Alison U. Smart

The costs of adoption of RFID technologies in supply networks

– The purpose of this paper is to identify the different types of adoption costs faced by organizations involved in the adoption of radio frequency identification (RFID) within supply networks, and to understand how these potential costs affect the likelihood of RFID adoption., – The paper applies an existing generic theoretical framework of costs associated with process innovation adoption to the case of RFID technology. Data are collected by interviewing participants in the RFID adoption process in supply network settings, and by examining a range of publicly available information on RFID development. The data are used to test and expand the theoretical framework., – Of the six main categories of generic process innovation costs, four are identified as applicable in the case of RFID adoption by early adopters: development, switching, cost of capital and implementation. No evidence is found for initiation and relational costs. In addition, a seventh category of costs is identified as applicable to the adoption of RFID in supply networks: ethical costs associated with privacy and health issues., – Further empirical work is required to test the generalisability of the findings. Because RFID technology is still in the early phases of development, the research has been able to consider only early adopters: further work is required as the technology matures to assess the impact of costs throughout the technology development lifecycle., – The work demonstrates that when considering the adoption of RFID managers need to look at a range of potential costs in making the investment decision. Policy makers also need to consider how organizations consider a range of costs that may not be explicitly specified when making adoption decisions., – The paper tests and extends the generic framework of costs associated with process innovations in supply networks. The study also clarifies the various costs involved in the adoption of RFID technologies by early adopters, and their influence on the decision to adopt.

Proven methods for innovation management: an executive wish list

Innovation specialists from the largest British companies discussed what they wanted to know about innovation, and asked the academic community to suggest some answers. Some, but by no means all, of their questions had already been answered in the published literature. The behaviours that support a culture of innovation include a market orientation, an innovation-friendly ruling coalition, and organisational structures that propel novelty. These behaviours also encourage creativity if the risk-taking employees are rewarded for success and if they are asked to explain their personal mission at intervals. Several methods which researchers have found effective for the identification of ideas which may become market winners are discussed, as are methods building organisational competencies for innovation. Some of their remaining questions are being addressed by research projects currently in progress.

Process Innovation Costs in Supply Networks: A Synthesis

This paper provides a synthesis of the literature on the costs incurred by organizations that develop, adopt and use inter-organizational process innovations in supply networks. A review of the literature in this area suggests that innovation costs influence the pattern of adoption. There is, however, a lack of consensus about what these innovation costs entail. Based on a review of innovation literature in the area of information systems, this paper develops an integrative framework of inter-organizational process innovation costs. The framework identifies six broad categories of costs (both tangible and intangible) that map onto different stages of organizational innovation: development and initiation costs associated with the generation of an innovation; switching costs and the cost of capital associated with the acceptance stage; and implementation and relational costs associated with implementation. The framework serves not only to organize the existing literature but also to provide the impetus for future research into the role that different categories of costs play in shaping inter-organizational process innovation in supply networks.

The regional‐newspaper industry supply chain and the internet

Purpose – This paper aims to understand the impact of the internet on different value activities in a physical goods (newspaper) supply chain.Design/methodology/approach – Case studies were used to obtain rich data from three newspaper companies. The selected case study companies had experienced changes in their value chains as a result of the internet.Findings – The internet has led to falling advertising revenues and dwindling circulations. The companies reacted to this by developing online news services, which do not have the distribution costs of a physical product, enable the customisation of editorial and advertising content, and facilitate the co‐creation of news content with consumers. Moving online has, however, not fully compensated for the losses in revenues. Readers were reluctant to pay for online content, the income from of the sale of web‐based advertising space was significantly lower than for the printed form, and journalists resisted co‐creation.Research limitations/implications – The sm...

