Governing inter-organisational R&D supplier collaborations: a study at Jaguar Land Rover

This article discusses the importance of collaboration with suppliers and partners during research and development (R&D) technology projects. It details how this can be accomplished using the collaborative enterprise governance (CEG) concept to manage a technology project. CEG is based on the premise that parts of companies work with parts of other companies, which are reconfigured on dynamic bases according to a variety of different internal and external factors. This article presents an overview of the founding literature, the CEG and its methodology, and examples based at Jaguar Land Rover in the UK. CEG has been used here to explain why some technology projects have succeeded while others have done less well. This article concludes by offering new propositions, inducted through grounded theory, relating to the successful management of R&D projects, which should be picked up by future research studies in the area.     

Production planning and control within a CIM environment: some current developments and requirements for the future

Abstract. This paper considers the integration problems associated with incorporating production planning and control (PP&C) systems within CIM; these problems are typically not differentiated from functionally related problems, and have in the past received relatively little attention. The on-going emergence of a number of standards relevant to manufacturing software systems provides an opportunity to assess the current situation with regard to proprietary PP&C systems and to suggest ways forward towards ‘seamless’ integration of PP&C within the CIM environment. The problems arising from conventional integration approaches are briefly described, and the concept of a simplifying ‘integration platform’ is introduced; the three-schema information architecture is presented as part of this ‘integration simplification’ approach. Current and developing PP&C systems are assessed against a number of information system integration criteria, and the results of a small survey of proprietary packages are presented. The paper concludes that information must be regarded as an enterprise-wide asset, rather than belonging to individual software applications, and that the adoption of relevant standards will enable seamless integration within a three-schema architecture. An increasing number of proprietary packages are adopting standards and methodologies which ease the integration problem significantly.     

The impact of project team characteristics and client collaboration on project agility and project success: An empirical study

Although many companies pursue agile projects, extant literature reveals a lack of research on project agility determinants. This study examines the project team characteristics' impact on project agility and success using cross-sectional survey data from 292 agile projects. Using agile principles and complex adaptive systems theory, we find that project team autonomy, team diversity, and client collaboration have significant positive relationships with project agility. Project agility, in turn, has a significant positive relationship to project success. We measure project success by on-time completion, on-budget completion, specifications' attainment, and success rating by the project sponsor, client, and project team members. We find that project team members' adaptive performance partially mediates the relationship between project agility and success. These results guide agile project managers while facilitating team members to independently schedule their work, determine effective work methods, and develop innovative solutions. Moreover, they help agile managers recruit team members with relevant, diverse skill sets, domain knowledge, and expertise. Agile project managers must emphasize client collaboration in requirements gathering, designing, testing, and project reviews.     

Economies of scope in research and teaching: A non-parametric investigation

We propose a non-parametric methodology to study the presence of economies of scope between teaching and research (i.e., the teaching–research nexus). In particular, the paper advocates a conditional version of the ‘benefit-of-the-doubt’ approach to estimate the relationship between professors’ overall academic output, measured by a composite measure of multi-dimensional and importance-adjusted scores of teaching effectiveness and research productivity, and the time devoted to teaching and to research. The methodology is illustrated with a dataset of professors working at a Business & Administration department of a university college where the time allocation of teaching and research was assigned exogenously. The outcome of the analysis indicates the presence of limited scope economies for professors with an extensive research time.     

Performance measurement systems and time-based manufacturing

Today's production environment is often undermined by control mechanisms that were designed for another era. Specifically, most organizations control manufacturing wholly or in part using cost-based performance measurement systems. Depending upon the firm's objectives and key manufacturing task(s), too much attention upon cost considerations can have devastating effects upon overall performance. This paper discusses this issue in the context of corporations that increasingly find themselves competing for business on the dimension of time. A case study is presented to illustrate how time-based companies can be adversely affected by an overemphasis upon cost.     

Financial planning for new products: Part I—Basis for model formulation

In a previous paper the author presented a staged approach methodology for the evaluation and selection of R & D projects. The present paper is intended to serve as its complement.The aim is the formulation of a matching overall long range budget planning policy which will attempt to answer the questions of “how many projects to prove” and “how much to fund” on the basis of satisfying the company growth objective.To achieve the above purpose, a staged budget planning model has been developed which recognizes and utilizes the specific attributes of the various R & D stages. Tje project stage survival rate and project stage cost ratio concepts are discussed. A steady flow of projects through the various R & D stage is maintained. The aim of the program is to produce periodically a planned number of new products fro commercial investment.This methodology may apply to R & D program with a sufficient number of moderately sized projects that justify the use of survival rate and cost ratio values. It should be constructed as a tentative effort for possible use within the staged limitations.     

