A business process improvement framework for knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial ventures

Pushed by the transition towards the knowledge economy, as well as several other change drivers, an ever-increasing number of knowledge intensive ventures are relying on operational knowledge intensity in order to generate value. Through their interaction with their varied stakeholders—from actors within their supply chains to educational and financial institutions—knowledge intensive enterprises are increasingly becoming a key component of regional economic stability. Within their complex environment, these organisations lack the support of suitable frameworks to inform their efforts to optimise, adapt and improve their underlying business processes in order to maximise the efficiency of their performance and pursue growth ambitions. This paper examines the distinct nature of knowledge intensive entrepreneurial ventures (KIEs) and the applicability of current business process improvement (BPI) frameworks to their setting. Finally, a KIE-oriented business process improvement framework is developed through an integrative adaptation of the concepts of knowledge intensity and knowledge management to the principles of business process redesign and re-engineering reported in existing literature. The proposed framework contributes to the existing literature in the subject of BPI modelling for knowledge intensive entrepreneurial ventures by addressing a distinct set of improvement concerns that this type of organisations face at a process level.     

Industry/University Licensing: Characteristics, Concerns and Issues from the Perspective of the Buyer

The authors previously explored invention licensing from the university's perspective. In this paper we focus on the process from the perspective of firms activity engaged in licensing technology. A survey of industry licensing professionals addresses why some firms license technologies from universities and why others do not. The paper then considers the stage of development of university technologies, the characteristics of their licensing contracts, and sources of information about university technologies, all to better understand how the process works and what advantages and disadvantages it offers to all participants.     

Proximity as a Resource Base for Competitive Advantage: University–Industry Links for Technology Transfer

One of the important arguments in favor of Science Parks is the claimed networking benefit. A total of 273 new technology-based firms (NTBFs) were surveyed. The assessing of academic knowledge and expertise by businesses located on site is a key principle of Science Parks. Science Park NTBFs stand out as a special group of small firms in terms of performance (Growth: sales and employment). The arguments presented in this paper recognize the complex nature of co-operative resources. The level of interaction in the innovation process between firms located on Science Parks and local universities is generally low, but it is higher than the level of interaction exhibited by firms that are not Science Park firms. The underlying premise of our research propositions (P1 and P2) is that the NTBF-specific co-operative resources will provide the firm with a competitive advantage. This paper, building on the resource-based theory and empirical evidence, argues that NTBFs working with universities that have more proximity achieve certain advantages. Proximity between NTBFs and universities promote the exchange of ideas through both formal and informal networks. Statistically significant differences between Science Park NTBFs and off-Park NTBFs were recorded with regard to product development in the last three years.     

Continuous product and process improvement as keys to success: A case study

Dynamic customer expectations and increased competitive pressures require manufacturing organizations to continually improve both their products and processes. To gain a better understanding of this improvement process so that other firms might benefit from the lessons learned, an in-depth study of a relatively small electronics manufacturing firm was conducted. A review of the organization's product and process improvements over an extended period of time highlighted the importance of the following four “areas”: the firm's sensitivity to its external environment in motivating and guiding product and process improvements, the firm's sensitivity to its product and process strengths as well as the potential advantage these might provide in the marketplace, the firm's management stability and style in motivating and guiding product and process improvements, and the synergistic relationship between the firm's competitive strategy and its product and process improvements.     

The Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 and University–Industry Technology Transfer: A Model for Other OECD Governments?

Recent initiatives by a number of OECD governments suggest considerable interest in emulating the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, a piece of legislation that is widely credited with stimulating significant growth in university--industry technology transfer and research collaboration in theUS. We examine the effects of Bayh-Dole on university--industry collaboration and technology transfer in the US, emphasizing the lengthy history of both activities prior to 1980 and noting the extent to which these activities are rooted in the incentives created by the unusual scale and structure (by comparison with Western Europe or Japan) of the US higher education system. Efforts at “emulation” of the Bayh-Dole policy elsewhere in the OECD are likely to have modest success at best without greater attention to the underlying structural differences among the higher education systems of these nations.     

Industry/university licenses: A negotiating strategy

A lament often heard from U.S. industry licensing executives about their university (“university” refers to universities, not-for-profit research institutions, and hospitals) counterparts is, “they (university technology licensing officers) just don't understand business.” Conversely, university licensing managers criticize their industry counterparts for not understanding (or even trying to understand) the mission and constraints of university technology transfer. University licensing managers also accuse their industry counterparts as being predatory and seeking to take unfair advantage of university technology licensing opportunities. The purpose of this paper is to enhance the dialog between university licensors and industry licensees. This paper reviews the basis of university licensing, decries the focus on financial considerations, suggests references for further study of valuation and pricing issues, delineates companies' and universities' needs in licensing embryonic university technologies, and proposes a negotiation strategy.     

