1. |
- Andersson, Per, et al.
(author)
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Global policy networks’ involvement in service innovation. Turning the mobile phone into a wallet by applying NFC technology
- 2011
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In: The IMP Journal. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 5:3, s. 193-211
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The mobile phone attracts an increasing number of service applications enabled by technical developments. On-going efforts aim to widen the scope of mobile payments and “turning the mobile phone into a wallet” with the help of Near Field Technology (NFC). A number of industries are involved in this development. To enable large scale commercial application of the new technology for mobile payments, several global industry associations, what we label Global Policy Networks (GPNs), are involved in standard setting, certification, visions and promotion of business applications, etc. The purpose of the paper is to analyze the role of GPNs in establishing global policies to enable business actors to develop and implement local policies applying the new technology for business purposes. The paper focuses on how some yet to be settled global policy issues affect local policies.
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2. |
- Andersson, Per, et al.
(author)
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Technical development and the formation of new business ventures, The case of new mobile payment and ticketing services
- 2011
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In: The IMP Journal. - : Emerald. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 5:1, s. 23-41
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- How do new business ventures emerge, and how is their emergence linked to technical development? What are the challenges of forming new business ventures when the business involves the connection of previously unconnected or loosely connected networks? This paper analyses the connections between technical development and the formation of new business ventures. A set of case studies is presented that show how existing market structures, business development and associated wireless, technologies and systems are affected by the emergence of new mobile payment and ticketing services. This paper presents result from an on-going research project on near field communication based services in Sweden. In late 2008 the project “Foundation For NFC/Sensor Network B2B2C Services” (FORCE) was initiated by TeliaSonera Mobile Network, KTH Center for Wireless System, and Center for Information and Communication Research at the Stockholm School of Economics.
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3. |
- Baraldi, Enrico, et al.
(author)
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“Betting on Science or Muddling Through the Network” : Two Universities and one Innovation Commission
- 2011
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In: The IMP Journal. - Oslo. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 5:3, s. 172-192
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Since the mid 1990s the OECD, the EU and many national innovation policies have pointed to universities as the most important direct providers of solutions to use as sources of innovations for growth and societal welfare. Also, through their respective governments, universities are exposed to rather detailed requirements on how to fulfil the increased direct utilisation of research results. This paper takes a closer look at how two internationally recognised universities from the same country, namely Sweden, addressed the innovation commission. A case study investigates how the Karolinska Institute and Uppsala University interpreted and implemented the Swedish government’s commission on an increased utilisation of publicly funded research for innovation. The main finding is that both universities’ ways of fulfilling this commission are more directed towards ‘betting’ on potential innovations than on ‘muddling through’ the context of innovation.
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4. |
- Baraldi, Enrico, 1970-, et al.
(author)
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The impact of business networks on foreign subsidiaries development : Internationalizing by surfing on several global factories
- 2018
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In: The IMP Journal. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 12:3, s. 427-443
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore two specific areas pertaining to industrial networks and international business (IB). First, the authors look at how business relationships influence the internationalization in time, from the establishment of the first subsidiary in a foreign market to the following ones, and in space, that is, across different markets. Second, the authors investigate how an increasing external network dependence of subsidiaries in their internationalization may cause a detachment of a subsidiary from the mother company as its knowledge becomes insufficient to guide a subsidiary's internationalization.Design/methodology/approach: This paper utilizes an exploratory, longitudinal, single-case study of Loccioni - a manufacturer of measuring and automatic control systems for industrial customers - to illustrate the specific dynamics of the influences of industrial networks on the internationalization of subsidiaries.Findings: The case study helps to elucidate the roles, entailing also free will and own initiative, of small suppliers' subsidiaries which operate inside several global factories, and how surfing on many different global factories, by means of several local subsidiaries, actually supports these suppliers' own international developments. This notion adds to our understanding of the global factory phenomenon a supplier focus that stresses how the role of suppliers is not merely that of being passive recipients of activities and directions from a focal orchestrating firm, but can also be that of initiative-takers themselves.Originality/value: The paper contributes to the IMP tradition by providing a multi-layered and geographically more fine-grained view of the network embedding companies that operate on internationalized markets. This paper thereby sheds light on a less investigated area of research within the IMP tradition: the link between internationalization in different countries and the interconnectedness between the industrial networks spanning these countries. At the same time, this paper contributes to IB theories by showing how a late-internationalizing SME can enter highly international markets by plugging into several established Global Factories as a way to exploit further opportunities for international expansion.
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5. |
- Bengtson, Anna, 1968-, et al.
(author)
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An Interactive View Of Innovations : Adopting A New Timber Solution In An Old Concrete Context
- 2008
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In: The IMP Journal. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 2:3, s. 19-35
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This articles takes an interactive view of innovation with the aim of investigating how physical and organisational resource interfaces within an industrial context will affect and be affected by the adoption of a particular innovation. It is based on a case study of a change process that took place in the Swedish construction industry in the mid and late 1990s centering on the use of timber constructions in tall buldings. The case analysis focuses on describing the resource structure behind a building, and on further analysis of some of the resource interfaces. These resource interfaces have explanatory power in the examination of the focal change process and its outcome. The article ends with an analysis of the particular innovation process from an economic perspective.
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6. |
- Bjerhammar, Lena, et al.
(author)
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A conceptualization of suppliers’ and buyers’ abilities in product development : Cases from the retail industry
- 2018
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In: The IMP Journal. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 12:3, s. 413-426
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework of specified buyer and supplier abilities which may be apparent in processes when firms wish to develop products where other features than function are important.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through personal interviews with managers at eight major Swedish retail chains. The framework has been developed from an analysis of the data. Three of the cases are presented to illustrate how the framework may be applied.FindingsThe framework contains the concepts specification ability and description ability, which define and specify the demand abilities of the buyer, and the concepts translation ability, interpretation ability and implementation ability, which define and specify the problem-solving abilities of the supplier.Originality/valueThe framework presented here contributes to the business relationship and network literature on product development processes by highlighting and conceptualizing the process between buying firms who have different abilities or even inabilities to specify and explain desired product qualities, and the suppliers who should interpret the demands of these buyers.
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7. |
- Bygballe, Lena, et al.
(author)
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Public Policy and Industry Views on Innovation in Construction
- 2011
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In: The IMP Journal. - : The IMP Group. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 5:3, s. 157-171
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In several countries, governmental agencies have long expressed their concerns about the construction industry's performance, its low productivity and inability to innovate. At the same time public funding of construction-related research and development (R&D) has been reduced, and the responsibility for improving performance transferred to the industry. Drawing on a study on the Swedish and Norwegian construction industries, this paper investigates public policy and industry views on construction innovation, and compares these views with recent theoretical conceptions of innovation, from a network perspective. The findings reveal that the governmental bodies facilitating and funding construction R&D, and the construction industry itself, display partly different views on innovation, both in terms of what innovation actually means and what spurs innovation in this particular setting. The contribution of the paper is twofold: firstly, it reveals different views and discusses their implications for innovative behaviour, and secondly, it suggests some key policy and managerial implications of the study from a network perspective of the business landscape.
