Tina C. Ambos

When does university research get commercialized? Creating ambidexterity in research institutions

We examine the tensions that make it difficult for a research-oriented university to achieve commercial outcomes. Building on the organizational ambidexterity literature, we specify the nature of the tensions (between academic and commercially-oriented activities) at both organizational and individual levels of analysis, and how these can be resolved. We develop hypotheses linking specific aspects of the organization and the individual researcher to the likelihood of their research projects generating commercial outcomes, and we test them using a novel dataset of 207 Research Council-funded projects, combining objective data on project outcomes with the perceptions of principal investigators. We show that the tension between academic and commercial demands is more salient at the level of the individual researcher than at the level of the organization. Universities show evidence that they are able to manage the tensions between academic and commercial demands, through for example their creation of ‘dual structures’. At the individual level, on the other hand, the tensions are more acute, so that the people who deliver commercial outcomes tend to be rather different to those who are accustomed to producing academic outcomes.

Meeting the Challenge of Offshoring R&D: An Examination of Firm- and Location-Specific Factors

This paper, through a systematic survey of 83 international R&D engagements of 36 German MNCs, seeks to extend previous research on the location decisions of international R&D engagements and inform managers about the critical factors that may be considered when taking this important decision. Covering engagements in 21 countries, we show that the knowledge intensity of the industry as well as variables pertaining to the process school of internationalization play an important role when offshoring R&D.

Managing knowledge in international consulting firms

Purpose – At the pinnacle of the knowledge management hype, international consulting firms were widely viewed as the undisputed champions of the discipline. They were the ones that pioneered the development of innovative knowledge management systems, they were at the forefront of creating knowledge management cultures and they recognized the productive potential of knowledge workers. While knowledge continues to be prominent on the strategic agenda of leading consulting firms, several knowledge management challenges remain unsolved. To shed light on this matter the paper aims to investigate how knowledge management is really embedded in their organizations and with which critical issues these firms still struggle . Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents a qualitative empirical study based on 37 in-depth interviews with representatives from international consulting firms in different locations around the world. Findings – It is found that the promise of knowledge management can only be realized if people are open to changing business processes and adopt new ways of thinking. Practical implictions – The study sheds fresh light on the knowledge management practices that have emerged in the consulting industry, and provides insights into the interplay of people and systems, the structuring of knowledge management, the divide between knowledge generalists and specialists, and the knowledge management strategy. Originality/value – The paper presents a general approach to embedding knowledge management along the dimensions of people, systems and business processes and develops an integrative framework that links knowledge management strategies to a typical consulting project cycle. In addition, it sheds light on individual perceptions on the benefits from knowledge management.

Unravelling the Subsidiary Initiative Process: A Multilevel Approach

Strategy-making and entrepreneurial behaviour at the subsidiary level, in particular the phenomenon of subsidiary initiative, has received increasing research attention in recent years. In the fields of international business, strategy and entrepreneurship, several studies addressing aspects of this phenomenon have been conducted. They focused on different stages of the subsidiary initiative process, different theories and also different methodological levels. This puts subsidiary initiatives as a topic at the crossroads of several disciplines, so that theory-building remains fragmented, and there is a lack of perspective capturing the complexity of the entire subsidiary initiative process. Based on a comprehensive literature review, this paper discusses theoretical concepts and streams of thinking that have contributed to our understanding of the subsidiary initiative process, and develops an organizing framework based on stages and levels of the subsidiary initiative process. In order to integrate theories across levels, the authors identify ‘aggregation’ theories that guide the emergence of initiatives from the individual up to the network level, and also acknowledge theories that link the micro–macro divide and may help in the development of a more holistic view of subsidiary initiatives.

Combining Stocks and Flows of Knowledge: The Effects of Intra-Functional and Cross-Functional Complementarity

In the area of knowledge management and knowledge governance, previous research has mostly focused on either knowledge stocks or knowledge flows of firms or organizational units. Contrary to this work, our study is among the first to integrate these two perspectives in order to shed light on the complementarity effects of different types of knowledge stocks and flows in the multinational corporation (MNC). We investigate intra-functional as well as cross-functional complementarity effects from the perspective of the knowledge recipient. We test the impact of stocks on flows on the benefit that is created for MNC units. Based on a comprehensive sample of 324 relationships between MNC units we find that both types of complementarity create benefits for these units, but that the effects from intra-functional combinations of knowledge stocks and flows are significantly stronger than from cross-functional combinations.

Outside the Triad: An Examination of International R&D Investments within Peripheral Economies

Corporate RD Pearce, 1989). A changing competitive environment, the increasing dispersion of knowledge and the concentration of competencies in so-called ‘pockets of knowledge’ around the world, has forced firms to absorb the risks of loosening control on their core competencies and to set up R&D units in overseas locations.

HOW DO NEW VENTURES EVOLVE? THE PROCESS OF CHARTER CHANGE IN TECHNOLOGY VENTURES.

This article presents research in the field of entrepreneurship, with particular focus on the process of charter change in new technology ventures and the limitations on existing models of new venture growth. The author focuses particularly on the interaction between venture management and stakeholders and how ventures experience a lack of alignment in their evolution. An overview of the data collection and analysis methods is presented and discussed. Implications for the research are also addressed. A chart is included which illustrates an overview of the evolution of four particular ventures.

Standortwahl, Management und Performance internationaler F&E-Investitionen in peripheren Volkswirtschaften

Forschung und Entwicklung zahlt traditionell zu den zentralisierten und am starksten abgeschirmten Aktivitaten der Wertschopfungskette eines Unternehmens. In letzter Zeit erfahrt aber auch diese Funktion eine verstarkte Internationalisierung. Die wissenschaftliche Betrachtung konzentrierte sich bisher aber nur auf Investitionen in zentralen Landern, wie z. B. Landern der Triade-Region. Inwieweit Unternehmen aber auch in Landern auserhalb der Triade Investitionen tatigen, wurde dagegen bisher kaum untersucht. Unsere Arbeit basiert auf den Daten von 49 fuhrenden, deutschen multinationalen Konzernen und gibt Einblick in das Management und die unterschiedlichen Typen von F&E-Einheiten in Landern auserhalb der Triade. Wir betrachten die Motivation und Entwicklungsgeschwindigkeit von auslandischen F&E-Investitionen und zeigen, dass sich die in peripheren und zentralen Landern eingesetzten Managementinstrumente deutlich unterscheiden.

Auf der Suche nach Wissen: Eine empirische Analyse von ausländischen Direktinvestitionen in F&E

Sowohl fur Manager als auch fur Okonomen und politische Entscheidungstrager ist ein besseres Verstandnis unternehmerischer Standortwahl fur auslandische Forschungs- und Entwicklungs- (F&E-) Einheiten essenziell. Da verschiedene Investitionsmotive verschiedene Strategien erfordern, sind Unternehmen gezwungen diverse Fahigkeiten und organisationale Strukturen zu entwickeln (Nachum und Zaheer, 2005). Fur politische Entscheidungstrager liegt die Bedeutung, was Unternehmen dazu bewegt, F&E im Ausland zu betreiben und neues Wissen im Ausland zu akquirieren vor allem in der engen Verknupfung zu Fragen der nationalen Standortpolitik. Daher ist es nicht uberraschend, dass internationale F&E-Aktivitaten auf das anhaltende Interesse von Forschern und Praktikern stosen (fur einen Literaturuberblick z.B. Ambos, 2005).