Industrial Knowledge Base Research Articles

Sources of heterogeneous treatment effects of incorporating public innovation intermediaries for SMEs: evidence from Japan’s Kohsetsushi

ABSTRACT A series of public administration reforms were implemented in Japan to cope with the secular stagnation since the 1990s, some of which took the form of the incorporation of public organisations. Drawing on the incorporation of Kohsetsushi, public innovation intermediaries for SMEs, this study evaluates its average treatment effect on the treated (ATT) by applying the difference-in-differences (DID) model to panel data (2000–2021). Local governments decided whether and when to incorporate Kohsetsushi, which suggests staggered treatments and heterogeneous treatment effects. Applying the conventional two-way fixed-effects DID model to panel data with staggered treatments may yield biased ATTs due to contaminated comparisons where early-treated units are used as a control group. This study adopted the DID model to correct the bias, which clarified the correlation between the treatment timings and treatment effects on technology diffusion. Kohsetsushi incorporated late enhanced research and inventive activities with geographically broad spillover while reducing technical consultation with localised spillover. Sources of heterogeneity are discussed from the perspectives of agglomeration externalities, industrial knowledge bases, and learning capacity.

Looking at regional innovation systems and industrial knowledge bases from the South: an analysis of Argentine provinces

Looking at regional innovation systems and industrial knowledge bases from the South: an analysis of Argentine provinces

Looking at regional innovation systems and industrial knowledge bases from the South: An analysis of Argentine provinces

Looking at regional innovation systems and industrial knowledge bases from the South: An analysis of Argentine provinces

Instrument development for measuring determinants in defense R&D policy

The Korean military's defense research and development (R&D) policy was often shortsighted because of environmental changes, such as the Korea–U.S. alliance, security policies under the regime, and limited budgets. In addition, there was a lack of prior research focusing on identifying the determinants of defense R&D policy, making it difficult for stakeholders in defense R&D policies to determine the appropriateness or validity of decision making. To this end, the purpose of the present study was to suggest a basic reference for defense R&D decision making through the conceptualization of determinants in defense R&D policy and development of measurement items. For this, we developed operational definitions of influencing factors and preliminary items related to defense R&D policy decisions, considering the Republic of Korea Armed Forces. To test reliability and validity, we performed exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses based on discussions with experts. The results show a six-factor structure (security policy, defense posture, technological ambition, dominant and shifting paradigm, science and technology, industry knowledge base, and resources) and 24 items. It is concluded that the use of questionnaire results might better reflect multiple aspects of decision making in defense R&D policy. Future studies need to elaborate on the measurement indicators for defense R&D policy determinants and theorize on policy directions according to changes in future defense and private technology development.

Understanding cognitive differences in the effect of digitalization on ambidextrous innovation: Moderating role of industrial knowledge base.

A number of existing researches agree that digitalization would facility firms to launch ambidextrous innovations. Digitalization is not only about technological change, but more importantly, the reshaping of the firms’ knowledge structure and routines to percept and integrate knowledge. Thus, some researchers suggest that whether firms could benefit from digitalization varies across firms and industries, since innovation in different firms and industries relies on differentiated level of cognitive and reasoning of knowledge. However, existing studies mainly focus on exploring the firm-level differences, and leave the industry-level difference underdeveloped. In response, this study integrates knowledge-based view to examine how a firm’s digitalization affects ambidextrous innovation, and further explore the conjoint effect of industrial knowledge bases—the knowledge base of the industry the firm is located in—on the relationship between firm digitalization level and ambidextrous innovation. This study uses Python to conduct text mining of firms’ annual reports, and obtains data of 394 listed companies from the year 2014 to 2020. The empirical results show that digitalization level has positive effect on both exploratory innovation and exploitative innovation, and the effect on exploitative innovation is stronger than on exploratory innovation. Moreover, the moderating effect of industrial knowledge base is significant on “digitalization–exploratory innovation” but not on “digitalization–exploitative innovation” relationship. By doing so, this study refines the research on the relationship between digitalization and firm innovation, and confirms that the usage of digitalization may lead to achieve an ambidextrous situation. This study also provides a theoretical basis for industrial differences of the effectiveness of digitalization, suggesting firms considering industrial characteristics to implement digitalization-assisted innovation practices.

Knowledge generation and diffusion in the German wind energy industry

Abstract This paper shows that collaborative innovation projects (CIPs) are an important arena for both knowledge generation and its incorporation into the industrial knowledge base (IKB). By differentiating between the cultural-cognitive, normative, and regulative dimensions of technology generation and diffusion, we describe interdependencies between CIPs and IKBs. On the basis of three vignettes from the German wind energy industry, six interrelations (translation, imitation, structuring devices, consolidation, strategic closure, and strategic inertia) are identified on how CIPs contribute to IKBs.

