Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Commercialization of innovative products'

This work presents the development of a new framework for the commercialization of innovative products in the residential construction industry. It is the aim of this work to identify commercialization decisions, actions, risks, barriers and accelerators specific to the residential construction industry market that will increase the acceptance of product innovations for those developing them. Commercialization is broadly defined as the process of developing a business enterprise from an idea, through feasibility and implementation, to its acceptance into a market (USDOE 1999, Goldsmith 2003). Commercialization frameworks describe the concurrent decisions and actions along the innovation development process, optimizing all of the technical and business decisions required for a successful introduction to the marketplace. Successful commercialization frameworks serve as a form of development plan, promoting solutions to questions and problems that arise along the development path. This research derives such a framework for the commercialization of innovative products and makes it specific to residential construction through the following tasks: 1. Understanding standard terminology: defining innovation and commercialization as they relate to this work. 2. Creating a lens for the unique nature of commercialization in this industry: deriving a commercialization framework (matrix) from the research literature in business, construction, and concurrent engineering, capable of accepting later alterations. 3. Understanding the manufacturer's role and risks: conducting case study interviews for fifteen innovative residential construction products that specify important tasks, risks and benefits for commercialization. 4. Understanding the role, risks and benefits of builders, as users of innovation: comparing case studies and workshop surveys of many residential construction industry players that focus on the builder to establish parameters for the innovation commercialization matrix. 5. Linking both manufacturer and builder: comparing manufacturer commercialization best-practices with builder adoption patterns for innovative products over time.
Ph. D.

Author proposed an estimating criteria system for distribution channel participants which deepens the existing theoretical and methodological approaches for intermediaries evaluation within the framework of marketing distribution policy and improves the efficiency of the participants selecting process for the channel during the time of commercializing innovative products of industrial enterprises.

Throughout the world, innovation is viewed as a critical factor in the future health of the construction industry. There is universal interest in successful commercialization of innovative construction products. This thesis focuses on the US construction industry's ability to successfully commercialize innovative products. US small, limited-resource innovators will be key players in this success. Recent failures of entrepreneurial business ventures in the commercialization of such products would benefit from a unique model for construction industry commercialization. The general approach is through an identification of accelerators for previously commercialized products, which are incorporated into a generic commercialization model. This process consists of five stages that are presented in this work: defining commercialization and innovation through literature for the residential construction industry; reviewing literature from other-industry commercialization models; establishing a new generic model (or framework) for innovative construction products from such literature; capturing qualitative and quantitative construction data from industry experts regarding actions that facilitate commercialization; populating specific cells of the generic model deemed relevant through this industry data, resulting in the accumulation of important cells, actions, and sequences. This work uses industry cases to present challenges specific to the construction industry and its products. It is limited to five such cases and their important data for residential construction innovation commercialization success.
Master of Science

Однією зі складових розвитку підприємницької діяльності є інновації. При цьому комерціалізація результатів інноваційної діяльності дозволяє одним підприємствам збільшити рівень конкурентоспроможності, іншим – оптимізувати свою діяльність залежно від того, вони виробляють і реалізують чи споживають об’єкти комерціалізації. При цьому з метою максимізації ефективності та результативності інноваційної діяльності підприємства процес комерціалізації має бути чітким, послідовним і структурованим.
Одной из составляющих развития предпринимательской деятельности являются инновации. При этом коммерциализация результатов инновационной деятельности позволяет одним предприятиям увеличить уровень конкурентоспособности, другим - оптимизировать свою деятельность в зависимости от того, они производят и реализуют или потребляют объекты коммерциализации. При этом с целью максимизации эффективности и результативности инновационной деятельности предприятия процесс коммерциализации должен быть четким, последовательным и структурированным.
One of the components of business development is innovation. At the same time, the commercialization of the results of innovative activity allows one enterprise to increase the level of competitiveness, others - to optimize their activity, depending on whether they produce and sell or use commercialization objects. In order to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of the innovative activity of the enterprise, the process of commercialization must be clear, consistent and structured.

Розроблено методичний підхід до управління (за формалізованими процедурами) комерціалізацією інноваційної продукції підприємства. Практична апробація запропонованого підходу на малих і середніх промислових підприємствах, що виробляють машини та обладнання, підтвердила його ефективність для управління інноваційним процесом на етапі комерціалізації продуктових інновацій.
The methodological approach to management (by formalized procedures) of the Enterprise commercialization innovation products is developed. The practical approbation of the proposed approach at small and medium-sized industrial enterprises producing machinery and equipment confirmed its effectiveness for the management of the innovative process at the stage of commercialization product innovations.

This dissertation presents the development of a new framework for international commercialization of innovative structural products in residential construction. Development of his framework required the examination of six subjects related to international commercialization. 1) commercialization models previously developed, locally and internationally, 2) barriers to the process, 3) stakeholders, actions, and decisions critical to the process, 4) characteristics of innovations that are suitable for international use, 5) characteristics of foreign markets that are ideal to adopt such innovations, and 6) strategies to overcome barriers The framework development was based on one structural product, SIPs. This product has been successfully developed and implemented in the United States and is being considered for commercial use in Saudi Arabia. Structural product clusters are particularly appropriate because of their innovative nature and their major influence on the structure of residential buildings. The study relies on sequential explanatory mixed-method research design, consisting of two distinct phases (Creswell 2003), to gain insight into processes surrounding commercialization. The rationale for this approach is that quantitative data and its results provide a general picture of the barriers to international commercialization in the available sample, which can mapped onto an initial framework. The qualitative data and its analysis help to refine and expand statistical results by exploring participants' actual decision processes that can be also mapped to a second framework. Both data sets can be merged, mapped onto one final framework. Variables related to the six subjects, mentioned above, were distilled from literature into open-ended questionnaires for two groups of key stakeholders in the supply chain of innovative structural products: 1) SIPs stakeholders in the US and 2) stakeholders of innovative structural products in Saudi Arabia. The primary purpose of the open-ended questionnaires was to ensure usage of correct terminology used in this study and to encourage full, meaningful answers—capturing all possible factors affecting the process of international commercialization. The author collected responses using web-based surveys. The results yielded the development of a reliable instrument to be implemented in further steps of this research. Next, the researcher collected variables related to the questions from previous open-ended questionnaires into closed-ended questionnaires to collect the data (on perceived barriers to international commercialization), using web-based surveys, and performed a preliminary analysis of the data using frequency analysis. This process yielded market-based strategies for developing an initial framework for international commercialization in residential construction. Subsequently, a focused examination of barriers to international commercialization was needed. The researcher collected such data through an applied understanding of the specific development processes for SIPs to be introduced to a new, international market, namely Saudi Arabia. Based on the model's structure, the researcher conducted six case studies of real stakeholder processes along the supply chain, SIPs development domestically and internationally, and tracked data for real risks of the commercialization process. Findings suggested perceived versus actual risks and barriers to the commercialization process for an integral product to the residential construction process. This was an important distinction because of proposed development methods and the application of market diffusion. Based on the barriers identified, the researcher developed market-based strategies to be incorporated into a second framework. This framework along with the initial framework and the literature-based framework have been triangulated to develop one final framework. The final framework was then introduced to a few experts in the industry to increase its validity.
Ph. D.

Викладено методологічні засади формування системи управління комерціалізацією інноваційної продукції промислового підприємства.
The methodological principles of the formation of the system of commercialization management of innovative products of the industrial enterprise are set out.

The thesis aims to identify the strategic points and the steps that must be observed to ensure that the new product introduced to the market will be successful. In the text some general background to innovating is discussed, the process of product development ending with introduction to a market. In the applied section the market situation is outlined and the position of Vitana is determined. There are two products thoroughly analyzed -- with diametrically opposed success. For this purpose an analogy to the theoretical part followed by the instruments of the marketing mix is proceeding. For both products, the processes of launch are described in detail and the steps which brought about or hindered the desired result are identified. In conclusion it is defined whether in this case the typical causes of failure in innovation apply.

Важливість ланцюгів поставок зростає. На світовому рівні все більше підприємств розуміють, що неможливо ефективно функціонувати без налагоджених зв’язків. Ланцюги постачання складні та цілісні. Отже, управління ланцюгами поставок є складним процесом і включає такі елементи, як координація, орієнтація потоку (матеріальна, фінансова, інформаційна), інтеграція, партнерство, ефективність, орієнтація на споживача, створення вартості, ефективність роботи, зниження витрат, стійкість, екологічність.
Сегодня усиливается важность цепочек поставок. На мировом уровне все больше предприятий понимают, что невозможно эффективно функционировать без налаженных связей. Цепочки поставок сложны и целостны. Итак, управление цепочкой поставок - сложный процесс и включает в себя такие элементы, как координация, ориентация потока (материальный, финансовый, информационный), интеграция, партнерство, производительность, ориентация на клиента, создание ценности, эффективность работы, снижение затрат, устойчивость, экологичность.
The importance of the supply chains arises today. At the world level, more and more enterprises understand that it is impossible to function effectively without well-established links. Supply chains are complex and integrity. So, supply chain management is a difficult process and includes such elements as coordination, flow orientation (material, financial, informational), integration, partnership, performance, customer orientation, value creation, operation efficiency, cost reduction, sustainability, environmental friendliness.

