Jaakko Paasi

Knowledge And Intellectual Property Management In Customer-Supplier Relationships

The purpose of the paper is to empirically study firms practises of knowledge and intellectual property (IP) management in customer–supplier relationships. The work applies the qualitative methodology of multiple case studies, and the material was collected in semi-structured interviews with management personnel at 36 organisations in Finland and in the Netherlands. Almost every firm had innovation relationships with their customers and suppliers, but the forms these relationships took, and the kinds of practices they involved, varied greatly. As a result, the firms considered the management of knowledge and IP in these relationships very challenging. We argue that by distinguishing knowledge management in the exploration phase of new business from knowledge management in the exploitation phase of innovation outcome, the firms could manage the knowledge and IP better. Accordingly, the paper introduces three propositions to support the knowledge and IP management in customer–supplier relationships.

Managing knowledge within networked innovation

The purpose of this paper is to research firms’ knowledge management practices within the context of networked innovation between multiple actors. The analysis is based on case research carried out with six companies. Based on earlier literature and the theoretical framework of the paper, two models of networked innovation can be distinguished according to knowledge management needs: networks focusing on the transaction of explicit knowledge and intellectual property, and networks focusing on the co-creation of new knowledge and business opportunities. The paper argues that a strategic approach to knowledge management is a key element of success within networked innovation, both in the theory and in the practices of firms. In that way, firms are able to manage knowledge within networked innovation when they understand their partners’ business models and strategic intents, for example their motivation to collaborate.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IN INTER-ORGANISATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS — FINDINGS FROM AN INTERVIEW STUDY

The paper describes findings from an interview study about intellectual property management practices in inter-organisational relationships. A total of 40 companies and public organisations in Finland and in the Netherlands were studied using semi-structured face-to-face interviews. The organisations represented different sizes and fields of industry. About 90% of the interviewed companies collaborated in their innovation efforts. However, the companies generally mentioned that the management of intellectual property and knowledge is very challenging when other actors are involved in parts of the innovation development process. Confidentiality agreements are typically used to ensure knowledge protection in these relationships. Patenting is important for about half of the companies, but joint patenting is not a common practice. Companies in Finland and in the Netherlands are seen to behave very similarly with regards to the collaboration activities and intellectual property (IP) management in these relationships.

INNOVATION MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES OF A SYSTEM INTEGRATOR IN INNOVATION NETWORKS

The paper describes findings from a multiple case study about the innovation management challenges of a system integrator (SI) whose operation is characterized by a high demand of innovation and whose focus of integration capabilities is, accordingly, changing from component assembly to knowledge integration. The study involved six diverse case firms, and it applied the methodology of qualitative research. Innovation networks orchestrated by the SI were categorized, according to the way in which knowledge and intellectual property (IP) were explored and exploited in the network, to sourcing (transaction) and co-creation types of networks. The research question of the study was, what aspects of sourcing networks and of co-creation networks support or hinder networked innovation from the viewpoint of a SI and innovation management? After iteratively addressing the lessons learned from literature and empirical case findings, sets of supporting and hindering aspects were presented as implications of the study.

CHALLENGES FOR PRODUCT AND SERVICE PROVIDERS IN OPEN INNOVATION WITH CUSTOMERS IN BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS MARKETS

The purpose of this paper is to empirically study challenges faced by product and service providers when innovating openly with customers in business-to-business (B-to-B) markets. The study aims to fill the research gap of how the challenges vary in different types of customer involvement in innovation. The work applied the qualitative methodology of multiple case studies, and the material was collected in semi-structured interviews with management personnel at 48 companies in Finland and in the Netherlands that are practicing open innovation with their customers in one form or another. For the analysis of challenges identified from the empirical data, a typology of open innovation with customers was built, resulting in four distinct types to categorise product and service providers through their dominant business and innovation logics and related customer involvement. The typology gave the context in which strategic and operational challenges of open innovation with customers were explored. Each of the four types seems to have specific and characteristic challenges of open innovation. The findings of the study will help managers of product and service providers in guiding their open innovation practices with customers in B-to-B markets.

Electrostatic field limits and charge threshold for field induced damage to voltage susceptible devices

We have studied electrostatic field and charge threshold limits for damage to MOSFET devices in order to understand the ESD damage risks during handling in electronics production and assembly processes. The study covers both field induced charged device model (CDM) and charged board model (CBM) cases. The charging electrostatic field for failure can be even two orders of magnitude lower for a device on a board than at component level. The charge level for failure remains approximately constant. Our results show that charge threshold for failure would serve as a good guide for ESD risks of voltage susceptible MOSFETs as discrete components and when assembled to PWBs.

Electrostatic field limits and charge threshold for field-induced damage to voltage susceptible devices ☆

We have studied electrostatic field and charge threshold limits for damage to MOSFET devices in order to understand the ESD damage risks during handling in electronics production and assembly processes. The study covers both field induced charged device model (CDM) and charged board model (CBM) cases. The charging electrostatic field for failure can be even two orders of magnitude lower for a device on a board than at component level. The charge level for failure remains approximately constant. Our results show that charge threshold for failure would serve as a good guide for ESD risks of voltage susceptible MOSFETs as discrete components and when assembled to PWBs.

Systematic Risk Management for the Innovative Enterprise

We present systematic decision support for innovation management. At the core of our system is a dynamically evolving risk taxonomy that we map to either qualitative or quantitative decision processes. We describe several experiments that could advance the science behind innovation management. In the context of a portfolio of potential and actual service offerings, we discuss how to spread, hedge, or mitigate risk, and how these activities constitute enterprise innovation management.

Peak current failure levels in ESD sensitive semiconductor devices and their application in evaluation of materials used in ESD protection. Part 1: Theoretical analysis

This paper shows that theoretical analysis of the thermal model of damage to electrostatic discharge (ESD) energy susceptible devices combined with data from Human Body Model test on devices can be used to estimate an ESD pulse current threshold for damage to ESD energy susceptible semiconductor devices over a wide range of ESD duration and waveforms. The technique is intended for laboratory evaluation of ESD threats from equipment, materials and other ESD sources in the electronics assembly factory environment. In Part 2 of this paper the predicted ESD current damage threshold is experimentally demonstrated to give a useful boundary to a safe area of ESD current and duration.

Openness in developing inter-organizational innovation

The paper describes empirical findings on how openness is realized in practical innovation projects involving different organizations. The purpose of the study is to increase the understanding of how openness should be managed in the various forms of inter-organizational innovation development. The main research interest is in how openness is manifested in developing innovations with different organizations involved in inter-organizational innovation projects. Subsidiary research questions are: ‘What is open?’, ‘To whom is it open?’ and ‘How open is it?’. The study applied qualitative case study methodology, and empirical data were collected by semi-structured interviews with management personnel in 40 organizations in Finland and the Netherlands. The findings reveal that openness in innovation is a multifaceted issue that can have very different meanings in different contexts. In the context of the study, the answer to the first sub-question (‘What is open?’) is obvious. It is the innovation project; its input, process and outcome. As for ‘To whom is it open?’, interviewees made a clear distinction between projects with known actors and projects that may include unknown actors. Answering ‘How open is the project?’, one can distinguish between different projects according to which attribute best describes the openness of the project – readable, usable, or modifiable. Answers to the three sub-questions conceptualize the issue of openness in inter-organizational innovation development and can be considered theoretical conclusions of the study. By combining the answers, five characteristic levels of openness in inter-organizational innovation were derived as practical implications of the study for R&D and innovation management.