Using an ontology for systematic practice adoption in agile methods: Expert system and practitioners-based validation

As many software development teams have started to adopt agile methods, a vast amount of valuable experiences have been reported on in both academic and industrial knowledge bases. This information has been used through various approaches to guide and help practitioners finding suitable practices for their software development projects. Nevertheless, not many of these approaches could gather the available experiences to make them systematically reusable and help practitioners understanding agile practices in depth. To the best of our knowledge, only one ontology has been created to solve this problem; some limitations related to its quality and usability make it nevertheless unqualified to serve the intended purpose. The aim of this paper is to build an expert system (i.e. an evidence-based tool) to ease agile practices adoption by efficiently and effectively providing information on them. Firstly, we improve the concepts and relationships in the aforementioned ontology and theoretically validate it using a large data-set of agile practices adoption experiences collected through a Systematic Literature Review (SLR). Secondly, we develop a supporting tool having a friendly Graphical User Interface (GUI) allowing to use the ontology as a concrete agile practice knowledge provider. Finally, we empirically validate the enhanced ontology and evaluate the supporting tool using a survey with agile experts. Our supporting tool can help practitioners to decide what practice to adopt, how to adopt it, how to solve practical issues, etc. The ontology and the tool materialize our contribution to the field of systematic agile practices adoption.

Application of Unmanned Aerial Systems for Bridge Inspection

Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are experiencing tremendous growth in both the technological advancement of the systems themselves and the expansion of practical uses for the systems. One application for this system includes the use of UAS as a tool in support of bridge inspections. The ability to fly UAS into positions difficult to reach by an inspector has the potential to save time, reduce costs, and improve safety. An increasing number of bridge owners are exploring the use of UAS for bridge inspections through pilot studies and early adoption as an integral part of their inspection processes. This study aims to enhance the industry awareness and knowledge base of stakeholders in bridge inspection processes. This paper presents the aircraft and sensors used to assist or augment inspections, the data needs of the bridge owners that can be provided through the use of UAS, and the means and methods by which the bridge owner, or the organization supporting the bridge owner, can manage the tremendous amount of data that can be collected by sensors deployed on UAS during an inspection.

Institutionally Bounded Identities: Digital Engineers and Dgital Creatives in Mobile Games

Through a comparative multiple case study of 55 firms in the mobile games industry in Japan and the United States of America, we examine how new firms in new industries in different national institutional contexts develop their organizational identity. Our analysis suggests that national institutions act as an important filter through which new firms develop their organizational identity by sifting the influence of founders’ characteristics and motivations, on the one hand, and the industry technology and knowledge base, on the other. We show that these influences result in two distinctive types of organizational identity— “digital engineers” and “digital creatives”—that are closely associated with the different national institutional environments. The organizational identity of digital engineers emphasizes quality, consistency, and speed, whereas that of digital creatives emphasizes novelty, experimentation, and data analytics. New firms in new industries adopt strategic decisions that reflect and reinforce these identities, especially organizational actions regarding firm boundaries, human resources practices, and corporate development. We propose an emergent framework to explore how institutionally bounded organizational identities develop in a new digital industry.

New path creation in the artificial intelligence industry: regional preconditions, new actors and their collective actions, and policies

ABSTRACT This article contributes to the growing literature on a broader understanding of new industry path creation shaped by regional preconditions as well as multi-actor and multi-scale interventions. Using the case of Montreal’s artificial intelligence (AI) industry as its testing ground, the findings point to the significance of pre-existing industrial structures and knowledge base, as well as the importance of new innovative entrepreneurship, institutional entrepreneurship and coordinated multilevel policy initiatives directed at nurturing the new industries, and collective place-based leadership.

How Do Firms’ Knowledge Base and Industrial Knowledge Networks Co-Affect Firm Innovation?

Firms’ knowledge base is one of the key antecedents of firm innovation. While extant literatures identify diversification and depth of firms’ knowledge base as the important inputs of firm innovation, coherence of firms’ knowledge base reflecting the relatedness of knowledge base is largely neglected. This article goes a further step and points out that coherence of firms’ knowledge base will co-affect with diversification or depth of firms’ knowledge base to foster firm innovation, because it improves the efficiency of knowledge combination and integration. Moreover, degree centralization of industrial knowledge networks, as a characteristic of industrial knowledge base, moderates the abovementioned relationships by offering technological combination opportunities in the industry and helping firms break cognitive inertia. Based on patent data of 76 global firms from three-dimensional printing, information and communication technology, wind energy, and lithium battery industries during the period of 1993–2013, the analysis results show that coherence of firms’ knowledge base positively moderates the relationship between diversification of firms’ knowledge base and firm innovation. Furthermore, degree centralization of industrial knowledge networks, together with coherence of firms’ knowledge base, strengthens the positive relationship between knowledge diversification and firm innovation. Theoretical and practical suggestions about firms’ knowledge management were discussed.

METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO SOFTWARE QUALITY ASSESSMENT FOR OIL AND GAS COMPLEX OBJECTS

This article establishes methodological approaches to software quality assessment in the process of information technology implementation in oil and gas companies. This study offers methodological basis of software quality assessment drawing on complexanalyses of
 methodological approaches to software quality assessment conducted by the author/
 The article investigates and analyses the most commonly used approaches to software quality assessment for information systems.
 The study examines methodological approaches to software quality assessment for oil and gas complex objects.
 The article describes current state of affairs and the results of previous research in this field including the main methods of software quality assessment.
 This research describes and analyses some of the problems connected to creation and implementation of software code quality assessment methods in general and oil and gas industry knowledge base in particular.
 The article presents arguments for necessity for assessment of software quality expenses.

Lean Six Sigma competitiveness for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME): an action research in the Indian context

PurposeThe aim of the article is to ascertain the challenges, lessons learned and managerial implications in the deployment of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) competitiveness to micro, small and medium Enterprises (MSME) in India and to establish doctrines to strengthen the initiatives of the government.Design/methodology/approachThe research adopts the Action Research methodology to develop a case study, which is carried out in the printing industry in a Tier III city using the LSS DMAIC (Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control) approach. It utilizes LSS tools to deploy the strategy and to unearth the challenges and success factors in improving the printing process of a specific batch of a product.FindingsThe root cause for the critical to quality (CTQ) characteristic, turn-around-time (TAT) is determined and the solutions are deployed through the scientifically proven data-based approach. As a result of this study, the TAT reduced from an average of 1541.2–1303.36 min, which in turn, improved the sigma level from 0.55 to 2.96, a noteworthy triumph for this MSME. The company realizes an annual savings of USD 12,000 per year due to the success of this project. Top Management Leadership, Data-Based Validation, Technical Know-how and Industrial Engineering Knowledge Base are identified as critical success factors (CSFs), while profitability and on-time delivery are the key performance indicators (KPIs) for the MSME. Eventually, the lessons learned and implications indicate that LSS competitiveness can be treated as quality management standards (QMS) and quality tools and techniques (QTT) to ensure competitive advantage, sustainable green practices and growth.Research limitations/implicationsEven though the findings and recommendations of this research are based on a single case study, it is worth noting that the case study is executed in a Tier III city along with novice users of LSS tools and techniques. This indicates the applicability of LSS in MSME and thus, the modality adopted can be further refined to suit the socio-cultural aspects of India.Originality/valueThis article illustrates the deployment of LSS from the perspective of novice users, to assist MSME and policymakers to reinforce competitiveness through LSS. Moreover, the government can initiate a scheme in line with LSS competitiveness to complement the existing schemes based on the findings of the case study.

When regional meets global: exploring the nature of global innovation networks in the video game industry in Southern Sweden

ABSTRACT For firms in symbolic (creative) industries, the region is usually seen as the main arena for knowledge sourcing and exchange. Why and how these firms use global innovation networks remains however poorly understood. This paper draws on in-depth interviews with firm representatives and network data collected through a survey of video game developers in southern Sweden. Video game development is a typical example of a symbolic industry, encompassing the development of non-tangible and symbol-intensive products and services. In recent years, this industry has advanced from a niche sector into a global mass market. Understanding how the hybrid character of the industry – with strong symbolic cultural roots but also a significant global engagement – affects the geography of innovation networks is the focus of this paper. The analysis reveals that knowledge sourcing and exchange take place likewise on the regional and global scale, but for different purposes and through different mechanisms. It also shows that not all variance in network engagement can be explained by differences in industrial knowledge bases or regional innovation systems. In contrast, the target market and the nature and geography of demand are important explanatory factors.

Evaluation of new knowledge generation in the oil and gas sector of Russia through the prism of patent activity

One way to describe the evolution of the modern knowledge base in the Russian oil and gas sector (OGS) is to consider it through the dynamics and results of patent activity related to inventions. On the whole, we observe rising complexity of the industrial knowledge base of OGS, which responds to changes in the resource base of OGS and reflects world- wide trends of innovation-driven growth. Notably, Russian inventions for OGS comprise rather limited use of technologies from complementary knowledge fields.

