Luca Berchicci

Learning for Sustainability Transition through Bounded Socio-technical Experiments in Personal Mobility

Abstract A bounded socio-technical experiment (BSTE) attempts to introduce a new technology, service, or a social arrangement on a small scale. Many such experiments in personal mobility are ongoing worldwide. They are carried out by coalitions of diverse actors, and are driven by long term and large scale visions of advancing society’s sustainability agenda. This paper focuses on the processes of higher-order learning that occur through BSTEs. Based on the conceptual frameworks from theories of organizational learning, policy-oriented learning, and diffusion of innovation, we identify two types of learning: the first type occurs among the participants in the experiment and their immediate professional networks; the second type occurs in the society at large. Both types play a key role in the societal transition towards sustainable mobility systems. Two case studies, in which the Design for Sustainability Group at Technical University of Delft has participated, provide empirical data for the analysis. One case consists of development of a three-wheeled bike-plus vehicle (Mitka); the second case seeks to solve mobility problems on the Dutch island of Texel. We find that higher order learning of the first type occurs among the BSTE participants and beyond. Learning can be facilitated by deployment of structured visioning exercises, by diffusion of ideas among related BSTEs, by innovative couplings of problems and solutions, and by creating links among related experiments. Government agencies, universities and other intellectual entrepreneurs have key roles to play in making that happen. The cases provide much less insights about the second type of learning. Research on the latter is necessary.

Heterogeneity and Intensity of R&D Partnership in Italian Manufacturing Firms

Over the last few years, firms have increasingly tapped into external sources of knowledge through research and development (R&D) collaborations and partnerships to sustain innovation. By doing so, managers are challenged to deal efficiently with the diversity of external sources of knowledge to allow their firms to reap the benefits of innovative activities. By investigating a large-scale sample of R&D-intensive Italian manufacturing firms, this paper examines the extent to which the heterogeneity and the intensity of R&D partnership influence a firms innovative performance. The findings suggest that firms with a greater number of heterogeneous types of partners have greater benefits in terms of innovative performance, particularly when they draw deeply from a limited number of preferred partnership types.

Are Managers Motivated to Explore in the Face of a New Technological Change? The Role of Regulatory Focus, Fit, and Complexity of Decision-Making

We develop a psychological perspective on managers’ exploration orientation. Our study suggests that the regulatory focus of managers may in different ways, impact their orientation toward search, risk-taking, and experimentation. Moreover, we argue that these relationships are contingent not only on the extent to which the organizational context fits with the motivational disposition of managers, but also on the complexity of decision-making. Using an experimental setting, we find that managers’ regulatory focus affects their willingness to experiment with a wide range of alternatives and to deviate from existing best practices. Moreover, the promotion focus of managers heightens their exploration orientation in an organizational context with promotion-focused cues in highly complex decision-making. This study has important implications for our understanding of managers’ exploration orientation under conditions of complexity.

Innovating for sustainability : green entrepreneurship in personal mobility

1. Introduction 2. Product Innovation 3 Organizing for Innovation: How do Firms Innovate? 4 Environmental Product Innovation 5 Theory-Based Conceptual Model and Research Methodology 6 Description of the Mitka and the Mango Cases 7 Analysis of the Mitka and the Mango Cases 8 Discussions, Conclusions and Recommendations References Appendix I Characteristics of the Pre-Selected Cases Appendix II: Source of Data

The Influence of Geographical Proximity and Industry Similarity in a Business Angel’s Investment Choice

Business Angels (BAs) play a crucial role in the creation and growth of entrepreneurial ventures. Little is known, however, about their funding criteria. This paper contributes to our understanding of BAs’ funding decisions, by analyzing how their past investments influence the choices of their future investments. We hypothesize that experiential learning processes lead BAs to search for start-ups that are similar to their most recent investments. Using longitudinal data from BAs active in the Internet industry, we find that BAs make trade-offs between geographical proximity and industry similarity when choosing future investments. They tend to invest in ventures that are geographically proximate to their prior investments, but not in the same industry. As geographical distance increases, BAs’ next investment is more likely to be in the same industry sector as the prior investment.

Mitka: Sustainable Commuter Transport?

Mitka (short for ‘individual mobility concept for short distance’ in Dutch) was a three-wheel, human-powered vehicle with an electric motor and a maximum speed of 40 km per hour that could cover up to 25 km without recharge. Seven Dutch organizations – two design companies, two vehicle manufacturers, a sportswear manufacturer, a university and a consulting company – joined forces to develop and market Mitka, hoping it would replace cars for short-distance travel. The ultimate goal was to improve the natural environment by introducing radical technological innovation. The project took off supported by the team’s strong conviction and the media’s enthusiastic response. Within four years (1997-2001), Mitka grew from a vague concept to a sleek, life-size mock-up. An additional €600.000 investment (atop the initial €300.000) was secured to build a functioning prototype that could attract more investment. The team was filled with spirit but still faced challenges. Technological complications and an unfamiliar market environment both posed obstacles. Above all, many potential customers had trouble accepting Mitka’s highly innovative design and seeing themselves use it in daily life.

Knowledge Sources and Waste Reduction: Less is More

Firms that seek innovative techniques to improve their production efficiency face a tradeoff when deciding how many knowledge sources to use. Using multiple knowledge sources helps firms identify viable solutions but also increases the costs of collecting and using information. We study how U.S. manufacturing facilities, from 1991 to 2005, improve production efficiency by reducing their annual output of toxic waste. Results show that the more knowledge sources facilities use in a year, the less chemical waste they reduce, particularly for larger facilities and those using fewer external sources. At the same time, though, using multiple knowledge sources over time helps improve production efficiency. The findings suggest that searching for one knowledge source in one time period while adding variety over time contributes to greater production efficiency.

A Motivational Perspective Towards Exploration: The effects of Regulatory Focus and Complexity

We examined the drivers of managers’ exploration orientation by studying how individual characteristics of managers, the characteristics of the surrounding environment, and the degree of complexity...

Complementarity Explained: the Interaction between Networks and Proactiveness on BMI

In this paper we consider the influence of inter – organizational networks and proactiveness on the involvement of companies in business model innovation (BMI). Specifically, we show that diversity...

WHETHER IT'S GREEN OR BROWN, BUY LOCAL: EXPLORING THE ACQUISITION CHOICE OF MANUFACTURING FIRMS.

We advance evolutionary/behavioral routine-based perspective by explaining firms choice of target acquisition based on their environmental performance. We find that firms search locally and choose...