Organisational rules, codification and knowledge creation in inter-organisation cooperative agreements

The aim of our paper is to analyse the process of collaboration between independent firms linked by a technological agreement in the energy field, with a specific focus on the degree of codification of inter-organisational rules. Considering the agreement as a collection of different types of more or less codified rules, we show that their degree of codification and some other characteristics have an impact on the process of inter-firm cooperation.The paper first provides an analytical framework defining the concept and the types of rules relevant for our purpose. A rule is conceived to solve a problem of allocation or creation of resources; it serves a main function which can be of a cognitive, incentive or coordination nature; it is ambivalent, i.e. it entails side functions in addition to the main one. Two theoretical propositions are then developed and largely confirmed by our empirical research results based on two detailed case studies in the emerging field of fuel cell (FC) technology.     

比较视野下的中国科学院外籍院士制度初步研究

起源于欧洲的外籍院士制度是院士制度国际化发展到一定阶段衍生出来的制度体系,是院士制度的重要组成部分。中国科学院外籍院士制度借鉴了国际通行做法,经历了漫长曲折的酝酿设计过程后于1994年建立。随着全球化的发展,外籍院士在国际合作交流中越来越成为一支不可忽视的力量。为保障外籍院士更好地发挥作用,欧美国家在外籍院士制度建设中已经形成一套行之有效的体系机制;中国科学院外籍院士制度建设充分吸纳了国际经验,同时在本土化过程中也深受国家不断提升的综合实力和历史悠久文化的影响,形成了自身的一些特色。文章在比较视野下,对中外外籍院士制度的起源发展和保障外籍院士发挥作用的体系机制方面进行了初浅的研究;在此基础上,提出了进一步优化中国科学院外籍院士制度,助力新时代我国国际科技交流合作战略实施的相关举措。     

The new product learning cycle

This paper summarizes our extensive study (n = 158) of new product success and failure in the electronics industry. Conventional “external factor” explanations of commercial product failure based on the state of the economy, foreign competition and lack of funding, were found not to be major contributors to product failure in this industry. On the other hand, factors that can be strongly influenced by management such as coordination of the create, make and market functions, the quality and frequency of customers' communications, value of the product to the customer, and the quality and efficiency of technical management explained the majority of the variance between successful and unsuccessful products. From these findings a framework for understanding and managing the new product development process that places learning and communication in the center stage was developed.Successes and failures in our sample were strongly interrelated. The knowledge gained from failures was often instrumental in achieving subsequent successes, while success in turn often resulted in unlearning the very process that led to the original success. This observation has led us to postulate a new product “learning cycle model” in which commercial successes and failures alternate in an irregular pattern of learning and unlearning.     

是什么导致了创新失效？——基于创新价值链的实证检验

将创新价值链从研发到市场的过程分为前、中、后三个阶段,以设计创新障碍、过程创新障碍和市场创新障碍作为创新间断标志,分析了价值创新要素对创新失效的影响。研究表明,我国企业的创新失效表现出较强的“两端效应”,创新价值链前、后期失效大于中期失效,创新障碍表现出功能设计、工程化能力和商业模式为特征的创新失效关键路径。在创新失效形态上,市场失效和技术失效是我国目前主要的创新失效形式。不同阶段创新障碍对失效形态的影响存在差异,设计创新障碍主要影响技术失效和市场失效,市场创新障碍主要影响市场失效和财务失效,过程创新障碍对三类失效形态都有强影响关系,     

Amplifying scientific paper’s abstract by leveraging data-weighted reconstruction

In this paper, we focus on the problem of automatically generating amplified scientific paper’s abstract which represents the most influential aspects of scientific paper. The influential aspects can be illustrated by the target scientific paper’s abstract and citation sentences discussing the target paper, which are provided in papers citing the target paper. In this paper, we extract representative sentences through data-weighted reconstruction approach(DWR) by jointly leveraging target scientific paper’s abstract and citation sentences’ content and structure. In our study, we make two-folded contributions.Firstly, sentence’s weight was learned by exploiting regularization for ranking on heterogeneous bibliographic network. Specially, Sentences-similar-Sentences relationship was identified by language modeling-based approach and added to the bibliographic network. Secondly, a data-weighted reconstruction objective function is optimized to select the most representative sentences which reconstructs the original sentence set with minimum error. In this process, sentences’ weight plays a critical role. Experimental evaluation over real dataset confirms the effectiveness of our approach.     