Research on the Mashup Behavior and Evolutionary Patterns of Enterprises in an Incomplete Information Environments

Starting from the actual background of building industry KB (knowledge base) process of mashup, this paper concerned the influence of bounded rationality and made the usage of an evolutionary game model. Based on prior work, this paper has constructed two different types of asymmetrical core competences of enterprises by anticipated additional net payoff, net partition coefficient, preparation costs and mutation probability and other factors. First, the “prisoner’s dilemma” problem came out. Second this paper do static analysis of non-cooperative game and then seek the ESS (Evolutionary Stable Strategy, ESS) of evolutionary game model. Ultimately, the evolutionary paths are analyzed from the perspective on spatial dimension and time dimension of mashup. At last but not least, a series of corresponding management enlightenments are given out based on the above analysis.

A typology of agricultural production systems: Capability building trajectories of three Asian economies

Analysing the agricultural sectors of Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore, this paper examines the capability‐building process that encourages productivity and innovation. It describes and explains the origins and subsequent evolution of three forms of agricultural production system, each generating different farming capabilities and distinct forms of competitive advantages. The paper argues that Taiwan's rice‐oriented agricultural production system stimulates both productivity and innovation, helping Taiwanese farmers raise their income level and living standards. The active deployment of state institutions and a malleable labour force, evidenced in the Malaysian palm oil industry, is effective in raising farming productivity but not the ability to innovate. Singapore's aquaculture‐oriented agricultural production system is somewhat useful in stimulating productivity and innovation. Yet the city‐state's inherent lack of space and open international trade regime have circumscribed the potential of its aquaculture industry. It now relies on the regional ethnic Chinese business networks to expand the aquaculture industry's knowledge base and its industrial commons. The principles discussed in this paper provide policy lessons, or at least some initial guidance, for other developing economies aspiring to modernise their agricultural sector.

A Case Study of Research Improvements in an Service Industry Upgrading the Knowledge Base of the Information System and the Process Management: Data Flow Automation, Association Rules and Data Mining

In this paper is analyzed a case study of an upgrade of an industry communication system developed by following ‘Frascati’ research guidelines. The goal of the proposed model is to enhance the industry knowledge Base –KB- by acting directly on information communication system improvements and data system integration, enabling automated process and data processing. The paper follow all the steps performed during the project development: the preliminary data infrastructure design, the information infrastructure improvements, and data processing. Data processing is performed by a calculus engine embedding data mining association rules and Artificial Neural Network –ANN- predictive algorithms thus improving the research. The calculus engine has been implemented by a multiple variables model where the contract data are preliminary processed in order to define functions classifying the operation processes and activating automatically the service process management. The business intelligence –BI- operations are performed mainly by the calculus engine optimizing industry performances. The goal of the paper is to show how research and development –R&D- can be applied by gaining and optimizing the knowledge and processes of an Italian industry working in car services. The project has been developed with the collaboration of the industry ACI Global working in roadside assistance services. By means of a research project resources, the information technology –IT- infrastructure has been improved by new solutions of the communication system and of the data transfer. The proposed case of study provides a model and a guideline to follow in order to apply research in industry acting directly on data and information network.

Anytime diagnosis for reconfiguration

Many domains require scalable algorithms that help to determine diagnoses efficiently and often within predefined time limits. Anytime diagnosis is able to determine solutions in such a way and thus is especially useful in real-time scenarios such as production scheduling, robot control, and communication networks management where diagnosis and corresponding reconfiguration capabilities play a major role. Anytime diagnosis in many cases comes along with a trade-off between diagnosis quality and the efficiency of diagnostic reasoning. In this paper we introduce and analyze FlexDiag which is an anytime direct diagnosis approach. We evaluate the algorithm with regard to performance and diagnosis quality using a configuration benchmark from the domain of feature models and an industrial configuration knowledge base from the automotive domain. Results show that FlexDiag helps to significantly increase the performance of direct diagnosis search with corresponding quality tradeoffs in terms of minimality and accuracy.

Organizational routines and regional industrial paths: the IT service industry in the US National Capital Region

ABSTRACTThis study aims to address how organizational routines could affect the business activities and regional industrial paths of organizations by conducting a case study of the information technology (IT) service industry in Fairfax County in the US state of Virginia. Specifically, it analyzes the interwoven processes among three factors in the evolution of a knowledge-based regional industry, namely, organizational routines of local IT service firms, industrial knowledge bases and regional specificity. Empirical results explain the mechanisms of the adaptation processes of heterogeneous actors when two groups of disparate market-oriented routines exist. The integrated framework linking these three factors can provide explicit perspectives for understanding the context-specific evolution of clusters.