Koen Dittrich

Collaborative Strategies in the event of technological discontinuities : the case of Nokia in the mobile telecommunication industry

The paper examines the extent to which collaboration between large and small companies has been able to deal with the effects of discontinuous technological change. In applying an evolutionary perspective, the paper examines the process by which technological competencies and resources of large firms evolve and its effects on the characteristics of their collaboration with smaller companies. In focusing on the issue of complementary between local and international sourcing of capabilities and resources in the mobile telecommunication industry, it combines an empirical analysis of the structure of Finnish Science Parks with an examination of internationalisation strategies of large Finnish companies. The papershows that Nokia has increasingly become engaged in sourcing capabilities internationally, this might, however, pose some long-term problems for the local embeddedness of the company in Finland.

Development time and new product sales: A contingency analysis of product innovativeness and price

textabstractOpposing theories and conflicting empirical results with regard to the effect of development time on new product sales suggest the need for a contingency analysis into factors affecting this relationship. This study uses a unique combination of accounting and perceptual data from 129 product development projects to test the combined contingency effect of product innovativeness and new product price on the relationship between development time and new product sales. The results show that for radically new products with short development times, price has no effect on new product sales. When the development time is long, price has a negative effect on the sales of radical new products. The findings additionally show that price has no effect on sales for incremental new products with short development times and a negative effect for incremental new products with long development times. Together, these findings shed new light on the relationship between development time and new product sales.

Consortium Instruments for integrated action (i4i)

Veel kennis over en ervaringen met IGB en KT was tot op heden gefragmenteerd, verspreid over diverse onderzoeksgroepen in Nederland. In het door het RIVM gecoordineerde consortium i4i komt deze kennis en ervaringen bij elkaar. Negen onderzoeksgroepen werken samen aan zowel conceptuele verheldering als praktische onderzoeksinstrumenten voor IGB en KT-BOP. De samenwerkingspartners zijn: RIVM, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, AMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, TNO, Wageningen Universiteit – GGD Noord- en Oost Gelderland, Universiteit van Tilburg, Erasmus MC en Universiteit Maastricht-GGD Zuid Limburg. Het consortium i4i heeft een doorlooptijd van september 2012 tot september 2014. Het eerste jaar is gewerkt aan de uitwerking van theoretische noties en bijbehorende kwalitatieve en kwantitatieve instrumenten.

Upgrading of Symbolic and Synthetic Knowledge Bases: Evidence from the Chinese Automotive and Construction Industries

Abstract This paper deals with the question of how upgrading of the symbolic and synthetic knowledge bases takes place and, by doing so, we contribute to the upgrading literature by linking upgrading with the concept of the differentiated knowledge bases. We discern a number of upgrading mechanisms, and based on empirical evidence from the construction industry and the automotive industry in China, we show that the main upgrading mechanisms for symbolic knowledge include “learning-by-interacting in project teams” and “monitoring”, while upgrading of synthetic knowledge takes place via “technology transfer” and “learning-by-doing and-using”. “Mobility” and “on-the-job training and learning in Transnational Corporations” are the main upgrading mechanisms contributing to the development of both knowledge bases.

Beyond the joint-venture: knowledge sourcing in Chinese automotive events

Abstract This article analyses how firms use events and trade fairs for external knowledge sourcing, which barriers emerge and how event organisers strategically mediate and influence those processes. The research setting focuses on two major automotive events in Shanghai, highlighting that knowledge sourcing in these events do complement other types of knowledge accessed in permanent ‘sites’ and organisational configurations, such as in clusters and through joint-ventures. Firms use automotive events to access buzz, to monitor other firms and to explore options for new collaborations. Yet, it is also argued that a focus on existing relations, the defensive strategies deployed by lead firms and the intrinsic complexity of exhibited technologies hinder the process of knowledge sourcing that is influenced by event organisers’ content, matchmaking and access policies.