Harm-Jan Steenhuis

Quantifying the benefits of participating in an industry university research center: An examination of research cost avoidance

The challenges to conducting valid and complete outcome evaluations of cooperative research activities, like the National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers (IUCRC) Program, are daunting. The current study tries to make a small but important contribution to this area by attempting to develop quantitative estimates of one center benefit - R&D cost avoidance. Cost avoidance is operationalized as R&D costs industrial members would have incurred but did not, because they participated in university-based industrial consortia, minus the costs of belonging to the consortia. Data were collected from a total of 18 industrial sponsors from three IUCRCs on 35 different research projects. Findings indicate that some firms do avoid R&D costs by participating in an IUCRC but the prevalence of this benefit varies across centers and across firms. The implications of these findings for policy, practice and future research are discussed.

Achieving sustainability three dimensionally

Consideration is given to achieving organisational sustainability through a holistic, integrated and multi stakeholderspsila participative approach. The notion of ldquooptimizing production processesrdquo to achieve sustainability is not sufficient since most of the unsustainable processes are found outside the certified manufacturing facility. Achieving sustainability requires a holistic consideration of business processes along the whole supply chain as well as the management systems. Conventional tools and techniques to integrate sustainability in business processes have environmental connotations and thus fail to encompass all aspects of sustainability. This paper proposes a framework that addresses sustainability at three frontiers which are life cycle analysis, operational excellence, and integration of management systems.

The additive manufacturing innovation: a range of implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into whether additive manufacturing (AM) represents incremental, radical, disruptive innovation or an industrial revolution and its implications. Design/methodology/approach This study applies a desk research strategy. Data were collected through a variety of industry sources as well as academic publications. Findings It was found that AM represents different innovations in different settings, while it represents incremental innovation in one industry, it has led to radical changes in other industries. There are also indications that it has a disruptive nature and some of the developments appear to be of the industrial revolutionary type, i.e. they cause fundamental shifts in society. Some explanation for the observed differences can come from different performance objectives. Research limitations/implications The spread of AM has been limited due to initial intellectual property protection. That means that while illustrations and examples were found for the different types of innovations, the level in which AM will ultimately penetrate manufacturing industries and society overall is not (yet) known. This calls for continued research for instance to study, in-depth, the adoption characteristics of AM in very specific settings. Practical implications Manufacturing is undergoing many changes as a consequence of the AM innovation. Many manufacturing industries have already been impacted through incremental changes as well as radical changes to entire industry dynamics. Manufacturers are advised to carefully monitor the continuous innovations in the technological capabilities of AM and their competitive and strategic consequences for adoption decisions. Social implications AM has an impact on many aspects of society because it affects many industries and enables household manufacturing. It has also affected education, i.e. the current generation of students in terms of skill requirements, and leads to legal difficulties in terms of intellectual property. Originality/value This study contributes to the understanding of the AM innovation and the widespread implications for different manufacturing industries and society at large.

International shopfloor level productivity differences: an exploratory study

Operations managers need to consider where to manufacture, or outsource, their manufacturing activities. A factor in location choice is productivity differences at different locations. This study aims to focus on determining productivity at the shopfloor level since this is the place where the differences in productivity ultimately affect the international competition position.

Consumer additive manufacturing or 3D printing adoption: an exploratory study

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore what underlies the development of the consumer 3D printing industry and gain insight into future developments and its potentially disruptive impact on the existing manufacturing industry. Design/methodology/approach A combination of approaches was followed. Initially a consumer 3D printer was purchased to gain first-hand experience as part of a practical research case study. Results were discussed with manufacturers and additional information was sought, and triangulated, via a survey and an exploratory bibliometric study. Findings Many characteristics are in place to identify consumer 3D printing as a potential disruptive technology for the manufacturing industry. For example, the cost of consumer 3D printing is lower than for traditional manufacturing. However, the current adoption rate is low and the user friendliness and technological capabilities need to improve. Research limitations/implications The main limitation is the exploratory nature of the study which does not allow generalizations. Practical implications If developments and adoption patterns continue, then traditional manufacturing industries, distribution channels and the transportation sector may become threatened. Social implications Technological advances in consumer manufacturing can potentially threaten several economic sectors, which can lead to loss of jobs and affect budgets of states of countries that depend on sales tax. Originality/value One of the first studies to employ experiments in combination with other methods to gain insight into adoption patterns and the disruptive nature of consumer 3D printers specifically, rather than industrial 3D printers or new business models as a result of 3D printing technology.

