertainties multiply, making decisions, practises, and relations in everyday life precarious. Two worlds are brought into dialogue throughout the chapters of this book with the aim of facilitating mutual learning from one another - the world of science and technology studies (STS) and the high-income liberal democracies of the West, on one hand, and studies of post-socialism on the other. In so doing, this book encourages critical learning on ensuring the resilience of individual and societal health in situations of profound uncertainties. This timely collection will be of great interest to scholars, practitioners and policy makes in the fields of sociology, biomedicine, political science and public and global health.

This book provides an up-to-date analysis of state-of-the-art concentrating solar power (CSP) generation. It focuses on the economic analysis of CSP generation technologies as well as the policies that have been and are being used around the globe to support it. The book describes the industrial sectors whose products make up the solar field, including the traditional manufacturers of turbines and generators.The authors provide the main theoretical tools needed to comprehend the costs of CSP technologies compared to other competing technologies (both conventional and renewable) and discuss the conceptual rationale behind creating public support for these technologies and the costs of various promotional techniques. Further, the book examines the concepts from different disciplinary traditions in economics (including environmental, innovation, industrial and public), which are then combined and integrated for an analysis of the costs and policies of CSP electricity.Addressing the main findings and the challenges for future CSP, the book is a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners. It is also of use to industrial engineers, as it identifies the features of the sector's supply chain value, rooted in and supported by an industrial economics approach.

This edited volume explores the interplay between philosophies in a wide-ranging analysis of how technological applications in science inform our systems of thought. Beginning with a historical background, the volume moves on to explore a host of topics, such as the uses of technology in scientific observations and experiments, the salient relationship between technology and mechanistic notions in science and the ways in which today's vast and increasing computing power helps scientists achieve results that were previously unattainable. Technology allows today's researchers to gather, in a matter of hours, data that would previously have taken weeks or months to assemble. It also acts as a kind of metaphor bank, providing biologists in particular with analogies (the heart as a 'pump', the nervous system as a 'computer network') that have become common linguistic currency. This book also examines the fundamental epistemological distinctions between technology and science and assesses their continued relevance. Given the increasing amalgamation of the philosophies of science and technology, this fresh addition to the literature features pioneering work in a promising new field that will appeal both to philosophers and scientific historiographers.

This book examines the management of three projects from the nineteenth century which led to substantial business transformation: the Stockton to Darlington Railway, the US Transcontinental Railroad and the Manchester Ship Canal. The lessons learned are of great relevance to contemporary project management, particularly those concerned with disruptive technology. The book addresses a wide range of project management topics associated with transformation. These include value management, sponsorship, governance, partnerships, opportunity management, project culture and morale, project complexity, uncertainty, prototyping and piloting, agility, innovation, risk and knowledge management.

This book aims to identify promising future developmental opportunities and applications for Tech Mining. Specifically, the enclosed contributions will pursue three converging themes: The increasing availability of electronic text data resources relating to Science, Technology and Innovation (ST&I). The multiple methods that are able to treat this data effectively and incorporate means to tap into human expertise and interests. Translating those analyses to provide useful intelligence on likely future developments of particular emerging S&T targets. Tech Mining can be defined as text analyses of ST&I information resources to generate Competitive Technical Intelligence (CTI). It combines bibliometrics and advanced text analytic, drawing on specialized knowledge pertaining to ST&I. Tech Mining may also be viewed as a special form of "Big Data" analytics because it searches on a target emerging technology (or key organization) of interest in global databases. One then downloads, typically, thousands of field-structured text records (usually abstracts), and analyses those for useful CTI. Forecasting Innovation Pathways (FIP) is a methodology drawing on Tech Mining plus additional steps to elicit stakeholder and expert knowledge to link recent ST&I activity to likely future development. A decade ago, we demeaned Management of Technology (MOT) as somewhat self-satisfied and ignorant. Most technology managers relied overwhelmingly on casual human judgment, largely oblivious of the potential of empirical analyses to inform R&D management and science policy. CTI, Tech Mining, and FIP are changing that. The accumulation of Tech Mining research over the past decade offers a rich resource of means to get at emerging technology developments and organizational networks to date. Efforts to bridge from those recent histories of development to project likely FIP, however, prove considerably harder. One focus of this volume is to extend the repertoire of information resources; that will enrich FIP. Featuring cases of novel approaches and applications of Tech Mining and FIP, this volume will present frontier advances in ST&I text analytics that will be of interest to students, researchers, practitioners, scholars and policy makers in the fields of R&D planning, technology management, science policy and innovation strategy.

The book at hand gives an overview of the state of the art research in Computational Sustainability as well as case studies of different application scenarios. This covers topics such as renewable energy supply, energy storage and e-mobility, efficiency in data centers and networks, sustainable food and water supply, sustainable health, industrial production and quality, etc. The book describes computational methods and possible application scenarios.

This book provides a detailed description of Japan's telecommunications policies. It discusses how Japan has addressed a variety of policy challenges ranging from traditional regulatory issues, such as the provision of a universal service, to the latest tasks, including the promotion of cutting-edge technologies. Japan is a global leader in information and communication technologies (ICT). In addition to technological advances, an impressive nationwide optical-fiber and advanced mobile network infrastructure has been developed, which has boosted the economy and benefited society. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) has played an important role in ICT deployment. Japan has a unique ICT policy framework that does not separate regulation and promotion, unlike many other countries, which have an independent regulator. However, since relatively little information has been provided in English, it has been difficult to learn much about Japan's policies. Written by specialists from MIC, industry and academia, this is the first collaborative work to provide a comprehensive discussion of Japan's ICT policies, allowing readers to gain an understanding of the topic.

