Regional technology clusters are an important source of economic development, yet in biotechnology few successful clusters exist. Previous research links successful clusters to heightened innovation capacity achieved through the existence of social ties linking individuals across companies. Less understood are the mechanisms by which such networks emerge. The article uses social network analysi...

Technology adoption theories propose that experience plays a major role in adopting or rejecting a new technology. This study analyses how the benefits of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) as a major technological innovation are perceived differently, according to the BPO adoption status of the manager responsible. A survey of Germany's 200 largest banks has been conducted (response rate: 36.8...

This paper systematically examines the role of extra-firm personal knowledge networks vis-à-vis alternative sources of work-related knowledge. A guiding question is whether there is a difference between job positions. The study is based on a survey and interviews with 105 R&D workers in 46 IT companies in the Greater Cambridge Region. The results show that alternative sources of knowledge are c...

Information Systems (IS) sourcing continues to be a topic of great concern to both IS professionals and senior management. While a number of articles and books discuss the pros and cons of outsourcing, little has been written about companies that evaluate outsourcing but choose insourcing. Do companies actually achieve the cost savings proposed in the insourcing bid? This question prompted the ...

OBJECTIVE This research attempted to explore the public healthcare providers understanding the quality dimensions and patient priorities in Oman. It also addresses the issue of risks confronting health professionals in management without "a customer focused" approach. METHODS A descriptive study was carried out using a self-administered questionnaire distributed around two tertiary public hos...

Acting as an EU member state and implementing new developments in the administrative system have also set great expectations and demands to the management of Estonian public service. In 2004 Estonian Senior Civil Servants Competency Framework was created to be used in the leadership development and succession planning of top managers. The main aim of this paper is to analyze, based on the empir...

To succeed in the global marketplace, companies must reposition themselves to tap the sources of sustainable growth. After failing to connect information technology investments with business performance, successful senior managers today know that ‘effective use of information’ does not equal merely a new IT solution. Instead, business performance can only be improved with an excellence at using...

In this paper, a cognitive map-based methodology is suggested as a tool to analyze different strategic thoughts in a corporation. In order to test its validity, the proposed framework is applied to a private company. The methodology provides a framework for the identification of all the ideas relevant for the future of the company, the categorization of the ideas, the specification of their rel...

Corporate entrepreneurship (CE)has emergedas an important strategy forhotels in recent years, allowing rejuvenation of internal processes and activities for improved performance. Although CE is instigated by senior management, middle managers carry out their instructions and hence have a critical role in its success. This conceptual paper evaluates the antecedents or factors that may impact on ...