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8. |
- Eklinder-Frick, Jens Ola
(author)
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Clustering or interacting for knowledge? : Towards an entangled view of knowledge in regional growth policy
- 2016
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In: The IMP Journal. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 10:2, s. 221-242
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose - The European Union has an ambition to become the world's most competitive and knowledge-based economy, which entails investments in cluster initiatives. Most researchers, however find that such investments have had limited impact. The notion of creating industrial clusters is influenced by the discourse within new economic geography in which research interests are geared toward facilitating knowledge exchange between industry, university and government. In order to understand how knowledge is created and enacted within a cluster initiative the purpose of this paper is to investigate the interactions between actors participating in a specific innovation process. Design/methodology/approach - The studied cluster initiative is one of the 55 clusters designated as demonstrating highly sophisticated cluster management by European Union officials, making it an interesting case study for knowledge creation in such environments. The case study entails semi-structured in-depth interviews of 24 respondents. Findings - The cluster approach encourages a "disentangled" view of knowledge where knowledge is seen as universal and cognitive and therefore possible to disentangle from the context in which it was initially produced. However, my findings suggest that in practice knowledge is "entangled" in the specific context in which it is enacted and produced. Originality/value - Thus, in practice knowledge is a contextually limited and practical activity that is being enacted when heterogeneous resources interact in producer-user interfaces. This mismatch between strategy and outcome may subsequently help to explain the limited impact of policy on regional growth.
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9. |
- Eklinder-Frick, Jens Ola, et al.
(author)
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Innovation in a globalized world : Proximity-focused policy and border-crossing innovation projects
- 2018
-
In: The IMP Journal. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 12:2, s. 237-257
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: Previous IMP research has shown that innovation benefits tend to gravitate across organisational, company and legal borders. However, OECD and EU policy assume that innovation investments will create benefits in close spatial relation to where these were made. The overall purpose of this paper is to consider how opportunities and obstacles of innovation appear from the perspective of: a national policy actor, its regional mediators and a policy supported and research-based firm engaged in innovation. A specific interest is directed to what interactive aspects that are considered by these actors; in the using, producing and developing settings.Design/methodology/approach: Influenced by the research question and theoretical point of departure the authors investigate what type of interfaces our focal actors recognise in the using, producing and developing settings. A total of 41 face-to-face and phone interviews focusing on each actor's approach were conducted; 23 interviews in order to investigate the policy side of innovation attempts, while 18 interviews have been performed in order to understand a single business actor's innovation approach.Findings: The study shows that both the national policy agency and the regional policy mediators primarily operate within a developing setting, and furthermore, applies a rather peculiar interpretation of proximity. As long as the developing setting of the innovation journey is in focus, with the task to transfer academic knowledge advances to commercial actors, the proximity aspect is rather easy to fulfil. However, as soon as the producing and using settings of the innovation is taken into consideration, the innovation, if it survives, will gravitate to a producing setting where it can contribute to investments in place.Originality/value: The study investigates the opportunities and obstacles of innovation; the spatial aspects included, and how these are considered by: a national policy agency, a regional mediator and a policy-supported innovating firm, in order to juxtapose the policy doctrine with the experience of the business actors such policy wishes to support.
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10. |
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11. |
- Eklund, Magnus, 1976-, et al.
(author)
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Two rebelling approaches but only one embraced by policy : On the different policy advices of NIS and IMP
- 2017
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In: The IMP Journal. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 11:3, s. 417-430
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose – The purpose of this paper is twofold, first, to shed light on the different patterns in which international marketing and purchasing (IMP) and national innovation system (NIS) were embedded into the Swedish policy context, where the first approach must be regarded as a relative failure and the second a success, second, to compare their analytical lenses and policy implications through the study of a number of seminal texts of the two approaches.Design/methodology/approach – First, a Swedish case is selected since it provides an example of a policy context where both approaches have been considered and used as sources of inspiration for the design of policy measures. Second, the authors study a selection of the seminal texts of the two approaches in order to identify their basic theoretical assumptions. The emphasis here lies on how the schools view the importance of relations between companies, how they perceive the innovation process, their attitude towards the neoclassical market model and the explicit and implicit implications of their theoretical assumptions for policy.Findings – IMP and its notion of the heterogeneity of resources can provide a much more context grounded analysis than is possible within the NIS/Lundvall framework. However, it requires deep contextual knowledge of individual companies, industries and national and international settings to understand the value of these resources. IMP is “tied to the ground” and radically critical of the atomistic abstractions characterising the neoclassical market view. NIS, on the other hand, requires contextual knowledge on a more superficial level and can co-exist with neoclassical economics.Research limitations/implications – While the authors mainly focus on IMP and NIS, which date back to the 1980s, a later wave of concepts from the 1990s and onwards involve clusters (Porter, 1990), and triple helix (Etzkowitz and Leidesdorff, 1998). However, these latecomers share with NIS the ability to co-exist with neoclassical economics.Practical implications – IMP requires high demands on any policy maker that would adopt it, in terms of acquiring deep contextual knowledge and giving up established views on how the economy worksOriginality/value – The paper reveal that while both IMP and NIS like to present themselves as rebels radically departing from neoclassical economics and the linear model, NIS can still co-exist with neoclassical economics. Furthermore, IMP places high demands on any policy maker that would adopt it, in terms of acquiring deep contextual knowledge and giving up established views on how the economy works. NIS, on the other hand, requires contextual knowledge on a more superficial level.
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12. |
- Elbe, Jörgen, 1960-, et al.
(author)
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Network approach to public-private organizing of destinations
- 2018
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In: The IMP Journal. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 12:2, s. 313-332
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose – This paper explores a type of organizing that can be found in tourist destinations that areadministratively bound to a specific geographic area in the intersection of public and private context.The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the organizing of activities withindestinations and also to contribute theoretically and conceptually to how place dependency and public/private can be understood from an industrial marketing and purchasing (IMP) network perspective.Design/methodology/approach – The research approach has its origin in an ongoing multi-disciplinaryand longitudinal case study.Findings – By applying a network approach to the organizing of destinations, where interaction ofrelationships, resources, actors and activities play an essential role, a number of propositions have been putforth so as to provide for a better understanding of place-specific organizing, in the intersection betweenpublic and private interests.Research limitations/implications – The paper is conceptual and more empirical studies are needed totest the findings. One implication to consider in future empirical studies is the tensions between created andorganic networks that exist in public and private place partnerships.Practical implications – The paper provides insights into factors affecting destination management.Social implications – With an emphasis on a socio-political context, the opportunities and limitations thatexist between public and private sectors are discussed.Originality/value – The paper sheds light on a neglected aspect of a contemporary phenomenon where theIMP network approach could contribute to the understanding of destination marketing or managementorganization that are bound to a specific place in the intersection between the public and private context.The area of public-private organizing is a topic that may also add new aspects to the IMP community.