Benchmarking as the direction of the modern economy is a fusion of methods and technologies of management and marketing, and is one of the fundamental business processes of modern companies, allowing a systemic approach to identify key targets for its development and enhance the effectiveness of the corporate management.

Strategies for commercialization of a new product innovation are critical for gaining a sustainable level of customer acceptance and financial performance. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the commercialization strategies used by 5 technology development marketing leaders from a healthcare company in Washington state. The conceptual framework for this study was commercialization of innovation theory (CoI). The data were collected through semistructured interviews and company documentation, and analyzed using Yin's 5-step data analysis process for case studies to identify and code themes. Analysis of data generated 3 major themes: strategies implemented during the prelaunch phase, strategies implemented during the pilot customer phase, and strategies implemented in the broader market launch phase of the CoI process. The results of this study revealed the set of commercialization decisions made by technology development marketing leaders in the case, the phase in which the CoI process-specific strategies were implemented, and some of the pitfalls of commercializing an innovation, especially a radical innovation. Results indicated the challenges with being a first-mover and having unclear positioning, branding, and messaging strategies. It is essential for technology development marketing leaders to gain a deeper understanding of the strategies that might influence commercial success and failure. Findings may contribute to social change by maximizing commercial success and the diffusion of new product innovations in healthcare, which might lead to better patient outcomes and enhanced ways of practicing medicine.

Increasing interest is being shown in performance measurement, in both the academic literature and by practitioners. When implementing innovative products, organisations are facing issues of how to measure and manage the performance of the products concerned and how to do so in a worthwhile way. Reviewing existing literature suggests that there has been limited research on the value of performance measurement and management processes and indeed little conceptual distinction has been made between performance measurement and performance management. A conceptual framework is developed, structured around concepts from the existing literature showing two ways of distinguishing performance measurement and performance management. Performance management processes are shown as broader than performance measurement processes and the influences of the processes on performance are also displayed, another way of differentiating between the two concepts. The framework provides a structure for a pattern matching analysis using empirical data. Empirical data collection involved four case studies, each focusing on a medical device being implemented in the UK public healthcare sector. Forty-six semi-structured interviews explored performance measurement and performance management processes in the implementation of the innovative products, as well as exploring the influences of those processes on performance of the innovative products. The findings from the thesis highlight key performance measurement and performance management processes that occur in the implementation of innovative products, finding that the two can best be distinguished by their influence, or lack of influence, on performance. Performance reporting is also highlighted as a key concept. The findings indicate that performance measurement and reporting processes alone cannot be expected to have an influence on performance, however if performance management processes occur too then they can.

The research aimed to identify the most appropriate team approaches for co-ordinating innovative products or process developments and for enhancing their success. Case studies were conducted in 25 UK companies, focusing on environmental technology projects. Research findings emphasised the diversity of organisational team approaches which were more complex when several departments, teams or companies were involved. Team approaches were broadly classified - 'single-disciplinary', 'multi-disciplinary' or 'multi-functional' - according to members' expertise and innovation function which could be more or less integrated. The results showed that: 1. Multi-tasking to meet all innovation functions reflected small firm limitations and small firms would benefit from more formal structures. Differences between medium- and large-sized firms were minimal since teams held more specialist expertise, However, the influence of firm size on innovation success was obscured and potentially negated by inter-company alliances. 2. Few differences in the management of minor and major company innovations applied since competitive pressures led to organisational innovation in each case, including integrated team approaches, inter-company alliances and company formations. 3. Multi-functional teams were important for achieving success in open markets because of their control over appropriate expertise, even though they did not guarantee commercial success or other benefits. Surprisingly, multi-functional teams were typically rated as unsatisfactory and ineffective by members which may have implications for staff morale and retention. 4. Inter-company teams represented opportunities for team learning and organisational development because company-based assumptions about organisational behaviour, expectations about inter-company operations and fears about inter-disciplinary teamworking were challenged. 5. Integrated teams were not sufficient for achieving team effectiveness and success outcomes, although most companies regarded their team as necessary for success. Complex team and innovation development processes emphasised the importance of the co-ordinator's role in managing unclear team and organisational boundaries associated with innovative developments. 6. Although the research supports the importance of teams for innovation success, team effectiveness had a more complex influence on success in open markets than on client-funded projects because of the nature of the teams and the influence of market and technological uncertainties.

This thesis examines product innovation processes in small established enterprises. The research questions are: (1) what motivates small established enterprises to innovate, (2) how do small established enterprises perform product innovation, and (3) how do small established enterprises manage resource scarcity in their product innovation processes? To answer the research questions, a multiple case study approach was chosen with three small established enterprises as cases and different product innovation processes as embedded units of study. The data collection method used was observation during a period of five months, complemented by interviews and secondary data. Product innovation in small established enterprises seems to be motivated by solving existing customers’ problems and the need for a sustained steady cash flow. A steady cash flow is also found to be a prerequisite during the product innovation processes. Product innovation seems to occur when there is a risk of decreased cash flow and/or when existing customers can be satisfied with new products that increase their loyalty so as to secure future sales, cash flow, and the enterprise’s survival in the long run. Promising innovation ideas alone do not result in product innovation. An innovation idea must also have supportive existing customers for product innovation to occur. Product innovation processes in the studied small established enterprises are found highly context dependent, intertwined in operational processes and made possible by a small organic organization and closeness to existing customers. The product innovation processes are further found to follow a flexible and informal overall scheme optimized for decreasing market and technology uncertainty and risk, dealing with resource scarcity, and facilitating fast and easy commercialization to avoid or moderate dips in cash flow. The design processes within the innovation processes can be linearly structured or cyclical and experimental, depending on the experienced novelty. To manage resource scarcity during the product innovation processes, the studied small enterprises used many different bootstrapping methods in combination. These methods can be divided into three categories according to their overall functions: for using existing resources more efficiently, for increasing resources and to secure a fast payback on resources invested in NPD. The studied small enterprises were due to their resource scarcity further found to favor an innovation strategy, only involving new products done with known technology and targeting existing markets. This way to innovate, which creates new products in a resource-efficient way that are accepted by the enterprises’ existing markets, seems to prevent unsuccessful product innovation, while at the same time excluding technologically radical innovation and innovation targeting new markets.

QC 20140102

Global socioeconomic trends are changing the nature of the American workplace. To address the challenges brought about by these changes, American engineering education must focus on developing students into future professionals, equipped to thrive in the fast-paced, technologically intense, globally competitive workplace of the future. One of the most effective ways to prepare students to face the future is by teaching them to innovate.

This thesis presents the "Creative Entrepreneurs Organization: Developing Innovative Products and Businesses" (CEO) concept as a method by which Virginia Tech could help students learn innovation. The CEO concept is a student-involvement program intended to develop students into successful entrepreneurs as they work together in small teams to develop and market intellectual property. This Program is intended to produce revenue for the University by virtue of the successful commercialization of the intellectual properties it generates. Additionally, the CEO Program will allow faculty and students to share in the financial rewards associated with the intellectual properties they generate.

The CEO Program concept is presented in light of current trends in the business and academic worlds. Various issues related to its implementation are addressed. The Program is evaluated for its expected value to students, to the University, to the State, and to the Nation. A survey is presented by which the success of the Program can be measured.

For the CEO concept to be successfully realized, several challenges must be overcome. First, the University must embrace this somewhat unorthodox Program in which both educational and financial motives play significant roles. Second, there must be a Program Advocate who will be able to effectively communicate the value and feasibility of the Program. Third, fiscal and physical resources must be available to ensure the successful start-up and operation of the CEO Program. Finally, the Program must find ways to nurture creativity in its participants.

