scholarly journals Let the Game Begin: Enhancing Sustainable Collaboration among Actors in Innovation Ecosystems in a Playful Way

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 8494
Author(s):  
Anastasia Roukouni ◽  
Heide Lukosch ◽  
Alexander Verbraeck ◽  
Rob Zuidwijk

Logistics and transport systems are complex systems for which sustainable innovations are urgently needed. Serious games are an acknowledged tool for training, learning, and decision making, as well as for helping to introduce innovative concepts for complex systems. Technological innovations for the transport domain that can improve sustainability are usually heavily dependent on the collaboration among actors. A simulation gaming approach can help these actors in understanding the challenges involved, and in finding solutions in a playful, interactive way. Our research approach includes a thorough literature review on games for innovation and collaboration in transport networks, and the development of two dedicated simulation games addressing sustainability innovations for the Port of Rotterdam, the largest seaport in Europe and one of the largest in the world. The two innovation cases are truck platooning and multi-sided digital platforms for barge transportation, both improving the sustainability of hinterland transportation. The games serve as instruments to reveal interactions and tensions among actors, contribute to the interpretation of their behavior, and eventually help all parties to reach a better understanding on how innovation adoption can be fostered, using an innovation ecosystem perspective. We are convinced that serious gaming, by providing a better understanding of the innovation process, will help the implementation of sustainability innovations in complex systems.

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven Ivens ◽  
Monika Oberle

Grounded in a design-based research approach, the aim of this article is to determine whether scientific evaluations help to (a) identify and fix problems in educational interventions and (b) eventually foster a more effective and positive evaluated intervention. Therefore, data from a longer-term evaluation of short digital simulation games about the European Parliament for civic education in schools were used. The data included three cycles of interventions with pre- and post-evaluations starting with the first prototype in 2015/2016 (n = 209), the second cycle in 2017/18 (n = 97), and the last one in 2019/20 (n = 222). After each evaluation, major problems and critiques regarding the simulation game were discussed with the developers, and changes were implemented in the game design. The four most important problems, the processes by which they were improved and the reactions of the participants in the following evaluations are pointed out in the article. A comparison of the last and first evaluation cycle showed an overall improvement of the simulation game regarding its effectiveness in transferring EU knowledge and the participants’ general satisfaction with the simulation game. This study underlines the value of the design-based research approach for developing educational interventions and can be useful for further work on civic education measures and the implementation of digital simulation games.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-75
Author(s):  
Elissa Dwi Lestari

Startups, as they are bounded to their liabilities of newness and smallness, need to collaborate extensively with their external partners through the open innovation process. This study aims to depict Co-working space's pivotal role in building up a working innovation ecosystem that facilitates open innovation for startups. To get a more deep understanding of the phenomena, this study used an exploratory study based on three case studies of Co-working spaces operated in the Jakarta region. The study shows that the open innovation process among startups is not naturally existed, but instead, it is purposefully designed by the role of a community manager who acts as the ecosystem catalyst. The community manager becomes the ecosystem enablers that facilitate the networking process by connecting members. As a result, these activities will help the emerging of mutual connection and collaboration processes among members that empower open innovation among startups members. The multiple-case design makes the study conclusions might be difficult to generalize. Future research, including quantitative studies, will help the conclusions examination and the knowledge enrichment of start-ups' open innovation process. This paper will enrich the knowledge concerning how Co-working spaces member seizing opportunities that lead to the open innovation process.


2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah Al Mamun

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the attributes of innovation adoption and its effects on the performance of Malaysian manufacturing SMEs. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative data were collected from 360 randomly selected manufacturing SMEs through structured interviews. Findings The findings of the study confirmed that, in Malaysian manufacturing SMEs, the degree of persuasion (i.e. relative advantages, compatibility, complexity, trialability and observability), strategic orientation (i.e. consumer, market and entrepreneurship) and firm antecedents (i.e. prior condition, knowledge and risk orientation) have significant effects on the innovation (i.e. product, process and service) adoption and performance of SMEs. Practical implications For policymakers, this study emphasizes the areas to focus on the development of an effective innovation ecosystem for an innovation-led economy. Because SMEs operate with limited resources and capacity, the programs and policies for innovation support systems must focus on providing new innovation information, cost-benefit analyses for new innovation adoption, innovation adoption processes and how new innovations affect performance. Originality/value The paper examines an important, but under-researched issue – designed and tested a model under the premises of the DOI and organizational diffusion of innovation theories which improve the knowledge and understanding about the innovation adoption by manufacturing SMEs.


