Entry strategies in an emerging technology: a pilot web-based study of graphene firms

We explore pilot web-based methods to probe the strategies followed by new small and medium-sized technology-based firms as they seek to commercialize emerging technologies. Tracking and understanding the behavior of such early commercial entrants is not straightforward because smaller firms with limited resources do not always widely engage in readily visible and accessible activities such as publishing and patenting. However, many new firms, even if small, present information about themselves that is available online. Focusing on the early commercialization of novel graphene technologies, we introduce a “web scraping” approach to systematically capture information contained in the online web pages of a sample of small and medium-sized high technology graphene firms in the US, UK, and China. We analyze this information and devise measures that gauge how firm specialization in the target technology impacts overall market orientation. Three groups of graphene enterprises are identified which vary by their focus on product development, materials development, and integration into existing product portfolios. Country-level factors are important in understanding these early diverging commercial approaches in the nascent graphene market. We consider management and policy implications of our findings, and discuss the value, including strengths and weaknesses, of web scraping as an additional information source on enterprise strategies in emerging technologies.     

Technology investment strategy in the presence of competitor entry: Broadband deployment in the US telecommunications industry

We evaluated the broadband deployment strategy of incumbent firms in the local exchange sector of the US telecommunications industry (1994–1998), each of which must devise strategies for dealing with new firms entering their markets. We found that incumbents consistently under-invested in fiber optics that would have enabled them to upgrade their broadband infrastructure in the face of competitive entrants. Contrary to theories of entry deterrence, this behavior did not signal accommodation by monopolistic incumbents. Rather, it was consistent with an entrapment strategy: when a new firm entered and invested in capacity, the incumbents used their monopoly power to deny access or to provide poor-quality access, thereby making the competitors’ product quality worse than the incumbent's, leading to customer dissatisfaction and revenue losses that could eventually weaken the rival.Yet, such a strategy was dysfunctional. A strategy of investment would have been best for the incumbents since the gains from triggering network externalities would have been substantial. As new competitors entered the incumbents’ markets, the best strategy for the incumbents would have been to reciprocate positively, invest in fiber capacity, and then play tit for tat. If the incumbents had invested in broadband and even more competitive entrants followed, which in turn caused greater broadband investment, and so on, the wiring of the entire United States by new entrants and incumbents with broadband technology would today be complete.     

Optoelectronics — past,present, and future

Considerable progress has been made in the field of optoelectronics in the last thirty years. The two principal drivers for this progress have been the invention of the laser and low-loss optical fibres. But what is optoelectronics? Optoelectronics is more than just a marriage of electronics and optics. It represents the higher order integration of technical achievements in electronics and photonics to allow one to chose what, where, when, and how to address both old and new problems and opportunities for increasing customer satisfaction in the areas of information movement and management. I will review the progress in the field and share my insights into where the future lies. The important question no longer is if optics will replace electronics in many of the technologies underlying information movement and management; it is when and to what degree. The limitation no longer arises from the technical capabilities, it comes from economics and social values provided by the increased capabilities in communications and computers.     

Partnership ecosystem of IC design service companies: The case of Taiwan

The continuously evolving IC industry has driven IC design service companies to become the niche players in the semiconductor value chain. These emerging companies, mostly SMEs, manage the entire chip development manufacturing process and apply third party's resources when and where its customers need them. To keep the customer as their main focus and deliver what the customer truly needs, a strong and committed partnership ecosystem is more important than ever.The objective of this paper is to provide a better understanding of the partnership ecosystem of Taiwan's IC design service companies. A co-evolutionary theory in the business ecosystem is used as a theoretical background to explain the relationship in the investigated partnership networks. The partnership networks of the IC design service companies were analyzed together with the corporate data such as revenues and milestones. The findings show that the firms have accumulated and created their competitive advantage by forming strategic alliances with various leading foundries, IP vendors, and EDA tool providers to leverage their technological capabilities. While the production ecosystem was localized in Taiwan based on the benefit of the complete value chain, the IP ecosystem was more internationalized.The existing networks provide a new insight into opportunities for new entrants even in the highly competitive environment like the semiconductor industry. This study contributes to the understanding of the characteristics of the niche players. It will be useful as policy implications for the industry stakeholders and governments to setup direction for further support and investment in the IC design service business.     

Do socially disruptive technologies really change our concepts or just our conceptions?

New technologies have the potential to severely “challenge” or “disrupt” not only our established social practices but our most fundamental concepts and distinctions like person versus object, nature versus artificial or being dead versus being alive. But does this disruption also change these concepts? Or does it merely change our operationalizations and applications of the same concepts? In this paper, I argue that instead of focusing on individual conceptual change, philosophers of socially disruptive technologies (SDTs) should think about conceptual change as a change in a network of interrelated concepts. What really generates a potential social disruption are changes of inferential relations between concepts – whether or not this entails a change of the respective individual concepts. Philosophers of socially disruptive technologies are therefore in the privileged position of being able to avoid commitments regarding the individuation of individual concepts.     

