Dorothée Zerwas

Consideration of Knowledge and Technology Transfer Characteristics for Research Evaluation

Knowledge and Technology Transfer (KTT) is currently becoming the third mission for the scientific community in addition to research and education. Therefore, there is a growing need to evaluate the impact of KTT, both directly and indirectly, on industry and society. However, despite the growing importance of KTT and the considerable amount of research that has already been conducted in this field, existing approaches to research evaluation primarily focus on quantitative determinants (e.g., number of publications, patents and licenses, number of collaboration projects with industry, or of companies founded) thereby neglecting transfer-oriented aspects of research evaluation. Therefore, in this article we investigate the characteristics of KTT, and to what extent they are taken into account by existing research evaluation approaches. Our results confirm that, up until now, KTT has been infrequently considered as an approach toward the evaluation of current research. Existing evaluation approaches focus on quantitative determinants, but to some extent they fail to realize that those determinants are not equally appropriate for evaluating KTT in different scientific disciplines or traditions. Based on our results, we call for more integrative and systematic research, building a foundation to meet the requirements of the growing importance of KTT in research evaluation.

Summary, Conclusion and Outlook

This section concludes this thesis with an overview of its findings and contributions to management and research along with its implications for management and research. The first section 5.1 begins with an overall summary of this thesis and its contribution to management and research. The second section 5.2 addresses the implications for management with respect to trust, collaboration, openness and learning receptivity, which are the dimensions of organizational culture that are relevant to the support of absorptive capacity. The third section 5.3 discusses the limitations of the investigation along with further research needs.

A Model of External Knowledge Absorption

The purpose of the model is to describe the absorption of external knowledge and to explain the influence of organizational culture to derive starting points for organizational-culture-driven control of external knowledge absorption. Furthermore, an empirical test of the model should be possible, so that the theoretically identified starting points for how a knowledge-oriented organizational culture should be designed to support the absorption of external knowledge can be realized in terms of their practical suitability.

An Empirical Analysis of the Research Models

The objective of the empirical analysis is to evaluate the model of SMEs’ external knowledge absorption. The overall research design to pursue this objective can be summarized as follows: In the previous sections, the hypotheses were derived from theoretical statements made in the literature on absorptive capacity and organizational culture and expanded to aspects of the theoretical approaches to organizational theory. An empirically testable model of external knowledge absorption in the context of organizational culture was then developed, which represents how the several dimensions of organizational culture are related to the acquisition, assimilation, transformation and exploitation capabilities at the organizational level. The hypotheses about the relationship among the dimensions of organization culture and the capabilities of absorptive capacity that are represented in the model are the basis of the analysis of the research model in section 4. Figure 19 presents the structure for the empirical analysis of the research models.

Entwicklung eines Modells zum Wissenstransfer zwischen Unternehmen unter besonderer Berücksichtigung relevanter Einflussfaktoren

Based on the model of knowledge transfer between science and industry developed by Polt et al. (2001), this article outlines the development of a model for knowledge transfer between companies. Key drivers for this type of knowledge transfer were identified by means of a literature review. The results of this review are compared with the features of the model of Polt et al. (2001). This model was modified to suit the company context. At the end of the article follows an analysis for the context “large corporations vs. small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)”. The discussion of whether the relevance of drivers differs across various company contexts forms part of the paper.

The Impact, Meaning and Challenges of Knowledge Absorption

At the present time, many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are confronted with difficult market conditions. These conditions involve, for example, increasing globalization, greater competitive intensity, advances in information and communication technology (ICT) and changes in organizational structures (cf. Argote, McEvily & Reagans 2003a, p. v, cf. Ebrahim, Ahmed & Taha 2010, p. 917, cf. Hall 2003, p. iii, cf. Picot, Reichwald & Wigand 2003, p. 2 ff.). As a consequence, SMEs must be able to quickly and flexibly respond to market changes to stay competitive.

Kommerzialisierungsansätze in Open-Source-Software-Projekten

ZusammenfassungenDie letzten Jahre haben gezeigt, dass Open-Source-Software (OSS) nicht nur eine konkurrenzfähige und kostengünstige Alternative zu proprietärer Software geworden ist, sondern ebenso, dass kommerzielle OSS in vielen Ausprägungen existiert, bezogen auf Erlösmodell, Lizenztyp, Entwicklungsmethode, die Anzahl partizipierender Firmen und freiwilliger Programmierer sowie Regeln der Zusammenarbeit. Zur besseren Einordnung wird zwischen Community und Commercial OSS auf Basis von Eigentums- und Kontrollstrukturen unterschieden. Der vorliegende Artikel geht einen Schritt weiter und stellt einen erweiterten Bezugsrahmen vor, der sowohl die Anzahl an partizipierenden Firmen als auch die Projekthistorie als Kategorisierungsaspekte mit einbezieht.

Potentials of Living Labs for the Diffusion of Information Technology: A Conceptual Analysis

In the past, the development of information systems (IS) for companies was mostly driven by experts from the information technology (IT) department. Up to today, the users’ experiences, valuation of usability and suggestions for improvements have become important components in the research and development (R&D) process in order to ensure efficiency, usability and sustainability of the IS. Many newly developed IS components do not fail in terms of usability and effectiveness due to a lack of advanced technology, but because of failure to understand the users’ needs. Living Labs - open innovation environments - offer a unique opportunity for IT departments to involve users at each stage of the R&D process.