I conclude that the effort required to implement the CEO Program is outweighed by its potential benefits to students, to the University, to the State of Virginia, and to the Nation. Therefore, I recommend that the Virginia Tech College of Engineering consider the CEO Program for implementation.
Master of Science

L’objectif de cette thèse est d’analyser les différents types de valeurs qui déterminent et expliquent les choix et comportements des consommateurs avec une attention particulière pour les produits innovants. Plus particulièrement, on cherche à déterminer leurs consentements à payer pour des produits innovants avec des caractéristiques durables d’une part, et comment les préférences du consommateur et les caractéristiques du produit interviennent dans le processus de la prise de la décision d’autre part.Dans le premier chapitre, nous affirmons que les préférences individuelles sont reflétées dans leurs consentements à payer pour un produit / service et sont basées sur les valeurs individuelles. Ces valeurs sont stables pour chaque individu, guident ses préférences et ses actions en tant qu'individu (valeurs personnelles) et en tant qu'agent économique (valeurs client et consommateur). En se focalisant sur la consommation de produits innovants et durables, cette thèse aborde également les valeurs environnementales et innovantes.L'analyse des valeurs pour les produits innovants est d'une grande importance pour les entreprises, car elle permet d'anticiper les préférences et leurs changements, et par là même, elle contribue à la définition des priorités dans les processus de développement de nouvelles offres de produits.Les systèmes complexes de ces valeurs entraînent des défis particuliers pour l'estimation, qui sont discutés dans le chapitre 2. Notamment, l'exactitude des estimations du CAP dépend du choix de la méthode utilisée par le chercheur.Les résultats obtenus montrent que les consommateurs ont une valorisation positive de produits innovants avec des caractéristiques durables. Ces valorisations sont basées sur les préférences des consommateurs et ses valeurs personnelles et de consommateur. Les études empiriques présentées dans les chapitres 3 et 4 proposent deux approches expérimentales qui contribuent à la compréhension des comportements des consommateurs à l'égard de produits innovants et à la compréhension des difficultés et défis des méthodes expérimentales d'élicitation de préférences pour ces produits/services. En outre, ils démontrent la validité du concept des valeurs dans le comportement des consommateurs
The general purpose of this thesis is to analyze the different types of values that determine and explain the choices and behavior of consumers with a particular focus on innovative products. Specifically, we want to know whether consumers are willing to pay for innovative products with sustainable features and how consumer preferences and characteristics of the product are involved in the process of the decision-making. In addition, we test new methods for such estimations.In the Chapter 1 we claim that individual preferences are reflected in willingness to pay for a product/service and are based on individual’s values. These values are stable for each individual, guide his/her preferences and actions as an individual (personal values) and as an economic agent (customer and consumer values). With the focus on the consumption of innovative and sustainable products, this thesis discusses also environmental and innovative values.The importance of value analysis for innovative products is of a high importance for companies, because it allows to anticipate preferences and their changes, and by this, helps to define the priorities of new product development processes.The complex systems of these values result in particular challenges for the estimation, discussed in Chapter 2. Therefore, the accuracy of WTP estimates depends on the choice of the method used by the researcher.The obtained results show that consumers have positive valuations of innovative products with sustainable characteristics. These valuations are based on consumers preferences and values inherent to him/her are an individual and as a consumer. The empirical studies presented in Chapters 3 and 4 offer two experimental approaches, which contribute to the understanding of consumer behavior towards innovative products and to the understanding of the difficulties and challenges for experimental methods of preference elicitation for these products/services. In addition, they demonstrate the validity of value theory in consumer behavior

The key objective of Part I is to synthesize 23 years of innovation research findings from economic, strategy, and marketing literatures and extend the current theoretical knowledge base in these domains through meta-analysis. In general, empirical evidence of the nature of the relationship between innovation and its antecedents and consequences is provided, while at the same time providing answers to conflicting conclusions within this field. The conclusions reached provide a more comprehensive understanding of the drivers of innovation as well as the implications associated with the phenomena. In addition, this study seeks to aid in building a strong theoretical foundation relating to the nature of the relationship of innovation with key antecedents and outcomes. It is demonstrated that innovation serves as a partial mediator of the relationships between organizational and environmental antecedents and firm performance. Part II builds upon the innovation foundations set forth in Part I and extends the focus to consider how innovations are commercialized outside traditional organizational boundaries. Drawing upon the Resource-based view of the firm, the impact of two dynamic capabilities (network ties and absorptive capacity) on marketing strategy formulation effectiveness is explored. Utilizing a unique sample of university pre-startup teams, this research is able to track these teams over time (longitudinal research design) and provide an empirical examination of the role of dynamic capabilities in the effective formulation of marketing strategies. There has been very little empirical research on the formation of strategies at the team level and furthermore, even less research examining marketing strategy making for technologies that were developed outside traditional organizational boundaries and without a predefined market application. Overall, this research will not only contribute significantly to the current innovation and marketing strategy literature, but will also open up new avenues of research in marketing entrepreneurship.

Abstract A procedure is defined for commercializing slags arising as by-products of steelmaking, and this is used to develop certain products. The outcome of the present work comprised three products or groups of products: 1) slag-based binding agents, 2) a road structure improved by means of stabilization with such binding agents, and 3) a procedure for designing stabilized structures. The commercialization procedure was drawn up by examining the technical properties of the initial materials, excluding environmental acceptability and the mechanisms of their chemical reactions. The research proceeded in stages, of which the first was a reconsideration of the results presented in the author's licentiate thesis concerning factors affecting the stabilization of road construction aggregates with blast-furnace slag-based binding agents and their significance. This was followed by a series of experiments designed to test the validity of these results. At the third stage the selection of slag-based binding agents was extended to include LD steel slag products, while the final stage consisted of the implementation of a set of test structures and associated preliminary experiments and monitoring measurements. The binding properties of three blast-furnace slag products and three LD steel slag products, used separately or in various combinations, were examined in the course of this work, taking cement as a reference material. Materials were then eliminated as the research proceeded, either on account of their poor binding properties or on economic grounds. The final construction experiments were performed with three combinations: cement-activated granulated blast-furnace slag, LD steel slag-activated granulated blast-furnace slag and a mixture of ground granulated blast-furnace slag and cement. The actual novel product among the slag-based binding agents to be introduced here is LD steel slag-activated granulated blast-furnace slag, which was found to be similar in its technical properties to cement-activated granulated blast-furnace slag. Structural layers stabilized with these two binding agents showed very similar bearing capacities, although the former did not reach the same compression strengths at an age of 91 days. The reasons for these similarities lay in a larger amount of binding agent used when activated with LD steel slag and the greater thickness of the stabilized layer, factors which both tended to compensate for the poorer compression strength. The new information gained on the properties of cement-activated granulated blast-furnace slag and the mixture of ground granulated blast-furnace slag and cement opens up fresh opportunities for selecting binding agents and designing road structures. Formulae were developed here for predicting the uniaxial compression strength at 91 days, used as a stabilization criterion, from the value for a sample taken at 28 days, a technique which will speed up the assessment of stabilization results, especially when using slowly reacting slag-based binding agents.

Assignment (MComm)--University of Stellenbosch, 2006.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: It has become evident that the knowledge-driven, innovation economy supercedes the industrial era at the beginning of the 21st century. Within this environment characterized by innovation and the emphasis on brand owning companies, successful organizations will be those that transform information into valuecreating knowledge and dynamically leverage the knowledge to innovate and capture additional customer value. In contrast to an emphasis on traditional tangible assets to explain organizational success, recent strategic management literature focuses on intangible resources, viz. intellectual capital. Knowledgeempowered customers are driving many innovations in this environment, and consequently, value innovation shifts relatively from the supply chain to the demand chain in business value systems, with focus on brand equity development. The encompassing challenge that companies face in this new environment is how to identify and leverage all sources of value. These important assets include, among other factors, brands and the knowledge residing within the consumers’ mind. Due to the significant shift towards knowledge-networking and outsourcing of many organizational activities, it is increasingly incumbent to incorporate and integrate knowledge residing outside the borders of an organization. However, the potential value of brand building efforts will not be realized unless proper knowledge management practices, systems, approaches and tools are put into place within the organization to capitalize on the concept of knowledge-enhanced brand equity. Accordingly, firms require a framework or model to illustrate the leveraging of knowledge for innovative brand development and management. This study provides an in-depth overview and synthesis of knowledge and brand management literature concerned with the symbiotic relationship between the utilization of knowledge and innovative brand development. A preliminary conceptual model to demonstrate the relationship between brand equity and knowledge-based is proposed.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die industriële era van die 20ste eeu is deur ‘n kennisgedrewe, innoverende ekonomie verbreed vanaf die begin van die 21ste eeu. Binne sodanige omgewing, wat gekenmerk word deur produk (waarde) innovasie en die opkoms van handelsmerk-gedrewe ondernemings, sal suksesvolle organisasies diegene wees wat inligting transformeer tot waardeskeppende kennis, en dié kennis as dinamiese hefboom gebruik om addisionele rykdom te skep en te behou. In teenstelling met die beklemtoning van tradisionele tasbare bates om organisasiesukses te verklaar, fokus onlangse strategiese bestuursliteratuur meer op ontasbare hulpbronne, naamlik kennis en intellektuele kapitaal. Ingeligde kliënte dryf innovasie en gevolglik skuif waarde innovasie relatief vanaf die aanbodsketting na die vraagketting in besigheidswaardesisteme, met die fokus op handelsmerksontwikkeling. Die uitdaging wat maatskappye in die gesig staar in hierdie nuwe omgewing is hoe om alle bronne van waarde te identifiseer en nie net die bates wat op die tradisionele balansstaat verskyn nie. Hierdie belangrike bates sluit onder andere in faktore soos handelsmerke en verbruikerspersepsies. Die organisasies wat suksesvol hierdie ontasbare bates skep en voorsien, en die hefboomwerking gebruik in die skepping van nuwe besigheidsmodelle, is dié organisasies wat die meeste waarde vir hulle aandeelhouers skep. Dit is toenemend noodsaaklik om kennis van buite die organisasie te inkorporeer en te integreer. Ondernemings benodig ‘n raamwerk of model om die voordelige gebruik van kennis vir innoverende handelmerkontwikkeling en –bestuur te fasiliteer. Hierdie studie voorsien ‘n in-diepte ontleding van kennisbestuurliteratuur en handelsmerkbestuurliteratuur, en dui veral op die verband en samehang tussen kennisbenutting en inoverende handelsmerkontwikkeling en –bestuur. ‘n Voorlopige konseptuele model om die verband tussen die handelsmerk- en kennisbestuur te illustreer, word voorgestel.