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13. |
- Ford, David, et al.
(author)
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Analysing Business Interaction
- 2010
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In: The IMP Journal. - Oslo. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 4:1, s. 82-103
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)
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14. |
- Gebert Persson, Sabine, et al.
(author)
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Has research on the internationalization of firms from an IMP perspective resulted in a theory of internationalization?
- 2015
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In: The IMP Journal. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 9:2, s. 208-226
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: Recently, increased interest has been devoted to discuss theory development in relation to business-to-business (B2B) marketing. The purpose of this paper is to explore these thoughts through describing and analyzing research on the internationalization of firms from an Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) perspective. The authors ask: to what extent have these studies resulted in a theory of internationalization?Design/methodology/approach: The paper is conceptual and frames research on the internationalization of firms by means of definitions, domains, relations of variables and predictions. It looks into research on internationalization based on an IMP-inspired network perspective to see to what extent research has resulted in theories of internationalization.Findings: While there have been substantial efforts on theorizing related to IMP-based internationalization studies, the research has not yet resulted in theory.Research limitations/implications: In this paper one phenomenon was selected that has already been addressed in IMP research, namely, the internationalization of firms. Had the authors chosen another phenomenon previously studied in IMP the findings might had turned out differently.Originality/value: The paper makes a contribution to understanding how ideas are developed, used and referenced in long-term research development for the specific phenomenon of internationalization. The paper contributes to the debate on theories within B2B research.
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15. |
- Guercini, Simone, et al.
(author)
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Editorial
- 2018
-
In: The IMP Journal. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 12:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)
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16. |
- Hakansson, Hakan, et al.
(author)
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Four decades of IMP research - the development of a research network
- 2018
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In: IMP JOURNAL. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 12:1, s. 6-36
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the development of research based on the IMP approach during the four decades since the inauguration in 1976. The paper presents a network analysis of IMP research based on one of the central IMP frameworks: the ARA model. Design/methodology/approach The main activity analysed is the annual IMP conference. The development over time is described by comparison of three conferences (1984, 1998 and 2012) with regard to the themes of the papers presented. In addition, some joint research projects are described. The most central resources are the research frameworks and findings presented in books and journals. To illustrate this dimension, the authors have traced all IMP publications that had been cited more than 100 times in 2013. In the actor layer, the authors investigated the development over time of the distribution of publications and conference presentations on research groups. Findings The paper shows how IMP has evolved into a research network around common themes of which business relationships and networks are the most significant. The activities of various research groups have become increasingly interlinked through joint research programmes, annual conferences and seminars, a website and a dedicated journal. Originality/value The paper provides a detailed illustration of the development of the IMP network. The description of this process is of general relevance as an example of how research ideas can develop and become established in terms of a distinct research network.
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17. |
- Hallberg, Peter, 1965-, et al.
(author)
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Quality management systems as indicators for stability and change in customer-supplier relationships
- 2018
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In: The IMP Journal. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 12:3, s. 483-497
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: This paper extends the discussion on stability and change through focus on specific relationship characteristics. Quality management systems prescribe established routines for supplier selection and monitoring, and may thereby designate the nature and longevity of customer-supplier relationships. The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss the effects of quality management systems on stability and change in different forms of customer-supplier relationships.Design/methodology/approach: A number of illustrative examples based on participatory data and interviews help to capture different types of customer-supplier relationships (private/public; certified/non-certified) related to quality management systems.Findings: While certified customers in most sectors only need to prove that their suppliers have procedures in place, many customers equate this with requiring that their suppliers should be certified. The paper further shows that customers replace deeper understandings for their suppliers' procedures with the requirement that they be certified.Originality/value: The paper contributes to the existing literature through integrating quality management systems literature with the business network approach. For business network studies, the discussion on quality management systems as constricting regimes is interesting and provides practical insights to the business network studies as such quality management systems increase in importance and spread.
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18. |
- Havenvid, Malena, et al.
(author)
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Creating relationship continuity across projects in the construction industry : Deliberate, emergent and deliberately emergent strategies
- 2017
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In: The IMP Journal. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 11:2, s. 207-229
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship continuity across projects among actors in the construction industry, and to discuss why and how such continuity takes place. Design/methodology/approach The authors draw on the results from four in-depth case studies illustrating different strategies for pursuing relationship continuity. The results are analysed and discussed in light of the oft-mentioned strategies suggested by Mintzberg (1987): emergent, deliberate and deliberately emergent strategies. Furthermore, the ARA-model is used to discuss why the relationship continuity strategies are pursued, and which factors might enable and constrain the relationship continuity. Findings The main findings are twofold. First, the authors found that the strategy applied for pursuing relationship continuity may, in one-time period, contain one type of strategy or a mix of strategy types. Second, the type of strategy may evolve over time, from one type of strategy being more pronounced in one period, to other strategies being more pronounced in later periods. The strategies applied by construction firms and their counterparts can thus contain elements of emergent, deliberate and deliberately emergent strategies, in varying degrees over time. It is also shown that the strategies of the involved actors co-evolve as a result of interaction. Also, the main reasons for pursuing continuity appear to lie in the re-use and development of important resources and activities across projects to create efficiency and the possibility to develop mutual orientation, commitment and trust over time, and thus reduce uncertainty. Research limitations/implications Further empirical studies are needed to support the findings. For managers, the main implication is that relationship continuity can arise as part of an emerging interaction pattern between firms or as part of a planned strategy, but that elements of both might be needed to sustain it. Originality/value The authors combine Mintzberg’s strategy concepts with the ARA-model to bring new light to the widely debated issue of discontinuity and fragmentation in the construction industry.
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19. |
- Havenvid, Malena Ingemansson, et al.
