Business Commons^™

Clusters And Strategy In Regional Economic Development, Edward Feser

Edward J Feser

Many economic development practitioners view cluster theory and analysis as constituting a general approach to strategy making in economic development, which may lead them to prioritize policy and planning interventions that cannot address the actual development challenges in their cities and regions. This paper discusses the distinction between strategy formation and strategic planning, where the latter is the programming of development strategies that are identified through a blend of experience, intuition, and analysis. Cluster theories and analytical tools can provide useful informational inputs into a strategy making effort and they can also be helpful for programming specific interventions (i.e., strategic …

Drinking Water Optimum Supply System (Dwoss) Through The Application Of Advanced Technologies, Praveen Jha Dr

Praveen Jha Dr

Paradigm shift in the approach for planning regarding supply of drinking water is mandatory since the current DPRs are unscientific and expensive. Planning for an optimum Drinking Water Supply System (ODWSS) that includes - optimization of Water Source Point (WSP), Water Treatment System (WTS), Water Storage Systems (WSSs), Water Distribution Points (WDP) and Water Supply Network (WSN); scientific estimation of long term demand of drinking water; minimization of physical and financial resources required for the plan implementation; water conservation and sanitation – could be done by applying several state-of-art geo-spatial programs developed by the author. Three programs - Multi-Algorithm Automation …

Public Research Lab And Other Scientific Collaborations Of The Manchester City Region: A Bibliometric Analysis, Philip Shapira, Luciano Kay

Philip Shapira

This working paper examines the characteristics of the research collaborations of the Manchester City-Region, UK, based on a bibliometric analysis of co-authorship patterns of scientific publications published during the period 2006-2008. The paper focuses on Manchester City-Region collaborations with UK public research laboratories, but to place these in context the paper also contains overview analyses of all of the city-region’s research collaborations in the UK and internationally.

Stammdatenqualität: Erfolgsfaktor Für Unternehmen, Boris Otto, Hubert Oesterle

Hubert Oesterle

Man sollte meinen, die konsistente Pflege von Stammdaten wäre für moderne Unternehmen eine Selbstverständlichkeit. Ist sie aber nicht. Wirtschaftswissenschaftler der Universität St. Gallen erklären, wo das Problem liegt und wie man es löst.

End User As Application Developer For Decision Support, Shah Jahan Miah

Dr Shah Jahan Miah

This paper discusses a new generation end-user centred information service view, for developing decision support applications. The tailorable solution allows specific applications to be designed by end-users, where integrity is assured by the architecture’s control in knowledge-based systems. In the development approach, the end-users at different level engage in interaction for secondary application creation. This initiative reinforces a shift from the traditional IS development process to a new provision where end-users can actively participate for a secondary application design. A secondary application design can be seen as a secondary activity for tailoring applications by the end users so that it …

Data Governance: Organisationskonzept Für Das Konzernweite Datenqualitätsmanagement, Kristin Weber, Boris Otto, Hubert Oesterle

Hubert Oesterle

Unternehmen die Datenqualität konzernweit organisieren wollen, stehen vor der Herausforderung, eine geeignete Form zu finden. Spezielle Anforderungen sind die Berücksichtigung unterschiedlicher Interessen und die Koordination aller Anspruchsgruppen. Bisher fehlen sowohl praktische Erfahrungen als auch wissenschaftliche Auseinandersetzungen, so dass Fragen nach der aufbauorganisatorischen Einordnung, der Abstimmung mit anderen Unternehmensbereichen und die Abhängigkeit vom Unternehmenskontext unbeantwortet bleiben. Der vorliegende Beitrag zeigt Möglichkeiten für die Organisation des Datenqualitätsmanagements auf und versucht Antworten auf die Fragen zu finden. Er schlägt die Einrichtung eines Shared Service Centers vor, stellt ein Data-Governance-Modell zur Definition konzernweiter Verantwortlichkeiten für Datenqualitätsmanagement vor und zeigt einen situativen Ansatz für die …

Information Technology Governance: Moving With Business Best Practice, Malcolm Fraser