Author(s):  
Jie Gao ◽  
Shu Liu ◽  
Zhijian Li

Research, understanding, and prediction of complex systems is an important starting point for human beings to tackle major problems and emergencies such as global warming and COVID-19. Research on innovation ecosystem is an important part of research on complex systems. With the rapid development of sophisticated industries, the rise of innovative countries, and the newly developed innovation theory, innovation ecosystem has become a new explanation and new paradigm for adapting to today’s global innovation cooperation network and the scientific development of complex systems, which is also in line with China’s concept of building an innovative country and promoting comprehensive innovation and international cooperation with scientific and technological innovation as the core. The Innovative Research Group at Peking University is the most representative scientific and technological innovation team in the frontier field of basic research in China. The characteristics of its organization mechanism and dynamic evolution connotation are consistent with the characteristics and evolution of innovation ecosystem. An excellent innovative research group is regarded as a small innovation ecosystem. We selected the “Environmental Biogeochemistry” Innovation Research Group at Peking University as a typical case in order to understand and analyze the evolution of cooperation among scientific and technological innovation teams, improve the healthy development as well as internal and external governance of this special small innovation ecosystem, promote the expansion of an innovation team cooperation network and the improvement of cooperation quality, promote the linkage supports of funding and management departments, and improve their scientific and technological governance abilities. Through scientometrics, visual analysis of knowledge maps, and an exploratory case study, we study the evolution process and development law of team cooperation. It is found that the main node authors of the cooperation network maintain strong cooperation frequency and centrality, and gradually strengthen with the expansion of the cooperation network and the evolution of time. Driven by the internal cooperative governance of the team and the external governance of the funding and management departments, this group has gradually formed a healthy, orderly, open, and cooperative special innovation ecosystem, which is conducive to the stability and sustainable development of the national innovation ecosystem and the global innovation ecosystem.


Author(s):  
Lungile Precious Luthuli ◽  
Thobekile K. Buthelezi

Digitizing records ensures that the continuation of information value remains accessible and usable in all academic institutions. The study aimed to establish strategies being used for digitization of records in higher education institutions in South Africa. A case study design was found appropriate to investigate the strategies of digitizing records in KwaZulu-Natal. The study employed the qualitative research approach and collected data from the literature. Content analysis was used for data analysis. Furthermore, the study used an analytical review of empirical findings conversant of digitization of records in academic institutions as the strategy. Literature was reviewed across the world and narrowed down to KwaZulu-Natal intending to trace strategies being used by universities in KwaZulu-Natal. The findings revealed that most records are stored on the digital platforms or network servers that the university manages. Users across the world get access to these records and it gives the platform to download all records. The findings further revealed that records are stored and digitized individually from the portable devices. The study recommended that institutions should offer more training to the staff.


Author(s):  
Tatjana Bolic

With the increased demand for the air travel the air traffic control (ATC) systems have been improving over the years. Today, the advances in the technology can enable even more capacity and better performance for the air travel. With those goals in mind, two distinct, but similar programmes are striving to develop new ATC systems: Next Gen in the USA and SESAR programme in Europe. Both programmes aim at developing new systems for the implementation around the year 2020. The innovation adoption and adaptation is illustrated by the story of User Request Evaluation Tool development and implementation, followed by the discussion of main lessons. First, the lessons learned from the innovation process of the tool itself are discussed, to be followed by the discussion of the interaction of various organizations that were involved.