(author)
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Economic deals in the construction industry : Implications for socio-material interaction and monetary processes
- 2016
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In: The IMP Journal. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 10:3, s. 364-389
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between social-material interaction and the monetary aspects of business relationships in the construction industry. The authors term the formal financial agreements necessary for such activities "deals", and this paper seeks to open a research avenue to further investigate the multifaceted interaction processes among business actors. The construction industry is a suitable empirical setting for this purpose; its project-based character and societal position of linking business with the construction of essential community infrastructure imply that different types of money-handling activities need to be managed continuously with both short-term and long-term effects taken into account. Design/methodology/approach - To investigate the deals, i.e., the interface between socio-material interaction and the money-handling processes in the construction industry, as well as studying the potential interrelatedness of deals, the authors performed a case study involving three interrelated housing projects in Uppsala, Sweden. Findings - The study shows that deals do not only have an intricate relationship to the social-material interaction processes among construction actors, but they also become interrelated in specific ways to form "deal structures" as actors engage in different business relationships over time. This means, for instance, that a single deal can enable several other deals, and involved actors have different abilities in performing deals. Hence, most deals are part of a "broader" interaction pattern of social and material resources spanning the organizational borders of individual companies. Originality/value - Within the industrial marketing and purchasing, the socio-material interaction among actors has been well studied, but less attention has been paid to the monetary dimension and its relationship to the socio-material interaction processes. In particular, this study provides an understanding of monetary agreements in the construction industry.
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20. |
- Havenvid, Malena Ingemansson, et al.
(author)
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Managing renewal in fragmented business networks
- 2016
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In: The IMP Journal. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 10:1, s. 81-106
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose - The authors argue that the construction industry is characterised by a fragmented business context with three main features: the project-based character, the strong focus on price in all parts of the supply chain along with the great importance of suppliers. This fragmentation has been identified as problematic for the industry's ability to innovate and engage in renewal. The purpose of this paper is to investigate this further by focusing on how construction companies manage renewal in a fragmented business context.Design/methodology/approach - The authors use an in-depth case study of a housing project in Sweden to discuss how firms manage renewal in a fragmented type of business environment. The authors identify the challenge of achieving renewal in an individual construction company as an issue of handling intra- and inter-organisational issues in both intra- and inter-project environments.Findings - The case study indicates that renewal can be partly handled and managed through long-term business relationships and partly through opening up to new business relationships. Moreover, innovations and learning developed in other projects can be used in the focal project, and due to a repetitive task it is possible for the construction company to use a core network of individuals and organisations to enhance overall renewal among actors.Research limitations/implications - The study needs to be supported by further empirical observations. The paper encourages IMP scholars to further investigate projects from an industrial network approach.Practical implications - The study shows that the internal resources of firms can be used systematically to create continuity in a multi-project organisation, and that relationships can be used to bridge learning and innovation among actors across projects.Originality/value - The paper addresses why firms in fragmented (project-based) businesses might struggle with achieving renewal in a novel way by outlining and investigating four organisational challenges they must handle.
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21. |
- Huemer, Lars, et al.
(author)
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The Becoming of Cermaq : The interplay between network influences and firm level control ambitions
- 2009
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In: The IMP Journal. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 3:3, s. 53-75
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this paper, we study the birth and development of an international company, Cermaq. International business, by definition, deals with space, and some business activities are performed across national boundaries. For instance, it can be a company situated in one country but buying from suppliers situated in other countries, selling to customers in other countries or making investments in production or R&D in other countries. Here, we focus on the interrelatedness between the focal firm’s HQ’s ambition to be in control of its own development, and the influence that it experiences from its evolving network. The interplay and possible tension between firm-level control and network influence is used further to understand the construction of identities in networks. We suggest that identities develop as a result of internal features and successful control; the internal features of others and their successful influence; and new demands created by either new positions in old networks or entering into entirely ‘new’ networks. Both space and time emerge as central in the development of firms and networks, where the overall business logic only can be understood in hindsight.
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22. |
- Håkansson, Håkan, et al.
(author)
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Construction companies and how they acquire knowledge through business interaction
- 2011
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In: The IMP Journal. - : The IMP Group. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 5:2, s. 67-78
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- By combining the two phenomena 'knowledge' and 'interaction', in terms of how they can vary in both intensity and content, this article attempts to deepen the understanding of the relationship between different types of interaction and learning, and, more specifically, how it appears within the construction industry. As an industry, construction displays some specific features in relation to interactional patterns that seem to hinder the establishment of more extensive long-term interactions. Through distinguishing between different types of interactions we discuss potential learning opportunities. The theoretical discussion is exemplified with empirical material from the construction industry that we glean from both earlier studies and from an ongoing investigation of Swedish construction firms. Our results indicate that there are different degrees of knowledge being transferred in the construction network, and that there are examples of close interaction where joint learning takes place. However, the organisational conditions characterising the construction industry seem to provide little incentive to invest inlong-term relationships, thus affecting what can be learned from others. This research project has been financial supported by the Swedish Construction Federation and The Jan Wallander and Tom Hedelius Foundation.
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23. |
- Håkansson, Håkan, et al.
(author)
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Heaviness, space and journey - innovation opportunities and restrictions
- 2018
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In: The IMP Journal. - : EMERALD GROUP PUBLISHING LTD. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 12:2, s. 258-275
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to argue that if the authors want to understand the role of heaviness, space and journey in innovation, the authors have to start with the interaction itself, that is the exchange process taking place between economic actors. Three major aspects will be considered: the first is that heaviness, space and journey imply restrictions, the second is that these aspects can be positively utilised in innovation processes, and the third is their joint importance to contemporary policy. All innovation processes must bypass and build on existing investments in social and material resources, related across time and space.Design/methodology/approach: The theoretical foundation is a basic IMP observation: exchange has a content. Exchange is captured as an interaction process that creates specific imprints on material and social resources involved - across firm boundaries, and across time and space. The methodology is a consequence of the research question and the theoretical point of departure and is based on three earlier IMP studies, where heaviness has been measured in different ways. The authors utilize two earlier presented case studies to focus on the heaviness, space and journey dimensions.Findings: Three main aspects are discussed: the first aspect concerns the need for utilisation of others heaviness in order for the innovation to gain heaviness in itself. The second aspect concerns the consequences that the search for heaviness has for the creation of an innovation space. The third aspect concerns the innovation journey; the specific interaction patterns between significant actors as well as places hosting heavy using, producing and developing activities created through interactions over time.Research limitations/implications: In order to change or to establish a new economic exchange interface, there is an urgent need to be aware of and utilise heaviness, to find out in what way existing investments made in related interfaces can be taken advantage of. In order to do that, there is a need for a better understanding of the function of heaviness, spatial and journey aspects included.Practical implications: In contemporary policy, certain heaviness is recognised, however, only in a non-business developing setting. The first conclusion is that heaviness of established producing and using settings is a policy blind spot. This implies that analytical policy approaches are not equipped for recognitions or of estimations of heaviness, nor as a hindrance or as a possibility in producing and using settings. The second conclusion is that the policy definition of the role of place implies neglecting the innovation space. The third conclusion is that there is a need for policy to recognise the innovation journey and its consequences.Social implications: If the policy is expected to have regional effects, policy analysis has to start out from the established heaviness of the region and consider how it can be taken advantage of.Originality/value: The paper draws attention to an aspect neglected in policy attempts to boost innovation, that the mobilising support has to come from actors representing heavy producing and using networks - and that these already have space and journey characteristics. A peripheral actor can come up with a suggestion for change - but it cannot alone mobilise the resources necessary for an innovation to get a space and journey in relation to established resource constellations.