完善企业管理体系 实现公司生产流程化管理

该公司现行的职能式管理模式落后于国内外先进企业,管理体系不健全,过于粗糙,管理不到位。三步走,完善企业管理体系,实现公司生产流程化管理。第一步：将现行的生产管理按14类进行一级细分,一级细分后再进行二级、三级细分,使生产管理的工作精细、到位,达到生产管理＂精、准、细、严＂的基本要求。第二步：通过一年的＂精细化管理＂试行,公司对所开展的精细化管理进行全面跟踪、纠正、总结、评审、改进,并在些基础上制定出公司的＂规范化管理＂即制定公司精细化管理管理标准,并作为公司管理的标准在公司内全面推行。第三步：公司的＂规范化管理＂试行半年后,经过再次全面跟踪、纠正、总结、评审、改进,纳入公司管理体系,编写程序文件（或管理流程文件）、流程管理说明书、流程管理执行标准等文件,开展公司生产流程化管理。     

Future developments in transportation

Nearly all prognostigators, from the fellow who buys a $2 ticket on Blue Boy to the financial policy-makers of government and business, base their final conclusions upon past experience. Properly tempered (and herein lies the success or failure of the prophet), this is a completely logical procedure, and is especially applicable to engineering trends, for most of our technical progress has been achieved through a process of evolution.Thus, one of the best ways to gain an insight as to the direction in which we're going is to note our present position and to review how we reached it.In the preceding discussion, I have tried to cover a few specific phases of our transportation future in just this fashion, in order to emphasize that we can expect tomorrow further applications and extensions of the things we are working with today.     

Property,privacy and personhood in a world of ambient intelligence

Profiling technologies are the facilitating force behind the vision of Ambient Intelligence in which everyday devices are connected and embedded with all kinds of smart characteristics enabling them to take decisions in order to serve our preferences without us being aware of it. These technological practices have considerable impact on the process by which our personhood takes shape and pose threats like discrimination and normalisation. The legal response to these developments should move away from a focus on entitlements to personal data, towards making transparent and controlling the profiling process by which knowledge is produced from these data. The tendency in intellectual property law to commodify information embedded in software and profiles could counteract this shift to transparency and control. These rights obstruct the access and contestation of the design of the code that impacts one’s personhood. This triggers a political discussion about the public nature of this code and forces us to rethink the relations between property, privacy and personhood in the digital age.     

影响科技查新质量的因素分析和如何确定恰当的查新点

本文就科技查新工作中存在的一些问题,建议性地提出具体解决方案,以提高我院查新质量。首先论述了我院的查新现状,然后,从人为因素和客观因素两大方面分析了影响我院查新工作质量的主要原因,其中,人为因素包括查新员自身业务素质、客户人为因素两方面,而客观因素则包括数据库资源、工作时间等因素。查新点是贯穿整个科技查新报告的生命线,查新点应该是体现该查新课题的核心内容;本文从两个具体的查新案例着手,描述了确定恰当的查新点分析过程。最后,真对我院查新工作所存在的问题,提出展望。     

我国科技奖励体制存在的几个问题

经过多年探索与实践,尤其是1999年和2005年两次重大改革后,初步形成了较为完善的具有中国特色的科技奖励体制。但是,科技奖励运行过程中出现的科学共同体奖边缘化,民间奖没有得到充分发展,奖励对象偏差,奖励程序行政主导因素大等问题没有从根本上得以解决,必然会影响我国科技奖励事业的健康发展。     

On the conclusive validation of symbol manipulative processes (How do you know it has to work?)

