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Network Relationships (network + relationships)
Selected AbstractsThe Collaborative Network Orientation: Achieving Business Success through Collaborative RelationshipsENTREPRENEURSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE, Issue 4 2008Ritch L. Sorenson This study presents a theoretical concept called the collaborative network orientation (CNO) and tests it using a sample of male and female small business owners. The CNO is based on (1) research that indicates female managers prefer to organize in cooperative network relationships and (2) conflict theory that indicates collaboration is preferred for both building relationships and achieving goals. Empirical tests revealed that female owners had a stronger preference for a CNO. A CNO was associated with business success for all owners, but it was significantly more positively associated with success for male business owners. [source] Networking and innovation: a systematic review of the evidenceINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT REVIEWS, Issue 3-4 2004Luke Pittaway Recent work on competitiveness has emphasized the importance of business networking for innovativeness. Until recently, insights into the dynamics of this relationship have been fragmented. This paper presents a systematic review of research linking the networking behaviour of firms with their innovative capacity. We find that the principal benefits of networking as identified in the literature include: risk sharing; obtaining access to new markets and technologies; speeding products to market; pooling complementary skills; safeguarding property rights when complete or contingent contracts are not possible; and acting as a key vehicle for obtaining access to external knowledge. The evidence also illustrates that those firms which do not co-operate and which do not formally or informally exchange knowledge limit their knowledge base long term and ultimately reduce their ability to enter into exchange relationships. At an institutional level, national systems of innovation play an important role in the diffusion of innovations in terms of the way in which they shape networking activity. The paper provides evidence suggesting that network relationships with suppliers, customers and intermediaries such as professional and trade associations are important factors affecting innovation performance and productivity. Where networks fail, it is due to inter-firm conflict, displacement, lack of scale, external disruption and lack of infrastructure. The review identifies several gaps in the literature that need to be filled. For instance, there is a need for further exploration of the relationship between networking and different forms of innovation, such as process and organisational innovation. Similarly, we need better understanding of network dynamics and network configurations, as well as the role of third parties such as professional and trade associations. Our study highlights the need for interdisciplinary research in these areas. [source] Managing the transition from bricks-and-mortar to clicks-and-mortar: a business process perspectiveKNOWLEDGE AND PROCESS MANAGEMENT: THE JOURNAL OF CORPORATE TRANSFORMATION, Issue 3 2004David Barnes This paper reports from case study-based research that investigates the impact of the transition from bricks-and-mortar to clicks-and-mortar businesses on the management of core internal business processes. It has two main aims: firstly, to identify the business models for the processes of order fulfilment and delivery used in clicks-and-mortar e-businesses, and any organizational and environmental factors affecting these processes; secondly, to identify the main factors involved in the adoption and use of Internet-based ICTs for e-commerce in clicks-and-mortar e-businesses, and any organizational and environmental factors affecting adoption and use. Results from eight UK-based companies that have been changing from traditional bricks-and-mortar companies to clicks-and-mortar e-businesses are reported. Five main conclusions are drawn from a cross-case analysis: (1) increased integration in e-commerce business processes is inhibited by both technological and business barriers; (2) organizations display various and often confused motives for adopting e-commerce; (3) barriers to the increased adoption of e-commerce are not just technological, but also sociological and economic; (4) the adoption of e-commerce challenges existing supply network relationships; (5) the adoption of e-commerce is tending to automate rather than redesign existing business processes. A three-pronged approach to future research work in this under-researched area is recommended. This encompasses undertaking longitudinal case study research to track e-commerce developments over time, extending the range of cases to include other industry sectors (such as not for profits), and undertaking survey research across a large number of organizations, using quantitative methods, to test the generalizability of the findings from this research. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Application of ultrasound and neural networks in the determination of filler dispersion during polymer extrusion processesPOLYMER ENGINEERING & SCIENCE, Issue 6 2005Zhigang Sun Mineral filler dispersion is important information for the production of mineral-charged polymers. In order to achieve timely control of product quality, a technique capable of providing real-time information on filler dispersion is highly desirable. In this work, ultrasound, temperature, and pressure sensors as well as an amperemeter of the extruder motor drive were used to monitor the extrusion of mineral-filled polymers under various experimental conditions in terms of filler type, filler concentration, feeding rate, screw rotation speed, and barrel temperature. Then, neural network relationships were established among the filler dispersion index and three categories of variables, namely, control variables of the extruder, extruder-dependent measured variables, and extruder-independent measured variables (based on ultrasonic measurement). Of the three categories of variables, the process control variables and extruder-independent ultrasonically measured variables performed best in inferring the dispersion index through a neural network model. While the neural network model based on control variables could help determine the optimal experimental conditions to achieve a dispersion index, the extruder-independent network model based on ultrasonic measurement is suitable for in-line measurement of the quality of dispersion. This study has demonstrated the feasibility of using ultrasound and neural networks for in-line monitoring of dispersion during extrusion processes of mineral-charged polymers. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 45:764,772, 2005. © 2005 Society of Plastics Engineers [source] DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE NETWORKS: COMPATIBLE OR NOT?PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 3 2007ERIK-HANS KLIJN This paper investigates the relationship between representative democracy and governance networks at a theoretical level. It does so by offering four conjectures and their implications for theory and practice. The incompatibility conjectures rests on the primacy of politics and sees governance networks as a threat. The complementarity conjecture presents governance networks as a means of enabling greater participation in the policy process and sensitivity in programme implementation. The transitional conjecture posits a wider evolution of governance forms towards network relationships. The instrumental conjecture views governance networks as a powerful means through which dominant interests can achieve their goals. Illustrative implications for theory and practice are identified, in relation to power in the policy process, the public interest, and the role of public managers. The heuristic potential of the conjectures is demonstrated through the identification of an outline research agenda. [source] Public Sector Added Value: Can Bureaucracy Deliver?PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 1 2001Peter.M Jackson This paper takes stock of our understanding of the ,architecture' of public sector resource allocation mechanisms. It is a speculative venture and provides a framework for thinking about issues rather than a completed theoretical model. The concept of architecture is borrowed from the design sciences and is used to explore the conditions of performativity within networks of relational contracts. The age-old question of markets versus hierarchy is too simplistic. Instead, the search is for optimal complex network relationships that are based upon co-operation and participation rather than competition and control. Within these networks the public sector, it is argued, has a new role of acting as a broker in the creation of value. Judging the public sector's relative effectiveness in the creation of value also requires closer attention to be given to the context within which public sector managers take decisions. In particular it is necessary to acknowledge that they confront the ,wicked' problems of society that the electorate demand to be solved. This gives renewed interest in the notion of market failure. [source] Unique Characteristics of Emergency Care Research: Scope, Populations, and InfrastructureACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 10 2009D. Mark Courtney MD Abstract The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) program and the 2006 Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report on the future of emergency care highlight the need for coordinated emergency care research (ECR) to improve the outcomes of acutely ill or injured patients. In response, the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) and the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) sponsored the Emergency Care Research Network (ECRN) Conference in Washington, DC, on May 28, 2008. The conference objectives were to identify the unique nature of ECR and the infrastructure needed to support ECR networks and to understand the optimal role of emergency medicine (EM) and other acute care specialties in research networks. Prior to the conference, participants responded to questions addressing the relevant issues that would form the basis of breakout session discussions; two of these breakout questions are summarized in this report: 1) what makes EM research unique? and 2) what are the critical components needed to establish and maintain networked ECR? Emergency care research was defined as "the systematic examination of patient care that is expected to be continuously available to diverse populations presenting with undifferentiated symptoms of acute illness, or acutely decompensated chronic illness, and whose outcomes depend on timely diagnosis and treatment." The chain of ECR may extend beyond the physical emergency department (ED) in both place and time and integrate prehospital care, as well as short- and long-term outcome determination. ECR may extend beyond individual patients and have as the focus of investigation the actual system of emergency care delivery itself and its effects on the community with respect to access to care, use of resources, and cost. Infrastructure determinants of research network success identified by conference participants included multidisciplinary collaboration, accurate long-term outcome determination, novel information technology, intellectual infrastructure, and wider network relationships that extend beyond the ED. [source] Political Feasibility Analysis of the New Financing Scheme for the National Health Insurance Reform in Taiwan: An Application of Stakeholder AnalysisASIAN SOCIAL WORK AND POLICY REVIEW, Issue 3 2010Chao-Yin Lin This study carries out in-depth political feasibility analysis of the prospective health financing reform currently taking place in Taiwan. The National Health Insurance (NHI) Program, which was established in Taiwan in 1995, covers virtually all of the island's citizens. Between the years 2001 and 2004, the Taiwanese Government organized a taskforce to carry out the wholesale reform of the NHI program into the so-called ,Second Generation NHI Program'. This study is part of the comprehensive review, focusing on the preferences and positions of key policy stakeholders with regard to the financial reform proposals, as well as their network relationships. The approach of stakeholder analysis was employed to conduct this empirical study. The results reveal that the new financing scheme has a certain degree of support from the policy stakeholders participating in this study, and that in particular, the measures concerning equity and sustainability were most welcome. However, controversy remains with regard to the issue of the equitable sharing of contributions. It is clear that there is much strong support for the new scheme amongst the administrative and legislative elite, although the same level of support is not evident amongst the social elite affiliated with employees' associations and welfare groups. [source] Differential Expression and Network Inferences through Functional Data ModelingBIOMETRICS, Issue 3 2009Donatello Telesca Summary Time course microarray data consist of mRNA expression from a common set of genes collected at different time points. Such data are thought to reflect underlying biological processes developing over time. In this article, we propose a model that allows us to examine differential expression and gene network relationships using time course microarray data. We model each gene-expression profile as a random functional transformation of the scale, amplitude, and phase of a common curve. Inferences about the gene-specific amplitude parameters allow us to examine differential gene expression. Inferences about measures of functional similarity based on estimated time-transformation functions allow us to examine gene networks while accounting for features of the gene-expression profiles. We discuss applications to simulated data as well as to microarray data on prostate cancer progression. [source] | ||||||||||