The ability to extend educational research beyond the research community could have a great impact on end-users such as teachers, students, or educational administrators. One way to extend the use of educational research is to create tangible educational products; such as virtual simulations, instructional videos, and printed materials; which can be easily and widely distributed. In order to transform research into products, members of the research community must adopt and implement certain product commercialization processes. Effective processes, if not recognized by members of the community, are not helpful for ensuring that quality end products are reached. Likewise, a supportive community would not be able to create successful products without clear processes for doing so. For this reason, this study relied on research on communities of practice and product commercialization to set the foundation for discovering how a product commercialization community could be established. Interviews with faculty and administrators of the McKay School of Education at Brigham Young University were conducted. Qualitative methodology was used in the analysis of the interview data to allow themes to emerge that were important to the researchers. These themes included issues of project funding, human support, time, marketing experience, interaction with existing products, faculty reward system, and community structure and communication practices. Based on analysis of the interviews, the researcher identified several guidelines that would assist administrators in strengthening a community of educational product development among the members of the research community. These guidelines included focusing on motivators other than money, improving communication among members of the community and administrators, adding structure to the existing community, and conducting “quick-win" pilot programs. While this study did not attempt to implement any of these suggestions, it is anticipated that the results will provide a useful foundation for future studies addressing the issue in greater depth.

Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) affects both kinds of matters that are nowadays at the forefront of the quality concept: those aspects related to health and those regarding organoleptic perception of food. In this Thesis, PPO activity has been characterized in different fruits and situations, and mathematical models to describe melanin formation from monophenolic and o diphenolic substrates have been developed. In addition, potential toxicity of these melanins on the pancreatic proteases carboxypeptidase A, carboxypeptidase B and trypsin has been studied. The second part of the Thesis covers PPO inactivation by innovative technologies, and the side effects that they cause on different parameters. Ultraviolet-visible irradiation has been modeled, and PPO inactivation by this method has been assessed in model solutions and in apple, pear and grape juices. Moreover, the effects of must irradiation on the quality of wine have also been assessed. In addition, high-hydrostatic pressure effectiveness in inactivating apple PPO was tested, as well as its effects on juices color.
La polifenol oxidasa (PPO) afecta a ambdós tipus de qüestions que són actualment al capdavant del concepte de qualitat: els aspectes relacionats amb la salut i els relatius a la percepció organolèptica dels aliments. En aquesta Tesi, l'activitat de la PPO s'ha caracteritzat en diferents fruites i situacions, i s'han desenvolupat models matemàtics per descriure la formació de melanina a partir de substrats monofenòlics i o difenòlics. A més, s'ha estudiat la toxicitat potencial d'aquestes melanines sobre les proteases pancreàtiques carboxipeptidasa A, carboxipeptidasa B i tripsina. La segona part de la Tesi tracta la inactivació de la PPO per tecnologies innovadores, i els efectes secundaris que causen en diferents paràmetres. La irradiació ultraviolada-visible ha estat modelitzada, i la inactivació de la PPO per aquest mètode s'ha avaluat en solucions model i en sucs de poma, pera i raïm. A més, els efectes de la irradiació del most sobre la qualitat del vi també han estat avaluats. En darrer lloc, s'estudià l'eficàcia de l'alta pressió hidrostàtica en la inactivació de la PPO de poma, així com els seus efectes sobre el color dels sucs.
La polifenol oxidasa (PPO) afecta a ambos tipos de cuestiones que se encuentran actualmente al frente del concepto de calidad: los aspectos relacionados con la salud y los relativos a la percepción organoléptica de los alimentos. En esta Tesis, la actividad de la PPO se ha caracterizado en diferentes frutas y situaciones, y se han desarrollado modelos matemáticos para describir la formación de melanina a partir de sustratos monofenólicos y o difenólicos. Además, se ha estudiado la toxicidad potencial de estas melaninas sobre las proteasas pancreáticas carboxipeptidasa A, carboxipeptidasa B y tripsina. La segunda parte de la Tesis trata la inactivación de la PPO por tecnologías innovadoras, y los efectos secundarios que causan en diferentes parámetros. La irradiación ultravioleta-visible ha sido modelizada, y la inactivación de la PPO por este método se ha evaluado en soluciones modelo y en zumos de manzana, pera y uva. Además, los efectos de la irradiación del mosto sobre la calidad del vino también han sido evaluados. Por último, se estudió la eficacia de la alta presión hidrostática en la inactivación de la PPO de manzana, así como sus efectos sobre el color de los zumos.