Cooperative research and technology dynamics: the role of research strategy development in NSF Science and Technology Centres

In the highly competitive global economy, virtually all technology-based firms rely on R&D inputs from outside organisations. In the USA context universities, particularly cooperative centres, are the primary source of R&D for most firms. National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Science and Technology Centres perform a pivotal role in technology development and management for the USA. Despite their importance, the management of various types of centres and in particular their research strategy development approach is not well understood. This paper in an extension of a study on research strategy formation processes within Science and Technology Centres, building on previous exploratory case studies. It was found that Science and Technology Centres use strategy formation approaches that are fundamentally different than those used in other types of centres. Also, the developed strategies vary in their characteristics. This paper sheds light on strategic processes in a new type of boundary-spanning organisation and suggestions are provided for future research.

Exploring knowledge transfer within manufacturing networks and codified information characteristics: the hidden dangers of inaccurate information

Technology transfer is an important aspect of, and takes frequently place in, international manufacturing networks. A key component of a specific technology is the knowledge and information that accompanies it. This study explores the difficulties with transferring technological knowledge and codified, i.e. explicit, information and the causes of these difficulties. Case studies were carried out in the aircraft industry to identify problems that arise with the transfer of information. The aircraft industry is a particularly interesting industry to study because of the emphasis in this sector on codified information. It was found that the accuracy of information has two distinct aspects: a part that is independent of the destination company and a part that is dependent on the destination company. The first aspect, termed reliability, is time dependent. The second aspect, suitability, depends especially on the destination company’s knowledge about the source company’s information formatting methods. Illustrations of the consequences of information inaccuracy are included.

Differentiating between types of technology transfer: the technology building

In this article, the concept of the Technology Building is introduced. The Technology Building concept facilitates the reader of literature on the subject of transfer of technology to discriminate quickly between three mainstreams in the transfer of technology. The first mainstream in technology transfer, mostly present in industrialised countries, is technological development from research all the way to selling products. This can be seen as innovation at the company level. A second mainstream in technology transfer, mostly present in industrialising countries, also concerns technological development but now it is related to building up technological capabilities all the way to research in order to catch up with industrialised countries. At the company level, this process can be called exnovation in contrast to innovation. The third mainstream in technology transfer is the international transfer, which links the other two mainstreams. In this case technology is transferred between industrialised and industrialising countries. A number of examples, e.g. reverse engineering and transnational production, illustrate the usefulness of the Technology Building.

Innovation and technology based economic development: Are there short-cuts?

Many regions in the world, in developed and developing countries are striving for advanced technological and economic development. In this paper, based on a study of university related start-up companies some of the main barriers for growth are described. The findings are then discussed in a wider context of economic growth and whether it is possible to advance at an accelerated pace. It is concluded that many of the developed countries started their economic growth patterns centuries ago which enabled them to develop critical mass in important areas for economic and technological development. Building up a critical mass takes time and it seems unlikely that underdeveloped regions will be able to find short-cuts to enhance their economic and technological status.

Freedom of Choice in Technology Strategy? An Analysis of Technology Strategy in the Large Commercial Aircraft Industry

Many companies experience difficult situations as a result of their selected strategy. Strategic management theories implicitly assume that companies have a free choice in setting their strategy. Hence, when companies experience difficult situations this is because of management inadequacy. It is questionable whether companies always have a free choice. This research examines this issue by examining the new product strategies of the two main competitors in the commercial aircraft industry. The development of the A380 aircraft was selected to determine to what extent the companies had a choice in setting their product development strategies. The conclusion is that neither has the alleged freedom for setting its strategy. Implications of this finding are that the strategy theory needs to be adjusted for this choice issue, and that management should not always be held fully responsible for the developing events.