Factors affecting schedule instability in manufacturing companies

Schedule instability is a major issue in many manufacturing companies. It results in a low service level to customers, high inventory levels, and high costs associated with production changeovers. Much has been written on schedule instability in the literature, but most studies have used simulation and mathematical modelling to look at the internal operations of manufacturing companies. While schedule instability has always been very much a practical problem, there have been few empirical studies presented in the literature. The aim of this research was to obtain the opinions of practitioners on schedule instability, and to identify factors that affect the perceived level of instability experienced by manufacturing companies. An e-mail/web-based survey was administered to practitioners working in the planning and scheduling area. The results suggest that the majority of the respondents perceive schedule instability to be either an important or a very important issue in their operations. Analysis of the responses also shows that schedule instability is affected mainly by external factors, notably relationships with buyers and relationships with suppliers; internal operations have a lower impact. The research moves the debate about schedule instability beyond the current concentration on simulation and mathematical modelling, and from a focus on internal operations to a supply-chain context.

Homogeneity and heterogeneity in information technology private standard settings - the institutional account

The IT (information technology) standardisation landscape is characterised by the increasing importance of private standard setting consortia, a greater convergence between the structural features of formal and private standard organisations, and greater diversity in standard organisations. Institutional theory has been applied to explain the convergence of standard setting bodies. This paper applies institutional theory to four studies of standards organisations, showing that there are indeed homogenising mimetic, coercive and normative forces in standard setting that lead to the convergence of emergent organisations with the institutional features, but that there are also forces promoting heterogeneity, in particular the multiplicity of institutional fields within which standards consortia operate, leading to a complex, and often conflicting, matrix of institutional norms to be accommodated.

Does benchmarking help

In this paper we examine benchmarking as it is used in fund management and especially asset allocation. We explore the concept of benchmarking in fund management, and selection of the appropriate benchmark. Some of the major problems associated with benchmarking are dealt with, including the risks involved and measures taken to deal with the inherent risk, such as risk adjustment. Finally we advocate that trustees need to interact with fund managers more closely if the fund is to develop in the desired direction. This should include an understanding of the organisational aspects of the fund managers role.

The Management of Knowledge during Design and Implementation of Process Technologies

Knowledge and learning play a major part in the successful implementation of process technologies. We suggest that managers of implementation projects can improve the initial performance levels of the process in which a new technology resides by ensuring that useful knowledge, present in the organization at the start of the implementation project, is employed to greatest effect during the design of the modified process and that new learning is not lost. This does not necessarily require major investment in computerized systems – merely exploring what potentially useful knowledge is already available within the organization, or can readily be obtained from external contact, may improve the efficiency of technology implementation. Use of available knowledge can also help to speed up the implementation process by reducing the number of, and time required for, the adaptations necessary to get the process to the desired performance level.

Innovation exploitation, exploration and supplier relationship management

This paper describes how supplier relationship management facilitates innovation exploitation and exploration in brewing and bus manufacturing. In the two industries examined, strong ties are associated with exploitation whilst mixed features of strong and weak ties benefit exploration. This is in contrast to the findings of Gilsing and Nooteboom (2005) and suggests that tie strength associated with exploitation and exploration differs according to the industrial context in which firms operate. The findings also suggest different streams of capabilities are required to manage supplier relationships. In exploitation strong ties facilitate capabilities to identify new opportunities, to form a collective to pool resources and to work across organisational boundaries. In exploration weak ties are conducive to the search for new ideas but impede firms’ capability to realise potential innovations. Relationship management becomes challenging when innovations are radical, with high complexity in communication and...

The tensions shaping the emergence of standard bodies: The case of a national health informatics standards body

This study applies New Institutional theory to identify the social processes shaping the emergence of a standard setting body. Meyer and Rowan’s classification of the mechanisms that lead to the creation of institutional rules—relational networks, degree of collective organisation and leadership—is applied to a health informatics private standard consortia operating in the UK. The study identifies a number of conflicts within the institutional contexts within which the standard body operates. Such conflicts undermine the institutionalised rules that frame the emergence of the standard body and lead to the erosion of the institutionalised standardisation practice.