The capabilities of new firms and the evolution of the US automobile industry

Firms that diversify into new and existing industries typicallyoutperform de novo entrants, but in some new industries diversifyingfirms are displaced by later-entering de novo firms. Littleis known about when and how new firms can overcome the advantagesof diversifying firms. This is investigated for one industry,automobiles, where new firms had considerable success. All theentrants into the industry from its inception in 1895 through1966 are identified. The heritage of every entrant into theindustry is traced, including the founders of de novo entrants,to explore how time of entry and pre-entry experience affectedfirm survival. While diversifying firms on average outperformedde novo entrants, de novo entrants founded by individuals thatworked for the leading automobile firms outperformed all firmsand dominated the industry. This is attributed to the novelorganizational challenges faced by automobile firms, which madethe leading firms ideal training grounds for new entrants. Theimplications of these findings for firm capabilities, industrycompetition and regional economic development are discussed.     

Offshoring propensity in information technology services: A firm and country level analysis

Abstract and Key Results

Novel biodegradable, biomimetic and functionalised polymer scaffolds to prevent expansion of post-infarct left ventricular remodelling

Over the past decade, a large number of strategies and technologies have been developed to reduce heart failure progression. Among these, cardiac tissue engineering is one of the most promising. Aim of this study is to develop a 3D scaffold to treat cardiac failure. A new three-block copolymer, obtained from δ-valerolactone and polyoxyethylene, was synthesised under high vacuum without catalyst. Copolymer/gelatine blends were microfabricated to obtain a ECM-like geometry. Structures were studied under morphological, mechanical, degradation and biological aspects. To prevent left ventricular remodelling, constructs were biofunctionalises with molecularly imprinted nanoparticles towards the matrix metalloproteinase MMP-9. Results showed that materials are able to reproduce the ECM structure with high resolution, mechanical properties were in the order of MPa similar to those of the native myocardium and cell viability was verified. Nanoparticles showed the capability to rebind MMP-9 (specific rebinding 18.67) and to be permanently immobilised on the scaffold surface.     

Soil and groundwater cleanup: benefits and limits of emerging technologies

Contaminated soil and groundwater have been the subject of study and research, so that the field of remediation has grown and evolved, continually developing and adopting new technologies in attempts to improve the decontamination. The cleanup of environmental pollution involves a variety of techniques, ranging from simple biological processes to advanced engineering technologies. Cleanup activities may also address a wide range of contaminants. This article is a short analysis of the technologies for cleaning up groundwater and soil, highlighting knowledge and information gaps. Challenges and strategies for cleaning up different types of contaminants, mainly heavy metals and persistent organic compounds are described. Included are technologies that treat ground water contaminants in place in the subsurface and soil technologies that treat the soil either in place or on site in a treatment unit. Emerging technologies such as those based on oxidation–reduction, bioremediation, and nanotechnologies are covered. It is evident that for a good efficiency of remediation, techniques or even whole new technologies may be incorporated into an existing technology as a treatment train, improving its performance or overcome limitations. Several economic and decision-making elements are developed in the final part, based on the analysis carried out throughout the article. The work highlights the fact that excellence in research and technology progress could be attained by the development of technologies to deal more effectively and economically with certain toxic contaminants such as heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, and persistent organic pollutants, associated with optimization of technologies under field remediation conditions and requirements, improving capacity and yields, and reducing costs. Moreover, increasing knowledge of the scope and problem of equipment development could improve the benefits.     

Innovation and Entry in the US Disposable Diaper Industry

Economic analysis concerning new product innovation is dividedbetween the perspective (associated with Bain) that new productdesigns are based on product differentiation which erects barriersto new competition insulating incumbent firms, and the perspective(associated with Schumpeter) that innovation erodes the positionof incumbent firms. This paper offers an analysis of the USdisposable diaper industry which emphasizes the long-run effectsof technological competition and entry on market performanceover the short-run effects of incumbency advantages. As thedisposable diaper industry evolved, neither product differentiation,supported by large advertising expenditures, nor technologicalleadership in new product development insulated the major companyProcter & Gamble from the ‘gales of creatives destruction’.Spillovers created by the market leaders became the means ofsuccessful entry and the channels of technology diffusion thatsustained entrants in the technology race and enlarged consumerbenefits.     