L'evolució de la societat en països desenvolupats ha portat a models de consum basats en productes còmodes, saludables i respectuosos amb el medi ambient. Els beneficis saludables que s’atribueixen a les fruites i hortalisses (FiH), així com la seva facilitat de consum, fan d'aquests productes el tema central de la present tesi. No obstant això, s'han de remarcar dues problemàtiques. La primera, és que aquests productes típicament es consumeixen crus, i hi ha encara un alt nombre de brots relacionats amb patògens alimentaris. La segona és que un terç de les FiH que es produeixen anualment es malgasten, remarcant la importància d'investigar i suggerir estratègies per mantenir el nivell comercial de les FiH. El treball d'aquesta tesi està enfocat a trobar solucions als problemes comentats anteriorment, proposant mètodes químics o físics, així com tecnologies per incrementar la seguretat i mantenir la qualitat de les FiH fresques i mínimament processades. Davant el risc enfront de la presència de patògens en maduixa, els primers estudis de la tesi es van enfocar en estratègies de desinfecció per a aquest tipus de fruita. Tenint en compte el risc associat amb els vapors tòxics de l'hipoclorit, així com els subproductes derivats del seu ús, es van avaluar mètodes alternatius per disminuir la càrrega patogènica de les maduixes, tot mantenint la seva qualitat i valors nutricionals. L'àcid peracètic (AP) usat a 40 o 80 ppm (2 min) va ser eficaç per reduir fins a 4 unitats logarítmiques de Listeria innocua, mantenint la qualitat (pH, sòlids solubles, color, fermesa) després dels rentats (Capítol 1). Pel que fa a el tractament amb llum ultraviolada-C (UV-C) assistit per aigua, van ser necessaris 5 min per aconseguir reduccions significatives en les maduixes i en l'aigua de rentat, de manera que aquest tractament va ser combinat amb AP a 40 ppm. Aquesta combinació va tenir un efecte similar a la població de L. innocua i Salmonella enterica en maduixa, però va mantenir els recomptes de patògens en l'aigua a un nivell baix (0.6 logs, comparats amb els 1.6 log UFC / ml després del rentat només amb AP). Això permetria la recirculació de l'aigua reduint costos (Capítol 2). La combinació seleccionada com a òptima (UV-C + AP 40 ppm) va demostrar no ser perjudicial per a les característiques fisicoquímiques (color, fermesa) i bioquímiques (capacitat antioxidant, antocianines, vitamina C) de la maduixa fresca, mínimament processada (11 dies) i congelada (12 mesos) (Capítol 3). Una revisió literària sobre l'ús dels ultrasons com a desinfectants i preservant de FiH (Capítol 4) va ser la base per aplicar tal tecnologia enfront de L. innocua in vivo (suspensió) i in vitro (artificialment inoculada en maduixes), sola (Capítol 5 ) o en combinació amb temperatures mitjana-altes (Capítol 6). No obstant això, els resultats van suggerir que el factor que més afectava tant a la viabilitat de L. innocua com als paràmetres fisicoquímics avaluats va ser la temperatura. Els ultrasons van ser aplicats també en patata tallada a freqüències de 35 i 130 kHz, juntament amb l'ús d’un extracte de té verd (5%) o Natureseal ® (7.5%), amb l'objectiu de retardar l'enfosquiment durant un emmagatzematge de 9 dies (Capítol 7). En aquest estudi, el Natureseal ® demostrar ser la millor opció per retardar tal reacció, així com incrementar la capacitat antioxidant del producte. No obstant això, s’haurien de realitzar més estudis per optimitzar l'ús d'ultrasons amb aquest propòsit, així com l'eficàcia de el té verd. Finalment, tres compostos - dos de fonts naturals (extracte de ginseng i suc de noni fermentat i liofilitzat) i un que podria ser obtingut de subproductes (àcid ferúlic, AF) - van ser avaluats per les seves capacitats antimicrobianes i antioxidants (Capítol 8). L’AF va destacar pel seu valor IC50, la seva capacitat d'inhibició de la polifenol oxidasa, i per les baixes concentracions a les quals es va observar efecte bacteriostàtic enfront de soques patogèniques d'interès alimentari. Per això, va ser aplicat en poma i meló mínimament processats, demostrant ser efectiu en reduir L. monocytogenes i S. enterica després de 7 dies d'emmagatzematge a 10 ºC (Capítol 9). Així i tot, la immersió dels trossos de fruita en AF 2.5 mg / ml no va ser efectiva per reduir l’enfosquiment ni per prevenir el creixement de microbiota natural durant l'emmagatzematge. Per això, en el següent estudi (Capítol 10), 10 mg / ml d'AF van ser aplicats a discos de poma, que van ser incorporats a través de cobertes comestibles (alginat càlcic amb lactat sòdic, i Aloe vera gel al 40%, AVG). Tot i que no es va observar efecte enfront Saccharomyces cerevisiae, es va observar una reducció de L. innocua de fins a 4 log UFC / g en els discos de poma. A més, l’enfosquiment va ser retardat per tots els tractaments, incloent el AF i aquells coberts amb AVG. De fet, aquests efectes antioxidants i antimicrobians, ja s'havien inclòs en una revisió literària sobre el AVG usat com a coberta comestible en FiH (Capítol 11). La present tesi aporta contribucions substancials al camp de la tecnologia dels aliments, proposant estratègies per a problemes específics que apareixen en el sector de les FiH fresques i mínimament processades.
La evolución de la sociedad en países desarrollados ha llevado a modelos de consumo basados en productos cómodos, saludables y respetuosos con el medio ambiente. Los beneficios saludables que se les atribuyen a las frutas y hortalizas (FyH), así como su facilidad de consumo, hacen de estos productos el tema central de la presente tesis. No obstante, se deben remarcar dos problemáticas. La primera, es que tales productos típicamente se consumen crudos, y hay aún un alto número de brotes relacionados con patógenos alimentarios. La segunda es que un tercio de las FyH que se producen anualmente se desperdician, remarcando la importancia de investigar y sugerir estrategias para mantener el nivel comercial de las FyH. El trabajo de esta tesis está enfocado a encontrar soluciones a los problemas comentados anteriormente, proponiendo métodos químicos o físicos, así como tecnologías para incrementar la seguridad y mantener la calidad de las FyH frescas y mínimamente procesadas. Ante el riesgo frente a la presencia de patógenos en fresa, los primeros estudios de la tesis se enfocaron en estrategias de desinfección para este tipo de fruta. Teniendo en cuenta el riesgo asociado con los vapores tóxicos del hipoclorito, así como los subproductos derivados de su uso, se evaluaron métodos alternativos para disminuir la carga patogénica de las fresas manteniendo su calidad y valores nutricionales. El ácido peracético (AP) usado a 40 o 80 ppm (2 min) fue eficaz en reducir hasta 4 unidades logarítmicas de Listeria innocua, manteniendo la calidad (pH, sólidos solubles, color, firmeza) tras los lavados (Capítulo 1). En cuanto al tratamiento con luz ultravioleta-C (UV-C) asistido por agua, fueron necesarios 5 min para conseguir reducciones significativas en las fresas y en el agua de lavado, por lo que este tratamiento fue combinado con AP a 40 ppm. Esta combinación tuvo un efecto similar en la población de L. innocua y Salmonella entérica en fresa, pero mantuvo los recuentos de patógenos en el agua a un nivel bajo (0.6 logs, comparados con los 1.6 log UFC / mL tras el lavado sólo con AP). Esto permitiría la recirculación del agua reduciendo costes (Capítulo 2). La combinación seleccionada como óptima (UV-C + AP 40 ppm) demostró no ser perjudicial para las características fisicoquímicas (color, firmeza) y bioquímicas (capacidad antioxidante, antocianinas, vitamina C) de la fresa fresca, mínimamente procesada (11 días) y congelada (12 meses) (Capítulo 3). Una revisión literaria sobre el uso de los ultrasonidos como desinfectantes y preservantes de FyH (Capítulo 4) fue la base para aplicar tal tecnología frente a L. innocua in vivo (suspensión) e in vitro (artificialmente inoculada en fresas), sola (Capítulo 5) o en combinación con temperaturas media-altas (Capítulo 6). No obstante, los resultados sugirieron que el factor que más afectaba tanto a la viabilidad de L. innocua como a los parámetros físico-químicos evaluados fue la temperatura. Los ultrasonidos fueron aplicados también en patata cortada a frecuencias de 35 y 130 kHz, junto con el uso de extracto de té verde (5 %) o Natureseal ® (7.5 %), con el objetivo de retrasar el pardeamiento durante un almacenamiento de 9 días (Capítulo 7). En este estudio, el Natureseal ® demostró ser la mejor opción para retrasar tal reacción, así como incrementar la capacidad antioxidante del producto. Sin embargo, deberían realizarse más estudios para optimizar el uso de ultrasonidos con este propósito, así como la eficacia del té verde. Finalmente, tres compuestos – dos de fuentes naturales (extracto de ginseng y zumo de noni fermentado y liofilizado) y uno que podría ser obtenido de sub productos (ácido ferúlico, AF) – fueron evaluados por sus capacidades antimicrobianas y antioxidantes (Capítulo 8). AF destacó por su valor IC50, su capacidad de inhibición de la polifenol oxidasa, y por las bajas concentraciones a las cuales se observó efecto bacteriostático frente a cepas patogénicas de interés alimentario. Por ello, fue aplicado en manzana y melón mínimamente procesados, demostrando ser efectivo en reducir L. monocytogenes y S. enterica tras 7 días de almacenamiento a 10 ºC (Capítulo 9). Aun así, la inmersión de los trozos de fruta en AF 2.5 mg / mL no fue efectiva para reducir el pardeamiento ni para prevenir el crecimiento de microbiota natural durante el almacenamiento. Por ello, en el siguiente estudio (Capítulo 10), 10 mg / mL de AF se aplicaron a discos de manzana, que fueron incorporados a través de cubiertas comestibles (alginato cálcico con lactato sódico, y Aloe vera gel al 40 %, AVG). A pesar de que no tuvo efecto sobre Saccharomyces cerevisiae, se observó una reducción de L. innocua de hasta 4 log UFC / g en los discos de manzana. Además, el pardeamiento fue retrasado por todos los tratamientos, incluyendo el AF y aquellos cubiertos con AVG. De hecho, estos efectos antioxidantes y antimicrobianos, ya se habían incluido en una revisión literaria sobre el AVG usado como cubierta comestible en FyH (Capítulo 11). La presente tesis aporta contribuciones sustanciales al campo de la tecnología de los alimentos, proponiendo estrategias para problemas específicos que aparecen en el sector de las FyH frescas y mínimamente procesadas.
Society evolution in developed countries has led to a consumption model based on effortless, healthy and environmentally friendly products. The attributed health benefits of fruit and vegetables (F&Vs), together with their easiness of consumption, make these products the focus of the present thesis. However, two main concerns must be highlighted. First, as such products are typically eaten raw, there are still a high number of outbreaks related to food-borne pathogens from F&Vs. Second, a third of the F&Vs produced each year become waste, making necessary to investigate and suggest strategies to maintain F&Vs at a desired commercial quality. The work in this thesis was undertaken to find solutions to the aforementioned problems, proposing chemical or physical methods and technologies to increase safety and maintain quality of fresh and fresh-cut F&Vs. In front of the risk posed by several pathogens on strawberries, the first studies focus on disinfection strategies for these fruits. Considering the health risk associated with toxic vapors and by-products derived from chlorine disinfection, alternative sanitation methods were assessed to decrease pathogenic load in strawberries while maintaining their quality and nutritional parameters. Peracetic acid (PA) at 40 or 80 ppm (2 min) was effective in reducing Listeria innocua up to 4 log units, and fruit quality (pH, soluble solids, color, firmness) was maintained after the washing treatments (Chapter 1). Water-assisted ultraviolet C (WUV-C) light treatment alone needed 5 min to significantly reduce populations in strawberries and in washing water, so it was combined with PA at 40 ppm. This combination was successful in achieving similar reductions in artificially inoculated L. innocua and Salmonella enterica in strawberries, while keeping low (0.6 log CFU / mL) pathogenic counts in washing water (compared to 1.5 log CFU / mL after PA washing), permitting its recirculation and reducing the water expenses (Chapter 2). The optimum sanitizing combination (WUV-C + PA 40ppm) proved not to be detrimental for strawberry physicochemical (e.g. color, firmness) and biochemical (e.g. antioxidant activity, anthocyanins, vitamin C) parameters in fresh, fresh-cut (11 days) and frozen (12 months) formats (Chapter 3). A literature review on the use of ultrasound for disinfection and preservation of F&Vs (Chapter 4) was the basis to apply this technology against L. innocua, in vitro (suspension) and in vivo (in artificially inoculated strawberries), alone (Chapter 5) or in combination if mild temperatures of 50 – 55 °C (Chapter 6). However, results suggested that temperature was the main factor affecting viability of L. innocua as well as the studied quality and nutritional parameters. Ultrasound was also applied at frequencies of 35 and 130 kHz together with a green tea extract (5 %) or Natureseal ® (7.5 %) in sliced potato, in order to decrease browning reactions during 9-day storage (Chapter 7). In this study Natureseal ® proved to be the best option to delay browning as well as increasing the antioxidant capacity of the product. Nevertheless, more studies should be performed in order to optimize the ultrasound application and the green tea effectiveness. Finally, three compounds - two from natural sources (ginseng extract and a fermented noni juice powder) and one that could be obtained from by-products (ferulic acid, FA) - were evaluated for their antioxidant and antimicrobial properties (Chapter 8). FA outstood for its IC50 value, its polyphenol-oxidase inhibition capacity, and the low concentrations at which it had a bacteriostatic effect against several pathogenic strains of alimentary interest. For this, it was applied on fresh-cut apple and melon, proving effective in reducing artificially inoculated L. monocytogenes and S. enterica after 7 days of storage at 10 °C (Chapter 9). However, the immersion of fruit plugs in 2.5 mg / mL FA was not effective in reducing browning or preventing natural microbiota growth during storage. For this, in the next study (Chapter 10), 10 mg / mL FA were applied to apple disks, incorporated or not in edible coatings (calcium alginate casted with sodium lactate, and Aloe vera gel 40 %, AVG). Although no effect on Saccharomyces cerevisiae was observed, L. innocua was reduced by at least 4 log CFU / g in apple discs. Moreover, browning was delayed by all the treatments including FA and those coated with AVG alone. In fact, the mentioned antioxidant result, as well as its antimicrobial efficacy, was already reported in a literature review on AVG as an edible coating for F&Vs preservation (Chapter 11).