Malcolm Fraser

IT Governance is a subset discipline of Corporate Governance focused on information technology (IT) systems and their performance and risk management. It is the acknowledgment that IT projects can easily get out of control and profoundly affect the performance of an organization. The Club ‘Business’ is simple, IT systems can be complex, Managing complex IT…Simply 1. Business as usual – don’t fiddle with it 2. Business not as usual – Managing change 3. And, reduce complexity

A Method For Consortial Research, Hubert Österle, Boris Otto

Boris Otto

Design oriented research in information systems faces two major challenges: the effort to capture practitioners’ knowledge on one hand (relevance) and the evidence to fulfill scientific requirements (rigor). In practice, businesses employ at least a centuple of the resources which are available in research for the design and implementation of innovative solutions based on information technology. For the researcher, it is almost impossible just to oversee the state of practice, in addition to the scientific body of knowledge. Since based on a single case, the engagement of an individual company in a collaborative research environment, e.g. in action research, is …

Cuarto Congreso Nacional De Organismos Públicos Autónomos, Bruno L. Costantini García

Bruno L. Costantini García

Memorias del Cuarto Congreso Nacional de Organismos Públicos Autónomos

"El papel de los Organismos Públicos Autónomos en la Consolidación de la Democracia"

A Method For Consortial Research, Hubert Oesterle, Boris Otto

Hubert Oesterle

Design oriented research in information systems faces two major challenges: the effort to capture practitioners’ knowledge on one hand (relevance) and the evidence to fulfill scientific requirements (rigor). In practice, businesses employ at least a centuple of the resources which are available in research for the design and implementation of innovative solutions based on information technology. For the researcher, it is almost impossible just to oversee the state of practice, in addition to the scientific body of knowledge. Since based on a single case, the engagement of an individual company in a collaborative research environment, e.g. in action research, is …

Innovation For The Manchester City Region: A Discussion Paper, Philip Shapira, Michael Luger, Elvira Uyarra, Chiara Marzocchi

Philip Shapira

After considering what is meant by innovation, we conceptualize the uses and sources of innovation at the level of a city-region. We suggest that this conceptualization, drawing on frameworks available in the literature, can provide a useful basis both for interpretation and policy operationalization. We then consider examples from practice, drawing on mini-case studies of innovation strategies in selected multi-area metropolitan agglomerations in other countries. This leads to a discussion of grand challenges and implementation problems of innovation facing the Manchester city-region. Finally, we consider implications strategy development and for the Manchester city-region innovation prospectus itself.

Special Edition Of Journal Of Business Ethics, Marilynn P. Fleckenstein Ph.D., Patrick Flanagan, Victoria Shoaf Ph.D., Patricia Werhane Ph.D.

Patrick Flanagan

DePaul University hosted the 14th Annual International Conference Promoting Business Ethics, at The Standard Club in Chicago, November 1–3, 2007. Academic and business leaders came together to explore the important ethical issues facing the business community in the twenty-first century. The articles in this special volume of The Journal of Business Ethics have been selected from the many presentations at this conference. Sponsored annually by the Vincentian Universities in the United States (DePaul University, in Chicago, Illinois; Niagara University in Niagara Falls, NY; and St. John’s University in Queens, NY) this conference promotes the mission of St. Vincent DePaul, the …

Erfolgreiche Telemedizinlösungen Und Kundenakzeptanz Zukünftiger Weiterentwicklungen: Das Geschäftsmodell Des Schweizer Zentrums Für Telemedizin Medgate, Philipp Osl, Ernst Sassen, Hubert Oesterle, Andy Fischer

Hubert Oesterle

Die rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen, insbesondere im Bereich der Telediagnostik, erlauben in der Schweiz umfassendere telemedizinische Angebote als in Deutschland und den meisten Ländern Europas. Der Beitrag präsentiert das Geschäftsmodell des Schweizer Zentrums für Telemedizin MEDGATE, eines europaweit führenden Telemedizin-Anbieters mit 2,6 Mio. Mitgliedern (Endkunden, denen die Leistungen von Medgate zur Verfügung stehen) und bis zu 1.600 Telekonsultationen täglich. Wichtiger Erfolgsfaktor des vorgestellten Geschäftsmodells ist die intensive Vernetzung mit anderen Unternehmen, insbesondere mit Versicherungen als Absatzmittler. Anhand eines Zukunftsszenarios untersucht der Beitrag weiterhin die Kundenakzeptanz möglicher Weiterentwicklungen der Telemedizin in den Bereichen Vitalwert- und Medikations-Überwachung sowie Videokonsultation. Während Senioren den Mehrwert für …