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24. |
- Håkansson, Håkan, 1947-, et al.
(author)
-
“Methodomania”? On the methodological and theoretical challenges of IMP business research“
- 2016
-
In: The IMP Journal. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 10:3, s. 443-463
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose - Behind the simple connotation "business exchange" a complex empirical phenomenon can be observed, including using, producing and developing activities, taking place in different contexts, influenced by ideas stemming from both practice and mainstream economic thinking. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the methodological challenges of research on business exchange in general and of IMP research in particular. Furthermore, to discuss how the authors can avoid the contemporary "methodomania" trend, where the researchers' focus is directed toward accounting for which rules were followed. Design/methodology/approach - The paper is based on a methodological distinction made by Peter Galison (1997) in his investigation of the interdependence among research approach, methodology, and research object in microphysics. Studies based on: "image," allows data in its original form, and "logic," requires the translation of original data and therefore relies "fundamentally on statistical demonstrations." This distinction is utilized to investigate what is specific with business exchange as a research object, and how IMP researchers have dealt with the methodological challenges it presents. Furthermore, the paper considers these different methodological approaches in relation to theory and understanding of the research object. Findings - The main conclusion is the huge importance the image-based methodology has had for the development of the IMP network approach. From the very start the IMP project has been focused on the production of a large set of, in Galison's terminology, "hard facts" about the existence, substance and importance of interaction and the relationships it is creating. This image-based methodology has been utilized in the development of a set of imaging instruments, each with an ability to picture the content and consequences of business exchange. Research limitations/implications - Two methodological challenges which are specific for business research are identified. One is that "images" in terms of personal accounts on the organizing of production and use of economic resources are marbled with ideas, stemming from a mix of theories, textbooks and practice on how to do this. The second is that established theories create a "logic" in terms of the combination of "assumptions" and established " accounting principles" that produce a number of outputs interpreted as primary data and objective accounts of the characteristics of the production and use of economic resources. Practical implications - IMP's image-based methodology and the development of specific imaging instruments can increase the exactness in the pictures of the content and consequences of business interaction, and also, catch the range of its substance. Considering this circumstance could be a way to avoid " methodomania" and to breed awareness of the relationship among research object, methodology, and research approach. Social implications - IMP's image-based methodology can increase the awareness that the logic-based model of business exchange has been ascribed an advisory role in terms of how companies should act in order to survive and prosper: as sellers and buyers in relation to each other, and also in relation to others. Originality/value - First, the paper underlines that image-based methodologies can be used to produce "hard facts" about the existence, substance, and importance of business interaction. Second, the paper shows how the methodology of mainstream economics tends to be "the elephant in the room," both in approaches resting on "image" and "logic." It addresses the importance of making the elephant visible and investigates what is happening in its shadow.
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25. |
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26. |
- Jensen, Leif-Magnus, 1972-
(author)
-
Opportunities and constraints for intermediaries in distribution : The challenge of variety
- 2010
-
In: The IMP Journal. - : IMP Group. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 4:3, s. 194-219
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The variety in contemporary distribution systems is large and reflects complex customer demands and new technological and organizational possibilities. Changes in the distribution system lead to new challenges and constraints for intermediaries trying to establish consistent roles for themselves. The challenge for theory is how to describe these changed and complex roles. This article is based on a case study of one intermediary (a third-party logistics provider) in the car distribution industry. The article presents a framework of six roles, four of which find parallels in functionalist discussions of roles, and two of which appear more closely tied to new developments in distribution. These are specifically tied to the way intermediaries have increased opportunities to act as resource providers and organizers in contemporary distribution. The opportunities and constraints for intermediaries in the type of distribution context studied are analyzed using the IMP literature. This proves fruitful in particular through discussing the impact of actor bonds and resource ties. The resources the intermediary controls may be less important in defining its role than the fit with resources possessed by others and the resulting opportunities.
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27. |
- Johansson, Marlene, 1973-
(author)
-
Interaction in dynamic networks : Role-playing and its implications for innovation
- 2012
-
In: The IMP Journal. - : Industrial Marketing and Purchasing Group. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 6:1, s. 17-37
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The purpose of this article is to explore how firms play different roles within their upstream and downstream interactions and to discuss the implications firms role-playing has for innovation. A case study reveal how firms in the converging IT and telecommunication industries are challenged to manage increasingly temporal and co-opetitive interactions within their long-term relationships. The paper contributes by shedding lights on how firms balance between long-term relationships and short-term interactions, to cooperate and compete simultaneously where a partner in one interaction can be a competitor in another, and how firms’ relational role-playing (with the dimensions of role-flexibility, role-ambiguity and role-tension) can have implications for innovation. A conceptual model is proposed that links long-term relations, short-term interaction and actors’ role-playing and its implications for innovation in networks. An innovation network model is further proposed to depict interactions in dynamic innovation network and as a tool of how to manage different and contradicting roles in upstream and downstream relationships.
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28. |
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29. |
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30. |
- Milanesi, Matilde, et al.
(author)
-
A black swan in the district? An IMP perspetive on immigrant entrepreneurship and changes in industrial districts.
- 2016
-
In: The IMP Journal. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 10:2, s. 243-259
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to discuss the changes of the Italian textile district of Prato, considered an exemplary case of the industrial district (ID) model, using a business network perspective. The "Black Swan" metaphor is used to address the changes in the Prato textile district in order to understand whether such changes have been an unexpected and unpredictable phenomenon, or they can be explain with a different theoretical tool-box, namely, that developed by the industrial network approach. Design/methodology/approach - The paper utilizes already published studies on the changes of the textile/fashion companies located to the Prato area. Both studies that have been carried out within an ID approach and those carried out with an Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) point of departure are considered in the research. Both types of studies were utilized to identify empirical observed changes of the producer, respectively user setting that the Prato located companies was related to, including identification of changes affecting both the local setting and the larger network it was related to. Findings - The utilization of the IMP model proposes a learning ground that exceed the local context and open ups of investigations of opportunities and threats stemming from interactions across spatial borders. Analysed from an interactive point of view, in the specific context of Prato, the exploitation of the opportunities given by establishing relationship between natives and migrants actors goes through the creation of interactions among actors representing specific resource combinations and activity structures - within and outside the local community. Originality/value - The paper concerns how the same research object - the changes of the Prato district - appears from another perspective different from the ID theory, namely, the industrial network approach developed by scholars of the IMP Group.