Author(s):  
Andrea Wagemans ◽  
Tamara Witschge

In this article, we discuss how ‘action research’ as an experiential research approach allows us to address challenges encountered in researching a converged and digital media landscape. We draw on our experiences as researchers, co-developers and marketeers in the European Union-funded Innovation Action project ‘INnovative Journalism: Enhanced Creativity Tools’ (INJECT) aimed at developing a technological tool for journalism. In this media innovation process, as in other media practices, longstanding delineations no longer hold, due to converging professional disciplines and blurring roles of users and producers. First, we discuss four features of innovation in the current ‘digital’ media landscape that come with specific methodological requirements: (a) the iterative nature of innovation; (b) converged practices, professions and roles; (c) the dispersed geographic nature of media production and innovation processes and (d) the impact of human and non-human actors. We suggest action research as a possible answer to these requirements of the digital media landscape. Drawing on our experiences in the INJECT project, we illustrate how adopting an action research approach provides insight into the non-linear, iterative and converged character of innovation processes by highlighting: (a) how innovation happens at various moments, in various places and by various people; (b) how perceptions and enactments of professions change over time and (c) how roles are (re)combined and expanded in such a way that clear delineation is not easy. Ultimately, we argue that experiencing convergence through action research enables us to do justice to the complexity of the current media landscape.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Marius Müller

Digital platforms are expected to have the potential for a multitude of purposes forindustrial enterprises, for instance when integrated within the concept of Industry 4.0. Despite itsrelevance for industrial value creation, little research on platforms in the industrial context hasbeen undertaken so far. Owing to the lack of research in this field, the paper aims to investigate thepotentials and challenges of digital platforms in order to generate an understanding of theantecedents to the use of digital platforms by established manufacturers. In thequalitative-exploratory study, the paper uses a qualitative empirical research approach, relying onin-depth expert interviews. The sample comprises interviews with managers of 102 German andAustrian industrial enterprises from several industrial sectors. All of the enterprises regarded havepractical experiences with digital platforms. The results show that the main potentials of digitalplatforms are reducing transaction costs, combining strengths of enterprises, and realizingeconomies of scale as well as economies of scope. Yet, digital platforms bring challenges, such as alack of trust, competitive thinking, high coordination efforts, and loss of confidential information.The paper further distinguishes between various industry sectors revealing interesting differences.Based on the results, the paper indicates possibilities for future research and provides corporatepractice with implications.


2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maarten J.G.M. van Gils ◽  
Floris P.J.T. Rutjes

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to clarify the relationship between start-ups and an innovation ecosystem. Start-ups need resources available in the ecosystem to grow, but experience organizational capacity limitations during their open innovation practices. This study frames the “open innovation” interface and discloses ways to accelerate the process of connecting start-ups’ demands to ecosystem’s supplies. Design/methodology/approach A case study was used to describe the development of a conceptual ecosystem model to frame the “open innovation” interface and its subsequent implementation at nine start-up hotspots in the Dutch chemical industry. To develop the ecosystem model, the system of innovation concept was enriched with the perspective of a chemical start-up to pinpoint critical resources for growth. Findings It is suggested that the most relevant “open innovation” interface for start-ups looking to grow is an innovation biotope: a well-defined, business-oriented cross-section of an ecosystem. All stakeholders in a biotope are carefully selected based on the entrepreneurial issue at stake: they can only enter the secured marketplace if they are able to provide dedicated solutions to start-ups. The biotope enables “open innovation in a closed system” which results in acceleration of the innovation process. Originality/value This is the first study to report on the definition and implementation of an innovation biotope as the “open innovation” interface between an ecosystem and start-ups. In addition, it provides a powerful tool, the ecosystem canvas, that can help both regional and national innovation systems to visualize their ecosystem and identify blind spots.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 15-40
Author(s):  
Oladimeji Jamiu Odetunde

Enormous research has focused on investigating innovation process in organisations but only a few are devoted to employee innovation process, thus limiting our understanding of how to organise, foster and successfully manage employee innovation process in organisation. Drawing from the literature, this study extends the two-phase model of innovation process comprising creativity and innovation by proposing a three-phase employee innovation process model that integrates innovation adoption. Using stratified sampling technique and structured questionnaires, data were collected from 430 middle managers of four mobile telecommunication companies in Nigeria. Results of the regression and path analyses to test the hypotheses and model fit support a revised three-phase employee innovation process model showing that employee creativity has direct causal effect on employee innovation and employee innovation adoption, and employee innovation has direct causal effect on employee innovation adoption. Dispositional factors have stronger direct causal effect on employee creativity than contextual factors and contextual factors have stronger direct causal effects on employee innovation than dispositional factors. Both dispositional and contextual factors have similar direct causal effects on employee innovation adoption, though dispositional factors have a stronger causal effects. The study has provided new, empirically based insights into the study of innovation process from employee unit of analysis by extending the innovation process with adoption as a phase concluding the innovation process. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.


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