A Methodology To Allow Rural Extension Professionals To Build (With Don Kerr And John Gammack), Shah Jahan Miah

Dr Shah Jahan Miah

Expert systems (ES) development technology has been used to build rural business applications in the past but these have usually been developed using traditional expert systems shells. This paper introduces a new architecture for the development of a design environment where the domain experts can build a knowledge base for target-specific ES for rural business operators. The system allows rural business operators to use their own knowledge in building their own, target-specific ES for tailored development to their own specific requirements. At this stage, this reusable design environment caters for the Australian dairy industry but in the long run we …

Looking For Fair Use In The Dmca's Safety Dance, Ira Nathenson

Ira Steven Nathenson

Like a ballet, the notice-and-take-down provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") provide complex procedures to obtain take-downs of online infringement. Copyright owners send notices of infringement to service providers, who in turn remove claimed infringement in exchange for a statutory safe harbor from copyright liability. But like a dance meant for two, the DMCA is less effective in protecting the "third wheel," the users of internet services. Even Senator John McCain - who in 1998 voted for the DMCA - wrote in exasperation to YouTube after some of his presidential campaign videos were removed due to take-downs. McCain …

The Need For Better Analysis Of High Capacity Services, George S. Ford, Lawrence J. Spiwak

GEORGE S FORD

In 1999, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) began to grant incumbent local exchange carriers (“LECs”) pricing flexibility on special access services in some Metropolitan Statistical Areas (“MSAs”) when specific evidence of competitive alternatives is present. The propriety of that deregulatory move by the FCC has been criticized by the purchasers of such services ever since. Proponents of special access price regulation rely on three central arguments to support a retreat to strict price regulation: (1) the market(s) for special access and similar services is unduly concentrated; (2) rates of return on special access services, computed using FCC ARMIS data, are …

Firms' Global Patent Strategies In An Emerging Technology, Andrea Fernandez-Ribas

Andrea Fernandez-Ribas

Despite international patenting can be a costly and risky investment, an increasing number of firms patent proprietary technologies in foreign countries. This paper explores trends of global patenting in a new domain of technology characterized by rapid globalization. The research setting consists of the population of U.S.-based Large and Small and Mid-Sized firms (SMEs) filing nanotechnology-related patent applications at the World International Patent Office (WIPO) during 1996-2006.

This paper appears in: Science and Innovation Policy, 2009 Atlanta Conference on Publication Date: 2-3 Oct. 2009 On page(s): 1-5 ISBN: 978-1-4244-5041-1 INSPEC Accession Number: 11035266 DOI: 10.1109/ACSIP.2009.5367863 Posted online: 2009-12-28 12:00:57.0

Organizational And Institutional Influences On Creativity In Scientific Research, Thomas Heinze, Philip Shapira, Juan D. Rogers, Jacqueline M. Senker

Philip Shapira

This paper explores institutional and organizational influences on creativity in scientific research. Using a method for identifying creative scientific research accomplishments in two fields of science (nanotechnology and human genetics) in Europe and the US, the paper summarizes results derived from twenty case studies of highly creative research accomplishments, focusing on contextual patterns at the group, organizational, and institutional levels. We find that creative accomplishments are associated with small group size, organizational contexts with sufficient access to a complementary variety of technical skills, stable research sponsorship, timely access to extramural skills and resources, and facilitating leadership. A potential institutional threat …

Nanotechnology Development In Latin America, Luciano Kay, Philip Shapira

Philip Shapira

This article investigates the development of nanotechnology in Latin America with a particular focus on Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay. Based on data for nanotechnology research publications and patents and suggesting a framework for analyzing the development of R&D networks, we identify three potential strategies of nanotechnology research collaboration. Then, we seek to identify the balance of emphasis upon each of the three strategies by mapping the current research profile of those four countries. In general, we find that they are implementing policies and programs to develop nanotechnologies but differ in their collaboration strategies, institutional involvement, and level of development. …