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31. |
- Prenkert, Frans, 1969-
(author)
-
Market investments in resource interfaces : understanding market assets in networks
- 2016
-
In: The IMP Journal. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 10:3, s. 409-442
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide an account of who forms what market assets bymaking what market investments in a business network.Design/methodology/approach: To investigate what market investments were made by certainactors into resource interfaces as market assets, the author draws on a case network based on aninvestigation of the Chilean salmon production network. To this end, the author chose the fish–beingthe focal object resource in that network–as a point of departure. The author systematicallyinvestigates the resource interfaces that this resource has with three other specific resources: feed,fishmeal, and vaccines in a thick case study.Findings: This study shows that market investments entail committing resources toresource interfaces which turns them into market assets. Resource interfaces as market assets haveimplications on how we characterize and value resource interfaces. Multilateral resource interfacesbecome valuable to firms as a result of continuous market investments made into them. This producesdifferent types of resource interfaces, some of which are of mediatory character bridging betweendistant resources in a network.Research limitations/implications: This study focuses on the market investments being made tocreate and sustain market assets. Of course such assets are linked to a firm’s internal assets which thisstudy do not investigate. In addition, this study emphasizes the commitment of resources into existingresource interfaces, the ensuing creation of market assets, and its use and value for firms anddownplays a firm’s need to account for market investments and the market investments required tocreate a new resource interface.Practical implications: As resource interfaces are valuable market assets, it is important tounderstand the functioning of different types of resource interfaces so as to exploit their potential asefficient as possible. This paper shows that some resources act as bridging resources connecting theborders of two indirectly related resources. Controlling bridging resources becomes an essential taskfor managers in business networks.Social implications: Understanding the market investments into resource interfaces enables firmsto become more skilled in organizing and controlling networks. These networks can play importantroles in the economic development of society and create improved societal conditions for people,organizations, and economies.Originality/value: By combining a market investment and market asset conceptualization ofinvestments in networks with a resource interaction approach, this paper provides an enhancedunderstanding of resource interfaces as market assets. Theoretical implications for our understandingof resource interfaces–its value and character–are discussed.
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32. |
- Prenkert, Frans, 1969-
(author)
-
Understanding business networks from a mixed network and system ontology position : A review of the research field
- 2017
-
In: The IMP Journal. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 11:2, s. 301-326
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to highlight the ontological implications of combining network and system ontology to conceptualize industrial networks as the empirical manifestations of complex adaptive economic systems.Design/methodology/approach: This paper contributes with a systematic discussion on how network and system ontology can be combined to produce better understandings of business networks. It also provides a review of the state-of-the art research literature on the topic as a starting point for the discussion.Findings: Findings indicate that networks may be enclosed in each other constituting sub-and supra-networks comprising increasing complexity. In these cases, sub-networks that are black-boxed can be seen as entities in themselves producing inputs and outputs to the supra-network. Networks, once they become black-boxed, can assume the functions of generative mechanisms within a wider supra-network.Research limitations/implications: This research is conceptual in nature and needs to be complemented with empirical research. In addition, the literature review used one database complemented with papers from the IMP journal. A wider search could reveal additional research that can be of relevance for the development of the field.Originality/value: This paper addresses the ontological and methodological issues arising from a mixed system and network ontology. These issues are commonly ignored or dealt with indirectly in extant literature. For any accumulation of knowledge in the field to be possible, the explication of a mixed ontology is important as it have conceptual and methodological consequences. Adopting such a mixed ontological position provides an ontology in line with empirical research of business practice.
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33. |
- Shih, Tommy, et al.
(author)
-
State actors’ mobilisation of resources for innovation : a case study of a Chinese vaccine
- 2016
-
In: The IMP Journal. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 10:2, s. 296-316
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore how state actors mobilise resources in business networks to facilitate innovation. Design/methodology/approach - A single case study method is used. The case from the Chinese biotechnology sector illustrates how state actors mobilise resources in a network context in order to develop, produce and use a vaccine. Findings - The case findings demonstrate that state actors indirectly, as well as actively, are involved in the whole innovation process by mobilising resources necessary for the development, production and use of the vaccine. State actors influence other actors, both political and business, and provide resources in order to facilitate innovation. Practical implications - The paper illustrates that state actors, in the specific case, play an important and active role throughout the whole innovation process. This opens up the issue of the possible extended role of state actors in innovation. Originality/value - Over the past decades, Chinese state actors have played an active role in the business landscape. This paper explores state actors' influence on the innovation process on the network level.
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34. |
- Wagrell, Sofia, et al.
(author)
-
The innovation process and its organisational setting - fit or misfit?
- 2009
-
In: The IMP Journal. - Olso : The IMP Group. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 3:2, s. 57-85
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A new microwave based technology for enlarged prostate treatment has been developed that, in contrast to the established surgical method, does not require surgery, anaesthesia and subsequent hospitalisation. The development of this technology and a company supplying it was initiated and encouraged by a hospital belonging to a health care sector that deliberately promoted innovation efforts in order to increase cost-efficiency. Still, when the microwave based technology was ready for use, it was revealed that the health care sector that initiated the innovation journey was equipped with both professional and organisational structures that counteracted this process. It is this innovation process we will explore in this paper. The overall research question concerns the interaction between the innovation process and the organisational setting it emerges within: In what way does the organisational setting a) facilitate and b) hinder the embedding of the potential innovation.
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35. |
- Waluszewski, Alexandra, 1956-, et al.
(author)
-
Actors changing the network
- 2017
-
In: The IMP Journal. - Bingley : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 11:2, s. 174-177
-
Journal article (other academic/artistic)
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36. |
- Waluszewski, Alexandra, 1956-, et al.
(author)
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Editorial : Interaction dilemmas
- 2015
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In: The IMP Journal. - Bingley : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 1:9
-
Journal article (other academic/artistic)
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37. |
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38. |
- Waluszewski, Alexandra, et al.
(author)
-
Public Policy as Innovation Killer
- 2013
-
In: The IMP Journal. - Oslo, Norge : Norwegian School of Management BI. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 7:1, s. 1-11
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)
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39. |
- Waluszewski, Alexandra, et al.
(author)
-
Resource interfaces telling other stories about the commercial use of new technology : The embedding of biotech solutions in US, China and Taiwan
- 2009
-
In: The IMP Journal. - Oslo : The IMP Group. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 3:2, s. 86-123
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study focuses on the embedding of new biotech solutions into three business landscapes - US, China and Taiwan. A "state-of-the-art" chromatography system tuned for operating in the step between laboratory and large-scale production is used as the common point of departure to investigate the supplier-user interfaces involving biotechnology in each of the three countries; the resource interaction in the networks around each machine is mapped. The analysis identifies the influences left on these resource interfaces by the national frameworks of science, policy and business. The results stress the importance of established resource structures to enable use of new technical solutions, the facilitating and restricting role of local path dependency, and the problems faced by policy in breeding network-level interactions sustaining the development and use of biotech solutions.