The strategic importance of the adoption of innovative processing technologies was analyzed for building products businesses. This study examined the two components of wood building products businesses: the structural panel industry and the softwood Iumber industry. To ensure that the relevance of adopting of innovative processing technologies was examined within an accurate contextual environment, additional important strategies and performance were also measured. A mail survey of the seventy-five largest North American producers of these two products provided the primary data necessary to investigate the strategic importance of process technology adoption, forward vertical integration, relative market share, grade sector focus, and investment intensity on firm performance as measured by profitability surrogates and changes in relative market share. This survey collected direct measures of the proportion of 1987 production produced by respondent firms that used controlled distribution channels and each of twentythree processes indicative of innovative technologies in the manufacture of building products. Information concerning the other strategic and performance factors was collected from secondary data sources. Results indicate that the adoption of innovative processing technologies has a positive impact on firm profitability. Investment intensity and grade sector focus also contributed to superior profitability. Forward vertical integration, and relative market share had no impact in differences between performance levels for the firms studied. Technologies were examined for underlying dimensions that group different process technologies together. Firms were clustered according to their level of adoption of innovative processing technologies and these clusters were then described according to a variety of firm-dependent characteristics, strategies, and performance measures. A strategy-performance model was developed for standardized, industrial product-markets and empirically tested using the data collected for the building products industry as an industry representative of this type of competitive environment.
Ph. D.

La presente investigación evalúa el efecto de la innovación sobre la productividad laboral mediante el enfoque de Crepon – Duguet – Mairesse (CDM), aplicado a una base de datos panel de empresas manufactureras peruanas. Los resultados revelan que la innovación en procesos y organización permiten una reducción de costos, mientras que la innovación en comercialización un incremento de las ventas, teniendo en ambos casos una mejora de la productividad. No se encuentra un efecto positivo de la innovación en productos. Adicionalmente, se encuentra evidencia de que la inversión en innovación es rentable, por lo que resulta relevante hallar mecanismos y condiciones para impulsarla como motor de crecimiento. Al respecto, se identifica que una mayor apertura comercial extranjera, colaboración entre empresas y acceso a servicios y programas públicos de apoyo a la innovación son factores clave para que una empresa invierta en innovación.
This research assesses the effect of innovation on labor productivity through the Crepon - Duguet - Mairesse (CDM) approach, applied to a panel database of Peruvian manufacturing companies. The results reveal that innovation in processes and organization allows a reduction in costs, while innovation in marketing an increase in sales, in both cases having an improvement in productivity. No positive effect of product innovation is found. Additionally, there is evidence that investment in innovation is profitable, so it is relevant to find mechanisms and conditions to promote it as a growth engine. In this regard, it is identified that greater foreign trade openness, collaboration between companies and access to services and public programs to support innovation are key factors for a company to invest in innovation.
Tesis

Thesis (MTech (Mechanical Engineering))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2010
Many companies are currently focusing on how to stay innovative, how to innovate and how to create an innovation climate in their companies. Why is innovation vital to companies? New Product Development (NPD) can be a key factor in this regard. Companies believe that NPD is their life blood; it can be the better way to survive firmly and be more competitive. In addition, the strategy of how to manage NPD process effectively and efficiently is becoming a powerful way of achieving a competitive edge. As Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play a significant role in South African economic development, it is critical for companies especially (SMEs) to seek an ideal way to manage innovation productively. However, to be innovative is not easy for any organization and it should be managed effectively. The effective management of innovation and NPD in SMEs is investigated in this study. Innovation and NPD has already become the key drivers of sustainability and competitiveness for many companies especially SMEs. Innovation and NPD as the main subjects that are carefully studied, discussed and understood in larger corporations and multinational enterprises. It would appear that the same cannot always be said when it comes to SMEs.

This report examines the diffusion of innovation to North American home building firms. Innovation is defined as new technologies in the form of new products and techniques.
The organizational structure of the home building firm and the unique mindset of builders/developers running these firms are examined in order to understand the firm and its leader. Technology diffusion theories are then explored to comprehend how innovation reaches the marketplace. Through research, evaluation criteria are established which builders/developers use when adopting innovation. These criteria are tested by interviewing twelve selected builders/developers in the Montreal-Ottawa region and by recording their responses to thirty innovative products.
The study demonstrates that all factors comprising the evaluation criteria are important to different builders/developers at different times. Furthermore, builders/developers cannot be treated as a homogeneous group since their backgrounds are not similar. Accordingly, no model depicting a builder's/developer's decision-making process can guarantee the successful diffusion of an innovation. The author therefore suggests certain guidelines to help innovators diffuse innovation to home building firms.

Thesis: S.M. in Management Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2014.
Title as it appears in MIT commencement exercises program, June 6, 2014: Boundary object failures and objects for innovation. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 67-71).
The notion of innovation as a source of long-term growth is an attractive and familiar one, yet there is no set formula for guaranteed innovation. This paper examines the idea that novelty and novel ideas lie at the heart of innovation, but more importantly, are sometimes overlooked or prematurely dismissed given pressures at the interaction at the boundary between the intended audience and the representation of novelty by objects with universal comprehensibility. The examination of flows from the transition of novelty to boundary objects suggests that the interactions and organizational conditions surrounding the boundary object -- the relational construction -- compete and thereby influence the interpretation and adoption of new technology. Using the case of Xerox PARC, this paper examines the factors occurring in a highly-novel research setting, wherein the interaction between technical, social, and business/financial concerns yield many sources of potential conflict. A conceptual model of understanding these categories of interactions is introduced, and its use is suggested to encourage higher receptivity to developing sciences and technologies.
by Henry John Foo.
S.M. in Management Studies

Background:      Previous experience with the construction industry tells us that it’s often conservative and slow to adopt changes or use radical new ideas. This is a problem faced by Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT), as it’s provides a new way of working with wooden construction, that is still unfamiliar to most companies. Marketing this new solution is therefore hard, especially since a lot of the public is still unsure about the qualities and properties of the product. Purpose:               The purpose of this thesis is to identify the different selling points of CLT to see how this product can be marketed towards an audience that is still sceptical towards the wooden material. Method:                Results are gathered with the help of an interview study with six different companies that all in some way worked with CLT. The results are then put through a grounded analysis. Conclusion:                   The results show us that the most important thing to do when marketing a product that few people know of, or are sceptical towards, is to make sure that information about the benefits of using the product gets out. The most important marketing point for CLT seems to be the environmental advantage compared to concrete and the speed of which buildings can be erected.