Technological Diversity, Scientific Excellence And The Location Of Inventive Activities Abroad: The Case Of Nanotechnology, Andrea Fernández-Ribas, Philip Shapira

Philip Shapira

Our contribution to the expanding literature on the globalization of research and innovation is to investigate the extent to which sector-specific developments in an emerging technology (such as increasing interdisciplinarity and complexity) affect inventive activities developed abroad. We look at how technological diversity and scientific excellence of host countries in the field of nanotechnology affect the development of inventive activities by US multinational companies (MNCs). We identify the most active US-based MNCs in nanotechnology-related patenting and examine location decisions of these companies and their international subsidiaries. Econometric results confirm our hypothesis that technological breadth of host countries positively influence the …

Special Edition Of Journal Of Business Ethics, Patrick Flanagan, Marilynn P. Fleckenstein Ph.D., Victoria Shoaf Ph.D., Patricia Werhane Ph.D.

Patrick Flanagan

The articles in this special volume of Journal of Business Ethics have been selected from the many presentations at this conference and represent a cross section of the topics and issues covered at the Vincentian Business Ethics Conference at the Manhattan campus of St. John's University in the fall of 2009. Sponsored annually by the Vincentian universities in the United States (DePaul University, in Chicago, Illinois; Niagara University in Niagara Falls, NY; and St. John’s University in Queens, NY), this conference promotes the mission of St. Vincent DePaul, the seventeenth-century Roman Catholic saint who serves as the patron of these …

Special Edition Of Journal Of Business Ethics, Patrick Flanagan, Marilynn P. Fleckenstein Ph.D., Patrick D. Primeaux Ph.D., Victoria Shoaf Ph.D., Patricia Werhane Ph.D.

Patrick Flanagan

Niagara Falls, New York was home to the 13th Annual Vincentian International Conference Promoting Business Ethics sponsored by DePaul University (Chicago, IL), Niagara University (Niagara, NY), and St. John’s University (New York, NY), the three American universities sponsored by the Congregation of the Mission (the Vincentians). Conferences in the past had specific themes and corresponding paper presentations focused on a particular topic. This one intentionally did not have a central organizing subject matter to allow for greater diversity. Leaders from the academic and corporate sectors, representing 30 countries, submitted excellent papers on a broad range of ethical issues. This rich …

One Size Does Not Fit All – A Contingency Approach To Data Governance, Kristin Weber, Boris Otto, Hubert Oesterle

Hubert Oesterle

Enterprizes need Data Quality Management (DQM) to respond to strategic and operational challenges demanding high-quality corporate data. Hitherto, companies have mostly assigned accountabilities for DQM to Information Technology (IT) departments. They have thereby neglected the organizational issues critical to successful DQM. With data governance, however, companies may implement corporate-wide accountabilities for DQM that encompass professionals from business and IT departments. This research aims at starting a scientific discussion on data governance by transferring concepts from IT governance and organizational theory to the previously largely ignored field of data governance. The article presents the first results of a community action research …

Time As Symbolic Currency In Knowledge Work, Dariusz Jemielniak

Dariusz Jemielniak

The paper discusses the issue of time slips in software development. Increasing time sacrifices toward work constitutes an important part of modern organizational environment. In fact, the reign over time is a crucial element in controlling the labor process. Yet a lack of cultural studies covering different approaches to this issue remains—particularly those focusing on high-skilled salaried workers. This article is a small attempt to fill this gap, based on an analysis of unstructured qualitative interviews with high-tech professionals from a B2B software company. It focuses on the issue of timing in IT projects, as perceived by software engineers. The …

Knowledge Management: Fad Or Enduring Organizational Concept?, Dariusz Jemielniak, Jerzy Kociatkiewicz

Dariusz Jemielniak

Knowledge management and knowledge-intensive work are two of today’s hot buzzwords, though both already have a history of managerial usage. While some authors claim that knowledge is the most important organizational asset in contemporary society, others retort that much of knowledge management literature and practical solutions are just perfunctory and propagandist and many, if not most, managerial polices rely on manipulation of emotions and identity creation. This chapter aims to capitalize on this fascinating and timely research area. We want to present the current business fad of knowledge-management in terms of excess and forgetful repetition of ideas. We look at …