Integration team members' approaches to uncertainty management in M&A

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are associated with various uncertainties. Often, large companies designate integration team members to organize post-acquisition integration. However, little is known about what integration team members do in the post-acquisition integration process. This study examines how integration team members deal with uncertainties in post-acquisition integration, specifically how they manage tensions that require different and conflicting approaches. The research is based on an in-depth qualitative case study that examines the post-acquisition integration phase in real-time in the context of two Nordic firms. The study offers three main findings. First, among various uncertainty reduction, coping and balancing approaches observed in this study, the balancing approach emerged as a new method to face uncertainty. The second finding illustrates that the choice among various uncertainty management methods and their approaches is a dynamic process, in which integration team members from both buying and acquired firms are actively involved. Lastly, the study identifies that integration team members use collaboration as the way to address tensions in uncertainty management.     

考虑消费与投资者情绪的股票市场资产定价

首先基于现有相关研究成果从理论上建立了考虑消费与投资者情绪的资产定价模型,然后选取2005年5月~2018年4月期间的中国A股上市公司数据以及消费和投资者情绪数据,分别对构建的考虑消费与投资者情绪的模型以及CAPM、Fama-French三因子和五因子模型进行实证检验和比较分析.研究结果表明:1)在资产定价模型中引入消费和投资者情绪因子能够在理论上对CAPM、Fama-French三因子和五因子模型进行合理拓展和修正.2)从总体定价效率看,用消费和投资者情绪因子分别替代Fama-French三因子模型中的规模和账面市值比因子、Fama-French五因子模型中的盈利和投资因子,都能够提高资产定价效率;在考虑消费和投资者情绪因子后,Fama-French五因子模型中的盈利和投资因子不再能提高资产定价效率.本文研究结果基于消费和投资者情绪改善了Fama-French模型定价效率,在一定程度上丰富和完善了资产定价理论.     

Conceptualizing Structurable Tasks in the Development of Knowledge-Based Systems*

Conventional approaches to knowledge-based system (KBS) development are not appropriate for building KBSs when the application task is structurable (i.e., exhibits a certain degree of ill structure). Building a KBS for structurable tasks requires an understanding of the problem-solving strategies used by an expert to manage the ill structure, while at the same time relying on domain theories to understand the structured parts of the task. This paper presents a methodology for developing a knowledge model for structurable tasks during the conceptualization stage of KBS development. This is equivalent to building a logical model for design during the development of conventional information systems. The methodology relies on prior research on the decomposition and characterization of a task based on its various attributes. The paper also illustrates the use of the methodology in the case of KBS development for financial hedging. The paper concludes with some observations about the potential impact of this methodology on other stages in the KBS development process.     

Constrained Forecasting: Some Implementation Guidelines

Constrained forecasting has become a popular approach to the complex task of predicting future sales. Mixed performance results have been obtained by companies employing constrained forecasting systems software packages which probably reflects the lack of any clear system implementation guidelines. A number of important operational parameters such as the number of product families, criterion used to define product families, number of system levels, etc. must be specified. This study reports on an investigation of two of these parameters: product group size and appropriate grouping criterion. Different tests are performed with the constrained forecasting system and compared to a traditional forecasting approach using product data from the Cummins Engine Company of Columbus, Indiana.     

Computer-Aided Process Structuring Via Mixed Integer Programming

Systems development managers today are working with increasingly complex systems, revealing a need for computer-aided techniques in software system definition, design, and construction. The ultimate task of the software engineer is the development of tools and procedures which reduce the effort involved in production of effective software. To be effective, software must possess characteristics of correctness, reliability, efficiency, documentation, and flexibility. This paper develops a measure for software effectiveness and a computer aid for determining process structure in program module specification. The proposed method uses various criteria and a mixed integer program to decompose a system graph into program modules.     

过程系统管理与技术的综合集成

在激烈的市场竞争中,过程企业不仅要重视技术、更要加强管理,实现全局优化运行。提高过程企业的市场竞争能力必须全面综合集成人、组织、战略管理、经营管理、过程管理及信息自动化技术等因素。本文以石化企业为背景,对过程企业面临的问题及发展趋势进行了分析,并且对过程企业管理模式、过程企业的体系结构以及过程集成与优化技术进行了探讨。     

Topological Performance Measures as Surrogates for Physical Flow Models for Risk and Vulnerability Analysis for Electric Power Systems

Critical infrastructure systems must be both robust and resilient in order to ensure the functioning of society. To improve the performance of such systems, we often use risk and vulnerability analysis to find and address system weaknesses. A critical component of such analyses is the ability to accurately determine the negative consequences of various types of failures in the system. Numerous mathematical and simulation models exist that can be used to this end. However, there are relatively few studies comparing the implications of using different modeling approaches in the context of comprehensive risk analysis of critical infrastructures. In this article, we suggest a classification of these models, which span from simple topologically‐oriented models to advanced physical‐flow‐based models. Here, we focus on electric power systems and present a study aimed at understanding the tradeoffs between simplicity and fidelity in models used in the context of risk analysis. Specifically, the purpose of this article is to compare performance estimates achieved with a spectrum of approaches typically used for risk and vulnerability analysis of electric power systems and evaluate if more simplified topological measures can be combined using statistical methods to be used as a surrogate for physical flow models. The results of our work provide guidance as to appropriate models or combinations of models to use when analyzing large‐scale critical infrastructure systems, where simulation times quickly become insurmountable when using more advanced models, severely limiting the extent of analyses that can be performed.     

