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- Aaboen, Lise, 1978, et al.
(författare)
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Nourishment for the piggy bank : facilitation of external financing in incubators
- 2011
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Ingår i: International Journal of Technology Transfer and Commercialisation. - : Inderscience. - 1470-6075 .- 1741-5284. ; 10 3-4, s. 354-374
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper, we argue that incubators facilitate access to external financing for their incubatees. Incubators use a wide range of activities to facilitate the accessing of external financing from public and private sources. We have grouped these into two sets of activities. The general activities aim to develop the conditions for external financing through information, education of incubatees, network-building and lobbying activities. The specific activities aim to assist the individual incubatee in their pursuit of external finance through help in application procedures, establishing need for capital, making contacts with the best public or private investor, etc. Based on the survey data, we have also shown that it is more common for incubatees to attract external capital compared to non-incubator firms. The incubatees seem especially successful in attracting public capital. The incubatees also attract more private external capital, however, the observed frequency of private capital in the incubatees are low.
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| 2. |
- Brattström, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Creativity, trust and systematic processes in product development
- 2012
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Ingår i: Research Policy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0048-7333. ; 41:4, s. 743-755
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper addresses the challenge of striking a balance between, on one hand, mitigating uncertainty through the existence of systematic processes and structures and, on the other, stimulating creativity through allowable variation in work processes and structures. Both objectives are fundamental aspects of product development work. Our main finding is that both objectives can be achieved simultaneously. We introduce trust as a mediating variable. We show first, that being systematic in the processes for obtaining information and applying explicit organizational rules and structures in product development work creates an atmosphere of trust in the organization. Second, we show that trust increases creativity. The paper contributes to an understanding of how and why trust is important in product development organizations and of how trust can be actively managed. Above all, the paper contributes to the understanding of how uncertainty and creativity should be managed in organizations conducting product development.
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| 3. |
- Börjesson, Sofia, 1964, et al.
(författare)
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Capabilities for innovation in small firms - A study of 131 high-tech firms and their relation to performance
- 2012
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Ingår i: International Journal of Business Innovation and Research. - 1751-0260 .- 1751-0252. ; 6:2, s. 149-176
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Organisational capabilities have been widely discussed - most often at a conceptual level and from a large firm perspective. This paper examines the operationalisation and measurement of the capabilities for innovation in small firms and also how capabilities may be related to the firm's innovation performance. Based on a quantitative analysis of 131 small high-tech firms, this paper describes and analyses the dimensions critical for innovation with a special focus on very small high-tech firms. We propose a construct for investigation including five dimensions relating to small firm capabilities and their relation to innovation performance. We found 20 relationships between the capabilities dimensions and innovation performance, of which the performance dimension of 'patent' showed to be particularly correlated to capabilities. Our statistical analysis shows that two latent constructs have a positive effect on innovation performance: cooperation with universities and business planning and advice.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Löfsten, Hans, 1963
(författare)
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Business planning, product development and localization - a study of 131 incubatees located on 16 incubators in Sweden
- 2012
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Ingår i: Do We Need The Entrepreneurial University? Triple Helix Perspective. - 9789536025589 ; , s. 47-61
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The research question in this study specifically relates to the potential for performance associated with business plans and market development (as it affects the firm), product development (firm dimension) and localization (incubator dimension). The developed analytical model examines the effects of these different dimensions on small firm performance (as seen via capital resources, profit margin and level of sales). This study builds upon data collected from a survey in 2005 of 16 incubators in Sweden. The survey was sent out to the managers of the new technology-based firms (incubatees). Thus, out of the 133 answers (response rate 69%) we were able to use 131 small new technology-based firms localized at 16 incubators in the statistical analysis. Moreover, from a firm’s perspective the incubator provides an opportunity of gaining access to such as technology together with the creation of those systems important for running its business activities and improving performance. Factor analysis was used to divide the variables into the five latent variables: business plans and prognoses, product development, region and proximity, university and incubator linkage, and transportation and facilities. However, we found a very limited number of connections between firm performance (capital resources, profit margin and level of sales) and these 5 selected variables. Regarding the financing situation, we note that the only statistical connection occurs between the financial resources over the past three years and the [latent variable] business plans and prognoses. There was no overall statistical support for connections between sales level, profit margin and the five latent variables.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Löfsten, Hans, 1963
(författare)
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Industrialization of hybrid electric vehicle technology - analysis of 40 Swedish potential suppliers
- 2012
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The vehicle manufacturers in Sweden are depending on import to be able to manufacture hybrid- and electric vehicles. Simultaneously, there are several national suppliers of electric motors and power electronics for industrial use. In order for these suppliers to approach the vehicle industry they may need to make adaptations to their products and/or production. This study focuses on small and medium-sized (SMEs) technology-based firms in Sweden (employing between 1 and 500 employees) in Sweden during year 2011. The empirical data (40 firms) contains of a survey (questionnaire) of Swedish firms, who could be potential suppliers to the selling, manufacturing and final assembly of the hybrid vehicle technology in eight industrial branches. We have included 114 variables regarding different systems and resource dimensions in the analysis: Hybrid electric vehicle product units – large systems and support systems (selling, production and final assembly) and forthcoming product units (five years) and Business and R&D networks, Product and market innovation and Localization and environment. 18 sub-hypotheses were tested in the study. Battery systems and BMU/software require much more resources for selling, production and final assemby of hybrid electric vehicle products and the surveyed small and medium-sized firms do not have the technological and business knowledge for producing these bottle-neck products on their own. Our empirical studies show important gaps in hybrid supply processes. One operative way to solve this situation is building strategic partnerships with other firms, strategic alliances are a way for a firm to compete and succeed in today’s networked economy.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Pasche, Maximilian, 1980, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of platforms on new product development projects
- 2011
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Ingår i: International Journal of Operations and Production Management. - : Emerald. - 1758-6593 .- 0144-3577. ; 31:11-12, s. 1144-1163
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate effects of platforms on new product development (NPD) projects. Emphasis has been put on the following effect categories: project performance, process changes, and the use of performance measurements. Design/methodology/approach - The paper is based on data collected in a survey of Swedish manufacturing firms. The survey collected data on platform characteristics and NPD characteristics. This paper reports correlations and regression analyses of the different variables. Findings - The application of a platform strategy leads to a significant increase of component commonality on the product program level. However, it was observed that firms still have problems with sticking to project budgets in terms of cost and lead-time restrictions. Moreover, platform implementation often involves significant process adaptations. Finally, it showed that firms are hardly applying measurements to follow up on their platform-related activities. Research limitations/implications - It appears that predictions made in current literature regarding platform effects are not generally valid for all firms. Therefore, this study indicates that there may be contingencies affecting the applicability of a platform strategy for specific firms. Practical implications - Owing to potential contingencies affecting the applicability of platforms, firms have to carefully consider if a platform strategy is promising in their specific situation. Moreover, product platform implementation does not only demand an adaptation of product structures but also involves significant process adaptations. Originality/value - By statistically testing effects of platforms on product development performance, the tendency of the current literature towards case-based research is overcome. Hereby, the findings of current literature are challenged in terms of their generalizability.
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