Antonio Hidalgo

Innovation management techniques and tools: a review from theory and practice

Knowledge is considered to be an economic driver in todays economy. It has become a commodity, a resource that can be packed and transferred. The objective of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the scope, trends and major actors (firms, organizations, government, consultants, academia, etc.) in the development and use of methods to manage innovation in a knowledge-driven economy. The paper identifies the main innovation management techniques (IMTs) aiming at the improvement of firm competitiveness by means of knowledge management. It will specifically focus on those IMTs for which knowledge is a relevant part of the innovation process. The research study, based on a survey at the European level, concludes that a knowledge-driven economy affects the innovation process and approach. The traditional idea that innovation is based on research (technology-push theory) and interaction between firms and other actors has been replaced by the current social network theory of innovation, where knowledge plays a crucial role in fostering innovation. Simultaneously, organizations in both public and private sectors have launched initiatives to develop methodologies and tools to support business innovation management. Higher education establishments, business schools and consulting companies are developing innovative and adequate methodologies and tools, while public authorities are designing and setting up education and training schemes aimed at disseminating best practices among all kinds of businesses.

The role of a firm's absorptive capacity and the technology transfer process in clusters: How effective are technology centres in low-tech clusters?

This paper analyses how the internal resources of small- and medium-sized enterprises determine access (learning processes) to technology centres (TCs) or industrial research institutes (innovation infrastructure) in traditional low-tech clusters. These interactions basically represent traded (market-based) transactions, which constitute important sources of knowledge in clusters. The paper addresses the role of TCs in low-tech clusters, and uses semi-structured interviews with 80 firms in a manufacturing cluster. The results point out that producer–user interactions are the most frequent; thus, the higher the sector knowledge-intensive base, the more likely the utilization of the available research infrastructure becomes. Conversely, the sectors with less knowledge-intensive structures, i.e. less absorptive capacity (AC), present weak linkages to TCs, as they frequently prefer to interact with suppliers, who act as transceivers of knowledge. Therefore, not all the firms in a cluster can fully exploit the available research infrastructure, and their AC moderates this engagement. In addition, the existence of TCs is not sufficient since the active role of a firms search strategies to undertake interactions and conduct openness to available sources of knowledge is also needed. The study has implications for policymakers and academia.

Cooperation in the knowledge transfer process: evidence from the demand side in Mexico

The relationship in the knowledge transfer (KT) process between science and production has become less fortuitous and more systemic. However, while there are many ways of carrying out the KT between firms and universities, there is a little understanding about these mechanisms. This paper presents the results of the analysis focused on scientific-technological KT in four Mexican firms and carried out by the case study approach. The analysis highlights the use of KT mechanisms as a means to obtain scientific-technological knowledge, learning, building S&T capabilities, and achieve the results of the R&D and innovation by firms.

Global value chain reconfiguration through external linkages and the development of newcomers: a global story of clusters and innovation

Industrial district literature has focused on local endogenous development. So far, these works analyse the external ties between clusters and the reconfiguration of global value chains (GVC) in the last decade, opening a new research stream to understand innovation and its impact on differing territories. This article analyses intercluster linkages through multinational enterprise (MNE) affiliates that are located in related clusters along the ceramic GVC. Firstly, the paper explores how the clusters within the industry have changed over time and uses a qualitative meta-study approach. Secondly, an explorative analysis is conducted to analyse how MNE and the external linkages MNE affiliates help to connect distant clusters and to diffuse innovation which reshape the GVC although not all the industries and clusters play the same role in reconfiguring GVCs.

Drivers and impacts of ICT adoption on transport and logistics services

Summary The availability of high‐quality transport and logistics services (TLS) is of paramount importance for the growth and competitiveness of an economy. The objective of this paper is to describe how European companies in this industry use information and communication technology (ICT) for conducting business and to assess the impact of this development for firms and the industry as a whole. A comparison with some important Asia Pacific economies is also presented, indicating that some of these countries (Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, and Korea) boast very good transport infrastructure compared with the most developed European economies. Using the structure‐conduct‐performance (SCP) model and the bi‐directional relationships of its elements, the paper identifies the links between ICT adoption and market structure, innovation dynamics, and firm performance. A set of recommendations on how to further improve the actual scenario of e‐business in the TLS industry is also presented. The model could also be implemented in Asian countries.