Facilities Competition and Local Network Investment: Theory, Evidence and Policy Implications

A new approach has emerged in the United States and elsewherein the world for promoting investment in local communicationsnetworks. Competition, especially facilities-based entry, hasbecome a principal means to encourage the efficient amount andtiming of investment in local exchange infrastructure and adoptionof advanced technologies. Despite the popularity of open entrypolicies, the logic underlying these policies lacks convincingevidence. Nevertheless, preliminary and incidental studies suggestthat facilities-based entry stimulates investment by both incumbentsand entrants. The message for policymakers is, first, to removeartificial restrictions on facilities-based entry and on incumbentinvestment, both as a response to competition and in advanceof entry; and, second, to take account of the possibility ofa virtuous cycle of investment deriving from incumbent-entrantinteraction. These measures promise to supplement the ordinarybenefits of facilities competition that will aid in buildingthe next generation advanced communications network.     

Top journals selectivity index and “me-too” drugs

To assess the probability of success of an analgesic drug we have proposed a bibliometric indicator, the Top Journals Selectivity Index (TJSI) (Kissin 2011). It represents the ratio (as %) between the number of all types of articles on a particular drug in the top 20 biomedical journals and the number of articles on that drug in all (>5,000) journals covered by Medline over the first 5 years after that drug’s introduction. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that TJSI may be used for the assessment of follow-on drugs (those that follow a first-in-class drug). The study tested two hypotheses. First, TJSI can detect the difference (in the same class) between drugs with distinguishing features and drugs without them (“me-too” drugs) better than other publication indices, i.e., the number of all types of articles on a drug in journals presented by Medline (AJI), and the number of articles covering only randomized controlled trials (RCT). Second, there is a relationship between the TJSI of “me-too” drugs and the order (sequential number) in which those drugs reached the market. The study was based on drug classes approved for marketing between the 1960’s and the early 2000’s. The eight classes that had 4 or more drugs were included for analysis. Five specific indicators were used to determine drug’s distinguishing pharmacological properties. It was found that TJSI can detect the difference between follow-on drugs with distinguishing features and those without them better than the other publication indices (AJI or RCT). Our analysis also demonstrated a negative correlation (r = −0.372, p = 0.014) between the TJSI of drugs without distinguishing features (“me-too” drugs) and the order of the drug’s market entry. This implies that TJSI could be useful for the assessment of situations with multiple market entrants in the same class when a new addition has a questionable value.     

Life cycle activity analysis: logistics and environmental policies for bottled water in Portugal

An innovative mathematical programming decision support model –Life Cycle Activity Analysis (LCAA)– is presented, integrating considerations of optimal allocations of resources and impacts upon the environment during the life cycle of products. LCAA is based on the classical formulation of activity analysis and on the life cycle assessment framework. The concept of linear activities is extended to embrace mass and energy fluxes over the entire life cycle of products including their environmental impacts. Special attention is given to the presence of loops in the product chains, such as those occurring when materials/products are recovered (reused, recycled.). An application brought from the Portuguese bottled water industry is described. The model features alternative activities for production technologies and product recovery strategies and permits the joint consideration of monetary costs and environmental burdens. The results obtained under five scenarios, including distinct disposal strategies and environmental constraints, are discussed.     

The Red Queen in organizational creation and development

We synthesize organization learning theory and organizationalecology to predict systematic patterns in the founding and growthof organizations over time. Our central argument is that competitiontriggers organizational learning, which in turn intensifiescompetition that again triggers an adaptive response. We modelthis self-exciting dynamic—sometimes referred to as the‘Red Queen’ in general evolutionary theory—toexplain organizational founding and growth rates among the thousandsof retail banks that have operated in Illinois at any time from1900–1993. We find strong evidence that Red Queen evolutionled some organizations to grow quickly and to place strong competitivepressure on rivals. Red Queen evolution also helped establishbarriers to entry. However, this same evolutionary process appearsto make organizations more susceptible to ‘competencytraps’, ultimately slowing their growth rates and invitingnew market entry. Organizations confronted by a widely varyingdistribution of competitors grow more slowly and are more likelyto face new entrants. Overall, the results suggest that processesof organizational creation and growth emerge from ecologiesof learning organizations. More generally, we discuss the useof ecological theory and models to study the empirical consequencesof organizational learning.     

‘Cyclo-Photographers’, Visual Modernity,and the Development of Camera Technologies, 1880s–1890s

The intertwined development of popular photography and cycling in Britain was felt so close that, in the 1880s, contemporary commentators could write of ‘cyclo-photographers’. The camera apparatus available at this time, bulky and fragile, was largely impractical to carry on a ride, and thus cyclo-photographers joined outdoor photographers in asking manufacturers for simpler and easier to operate cameras. However, a close reading of primary sources reveals that such demands were also the result of a new engagement with the possibility of seeing enabled by cycling itself. What was the cyclo-photographers’ experience of visual modernity? This article explores whether, and in what ways, the parallel emergence of a desire for compact cameras was linked to the new, and interconnected, ways of moving and seeing that the engagement with these two modern cultural technologies had made possible.     

