What’s happening to our universities?

In recent decades, many universities have been moving in the direction of a more hierarchical and centralised structure, with top-down planning and reduced local autonomy for departments. Yet, the management literature over this period has stressed the numerous benefits of flatter organisational structures, decentralisation and local autonomy for sections or departments. What might explain this paradox? And why have academics remained strangely quiet about this, meekly accepting their fate? This proposition paper critically examines the dangers of centralised top-down management, increasingly bureaucratic procedures, teaching to a prescribed formula, and research driven by assessment and performance targets, illustrating these with a number of specific examples. It discusses a number of possible forces driving these worrying developments, and concludes by asking whether academics may be in danger of suffering the fate of the boiled frog.     

How much do specialists have to learn from each other when they jointly develop radical product innovations?

Specialists of different domains have to collaborate whenever technically demanding product innovations are developed. Their respective knowledge contributions need to be integrated into a functioning whole. Two approaches provide insight into how this is achieved: the dominating cross-learning approach assumes that the specialists of different knowledge domains have to intensively learn from each other in order to be able to jointly develop the new product. This cross-learning implies that groups of specialists transfer their specific knowledge, which encompasses different concepts (theories), methods and world views, among each other. However, some researchers argue that intensive cross-learning between specialists is a considerable expense in time and effort and, therefore, inefficient. They insist that integration of specialists’ knowledge is achieved through structural mechanisms that significantly reduce the need for cross-learning. This article is based on one of the latter approaches. We argue that the mechanisms of transactive memory, modularization and prototyping in combination can considerably reduce knowledge transfers. This assumption has found empirical support for incremental innovations. On the basis of a comparison between incremental and radical innovation projects in an electrotechnical company, we analyze whether the assumption that, on the basis of structural mechanisms, specialists can integrate their knowledge without having to intensively learn from each other, also holds for radical innovations.     

Organ Specific Tumor Markers: What’s New?

Tumor markers are molecules produced in the body in response to cancer. An ideal tumor marker should have high sensitivity and specificity, should be cheap, and should be easily detected in body fluids. Identification of novel markers is important and it is expected that with the advent of newer technologies, more reliable markers will be discovered. This review discusses the currently available tumor markers for different malignancies.     

How do business model and health technology design influence each other? Insights from a longitudinal case study of three academic spin-offs

Academic spin-offs often lack business expertise, face uncertainties regarding their innovation and their markets, and do not have a clear idea of how their product will create value. In spite of this vagueness, academic entrepreneurs must articulate a business model and rapidly establish trustworthy relationships with potential users, purchasers and capital investors. One may thus wonder how their technology development process is influenced by the long-term expectations of their putative customers as well as the short-term requirements of capital investors? This longitudinal case study examines how the business models of three Canadian health technology spin-offs sought to address the value expectations of clinical users and capital investors, how tensions were resolved, and the impact this had on technology design. We describe the synergistic readjustments, drastic reconfiguration and mismatch between business model and technology design we observed. Our discussion highlights the mediating mechanisms by which business models and technology design influence each other, clarifying why the initial value proposition of the spin-offs was either refined or reframed. Beyond confirming the importance of differentiating business models in the health technology industry, our study suggests that it is not only who makes decision that matters, but also how stakeholders’ value expectations get embedded in a spin-off's value proposition.     

China’s reformed science and technology system: an overview and assessment1

Science and technology (S&T) systems are interconnected with economic systems. After China began to make its economic system more market‐oriented in 1979, reforms to its S&T system became urgent. China’s major breakthrough in reforming its S&T system occurred in 1985. This paper provides data on China’s changing S&T sector, outlines the processes of its reform and China’s changing sources of funding for R&D. China’s evolving technology market is given particular attention and some of its pitfalls are discussed.     

What’s mine is mine; what’s yours is mine: private ownership of ICTs as a threat to transparency

In the face of ubiquitous information communication technology, the presence of blogs, personal websites, and public message boards give the illusion of uncensored criticism and discussion of the ethical implications of business activities. However, little attention has been paid to the limitations on free speech posed by the control of access to the Internet by private entities, enabling them to censor content that is deemed critical of corporate or public policy. The premise of this research is that transparency alone will not achieve the desired results if ICT is used in a one way system, controlled by the provider of information. Stakeholders must have an avenue using the same technology to respond to and interact with the information. We propose a model that imposes on corporations a public trust, requiring these gatekeepers of communication technology to preserve individual rights to criticism and review.     

What is a genetic test, and why does it matter?

How the term ‘genetic test’ is defined, matters for social policy. The past few years have witnessed many efforts to enact legal barriers specifically against genetic discrimination. To the extent that information derived from genetic tests receives special protection, both enthusiasts for genetic medicine and those who stress its perils have an incentive to adopt a broad interpretation of genetic testing. However, the consequences have not always been those anticpated.     

Development of a holistic model for the management of an enterprise’s information assets

Organisations increasingly realise that they must transform into true digital enterprises to create competitive advantage and ensure corporate survival. However, many organisations do not realise that successful digital transformation (DT) requires much more than technology; it can only succeed if they manage their data, information and knowledge as true business assets. This paper describes collaborative research conducted by academic and industry partners, a mutually beneficial journey spanning the past ten years. The aim was to develop a Holistic Information Asset Management (HIAM) model indicating the important areas of information asset management (IAM) that support the DT journey. Interviews were conducted with C-level executives in organisations from all industries on three continents to investigate their IAM practices, the barriers to good IAM and the benefits of managing information assets (IAs) well. This paper proposes that organisations should focus on ten domains in their quest for effective IAM: i) business benefits, ii) business environment, iii) executive awareness, iv) leadership and management, v) information environment, vi) information systems, vii) information behaviour, viii) information attributes/quality, ix) information performance and x) justification.     

Game mechanics and technological mediation: an ethical perspective on the effects of MMORPG’s

In the past decades, video games have grown from a niche market to one of the major entertainment media, enticing millions of players worldwide. When ethical aspects of video games are being debated, the discussion oftentimes revolves around effects of their content, such as violence. This paper argues that effects of game mechanics, such as reward mechanisms, should be considered as well, as these are at the core of the appeal of games. We analyze the ethical dimension of behavioral game design present in Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG’s). Using the framework of technological mediation, we show how opaque and seductive game mechanics can invite problematic usage patterns, such as excessive use with negative effects on well-being, and how designers can take responsibility for morally acceptable impact of their games. Having a practical focus, the paper concludes with several proposals for better design.     

What have we learned so far? The development and application of an organisational learning narrative

The use of narratives and stories has been growing in popularity in the field of knowledge management. Narratives may be used as useful vehicles for several knowledge-based activities within organisational (and other) contexts. These include acquiring and sharing knowledge in the form of personal experiences; the storage of explicit knowledge; and significantly, the development of personal knowledge and understanding through the use of narratives for sense-making. This paper presents research into the development and application of a method for the construction of a ‘learning narrative’: an organisational narrative developed for the specific purpose of sharing experiential knowledge. The paper presents a rationale for the use of narratives within knowledge management; details a methodological approach for the development of learning narratives; and highlights a number of benefits of the use of learning narratives, notably their use in sustaining and enhancing the quality of project-based work.