The role of supplier innovation performance and strategies on the smartphone supply market

The paper analyses the supplier-side of buyer-supplier relationships examining the linkage of innovation performance and strategies with suppliers' market performances. The research has been conducted on the smartphone industry. A patent-based framework allows the investigation at the product level using techniques deriving from content analysis. The methodology is tested on a sample of 100 couples' component supplier gathered from the Nomura report. Results confirm the positive relationship between suppliers’ market shares and innovation elements. First, the market performance of suppliers depends on the performance of R&D activities carried out to develop smartphone-related technologies. Second, when companies adopt specialization strategies, concentrating on the end product the development of component technologies, the market shares are higher. From the methodological point of view, the work suggests how to operationalize patent data to perform analyses at the product level. The suggested framework can be employed by companies as a managerial tool.     

Unpacking Team Familiarity: The Effects of Geographic Location and Hierarchical Role

Examination of team productivity finds that team familiarity, i.e., individuals' prior shared work experience, can positively impact the efficiency and quality of team output. Despite the attention given to team familiarity and its contingencies, prior work has focused on whether team members have worked together, not on which team members have worked together, and under what conditions. In this paper, I parse overall team familiarity to consider effects of geographic location and the hierarchical roles of team members. Using data on all software‐development projects completed over 3 years at a large Indian firm in the global outsourced software services industry, I find that team familiarity gained when team members work together in the same location has a significantly more positive effect on team performance compared with team familiarity gained while members were collaborating in different locations. Additionally, I find that hierarchical team familiarity (a manager's experience with front‐line team members) and horizontal team familiarity (front‐line team members' experience gained with one another) have differential effects on project team performance. These findings provide insight into the relationship between team experience and team performance.     

Addressing Climate Change as an Emerging Risk to Infrastructure Systems

The consequences that climate change could have on infrastructure systems are potentially severe but highly uncertain. This should make risk analysis a natural framework for climate adaptation in infrastructure systems. However, many aspects of climate change, such as weak background knowledge and societal controversy, make it an emerging risk where traditional approaches for risk assessment and management cannot be confidently employed. A number of research developments aimed at addressing these issues have emerged in recent years, such as the development of probabilistic climate projections, climate services, and robust decision frameworks. However, additional research is needed to improve the suitability of these methods for infrastructure planning. In this perspective, we outline some of the challenges in addressing climate change risks to infrastructure and summarize new developments aimed at meeting these challenges. We end by highlighting needs for future research, many of which could be well‐served by expertise within the risk analysis community.     

Kapitalmarktorientierte Unternehmensbewertung bei asymmetrischer Besteuerung von Soll- und Habenzinsen

Drukarczyk and Lobe argue that the value of a company depends on individual preferences for leveraged or unleveraged companies if debt and credit interest rates after personal taxes differ. Consequentially they derive two preference-dependent valuation formulas. Based on these results an increasing amount of literature proposing preference-dependent valuation formulas emerged. We claim that this has to be viewed critically. In order to show that even in a world of different debt and credit interest rates after personal taxes a market value can be determined we develop a new version of the Tax CAPM. Based on this model the market value of leveraged and unleveraged companies is derived. Finally we show that the corresponding valuation function significantly differs from the preference-dependent valuation formulas.     

Organisation of new product development in Asia and Europe: results from Western multinationals R&D sites in Germany,India, and China

From research on Western new product development (NPD) practices a rich body of literature has emerged. However, the impact of country specific and cultural influences has not been examined in this context yet. This study is a first attempt to identify differences in NPD practices between Research and Development (R&D) subsidiaries in Germany, China and India within multinational companies. Data has been generated by qualitative interviews with R&D executives in those countries across multiple cases. The study samples strategic, organizational and operational aspects indicates definite differences in process coordination, rewarding systems, market orientation and the average age of NPD teams. Other aspects like strategic targets, the management involvement, etc. show rather slight differences across the countries. Hence, findings suggest that while some aspects are universally applicable across cultural frontiers, Western companies have to understand different expectations regarding NPD in India and China by adjusting practices accordingly.