My computer is infected: the role of users’ sensation seeking and domain-specific risk perceptions and risk attitudes on computer harm

Literature has traditionally shown the potentially harmful consequences of risk-taking in a variety of domains. Less scholarly attention, however, has been directed to the study of risk-taking in the computer use domain. Using scanned data from 1902 computers, we sought to analyze the potentially harmful consequences that sensation-seeking and computer use risk perceptions and attitudes had on users’ computer vulnerability. Results of the study indicated that general sensation-seeking as well as computer use risk perceptions and risk attitudes were predictive of computer harm. The general measure of sensation-seeking was predictive of both risk perceptions and risk attitudes which in turn translated into the existence of malicious software in users’ computers.

Technological capacity and innovation in Spain: a qualitative analysis based on patents

Technological innovation is a complex process that defines the capacity to produce new products and represents a key element in understanding the level of a countrys technological development. It is not, however, easily measurable, even though its relationship with indicators linked to the process of research and development (R&D) and with the existence of technological capacity is recognised. Patents are indicators that provide information not only about the results of the manufacturing process but also the technological innovation processes developed by companies and organisations and the technological capacity deployed. This study has focused on Spanish technological capabilities, through the analysis of the patents that have been applied for and granted on a sector-level basis, the strength of technological cooperation and the quality of the patents measured according to the number of claims.

ERP Software selection processes: A case study in the metal transformation sector

When a firm decides to implement ERP softwares, the resulting consequences can pervade all levels, includ- ing organization, process, control and available information. Therefore, the first decision to be made is which ERP solution must be adopted from a wide range of offers and vendors. To this end, this paper describes a methodology based on multi-criteria factors that directly affects the process to help managers make this de- cision. This methodology has been applied to a medium-size company in the Spanish metal transformation sector which is interested in updating its IT capabilities in order to obtain greater control of and better infor- mation about business, thus achieving a competitive advantage. The paper proposes a decision matrix which takes into account all critical factors in ERP selection.

Design and development challenges for an E2E DRM content business integration platform

Current studies on Digital Rights Management (DRM) have focused on controlling access to and copies of contents, centered exclusively on the end of the value chain (end users). This focus has been oriented towards security and encryption as a means of solving the issue of illegal copying by purchasers. In this paper, we propose End-to-End Digital Rights Management (E2E DRM) that involves the protection of the content throughout the entire value chain. This concept is given form in the new technologies for representing intellectual property (IP) which, in a secure and unequivocal manner, identify the content at each point in the value chain: from the author to the end user, the content is identifiable in any of the transactions and statuses through which it passes. The key concept which E2E DRM must provide is not only the governability of access and copying, but also that of all the processes associated with the content business. We establish an E2E DRM model and architecture, and propose the R&D management of its design and implementation that makes it possible to protect content from content creator to purchaser. Finally, the paper also analyzes their impact from a global perspective.

The role of knowledge‐intensive service activities (KISA) in basic agro‐food processes innovation: The case of orange packers in Eastern Spain

Summary The relevance of innovation in services has been outlined by the knowledge‐intensive business services (KIBS) concept, which has been empirically and theoretically developed in the context of service innovation. The conceptual and methodology approach of knowledge‐intensive service activities (KISA) links the production of knowledge to innovative activities, and has become a relevant focus for the analysis of innovation within a firm. Though relatively new, it has been given a great deal of attention by practitioners and academics in the last five years. This paper will explore, analyze, and compare the ways in which knowledge‐intensive activities occur in a small cluster of mature and low‐tech industries: orange and lemon selection in Spain. The paper aims to assess the impact of KISA on the firms innovation and performance, as well as to analyze whether KISA occurrence is correlated with certain characteristics of firms such as size, organizational profile, market focus, and other characteristics. A model correlating these variables will additionally be proposed and validated.