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40. |
- Waluszewski, Alexandra, 1956-
(author)
-
Rethinking Innovation Policy
- 2011
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In: The IMP Journal. - Oslo. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 5:3, s. 140-156
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)
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41. |
- Waluszewski, Alexandra, et al.
(author)
-
The role of policy in innovation : the challenging distribution of social, material and monetary benefits
- 2017
-
In: The IMP Journal. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 11:1, s. 51-71
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose - Contemporary innovation policy investments rests on the assumption that the main problematic interface is the one between the non-business developing setting and a rather friction-free producer and user setting. Given a business landscape characterized by interdependencies, any innovation attempt will be faced with complex interfaces also within and among all these settings. The purpose of this paper is to shed light over this issue through the investigation of the interface between policy and a specific innovation journey. The attention is directed to the creation and distribution of social-material values; and the translation of these values into a monetary dimension. Design/methodology/approach - To fulfill this aim the authors utilize an empirical study on the commercialization of university research results in the field of solar power technology, based on the ARA model as a conceptual and methodological foundation, with a focus on the establishment of resource combinations, activity links and actor bonds in the involved developing, producing and using settings. In order to pin-point the creation of social-material values and the establishment of a monetary dimension the authors used a model adapted from H dagger kansson and Olsen (2015). Findings - From a national policy perspective, the transnational nature of innovation processes and the connectedness of resources across different, often far-away places, entail a loss of control on the socialmaterial and monetary benefits of innovation; even more so if the policy of one country stands against that of another country. Still, not only policy but also representatives for academic research and business seem to consider the transnational aspect as an exception. Research limitations/implications - Due to that the embedding in the user setting did not occur as expected; with the Swedish focal firm as main interface, but from a Chinese firm that the authors did not have access to, the main focus is on the developing and the producing setting, while the embedding in the user setting is covered through indirect information. Practical implications - The role that established production structures have for the embedding of innovations into producing and using settings seems to be neglected in policy circles -although these have a strong impact on the creation of social-material value and a monetary flow. Social implications - See practical implication. Originality/value - The paper underlines the impact of interfaces with established production structures for the creation of social-material value and monetary flow -and for transnational dimension of the innovation journey.
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42. |
- Waluszewski, Alexandra, 1956-
(author)
-
What's "knowledge management" when resources are unknowable and deals negotiated?
- 2016
-
In: The IMP Journal. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 10:1, s. 107-128
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the management of the use of knowledge in interfaces stretching across company and organizational borders, including the negotiated monetary dimension.Design/methodology/approach - The research approach is the IMP framework on resource interaction (Hakansson and Waluszewski, 2002), and the distinction among heterogeneous economic resources and a homogeneous monetary dimension, (Hakansson and Olsen, 2015; Perna et al., 2015). A case study on use of science based knowledge in business is utilized.Findings - The management regime behind the creation of a user setting including a substantial monetary flow is can be characterized as "managing collective entities" (Hakansson, Bakken, Olsen, 2013) and it is argued that the knowledge management regime assumes away the most important process related to use of knowledge.Research limitations/implications - The paper stress the theoretical need for approaching managment in general and managing use of knowledge in particular as an interactive issue.Practical implications - The paper stress the practical need for approaching managment in general and managing use of knowledge in particular as an interactive issue.Originality/value - The paper questions the knowledge management regime, which has a strong influence on public policy.
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43. |
- Waluszewski, Alexandra, et al.
(author)
-
When Resource Interfaces Are Neglected: Lessons From History
- 2008
-
In: The IMP Journal. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 2:1, s. 13-30
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper examines the issues of business resources and resource interfaces by presenting a longitudinal case study of a company coping with the transition from a centralised Soviet economy to a more conventional situation.The paper draws distinctions between different interaction patterns: those dominated by indirect interaction inspired by hierarchical thinking; very 'thin' interaction inspired by traditional market theory, or 'thick' interactioninspired by insights on what can be reached through resource combining effects. The case study shows how the kind of interaction pattern that a company is embedded in will determine its way of functioning. The casecompany’s struggle with its resource interfaces also highlights what constitutes 'normality' in business landscapes characterised by a 'thick' interaction pattern, or a decentralised way of handling resources interfaces. The case also highlights what is required for processes where both efficiency and effectiveness can be created through dealing directly with resource interfaces. Finally, the experiences of the case company can also be seenas arguments for considering what effects more minor variations in an economic landscape have for the possibility of creating effectiveness and efficiency through direct interaction around resource interfaces. If theoverall economic landscape is dominated by some few owners (whether families, multinationals or governments)with short-term profit focuses and/or by a 'top-down' management style, there are reasons to believe that this willhave negative effects on the way resource interfaces are dealt with and consequently on effectiveness andefficiency issues. Contrariwise, if an economic landscape has a more interactive nature, i.e., if it is dominated by aheterogeneous ownership structure, by decentralised management style and technologically skilled and engagedpeople, this will probably have positive effects on effectiveness and efficiency issues.
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44. |
- Waluszewski, Alexandra
(author)
-
When Science Shall Mean Business. From multifaceted to limited use of science?
- 2009
-
In: The IMP Journal. - Oslo : The IMP Group. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 3:2, s. 3-19
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Science shall mean business. And if not, a relationship between science and business shall be created. These "commandments" characterise many contemporary agendas; policy as well as university and research management. But what happens with a) the content and use of scientific knowledge resources and b) the use of science in business when the doing of science increasingly is organised into network-like structures including researchers, research management, research financiers, investors and companies? This issue is discussed with the help of two related approaches to business and science; IMP and the STS1 and is illustrated with a short empirical example. The paper is concluded with a discussion concerning if the organising of business and science into network-like structures really breeds an increased commercial use, or if the effect is more or less the opposite: a directed and limited production and use of scientific resources.
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45. |
- Öberg, Christina, 1970-
(author)
-
Let’s talk about innovation : Is there a hidden potential of knowledge exchange between open innovation and IMP?