This policy brief deals with the research findings of the collaborative research project “CHAnces IN Sustainability – promoting natural resource based product chains in East Africa” (CHAINS) funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and the DLR Project Management Agency. It presents the studies investigating the value chains of highland BAMBOO and NATURAL GUM AND RESIN products in Ethiopia as well as GUM ARABIC value chains in Sudan. These products possess high eco¬nomic, social and environ¬mental benefits and untapped potentials. However, their pro-duction and commercialization are con¬strained seriously by various challenges limiting the realization of their potentials. Identified policy options are: • strengthen institutional capacity; • improve infrastructure and support services; • organize necessary information for sustainable utilization planning; • facilitate actors’ communication, innovation and fair partnership. This calls for forest product value chain development that is supported by policy, training, research, technology development and transfer, market linkage that consider private sectors, state, civic organizations, universities and research institutes.

This policy brief deals with the research findings of the collaborative research project “CHAnces IN Sustainability – promoting natural resource based product chains in East Africa” (CHAINS) funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and the DLR Project Management Agency. It presents the studies investigating the value chains of highland BAMBOO and NATURAL GUM AND RESIN products in Ethiopia as well as GUM ARABIC value chains in Sudan. These products possess high eco¬nomic, social and environ¬mental benefits and untapped potentials. However, their pro-duction and commercialization are con¬strained seriously by various challenges limiting the realization of their potentials. Identified policy options are: • strengthen institutional capacity; • improve infrastructure and support services; • organize necessary information for sustainable utilization planning; • facilitate actors’ communication, innovation and fair partnership. This calls for forest product value chain development that is supported by policy, training, research, technology development and transfer, market linkage that consider private sectors, state, civic organizations, universities and research institutes.

The sponsoring company for this Engineering Doctorate is a manufacturer of passive fire protection materials with about 80 employees. Its primary products are specialist coatings that provide protection from the heat of a fire. Since it is essentially a chemical blending company its core technical skills have been in the chemical formulation of these products. The company employed the Research Engineer (R. E.) to help find new applications for its materials and widen its product range. It identified that domestic Liquid Petroleum Gas cylinders are potentially dangerous because they may explode when exposed to the heat of a fire. It determined to develop an enclosure to protect them from fire for 30 minutes using its fire resistant coatings. This project was conceived as a simple diversification, transferring existing company technology to a new market area. However, LPG cylinders are very sensitive to fire and require highly effective insulation from heat to make them safe. To meet the company specification, the R. E. developed a new composite fire insulation eight times as effective as the original solution, by combining one of the company's products with other materials. The effectiveness of the insulation and the enclosure design were proven by completely engulfing it in flame from a burning pool of aviation fuel. A series of these tests showed that the R. E.'s design reliably keeps LPG cylinders cool and safe for more than 30 minutes. This experimental work was assessed by the Loss Prevention Council who have based a new fire test standard on it. During the development process it became apparent that the capabilities required to manufacture an engineered product are quite different from those needed for the creation of new coatings and materials. This new product required a revolutionary advance in the company's approach to design, test methods and production technology. The R. E. has developed a new method of fire testing to provide heat flow data for use in computer models. This is now used to reduce the number of prototypes needed for testing and so compress development time. In order to manufacture the new product the R. E. has had to develop new ways of processing the company's materials. These new moulding techniques have delivered substantial improvements in finish and reduction in material wastage. The capability of the company to produce complex shapes from materials that are difficult to process has been greatly enhanced. Although the Gas Safe product itself has not yet achieved commercial success, the Engineering Doctorate programme has made a positive contribution to the company. In the last two years a number of interesting new projects have been undertaken that would have been impossible without the new engineering approach and production techniques. These are now beginning to show a return and several new products based on this work are under development.

Зозроблено методологічні засади формування організаційно-економічного механізму управління комерціалізацією інноваційної продукції підприємства. Він дозволяє враховувати інтереси учасників системи створення, виготовлення, просування і збуту інноваційної продукції, сприяє забезпеченню їх узгодженої взаємодії. Практичне впровадження зазначеного механізму у практику інноваційної діяльності підприємств сприятиме швидкій реалізації їх інноваційних продуктів за рахунок урахування у їх характеристиках інтересів суб’єктів інноваційного процесу, забезпечує мінімізацію ризиків у процесі просування та збуту інноваційних товарів, підвищить ефективність їх діяльності на внутрішніх та зовнішніх ринках.
The methodological foundations for formation of organizational and economic mechanism of management of commercialization innovative products of enterprise are elaborated. It allows to take into account the interests of participants in the system of creation, production, promotion and marketing of innovative products, promotes their coordinated interaction. Practical implementation of the mentioned mechanism in the practice of innovation activity of enterprises will contribute to rapid realization of their innovative products due to consideration in their characteristics interests of subjects of innovation process, ensures minimization of risks in the process of promotion and sale of innovative goods, increases efficiency of their activity on internal and external markets.

Despite the global progress made in improving health of people and increasing the life expectancy, Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be plagued by many health problems. Commercialization of health products from Sub-Saharan Africa presents opportunities to solve some of these health problems as well as generate economic returns. This thesis explored science based health product commercialization in sub-Saharan Africa through three studies. The objective was to identify opportunities and challenges facing health product commercialization in Sub-Saharan Africa. A qualitative case study approach was used and data collected using interviews. The first study involved looking at science based health product commercialization at a national level. Rwanda was chosen for this study. Thirty eight key informants selected from various institutions that form the health innovation system in Rwanda were interviewed. The results of the study show that opportunities exist in Rwanda for health product commercialization mainly because of the strong political will to support health innovation. However the main challenge is that there are no linkages between the actors involved in health innovation in Rwanda. The second study looked at health innovation at the level of a research institution. The Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) was studied where eight key informants were interviewed. The results show that KEMRI faced many challenges in its attempt at health product development, including shifting markets, lack of infrastructure, inadequate financing, and weak human capital with respect to innovation. However, it overcame them through diversification, partnerships and changes in culture. The third study looked at health technologies that are being developed in sub-Saharan Africa but have stagnated in laboratories. Thirty nine key informants were interviewed. A total of 25 technologies were identified, the majority being traditional plant medicines; other technologies identified included diagnostic tests and medical devices. Many of these technologies require further validation. Other key challenges to commercialization of these technologies that were identified included a lack of innovative culture amoung scientists and policy makers and lack of proof of concept funds including venture capital. Overall, this thesis identified opportunities for science based health commercialization in Africa, and also provides recommendations on how to overcome major challenges.

碩士
崑山科技大學
機械工程研究所
99
Innovation has become a key factor not only in the success of a firm but also in its survival in our globalized and changing economy. As the Innovation and Enterprise Team asserts in its report: “In difficult economic times, firms need to adapt if they are going to survive. Innovation is particularly important at such times” (Innovation and Enterprise Team, 2009). Universities and research centers are big contributors to as generators of knowledge, technology and innovations for firms and/or for their own. At the same time the transformation of that knowledge and technology into a commercialized innovative product is a crucial factor in obtaining revenue for the success, survival and continuous grow of firms, as well as a crucial factor in obtaining revenue and financial resources for universities in order to maintain, expand and improve their researches. It is as crucial as the challenge it represents to move from the idea to the market, from the technology to a commercialized product. The commercialization of a new innovative product represents a big challenge, beginning from the fact that inventions and innovations had reported to have big rates of failing when it comes to succeed in the market place. According to (Udell, 2007), new product failure rate vary significantly, ranging from a low of 20 percent to a high of 85 percent Moreover, new technologies, inventions and innovations never reach the marketplace, dying in advance without having the opportunity to demonstrate their potential, even when it could be such a useful product by improving the quality of life of this world. Unfortunately, that is the case of some of the new green energy technologies that have being developed within universities, technologies that regardless its potential to reduce and optimize present and future environmental, monetary and social cost, never reach the market place, and thus not being properly diffused and without generating any kind of revenue. This thesis, addresses a study on the factors that affect the commercialization of an innovative product. The study also consider some aspects in one of the innovations developed in the college of engineering of Kun Shan University, a Solar Energy Cooker (SEC), which is on the line with the efforts that the university is doing to develop and promote technologies that use and take advantages of the clean energies such as Solar energy as a fuel to generate heat, in this case for cooking. The factors that affect the successful commercialization are studied through a literature review of previous studies about commercialization of patent products, inventions, innovative products, new products, etc. At the same time, it makes a brief review on previous commercialization models. After the identification of the factors that affect the process of commercialization, a selection of the most significant is done in order to take the most important and evaluated them. Later on, based on the evaluation of those factors and the literature review an existing commercialization model is adapted to be proposed as a guide for the commercialization of an innovative product. Finally, the factors and elements that are used to construct the proposed commercialization model are evaluated and validated. Conclusions and recommendations are presented to close this study.