This paper discusses the ramifications of the problem of proving that the design of a symbol manipulating processor conclusively does what the designer intended. More specifically, it explores such questions as: (1) What different interpretations can be given to the expression “the intent of the process”? (2) Does the process, or should the process end? In either event, how do we prove it? (3) If the process does end, how do we prove that it does what was intended? This question may be meaningful even if the process does not end. (4) Is there a whole class of processes that stand or fall together? Can we adapt our proof of conclusiveness to cover the whole class? (5) Do the processes of the class yield the same or different results, and whichever it is, how do we prove it? The example of formal differentiation from the calculus is used to illustrate these problems; and question number four is developed in detail to illustrate the mixture of mathematical, logical, linguistic, computer science, procedural and even psychological insights involved. References are given for the methods of attack on the other questions.     

Anticipatory innovation of professional services: The case of auditing and artificial intelligence

With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), professional services firms (PSFs) need to innovate their services to adapt to AI. However, traditional ad hoc innovations driven by individual professionals have limitations in incorporating new technology outside their expertise. Although service R&D—an organizational function for centralized coordination of service innovations in strategically targeted areas—is potentially effective, studies on service R&D have still been scarce. This case study aims to fill the gap by examining how PSFs can establish and utilize service R&D to innovate services, overcoming the challenges of AI adoption. An in-depth qualitative study was conducted on the process by which the Big Four audit firms incorporated AI into their external audit service in Japan in the 2010s. The analysis shows the detailed process of how newly created service R&D organizations advanced AI adoption in the case firms. This study contributes to the literature on innovations in services and PSFs by (1) demonstrating the neglected but critical role of service R&D as an innovation enabler beyond the existing expertise of service firms, (2) constructing a three-phase model of the evolution of the service R&D function, and (3) suggesting the significance of innovation process design for the legitimation of innovations. This study also expands our knowledge of AI adoption, presenting a process tailored to address the challenges inherent in AI adoption for PSFs.     

Examining users’ knowledge change in the task completion process

This paper examines the changes of information searchers’ topic knowledge levels in the process of completing information tasks. Multi-session tasks were used in the study, which enables the convenience of eliciting users’ topic knowledge during their process of completing the whole tasks. The study was a 3-session laboratory experiment with 24 participants, each time working on one subtask in an assigned 3-session general task. The general task was either parallel or dependently structured. Questionnaires were administered before and after each session to elicit users’ perceptions of their knowledge levels, task attributes, and other task features, for both the overall task and the sub-tasks. Our results support the assumption that users’ knowledge generally increases after each search session, but there were exceptions in which a “ceiling” effect was shown. We also found that knowledge was correlated with users’ perceptions of task attributes and accomplishment. In addition, task type was found to affect several aspects of knowledge levels and knowledge change. These findings further our understanding of users’ knowledge in information tasks and are thus helpful for information retrieval research and system design.     

Learning a merge model for multilingual information retrieval

This paper proposes a learning approach for the merging process in multilingual information retrieval (MLIR). To conduct the learning approach, we present a number of features that may influence the MLIR merging process. These features are mainly extracted from three levels: query, document, and translation. After the feature extraction, we then use the FRank ranking algorithm to construct a merge model. To the best of our knowledge, this practice is the first attempt to use a learning-based ranking algorithm to construct a merge model for MLIR merging. In our experiments, three test collections for the task of crosslingual information retrieval (CLIR) in NTCIR3, 4, and 5 are employed to assess the performance of our proposed method. Moreover, several merging methods are also carried out for a comparison, including traditional merging methods, the 2-step merging strategy, and the merging method based on logistic regression. The experimental results show that our proposed method can significantly improve merging quality on two different types of datasets. In addition to the effectiveness, through the merge model generated by FRank, our method can further identify key factors that influence the merging process. This information might provide us more insight and understanding into MLIR merging.     

Managing research and innovation networks: Evidence from a government sponsored cross-industry program

Important innovations are increasingly produced based on research engagement and fertilization across industries. However, we know little about the challenges associated with managing innovation networks in specific contexts that involves researchers in cross-industry collaboration. Against this backdrop, we draw on theory on design and orchestration of innovation networks to analyze a large-scale government sponsored program, “ProcessIT Innovations” that was designed to increase competitiveness and accelerate economic growth in Northern Sweden. The program was initiated and led by firms from the traditionally strong local process industry and engaged local researchers and firms from the emerging IT industry. Based on our analyses, we offer two contributions. First, we provide a detailed analysis of the challenges related to configuration of the network, orchestration of partnerships between participants, and facilitation of innovation in dedicated development projects. Second, we propose a model of managing research and innovation networks through fertilization across industries and between firms and research institutions.     

