Kavoos Mohannak

Innovation networks and capability building in the Australian high‐technology SMEs

Purpose – Studies of capability building and organisational learning through networked arrangements have been growing in recent years. In high‐technology industries, in particular, small and medium‐sized enterprises overcome problems of resource and information limitations by becoming a part of a knowledge network. This paper seeks to examine innovation networks of the Australian high‐technology small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by focusing on the linkages employed by small businesses to learn, adapt to technological change, and innovate.Design/methodology/approach – To study the innovation networks of high‐technology firms, research was conducted on biotechnology firms within the Sydney region and information and communication technology (ICT) firms within the metropolitan area of Melbourne. A mixed methodology approach for this research was adopted and a combination of quantitative and qualitative data was collected, via the means of a questionnaire and face‐to‐face interviews.Findings – The paper rep...

Business leadership development in Iran

Throughout the twentieth century the economics of the Middle East rose and fell many times in response to the external environment, including European de-colonization and the US and former USSR competing to provide military and economic aid after World War II. Throughout these upheavals the Middle East has remained internationally significant politically and economically not least for the regions large reserves of oil and gas, as discussed in the Introduction to this volume. In recent decades, Western nations have moved to invest into the Middle East in the rapidly developing technology, tourism and education industries that have proliferated. For its part, Iran has been the worlds fourth largest provider of petroleum and second largest provider of natural gas and, despite years of political unrest, has made rapid expansion into information technology and telecommunications. Increased involvement in the global economy has meant that Iran has invested heavily in education and training and moved to modernize its management practices. Hitherto there has been little academic research into management in either Western or local organizations in Iran. This chapter seeks to address that gap in knowledge by exploring business leadership in Iran, with particular reference to cultural and institutional impacts.

A National Linkage Program for Technological Innovation

A new perspective and conceptual framework of institutional linkages is explored and an institutional linkage model is developed. The model incorporates the linkage patterns and characterises major policy issues affecting technological innovation and technology transfer among the participating organisations. The development of the linkage model will draw on the insights provided by the literature on innovation. Particularly, it is argued that the nature and role of the linkage in technology development is a reflection of a generalised version of an interactive and systemic model of innovation which would suggest policy implications for promoting linkages and interactions within National Systems of Innovation.

An Empirical Study of Capability Development within Product Innovation Projects

The objective of this paper is to develop insights into firms’ strategic capability development processes within product innovation projects. In particular, the research aims at investigating the interactions among product innovation, knowledge processes, and capability development within firms. Building on qualitative data from the auto-industry, our analysis reveals that across four product innovation projects, the case company developed architectural knowledge and capability. Findings reveal that, along with changes at each level of product architecture, “design knowledge” and “design capability” have been developed at the same level of product architecture, leading to capability development at that level. Furthermore, findings suggest that such capability transformation resulting from knowledge and capability creation over the course of case projects leads to modularization of product architecture. Overall, the research contributes to identifying and emphasizing the role of micro processes in capability development and renewal, which in turn enhances our understanding of strategic capability development processes.

Organisational Knowledge Integration towards a Conceptual Framework

This study analyses organisational knowledge integration processes from a multi-level and systemic perspective, with particular reference to the case of Fujitsu. A conceptual framework for knowledge integration is suggested focusing on team-building capability, capturing and utilising individual tacit knowledge, and communication networks for integrating dispersed specialist knowledge required in the development of new products and services. The research highlights that knowledge integration occurring in the innovation process is a result of knowledge exposure, its distribution and embodiment and finally its transfer, which leads to innovation capability and competitive advantage in firm.

Dynamics of industry architecture and firms’ knowledge and capability development: an empirical study of industry transformation

ABSTRACT There is a lack of empirical evidence supporting existing conceptualisations and particularly clarifying the underlying mechanisms involved in the role of dominant firms in industry transformation. This research undertook an in-depth single case study of how a firm managed its knowledge and capability development processes to shape the industry architecture to its benefit. We investigated how a dominant firm manipulates the interdependencies with local suppliers and positions itself at higher levels of the industry architecture hierarchy. Findings suggest that such processes take place over the course of several product innovation projects and across different levels of the product architecture. Such findings contribute to helping firms to manage their knowledge and capability development processes and transform the industry architecture to their advantage.

Innovation and Clustering among Information Technology Firms in Melbourne

This paper investigates innovative activities, clustering and regional interaction of a group of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) firms in the metropolitan area of Melbourne. In order to make an evaluation of the regional innovation potential among the firms, a written questionnaire was sent to the selected firms. The focal point of the analysis lay in determining innovative activities within individual firms and degree of linkages between different firms. The results indicate that innovative relationships with customers and suppliers are stronger within the region and they tend to co‐operate more on a vertical basis. However, the findings suggest that firms rely only partly on innovation partners within the region and to a considerable extent they are integrated in national and international networks.

The Role of Knowledge Integration in Capability Development and Emergence of Innovation Ecosystem

This paper investigates the interrelationships between knowledge integration (KI), product innovation and capability development to enhance our understanding of the processes and outcomes of capability development within firms. One of the critical underlying mechanisms for capability building identified in the literature is the role of knowledge integration, which operates within innovation projects and contributes to dynamic capability development. Findings of this study demonstrate that the emergence of knowledge specialization from the part level up to the architectural level lead to emergence of innovation ecosystem within the auto industry as a response to learning and innovation within the firm.

Knowledge integration within innovation process: a technopreneurial perspective

Knowledge integration (KI) is one of the major aspects driving innovation within an organisation. In this paper, we attempt to develop a better understanding of responses to the challenges of knowledge integration within the innovation process in technology–based firms. Using four technology–based Australian firms, we investigated how knowledge integration may be managed within the context of innovation in technology firms. Previous research highlights the role of four KI tasks that affect the innovation capability within technology–oriented firms, namely team building capability, capturing tacit knowledge, role of knowledge management (KM) systems and technological systemic integration. Our findings indicate that in addition to these four tasks, a strategic approach to integrating knowledge for innovation, as well as leadership and management, are essential to achieving effective KI across multiple levels of engagement. Our findings also offer practical insights into how knowledge can be integrated within innovation process, with specific implications for managers.

An innovative technique for water leak detection stemming from radio astronomy: A potential university technology transfer

There have been many documented cases of technology transfer from astronomy to other disciplines such as medicine, for example, a system for diagnosing breast cancer utilising software originally developed to mosaic planetary images. The approach taken in this research will involve using a technology originally developed for radio astronomy to detect water leaks in pipes that are part of water networks in various infrastructure systems. This is innovative research as it involves an interdisciplinary approach to explore a technology and evaluate its commercial potential. Experiments are underway in which signals from an acoustic phased array are amplified and digitized using a multichannel analogue-to-digital (ADC) converter and analysed using a software correlation technique to identify leak signatures. Therefore, the chosen technologys commercialisibility will be tested for alternate applications which can be applied to infrastructures such as water networks. In addition, the importance of interdisciplinary research will also be reflected through this research.