This work outlines an Innovation Gap in technology commercialization and presents a novel tool, the Advanced Technology Innovation Mapping (ATIM) tool to address this gap. The tool aims to support technology commercialization in early stages of & prior to the New Product Development Process. The dissertation includes a detailed rationale, description, history, similar and originating methods for this tool based on Value Engineering and Function Maps for Design. This work also demonstrates on several example studies the use of the tool and evaluates via an exploratory study the usefulness of the tool. Research tests the tool in educational and training programs at the University of Texas at Austin and finds that the tool improves user understating of majority of important factors for technology commercialization (customer, technology, development activities). User feedback supports these conclusions. In the future the tool could be further expanded, more standardized and improved. Additionally, the work proposes further ways to study the tool in different settings and with groups of different sizes beyond this early exploratory study.
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碩士
崑山科技大學
企業管理研究所
99
Raising pets had been always the most common phenomenon in modern world. Nearly all types of animals can be treated as pets. With no concerns in high amounts of spending in money to take care and satisfy pets’ needs, it shows that pet takes a fairly crucial role in present human beings’ lives. After all in modern human beings’ social circumstances and social working occasions for animals, certain restrictions exist. Majority of pet owners for reasons including economic capability and social/ work issues are unable to feed and take care of their pets. However there is none in the market for pet’s products or facilities can help their owners solve this question. Why is there no type of facility can load large amounts of feed, and setup automatic feeding time and amount, and do feeding on a set time with set amount? Why is there no one to invest in such tremendous pets’ goods and utility market? Creating this new invention has become the motive for this research. To resolve this issue, we create a new design – electronic automatic feeder for pet(s). It is an automatic feeder for pet(s) that can setup time and record voices whose main purpose is for family group that raise pet(s) but are generally occupied with work and career and unable to feed their pet(s) at fixed time with fixed quantity; therefore they must entrust their pet(s) somewhere else or pay some expert(s) to look after them which is rather energy consuming and money spending. According to above, we invent this machine that allows owner(s) to set automatic feeding time and amount; also we install LED-light design at the front of this machine so it attracts pet(s) to eat when feed off-loads to its feeing path. We create this product for this research and has earned TAIWAN ROC New Patent Certificate. With the petent’s protection, we analyze methods to commercialize this patent and plans to analyze relevant product’s market, marketing, finance, and production scopes. It is expected that in the future no matter this product is used for technology transfer, cooperative production or self-employment, these can all take the initiative to this new market opportunity and create maximum profits. In the future this product still demands more continues structural invention and improvements. As to its creativity and design aspects, we propose suggestion to avoid being counterfeited.

碩士
國立臺灣大學
商學研究所
105
2008 China Toxic Milk Powder Incident and 2014 Food Safety Storm led to people’ losing trust of dairy products and looking forward to safer and inartificial ones. Thus, the purpose of this study is to create a new business model, to meet the balance between supply and demand, and to provide a linking platform to market. In Taiwan’s current dairy products market, the producer and the consumer are too far away; the risk of damage, product delivery and refrigeration costs are high as well. There are some companies who do the purchase and shipment business, we call them middleman. For small farmers, due to the need of manufacturing and selling the products through middleman, who tend to reduce the purchase price to reach economies of scale, or the establishment of its own brand and finding their own new channel, both these ways are not easy. Based on the above problems, this paper designs a new platform, through online and offline interaction, to manage community business. In addition, the platform further calculates the food mileage so as to emphasize environmental protection. Establishing a fair and transparent verification mechanism to ensure that consumers buy fresh and non-toxic high-quality dairy products is another goal. The business model’s future will be fantasized and positioned as farms full of happiness.

碩士
國立臺灣大學
商學研究所
104
Compare to industrial agriculture, local agriculture is not only more sustainable for the environment but also can improve the profit of small farmers, instead of letting the money earned by agriculture enterprises. The products of local agriculture are healthier and tasty to human and its will bring business to the local country. In Taiwan''s traditional fresh products industry, producers and consumers are located in the southern and northern regions so it’s a long way to transport fresh products. There are some companies who do the purchase and shipment business, we call them middleman. On the way of shipment, in addition of shipping fee costs, because fresh products are easier to rot, another cost is damage cost. Therefore, middleman should consider these two costs when they purchase fresh products. Because of these two costs, the purchase price is very low, so only industrial agriculture can meet the condition of economic scale. For local agriculture, the amount of product is relatively much lower than industrial agriculture, so it can’t meet the condition of economic scale, therefore, the farmers of local agriculture should find another way to sell their products. Recently, there are many new e-commerce companies who sell fresh products. Compare to traditional fresh products industry, these companies let consumers easily connect with producers by internet so they don’t need middleman to deal with the transaction. Therefore, the profits which originally earned by middleman can transfer to producers. But for consumers, they need to make order early and will receive shipments after many days. Compare to traditional purchasing process, consumers need to wait for a long time, this kind of process is not consistent with consumer behavior. In order to fulfill the unmet needs of consumers and small size farm, this paper develops a new business model to help small size farm to sell their products, consumers to buy healthy and tasty food materials and change the structure of fresh products industry.

Due to the fierce competition inherent in the aviation industry combined with low profitability and high operating costs, airlines are called upon to pursue additional revenue in order to be financially sustainable. This research work examines the offer of the airlines seeking to understand the needs of passengers and the opportunities that potentially arise from them. In collaboration with TAP Air Portugal, the path is to innovate in the areas of ancillary services by improving the value proposition offered to passengers and by selling more through direct channels. Passenger’s travelling journey is analyzed trying to understand passenger preferences along this process. The relationship between the passenger and the airline specifically on passenger trust, airline reliability and acceptance of new products and services are explored. Lastly, it is also analyzed the possibility of airlines in reselling the airplane tickets. Through the design and execution of an online survey, primary data was collected from the responses of 300 air passengers in order to explore passenger needs and the potential of innovative airline products and services. Therefore, through statistical analysis, it was found the reasons that make passengers not to acquire their airplane ticket directly with the airline. It was found that passengers are not satisfied with the information obtained and that they feel the need of being well advised to properly plan and make their trips. It was also found that passengers demonstrate a positive acceptance to exchange their airplane ticket, to a similar date, as long as they are refunded for doing so.
Devido à forte concorrência inerente à indústria da aviação, combinada com baixos lucros e custos operacionais significativos, as companhias aéreas necessitam captar receitas adicionais para serem financeiramente sustentáveis. Este trabalho de pesquisa examina as companhias aéreas procurando perceber as necessidades dos passageiros e as oportunidades que daí surjam. Em colaboração com a TAP Air Portugal, o caminho passa pela inovação na venda de "ancillaries" aumentando a proposta de valor ao cliente e vendendo mais nos canais diretos. Assim, a jornada de viagem do passageiro é analisada tentando perceber as suas preferências ao longo deste processo. A relação do passageiro com as companhias aéreas nomeadamente aos níveis de confiança, fiabilidade e aceitação de novos produtos e serviços são explorados. Por último, foi também analisada a possibilidade de as companhias aéreas revenderem os bilhetes de avião. Através da criação e execução de um inquérito online foram obtidos dados relativamente a 300 passageiros que usualmente viajam de avião de modo a explorar as suas necessidades e potenciais inovações em produtos e serviços. Assim, através de analises estatísticas, foram apuradas as razões que levam os passageiros a não adquirir o seu bilhete de avião diretamente com a companhia aérea. Foi apurado que os passageiros não estão satisfeitos com a informação que obtêm e que sentem a necessidade em serem devidamente aconselhados ao fazerem as suas viagens. Foi também apurado que os passageiros demonstram um nível positivo de aceitação para trocarem o seu bilhete de avião, para uma data próxima, se forem reembolsados para o fazer.

碩士
國立臺北科技大學
商業自動化與管理研究所
97
Owing to the opening of WTO, a lot new innovative brands have emerged prosperously and in the modern age where information explodes every minute, every one has an easy access to all sorts of information, it makes the customers more and more difficult for the acceptance of innovative products. The cosmetics industry of Taiwan faces the problem of innovative brand competition and the disorderliness of marketing channel. In addition, the industry of whitening products is at the highly growing stage of industry life cycle. Those are why this thesis chooses this industry as the object to discuss. This research discusses the relationship between marketing innovative tactics and marketing performance by means of case study. The research findings are as below: First, the innovative strategies of whitening products include: improvements in revisions to existing products and repositioning. Second, there are different innovative tactics of marketing channels based on the different products positioning. Last, there is a positive influence on the marketing performance in appropriate products innovation, marketing channels and market positioning. This study suggests that company should develop innovative products of high quality and high additional value, establish the partnership relationship management and expand the channels of open-shelf type, in order to improve the marketing performance.