Innovation is a key driver of organizational renewal and success. However, providing the right environment for innovative ideas to emerge and develop is not easy. This is further complicated by the fact that the professional environment is increasingly virtual as globally dispersed organizational and inter-organizational teams collaborate on innovative projects, making effective information and communication technologies indispensable. While many organizations have knowledge management (KM) systems, most of these have not been developed with the aim of supporting the innovation process, and many do not even succeed in their primary aim, i.e. supporting knowledge exchange, as they do not take into consideration the emotional, psychological and social needs of individuals. In order to address these issues, we have developed a video-based connection tool, InnoTube, which makes full use of social network ties and Web2.0 technologies to support collaborative innovation. InnoTube provides a showcase for innovation-related ideas and their inceptors, as well as proactively encourages the development of social connections and the brainstorming of cross functional globally dispersed teams. Results of a successful initial pilot study in the automobile industry are also presented.

Taking as a starting point the recent approval of 138 co-financing proposals put forward by numerous Italian public bodies within the context of a national e-government plan, the article poses the question of whether these types of initiatives are really likely to unleash mechanisms capable of improving organisational performance. The evaluation criteria adopted in the course of the selection process are analysed on the basis of a model elaborated by Soh and Markus (1995). The aims are: to carry out a general assessment of the role attributed to information and communication technology (ICT) in the modernization of the public sector and to draw some conclusions from this progress towards the realization of e-government. 1

© Gillian Rice and Essam Mahmoud. Working draft. Please do not quote without

Empirical research has demonstrated that a market orientation has in general a positive effect on organizational performance. The potential benefits of a market orientation have, however, not been realized because academics and practitioners do not yet understand the modus operandi that transform market orientation into superior organizational performance. Recent research has demonstrated that the proficiency in new product development (NPD) activities might be the key in the conversion of market orientation into superior NPD-performance, and hence, organizational performance. This study is designed to test a set of hypotheses related to the interrelationships among market orientation, the proficiency in NPD-activities, NPD-performance, and organizational performance. The results from a sample of 126 manufacturing firms in the Netherlands present evidence for the mediating role of the proficiency in several NPD-activities and NPD-performance in the relationship between market...

Designing online systems to stimulate and support knowledge exchange, collaborative learning and innovation in distributed communities of professionals is a challenging task. In this paper we document the design of CMTube, a system aimed at stimulating and supporting value-adding online interactions among a distributed group of independent higher education professionals using the same learning approach, i.e., a management simulation. CMTube is based on latest web trends and makes extensive use of video, profiling, game dynamics, agents and network visualizations in order to capture the attention and involvement of community members by generating three different types of value: connection value, actionable learning value, as well as entertainment and instant gratification value. We also discuss the assessment of these different value dimensions, as well as ongoing and planned research directions.

The ability to collaborate productively is critical for individuals and organizations in order to operate effectively in today’s global environment. Effective collaboration allows corporations to identify and replicate operational best practices and to optimize business activities such as cross-selling and providing integrated solutions. Effective collaboration can also produce innovation, a key driver of organizational renewal and success

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

is also a member of the Centre for Local and Regional

Innovations and Experience Economy: A tool for rural food sector competitiveness and rural development? Paper by