Beyond formal R&D: Taking advantage of other sources of innovation in low- and medium-technology industries

This study deepens our knowledge of critical success factors in the innovation process of low- and medium-technology (LMT) industries. To accomplish this, it explores how the innovation process in LMT firms may depend on non-formal R&D activities and the use of external sources. The empirical analysis is based on a representative panel of Spanish manufacturing firms. The results strongly support the view that non-R&D activities such as design, the use of advanced machinery and training are crucial to understanding the innovation process of any firm. The study finds, however, that the impact of these activities is especially important in LMT industries, particularly for the achievement of product innovations. The empirical evidence also reveals the importance of external sources such as the use of consultants, the hiring of personnel, collaboration agreements and external R&D, with the greatest differences between LMT and high-technology (HT) firms being observed in process innovations.     

浅谈从模具的冲压特性来选择模具

在目前激烈的市场竞争中,产品投入市场的迟早,往往是决定产品占领市场份额的关键。而模具是一种高质量、高效率的生产工具,它在新产品开发中扮演着重要的角色。如何根据产品零部件的工艺特性来正确地选择加工方法和模具种类,是我们每个设计人员经常遇到的问题。如在确保质量的前提下,尽量减少周转、装夹工序,已是我们设计制造的发展方向。在工件加工时,减少一道加工工序就减少了一次周转,降低了磕碰的概率;省去了一次装夹校正,增加了生产效率,减少了一项装夹误差,提高了加工精度。因此选择适当,既能保证产品质量,又能提高生产效率,从而使企业获得更高的经济效益。     

University capabilities in facilitating entrepreneurship: A longitudinal study of spin-off ventures at mid-range universities

This paper investigated how universities facilitate the process of spin-off venture formation based on academic research. Building on a capability perspective, we add to the literature on university characteristics and resources by exploring how the university context impacts the entrepreneurial process. We based our study on two mid-range universities and followed the start-up process of four spin-off ventures. Based on the results of our longitudinal study, we propose a set of three university capabilities that facilitate the venture-formation process: (1) creating new paths of action, (2) balancing both academic and commercial interests, and (3) integrating new resources. Each capability is particularly important for specific phases in the venturing process. Our findings suggest that these capabilities are dependent on prior spin-off experience and reside within several actors both inside and outside of the university. Furthermore, universities with weaknesses in the identified areas can take strategic action to develop these capabilities to some degree.     

中国企业影响ERP应用绩效相关因素的路径分析

在文献回顾的基础上,利用在渝30家中小企业的87份有效问卷数据对企业的初始因素、ERP采用和实施投入决策、实施过程、ERP应用绩效之间的关系进行了探索性路径分析。结果表明：企业的先天条件和采用动因对企业的投入决策产生显著的正面影响,而实施投入对企业的实施过程和应用绩效产生显著的正面影响。企业先天条件和ERP实施过程显著正相关;和实施投入相比,实施过程对ERP应用绩效产生更大的正向作用。和预期相反,企业的先天条件和采用动因对应用绩效产生显著负的影响。     

The effect of financial constraints, absorptive capacity and complementarities on the adoption of multiple process technologies

This paper investigates the factors affecting the multiple adoption of new process technologies in manufacturing. We focus our attention on the effect of both financial resources and absorptive capacity on the decision to introduce the technology. We argue in favour of a negative effect of financial constraints and provide reasons for a differential effect of internal and external R&D on innovation adoption. Additionally, the methodology allows us to consider the possible complementarities arising when firms adopt several new process technologies. Our results show that financial constraints are dependent on the technology analyzed, whereas only internal R&D investments are strong predictors of adoption. We are also able to present evidence that the three technologies analyzed (numerically controlled machines, computer aided design and robotics) are, to some extent, complementary.