论完善我国人体药物试验法律制度的几个问题

药物人体试验是任何药品进入临床所必须经历的验证过程,其对于研究新药具有重要意义。然而该过程本身却又是充满风险的,必须用法律对试验进行规范。本文讨论了我国药品试验法律制度的缺陷,重点在于如何完善我国的药物人体试验法律制度。     

论完善我国人体药物试验法律制度的几个问题

药物人体试验是任何药品进入临床所必须经历的验证过程，其对于研究新药具有重要意义。然而该过程本身却又是充满风险的。必须用法律对试验进行规范。本文讨论了我国药品试验法律制度的缺陷。重点在于如何完善我国的药物人体试验法律制度。     

刍论高校应急管理机制的完善

面对层出不穷的高校突发事件,当前我国高校的应急管理机制暴露出诸多问题与不足。为回应现实需要,我们应该从科学界定高校应急管理机制的概念与特征出发,在客观分析当前我国高校应急管理机制存在的诸多不足与问题的基础上,从应急管理理念、预警机制、决策机制、动员与保障机制、舆论引导机制、事后恢复机制等方面完善高校的应急管理机制。     

Researchers’ Industry Experience and Productivity in University–Industry Research Centers: A “Scientific and Technical Human Capital” Explanation

We examine the impact of researchers’ previous industry experience on the research outputs and outcomes of university faculty affiliated with NSF and DOE research centers. Using a dataset combining curriculum vita and surveys, our results indicate significant differences between the researchers who have previous industry experience and those who do not. Using a simple model of research productivity, we found that academic researchers who had prior industry exposure produce fewer total career publications, but they support more students. Most important, and perhaps surprising, we could not establish any difference between the two groups’ publication activity when focusing on a five-year cross-section (years 1996–2000) rather than total career publications. We found statistical evidence that previous industry experience raised the annual publication productivity of junior faculty members and women researchers in our sample of research center personnel. We believe the unique blend of research center affiliation, academic post, and past industry experience gives an individual who embodies or possesses all three characteristics a diverse source of scientific and technical human capital and particular advantages over those who have no industry experience (though the “academic-only” set also has particular advantages in cumulative publishing productivity).     

Evaluating partnerships for community health improvement: tracking the footprints

Private-public partnerships are increasingly seen as an important mechanism for improving community health. Despite their popularity, traditional evaluations of these efforts have produced negative or mixed results. This is often attributed to weak interventions or an insufficient period of time to observe an impact. This study examines two additional possibilities--the need for a well-articulated shared vision and the governance and management capabilities of the partnership itself. We conducted a midstream process evaluation of twenty-five community partnerships associated with the Community Care Network (CCN) Demonstration Program. We examined how the roles of a common shared vision, strong governance, and effective management influence a partnership's ability to achieve its objectives. The findings, based on both qualitative and quantitative analyses, underscore the importance of membership organizations' perceived benefits and costs of participation and management capabilities to the partnership's progress toward a vision. Based on the qualitative data, six key governance and management characteristics are identified that separate the top performing partnerships from the lowest performing ones. We explore the implications of this research for future evaluations of public-private community health partnerships.     

The promise and limits of racial/ethnic concordance in physician-patient interaction

Although some scholars suggest that racial/ethnic concordance between physicians and patients will do much to eliminate disparities in medical care, the evidence for concordance effects is mixed. Using nationally representative data with an oversample of blacks and Latinos, this study examines a variety of topics, including beliefs about and preferences for concordance, the effects of concordance on patient experiences, and interactions between expectations and experiences. The results point to the limited effects of concordance in general but illuminate for whom concordance matters most. The results encourage more nuanced and contingent theories. They suggest that racial/ethnic concordance holds little salience in the minds of most black and Latino patients and that discordance has little effect. Nevertheless, there is some evidence that concordance has a positive effect among those who prefer concordance-thus the apparent effects of concordance might reflect the effects of patient choice more than concordance per se. The conclusion sketches policy implications, including the merits of promoting concordance among targeted groups of patients, even in the absence of overall effects on disparities.     

Continuous quality improvement as a management concept for death investigation systems

Continuous quality improvement (CQI) represents a management technique where the basic approach to managing quality consists of setting a standard for a work process, measuring variation in the work process in relation to the standard, and then implementing programs to decrease variation and improve end results. Everyone providing a service becomes involved both in understanding how quality is measured and in discussing how to improve quality. A team approach is adopted and instead of focusing on poor quality outcomes and how to avoid them, the team becomes involved in setting continuously improving standards for better performance and in finding ways to meet those standards. The objective is to meet or exceed consumer or user expectations. Relevant related concepts such as survey research, needs determination and outcomes analysis, and the importance of a mission statement are discussed using a medical examiner system as an example.