Stimuli–Responsive Mechanoadaptive Elastomeric Composite Materials: Challenges,Opportunities, and New Approaches

Stimuli–responsive mechanoadaptive materials, capable of reversibly changing their mechanical properties when exposed to an external stimulus, are the next generation of smart materials with immense transformative potential for various technological applications. Although the concept of adaptive mechanical properties has been proven for some materials, it remains very challenging for soft elastomeric materials. The aim of this review is to provide new ideas and strategies for the development of mechanoadaptive elastomeric composites using commercial rubber as the matrix polymer. The fundamental question addressed here is as follows: How do the phase-responsive functional fillers alter the mechanical properties? For a given physical network environment, what is the mechanism that gives rise to the stimuli–responsive properties of the resulting composites? Herein, the preparation, structure, and properties of recently developed mechanoadaptive elastomeric materials are summarized. Furthermore, based on their structure–property relationships, plausible applications of these smart materials in various technology-specific applications such as soft robotics, actuators, sensors, smart tires, automotive design, aerospace, etc. are demonstrated with representative examples. Finally, the article critically discusses the existing challenges in the field of mechanoadaptive elastomers in order to provide valuable insights in this area.     

Radiation exposure and disease questionnaires of early entrants after the Hiroshima bombing

It is popularly known that people who entered into the ground-zero area shortly after the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki suffered from various syndromes similar to acute radiation effects. External exposures from neutron-induced radionuclides in soil have recently been reassessed based on DS02 calculations as functions of both distance from the hypocentres and elapsed time after the explosions. Significant exposure due to induced radiation can be determined for those who entered the area within 1000 m from the hypocentres shortly after the bombing. Although it was impossible to track the action of each of the survivors over the days or weeks following the bombings in order to make reliable dose estimates for their exposures to soil activation or fallout, four individuals among those early entrants were investigated here to describe useful information of what happened shortly after the bombing.     

Portfolio Insurance and model uncertainty

Some real-world insurance products contain a minimum-wealth or an income-stream guarantee, both of which have to be met irrespective of capital market conditions. Therefore, sellers of such products are well advised to pursue a portfolio strategy that can meet these minimum investment goals if they want to avoid additional cash payments. Portfolio Insurance seems to be the solution to this portfolio problem. However, this paper shows that Portfolio Insurance cannot protect minimum investment goals because its strategies are fitted to a particular form of market risk. Decision makers do not know for sure (with probability one) what the true form of market risk is (model uncertainty); thus model uncertainty makes Portfolio Insurance fail. RID="*" ID="*" I thank two anonymous referees and the participants of the “3rd Passauer Finanzwerkstatt”, in particular Ariane Rei? and Thomas Braun, for their valuable comments. In addition, special thanks goes to Alexander Kempf, whose suggestions have significantly improved the paper.     

Aligning marketing and manufacturing strategies with the market

In strategic marketing decisions substantial emphasis is placed on market segmentation and product/service differentiation. This follows from separate, intensive analyses of customers and competitors. Based on these analyses, the resultant segmentation and differentiation schema, and an intensive review of the firm's own strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, the firm makes one of its most important and critical decisions: which customers to serve and which products to emphasize, referred to as positioning. On the other side of the same corporate coin, manufacturing makes decisions on process and infrastructure investments based upon the technologies required, and its perception of what it needs to do well in order to fulfil its role. In the same way as with marketing decisions, the firm now makes another of its most critical decisions by committing itself to major investments in manufacturing that are characterized by high value and long time scales to change. On the one hand, these positioning decisions by marketing invariably include little emphasis in determining the customer requirements that must be supported by manufacturing, and fail to investigate the ability of manufacturing to support these requirements. On the other hand, manufacturing decisions do not reflect key insights on the needs of current and future markets. As a consequence, many businesses fail to achieve their strategic business objectives, due, in part, to the inability of marketing and manufacturing to jointly develop consistent strategies. We call this a lack of alignment. The methodology outlined in this paper concerns how to align marketing and manufacturing strategies by using markets as the center piece of both developments. Doing this highlights the recognition that markets need to form the common denominator of both marketing and manufacturing strategy development. This methodology is illustrated by using an actual example drawn from plant-based research. Several key questions are addressed in this methodology. How does marketing view customers and markets? What is manufacturing's view of the same customers and markets? To what extent is manufacturing actually able to support the demands that these customers and markets are placing on a firm's capabilities? It is important to check with the use of data, the actual operating performance against the required capabilities. In cases where substantial differences exist between customer and market requirements and manufacturing capabilities, strategic options (both in marketing and manufacturing) to resolve these differences need to be addressed in making strategic business decisions.