- 2016
-
In: The IMP Journal. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 10:3, s. 540-560
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: IMP researchers have shown interest in how innovations result from interaction among companies, while, and in parallel, there has been an increased focus on open innovation (OI) during the past decade. OI depicts how companies source, spin-out, and collaborate on innovation. This paper describes and discusses whether and how IMP and OI researchers acknowledge and build on each other’s work; and whether and how ideas provided by IMP and OI, respectively, create a fit to expand the exchange of knowledge between IMP and OI.Design/methodology/approach: The paper is based on a citation analysis focussing on whether the OI literature refers to IMP research, and whether or not the IMP literature refers to OI research. The paper also compares OI and IMP to discover potentials for knowledge exchange between them through discussing similarities, complementarities, and contradictions.Findings: The paper points out that while IMP researchers have started to show interest in OI, OI research does not refer to IMP. As such, OI research remains more company-centric in its discussions. IMP provides tools and models to capture the OI phenomenon specifically related to collaborative OI, while OI offers interesting thought for the capture of transaction-based innovation processes and their management.Originality/value: The paper contributes to previous research through linking together OI and IMP research. This is important for several reasons, including the ability to enhance knowledge in each domain, critically discuss and relate various research domains and their underpinnings, and expand ideas developed in one research domain to another.
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46. |
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47. |
- Öberg, Christina, 1970-
(author)
-
Network effects of upstream acquisitions of innovative firms
- 2012
-
In: The IMP Journal. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 6:1, s. 52-68
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper explores the network effects that occur when innovative firms are acquired upstream. Network effects here refer tochanges in and of the innovative firm’s relationships with external parties such as customers, suppliers, and venture firms. Thepaper is based on case study research from six innovative firms that were acquired by other companies. It links network effectsto changes on the level of the innovative firm. The network effects of upstream acquisitions form a complex, interrelatedpattern of drivers and consequences. Two loops of effects appear: one positive, which describes how credibility and improvedfinances lead to new relationships and additionally improved finances. The other is negative, and refers to the firm’s decreasedinnovativeness, distanced or dissolved relationships, loss of staff, transformation into a competitor in the eyes of formercustomers, and increased formalisation, along with the acquirer’s lack of interest in the firm’s future. For innovative firms, theimpact of effects are more severe if the innovation is in its early phases of development, while the degree of integration doesnot seem to have a significant impact on the severity of the effects. This paper contributes to business network studies throughits focus on the network effects of acquisitions, through pointing to how various effects interrelate with and strengthenone another in positive and negative loops, and through indicating how external parties reinforce those effects previouslydescribed in the literature on acquisitions of innovative firms.
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48. |
- Öberg, Christina, 1970-, et al.
(author)
-
Smart cities : A literature review and business network approach discussion on the management of organisations
- 2017
-
In: The IMP Journal. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 11:3, s. 468-484
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: The smart city idea refers to new ways of organising city functions and urban life, which are believed to move production and consumption from global to local, manufacturing from competitive to collaborative, and business from a shareholder to a multiple-stakeholder point of view. Most previous research has focused on the societal level of smart cities, while less seems to be known about the management of business as part of smart cities. This paper presents a literature review on the state of the art of management research on smart cities. The following research question is addressed: How has previous research captured the management of organisations in smart cities?Design/methodology/approach: A literature review using the search term “smart city/cities” in research on business, management and operational management was conducted for the purpose of capturing previous research. Findings were coded based on main ideas, central concepts and theories, thematic content of the articles related to the main ideas underpinning smart cities (digitalization, urbanization, and sustainability as antecedents, and local, collaborative and multiple-stakeholder manufacturing as indicators), and units of analysis.Findings: The paper points to how most studies on the management of organisations as part of smart cities focus on sustainability and how digitalisation enables new businesses. Collaborative efforts are emphasised and the theoretical framing is fragmented. Issues related to the organising of business is also not problematised and the business network approach could, as discussed in the paper, provide valuable insights related to the collaborative efforts of organisations and the multiple-stakeholder perspective.Originality/value: The paper is the first to capture and present an overview of previous research on the management of business as part of smart cities. Research on smart cities has focused on the policy and societal levels, and so far there is a lack of problematisation on how organisations may act, and potentially change their way of acting, should smart cities become a reality.
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49. |
- Öberg, Christina, 1970-
(author)
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Strategic reversal : The network as reason, means and end
- 2014
-
In: The IMP Journal. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 8:2, s. 74-83
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- AbstractThis paper describes and discusses strategic reversal in a network context. Strategic reversal here refers to how a company implementsa strategy and, with a lapse of time, decides to undo that strategic change. The paper discusses strategic reversal in terms ofbeing: (i) driven by the network or changes therein; (ii) using the network to accomplish the reversal; and (iii) affecting networkparties. It contrasts this with the initial strategy, and discusses the initial strategy and reversal in terms of company-centric andnetwork-driven strategy. Two case studies illustrate this. The paper concludes that the reversal may be company-centric to as high anextent as the initial strategy. The reversal is not complete in the sense that it does not bring the parties, or their network connections,back to what they were before the initial strategy. For the firms reversing their strategies, new parties need to be invited to direct relationships,while present network parties may inhibit the reversal. These findings contribute to previous research through describingpost-implementation reversal of strategy, and relate it to the network in its formulation, implementation and as affecting its outcome.
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- Öberg, Christina, 1970-
(author)
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The dynamics of proximity in multiple-party innovation processes
- 2018
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In: The IMP Journal. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 2059-1403 .- 0809-7259. ; 12:2, s. 296-312
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: Proximity - that is, the closeness of parties - has been increasingly emphasized in studies on innovation networks. The idea of closeness has been discussed in relation to geographic proximity, and has also been referred to as knowledge overlaps and shared understandings between parties. In most of the studies dealing with proximity in relation to innovation networks, a static analysis is pursued. Such an analysis marks how the closeness or distance, often with the conclusion that parties should not be too close or too distant, is measured against innovation outcome at a specific point in time. However, innovation processes would include how parties increasingly converge in their knowledge and understanding, and how they may co-locate their businesses. The purpose of this paper is to discuss proximity in relation to multiple-party innovation processes and their development over time.Design/methodology/approach: The empirical part of this paper consists of a single case study on an innovation community and its development process. The development of the innovation community over time, whether and how geographic, knowledge and cognitive proximity is affected, and the outcome in terms of number of innovations, their newness (incremental or radical innovation), and variety are discussed in the paper.Findings: Findings indicate how geographic proximity leads to more knowledge overlaps, while it is not a prerequisite for it. Rather, it is in the commitment processes partly connected to cognitive proximity that knowledge increasingly converges, indifferent to the co-location of parties. The speed of such processes, however, is higher if parties co-locate. The commitment processes lead to an increased number of innovations, while these innovations become more and more similar. To avoid increased overlaps of knowledge and thereby maintain the production of a variety of innovations, interaction needs to occur through the introduction of new parties and the termination of previous interaction patterns. This, however, occurs at the cost of commitment, and the knowledge thereby becomes less developed and used in its capacities.Originality/value: The paper contributes to previous research through discussing proximity in innovation networks in a processual manner. The link between various proximities and their effect on innovation outcome sheds light on how proximity, as discussed in various literature streams, often relates to similar issues that converge around the issue of commitment.
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