Increasingly, researchers and policymakers alike recognize that innovations are generated by complex and dynamic national ecosystems that include government, industry, universities and schools. Because these systems differ by country and are strongly influenced by culture, effective policy and research strategies require a systems approach, in which policy consensus is built on a clear understanding of how each nation's innovation ecosystem functions. This book outlines a unique methodology for constructing visual maps of national innovation ecosystems. The authors provide completed maps for six countries (Israel, Poland, Germany, France, Spain and Singapore), and two regions (Greater Toronto and ZhiangJiang Technology Park in Shanghai), along with detailed breakdowns of the policy implications emerging from each. These in-depth examples and a clear methodological approach offer a comprehensive guide for constructing visual portrayals of innovation systems and demonstrate why this is a vital exercise. Scholars and students of innovation and management will find this book an invaluable resource, as will innovation policymakers across the world. Contents: 1. Towards national innovation system 2. Method for mapping innovation ecosystems 3. The Israeli national innovation ecosystem 4. The Polish national innovation ecosystem 5. The German national innovation ecosystem 6. The French national innovation ecosystem 7. The Spanish national innovation ecosystem 8. The health industry innovation ecosystem in the of Ontario, Canada 9. The innovation ecosystem in Shanghai, China 10. The Singaporian national innovation ecosystem 11. Conclusion: A Comparison of national & regional innovation ecosystems Epilog: Systems mindset as foundations for policy References Index

Managing New Product Development and Innovation provides a new approach to the microeconomics of innovation by measuring the technical quality of new products and guiding the managers of innovation and technology in the central considerations of today's knowledge-based companies. The volume features a selection of practical microeconomic tools for managing new product development and innovation. By quantifying product features and evaluating the costs and market value of improvements, a simple yet powerful conceptual framework is created. Using this framework, creative business models can be built, along with innovative products, services and processes that achieve marketplace success. The authors address five key questions facing managers of knowledge-based companies: * Which new features should be added to existing products? * Which radically new features should be innovated? * How can marketing and R&D be integrated? * How can the value of brand names be estimated and optimized? * How can the sophistication of product technology be measured - both at a given point in time and between two points in time? This path-breaking volume will be essential reading for managers of innovation, and will be warmly welcomed by teachers and advanced students with an interest in innovation and industrial economics.

Landmark papers by prominent scholars in the field of economic psychology are drawn together in this authoritative reference collection which demonstrates the varied ways in which the insights of psychology have been applied to the understanding of economic behaviour. This illuminating volume reveals how the application of psychology to economics restores its vigour and veracity, demonstrating the relevance of economics to the human condition and to efforts to improve it. This selection was made in consultation with nearly 40 leading figures in the field. It will prove an invaluable reference tool for the student and researcher alike.

This book comprises, in one compact volume, cutting-edge research in behavioral economics and economic psychology, published mainly during the past five years. The judicious selection of articles examines the subject from a variety of perspectives and includes papers on the historical origins and methodologies of behavioral economics; rational choice in childhood; behavioral aspects of saving, risk and investment; effort, pay and poverty; seeking happiness; and social norms and culture. The editor has written an original introduction which illuminates and complements his choice. The book will be of interest to all who teach and research behavioural economics, as well as those who wish to learn about this growing discipline.

What do economists know that business executives find useful? Economics "ought" to be indispensable for business decision-makers because it deals with the issues executives face daily: what to pro duce, how and how much, at what price, how best to use resources (time, labor, capital), how to understand markets. Why, then, do managers often think that economists' theories are ivory-tower and impractical? Perhaps because most economics texts are mystifying, jargon-rid den, and written from every perspective "except" that of the line manager.
In "Executive Economics: Ten Essential Tools for Managers, " Shlomo Maital brings economics down to earth, back to the hard day-to-day decisions that executives have to make. He shows how all decisions can be organized around two key questions: What is it worth? What must I give up to get it? Answering these questions depends upon finding and maintaining the right relation in the "triangle of profit" -- cost, price, and value.
Each of "Executive Economics" ten chapters focuses on one or more legs of the triangle of profit, defines a decision tool, and illustrates how it can be used to improve the quality of executive decisions. Drawing on recent examples from both Fortune 500 firms and smaller companies, Maital shows why economics main contribution is to deepen executives' understanding of the structure of their costs, and to explain why some of a business's highest expenses are those that never appear on a check stub or in a profit-and-loss statement.
"Executive Economics" is written "for" executives, "about" executives, and by an author who has both taught executives at MIT's Sloan School of Management for over a decade and served as a consultant to small and large businesses. It is must reading for executives who need simple, effective decision-making tools to give them an edge in today's competitive global economy.

Through a series of short stories and brief case studies about great innovators, this book will help managers and entrepreneurs rethink their innovation processes, using the tools outlined in the book. The eight chapters include narratives on: From Ideas to Action; Breaking the Rules; Learning Creativity from our Kids; Innovation as a Team Sport; and Innovating for Those with Less. The basic idea is that the best way to become a world-class innovator is to learn from other world-class innovators and to study what they did and how they did it.