Abstract not found

lidity yet have been given little attention to date. Combining and reapplying the research from these two approaches, promises to provide a much stronger understanding of what constitutes program complexity and thus help identify significantly more accurate estimates of development effort, optimal programming languages, and improved programming teaching methods. References

This paper describes the construction and use of a topographical map of the innovation landscape. The purpose of the map is to provide a holistic view of the key factors that enable innovation (the so-called 'landmarks'), how well they are aligned to support the particular type of innovation the organization needs to pursue, and to identify possible gaps. The landmarks are found in four strategic business directions, namely (1) change, (2) people, (3) resources, and (4) operations. The landscape covers four domains that influence innovation- the attributes of the individual, the organizational context in which he/she functions, the business environment (the market / industry in which the organization is operating) and the external environment. The significance (importance) and height (performance) of the landmarks in supporting and enabling innovation within the organization is determined by means of a selfappraisal audit. The topography of the landscape derived thus is subsequently interpreted in terms of the organization's particular strategy. The application of the innovation map is illustrated in three different organizations within the Chemicals as well as the Mining & Metallurgy industries of South Africa. Our research in the private sector, and the innovation literature pertaining to the public sector, have suggested that the key factors that enable innovation do not differ substantially, provided the different contexts are taken into consideration. Therefore, we propose that this methodology, originally developed for the private sector, may be applied equally successfully in public sector organizations. 1.

This paper explores the impact of a variety of contextual factors on the diffusion of six administrative innovations. The paper explores the level importance of 13 contextual factors on decisions(s) to implement (or not) administrative changes. It also examines the level of association between contextual factors and the diffusion of six administrative innovations, finding that the several contextual factors contribute significantly to the incidence of administrative change. Key words: Contextual factors; administrative changes; diffusion; innovation

This study explores the relationships between organizational process alignment, culture and innovation. Based on previous studies, this study proposed a conceptual model and hypothesized that three kinds of process alignments (structural, information technology (IT) and strategic alignments) positively affect adaptability culture, which in turn facilitate process and product innovations. Using structural equations modeling with data collected from 175 surveys from high-tech firms in Taiwan, the result indicated that there is a positive effect of structural and strategic alignments on adaptability culture, but information technology (IT) alignment exerted no such effect. This study further found that adaptability culture has a direct impact on process innovation, and an indirect impact on product innovation through process innovation.

“Have you considered to write a Ph.D.? ” professor Niels Bjørn-Andersen asked me, at our very first meeting where we had a conversation about my possible future employment as a research assistant at the Department of Informatics at CBS. I was tempted to meet the challenge. Later on I realized that this challenge would become one of the major tests in my life so far. However, at this point in time it feels more like a triumph to have written a Ph.D. dissertation. I owe a great many thanks to all the people who helped me in the process. First of all I am indebted to the whole faculty and staff at the Department of Informatics. Everybody there has been outstanding in providing valuable help and support, especially professor Mogens Kühn Pedersen and professor Karlheinz Kautz have shown particular interest in my work. I am specially greateful to professor Niels Bjørn-Andersen who first challenged me to write the Ph.D., and in the same breath I must thank my supervisor associate professor Kim Viborg Andersen who patiently guided me through many to me unknown steps in the process. Particularly I will take this opportunity to thank Kim Viborg Andersen for his willingness to introduce me to the IS-research community. From the very beginning of the Ph.D. study Kim Viborg Andersen arranged an international advisory board. I am very indebted to the four people who kindly responded to Kim Viborg Andersens ’ invitation to join the board.

Despite a voluminous literature and widespread belief in the inherent value of innovation, our understanding of the innovation construct remains rudimentary. Extant research on innovation spans across a variety of disciplines and levels of analysis. Yet, the divergence in core assumptions and methodologies across disciplines, coupled with few systematic efforts to integrate findings, have seriously hampered the crossfertilization of research ideas in the field of innovation. The motivation for this work stems from the fragmentary nature of innovation research and the need for a more holistic, ecumenical outlook on innovation. We believe that this paper takes a step toward overcoming disciplinary myopia and a further step toward synthesizing the diverse innovation literature. In this paper, we provide a synopsis of the innovation literature, with an emphasis on how innovation may potentially be reframed to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the construct. To this end, the paper is structured as follows. First, we outline various semantic definitions of innovation and their lexical variants. We then briefly discuss three confluent, but distinct terms (creativity, invention and organizational change) often mistakenly perceived to be synonymous with innovation. Next, we delineate the levels of analysis associated with innovation research and describe exemplary research emerging from these domains. Finally, we identify a number of promising research directions and propose an integrative cross-level model of innovation to energize future innovation research. 3

This article aims to evaluate the innovation management capacities of knowledge intensive business services (KIBS) and verify to what extent these companies return different profiles when classified by urban versus rural. Taking a sample of 500 KIBS, we applied a questionnaire with results revealing different explanatory variables for KIBS innovation capacities. From the set of five dimensions studied, factors relating strategy, learning, and network best explained rural versus urban KIBS innovation capacities.

The adoption and diffusion of RFID in logistics falls short behind the optimistic expectations shaped years ago. The complexity of large-scale RFID rollout projects is a barrier for widespread adoption and diffusion of RFID. Current RFID specific project management frameworks address the implementation of isolated RFID projects but provide very limited guidance on how to manage largescale RFID rollouts. This paper provides substantiated insights on fuzzy front-end activities in the early phase of RFID rollout projects at a large automotive manufacturer. Our findings indicate that indivisibility as the underlying source of complexity is one of the principal factors for hesitant adoption and diffusion of RFID in automotive logistics. We propose fuzzy front-end approaches to address identified complexity issues and ramp up RFID implementation in a diverse cross-company and multi-project environment.