Advances in Product Family and Product Platform Design: Methods & Applications highlights recent advances that have been made to support product family and product platform design along with successful applications in industry. This book provides not only motivation for product family and product platform design (i.e., address questions about "why and when should we platform") but also methods and tools to support the design and development of families of products based on shared platforms (i.e. address the "how" and "what" questions about platforming). It begins with a general overview of product family design to introduce the general reader to the topic and then progress to more advanced topics and design theory to help designers, engineers, and project managers plan, architect, and implement platform-based product development strategies for their company. Finally, successful industry applications provide readers and practitioners with case studies and "talking points" to become platform advocates and leaders within their organization.

• The first book to cover the strategic implementation of personalized learning in workforce education and higher education settings. • A critical contribution to actionable literature on effective lifelong learning, training, and education programs. • Provides a design framework to address many of the challenges facing existing training programs.

In many ways, the process of innovation is a constant social dance, where the best dancers thrive by adapting new steps with multiple partners. The systematic and continuous generation of value in any innovation system relies on collaboration between different groups, who must overcome multiple, often competing agendas and needs to work together fruitfully over the long term. Featuring contributions from leading researchers, business leaders, and policymakers representing North America, Europe, India, Africa, and Australasia, this volume investigates different combinations of collaborative arrangements among innovation actors, many of which are changing conventional expectations of institutional relationships. Collectively, the authors demonstrate that no particular combination has emerged as the most dominant, or even resilient, model of innovation. Several authors expand on our understanding of the triple helix model, with both academics and practitioners looking to the quadruple helix (encompassing business, academic, government, and civil society) as the new standard. Other authors address aspects of open innovation, co-creation, and user-centered design-all testaments to the rapidly shifting landscape. At the same time, many businesses, academics, and governments, not to mention non-profit organizations, foundations, and society at large, are active in conversations about how to pursue a more sustainable model of innovation. The pursuit of this holy grail of innovation is both facilitated and complicated by an ever-accelerating technological environment in which social networking and mobile tools are emerging as new dance arenas.

The blurring of boundaries between hitherto distinct scientific disciplines, technologies or markets is a common and powerful phenomenon. Subjects of this convergence often change consumer behaviours, favouring products and platforms with multiple functions. The Anticipation of Converging Industries provides a detailed focus on the triggers, drivers and consequences of convergence to create a more concise definition of convergence. This detailed analysis includes a specifically developed toolbox for 'convergence foresight', creating a forecasting method for convergence trends. With the focus on the chemical, biotechnological and pharmaceutical industries, several indicators of convergence in the areas of Nutraceuticals/Functional Foods, Cosmeceuticals and ICT are derived from samples including over 1million patents and scientific publications. By supporting this methodical approach with real world data, The Anticipation of Converging Industries is perfect for industry practitioners looking for a competitive edge in the present and for the future. Similarly, academics will find a comprehensive theoretical concept for better understanding the underlying rationale of convergence at their disposal

Sickness absenteeism is a widely researched workplace health problem that has long been seen as a cost to employers. However, recent literature indicates that the counterpart of absenteeism - termed as 'presenteeism' which refers to the practice of coming to work despite health complications, such as illness, injury or anxiety - often results in reduced productivity. Although presenteeism is much more costly compared to absenteeism, it is not yet common practice in organizations to measure the costs and use it as one of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
The author presents the important issues related to the nature and extent of presenteeism and cites examples from different studies. The book discusses in depth why employees come to work despite being sick, strategies to manage presenteeism behavior and who should be taking the lead in managing such employee behavior. In addition, the author also includes three studies conducted in Singapore on the different aspects of presenteeism. The book offers a chapter on how to measure the cost of presenteeism to aid readers in measuring the cost of presenteeism in their own respective organizations.

This book develops an IT strategy for cloud computing that helps businesses evaluate their readiness for cloud services and calculate the ROI. The framework provided helps reduce risks involved in transitioning from traditional "on site" IT strategy to virtual "cloud computing." Since the advent of cloud computing, many organizations have made substantial gains implementing this innovation. Cloud computing allows companies to focus more on their core competencies, as IT enablement is taken care of through cloud services. Cloud Computing and ROI includes case studies covering retail, automobile and food processing industries. Each of these case studies have successfully implemented the cloud computing framework and their strategies are explained. As cloud computing may not be ideal for all businesses, criteria are also offered to help determine if this strategy should be adopted.

This comprehensive book responds to the growing demand to study entrepreneurship as a key driver of innovation and competitive advantage. Challenging the existing idea that technological entrepreneurship exists predominantly in SMEs and as a result of market demands, the author argues that a commitment to entrepreneurship remains the most effective strategy for sustaining wealth generation for both organisations and entire nations. The aim of Technological Entrepreneurship is to provide the reader with additional knowledge and understanding of the concepts associated with the exploitation of technological entrepreneurship, and to demonstrate how associated management principles are somewhat different to those utilised in market-driven entrepreneurship. Validation of presented theoretical concepts is achieved through coverage of processes and practices utilised by real world organisations seeking to achieve maximum wealth generation, with specific emphasis on how technological entrepreneurship is the source of disruptive innovation within service sector organisations and how the philosophy is causing fundamental change in the provision of healthcare.