Technology Gatekeepers Research Articles

Can the government create a vibrant cluster? Understanding the impact of cluster policy on the development of a cluster

ABSTRACTResearch has debated to what extent policy measures can facilitate or contribute to the development of clusters. This article contributes to this debate by questioning how the government can create a cluster that is self-organizing and vibrant but also maintain sufficient influence to continue using the cluster as a policy instrument. Taking the perspective of cluster members, the article investigates how members perceive the ambiguous role of the government in a government-supported cluster. It analyses to what extent cluster members value a government-supported cluster and whether they perceive the government as one that facilitates or hinders them in self-organizing the cluster. Empirical evidence is derived from a case study of a French cluster established as a result of a cluster policy initiative and which has recently been required to fulfil a new set of objectives by the same government. The findings suggest that government-supported clusters can self-organize if members are given the opportunity, but with the consequence that it becomes difficult for the government to fully control such clusters. To continue steering the cluster’s development, the government would have to leverage the technology gatekeepers’ power by designing policies that allow gatekeepers to translate government objectives into meaningful objectives for themselves.

Are technology gatekeepers renewing clusters? Understanding gatekeepers and their dynamics across cluster life cycles

The cluster literature assumes that technology gatekeepers (TGs) shape a district's learning process and its evolution. However, analysis of the resilience of TGs, and their role across different stages of the cluster life cycle (CLC), is absent. Instead, most of the evidence that has been produced is set at a particular stage of the CLC. This article seeks to use a qualitative case study to understand the dynamics of TGs, and their knowledge creation and diffusion capabilities in the CLC renewal period. This is a stage less studied in the literature. Further, the article explores TG resilience across different stages of the CLC. Our results show that not all TGs are resilient and necessary for cluster renewal. In addition, they are not sufficient for fostering disruptions: their manifest reluctance to destroy the status quo and their network centrality makes necessary the entrance of new firms with new knowledge. TGs are necessary because they facilitate a cluster's transition across stages thanks to their powerful control of the most vital aspect of clusters: networks.

Web 2.0 support for individual, group and organizational learning

This article explores how Web 2.0 interactive technologies are valuable for generative, learner-driven, instructor-facilitated virtual learning processes integrated with work tasks for solving problems and coping with challenges. This is in contrast to the earlier generation of one-way technologies that is traditionally used for adaptive, instructor-driven online learning programs for skills and knowledge training, and communicating corporate policies and procedures. Learning professionals need to be open to encourage employees' experimentation with new software tools and techniques, value technology gatekeepers in their organization and promote informal learning.

Technology Gatekeepers for War and Peace: The British Ship Revolution and Japanese Industrialization (review)

Technology Gatekeepers for War and Peace: The British Ship Revolution and Japanese Industrialization (review)

Book Review: Technology Gatekeepers for War and Peace: The British Ship Revolution and Japanese Industrialization

Book Review: Technology Gatekeepers for War and Peace: The British Ship Revolution and Japanese Industrialization

Technology gatekeepers for war and peace: the British ship revolution and Japanese industrialization – By Miwao Matsumoto

The Economic History ReviewVolume 60, Issue 2 p. 435-437 Technology gatekeepers for war and peace: the British ship revolution and Japanese industrialization – By Miwao Matsumoto Janet Hunter, Janet Hunter London School of EconomicsSearch for more papers by this author Janet Hunter, Janet Hunter London School of EconomicsSearch for more papers by this author First published: 10 April 2007 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0289.2007.00384_23.xRead the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume60, Issue2May 2007Pages 435-437 RelatedInformation

Technology Alliances and Networks: An External Link to Research Capability

Few studies of technology alliances have explicitly examined the link between internal research capability and external sources of innovation via interfirm networks. While different partners bring with them different sets of resource opportunities, the networks can serve as "pipes" of information via indirect partners. This research examined whether the level of research capability moderates the performance impact of a firm's network accessibility in terms of the number of technology partners and the firm's centrality in the network. Interviews were also conducted with management executives and engineers to investigate the underlying motives and strategy of technology alliances. While the statistical findings show that increasing research capability enhances the benefits of information access via centrality, our interview data provide support that the role of good engineers as technology gatekeepers is critical to the success of leveraging partners' resources. Building upon the rich qualitative data, we conclude the study with an organizational framework of technology strategy. This paper contributes to engineering management research by linking both strategic and organizational factors of research capability in acquiring external sources of innovation.

Future need for geophysicists and geophysical research in the oil business? Conclusions of a ‘listening tour’

The primary product of the University of Houston is its students. The Allied Geophysics Laboratories (AGL) at the University of Houston embarked on a listening tour to find out where the jobs are for new geophysicists, which job skills our students needed, and how to fund our research. AGL was initiated by Fred Hilterman in 1977. In 1981 it had 37 consortia members that supported 40 graduate students. Today, 21 of those former sponsors no longer exist—victims of hard times, mergers, and a contracting oil industry; we are down to nine sponsors. Half of our AGL students are part-timers working full time for Houston's oil and gas industry. National oil companies sponsor a quarter of our full-time students. The consortium model of funding university research is broken. Consortia are looked on as an expense to be justified by deliverables. Our sister consortia are under these same stresses, but in the United States we suffer more than those in the EEC, Canada, and Australia, where there is greater government support for graduate students. Almost every oil company lists technology and people in its top five corporate values. However, many oil companies have abandoned internal technology development or now outsource it. The job title of research geoscientist now hardly exists. Most of our visits on the listening tour were at company sites where we spoke mainly with technology champions or gatekeepers plus a few lead recruiters and top executives. We feel that almost everyone communicated their companies mission, vision, and values (whether or not they agreed with them). Our analysis consists mostly of anecdotal comments. With the following five questions and a blank pad of paper, we visited the companies listed in Table 1. View this table: Table 1. Companies involved on the listening …

Health technology diffusion rates. Statins, coronary stents, and MRI in England.

To analyze the rates and influences on the adoption of three selected health technologies: statins, coronary stents, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A retrospective diffusion study using primary care prescribing data and questionnaire responses from acute hospital trusts in the West Midlands region (population 5.3 million or 10% of England). The selected technologies had markedly different diffusion curves. Statins diffused rapidly soon after launch. Coronary stents were initially used 6 years after first availability, but within 2 years all responding hospitals reported using them. MRI scanners were initially purchased 6 years after first availability with a subsequently slow rate of diffusion, and are still absent from some hospitals. Influences on the adoption of each technology were different. Commercial marketing was reported as a major influence on the diffusion of statins but not at all on MRIs. Cost impact was a major negative influence on the diffusion of MRI scanners and statins, whereas enthusiastic individuals were key to the diffusion of stents. Influences on adoption and consequent diffusion rates are very different for different health technologies. It is not at all clear that such diffusion patterns relate well to an optimum timing rate. This has important implications for technology gatekeepers in health care.

A longitudinal analysis of technical communication in research and development

A unique longitudinal study of the technical communication patterns of 184 engineers in a high technology research and development laboratory centers in the activities of technology gatekeepers. This two-step flow of technical information follows the literature as well as results from prior studies. Gatekeepers span the organizational boundary in the transfer of technology from outside the laboratory, while facilitating the distribution of technical information to colleagues within the organization. Sociometric data are analyzed over a five-year period with respect to changing organizational structures, new technical assignments and alterations in group composition. Despite these dynamic changes, the data reveal consistent results in gatekeeper identification and technical information flows.