Managing the Innovation of a Corporate IT‐based Cable Design System

Managing new Information Technology innovations requires an understanding of factors that influence organisational choice. When large firms invest in new IT applications such as Computer Aided Design, there is reason to doubt that they adequately understand user needs. Empirical investigation in a UK cables producing Multinational Company highlights the practical challenges faced by such designers, when designing bespoke systems technologies. In addition to understanding end market requirements, it is imperative to understand existing organisational practices and constraints. Evidence from this in‐depth innovation study points to the need to develop integrative theoretical accounts, which include insights from the innovation adoption process as well as the innovation design process.     

New wine in old bottles or new bottles for new wine? Product language approaches in design‐intensive industries during technological turmoil

It is widely acknowledged that technological innovation affects the development of product language. Some scholars argue that technological innovation leads companies to develop radically different product language to emphasize novelty; conversely, others note that technological innovation pushes companies to recall previous technology product language in order to increase acceptance of the new technology. This article analyzes the rationale that guides firms to choose these alternative approaches when confronting technological innovations of different magnitude and identifies which of them prevails in a design‐intensive industry. In particular, the study—through an analysis of 678 products in the Italian lighting industry—shows that light‐emitting diode (LED) technology (a discontinuous innovation) involved more product language changes than did compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) technology (a continuous innovation) and that a different use of product materials contributed to this higher number of product language changes. By discussing the reasons behind these findings, this paper extends and better qualifies the literature on the relationship between technological innovation and product design innovation.     

HCI reality—an ‘Unreal Tournament’?

The cooperation between designers, engineers and scientists in the human–computer interaction (HCI) community is often difficult, and can only be explained by investigating the different paradigms by which they operate. This study proposes a paradigm model for designers, engineers and scientists, using three barriers to separate the professions. We then report on an empirical study that attempted to validate the understand/transform world barrier in the paradigm model using an online questionnaire. We conclude that the used ‘Attitude About Reality’ scale was unsuitable for measuring this barrier, whereas information about the educational background of the participants was a good predictor for the self-reported profession (designer, engineer or scientist). Interestingly, among the three professions, engineers appear to be the cohesive element, since they often have dual backgrounds, whereas very few participants had dual science/design backgrounds. Engineers could, therefore, build a bridge between designers and scientists, and through their integrative role, could guide the HCI community to realizing its full potential.     

Inter-organizational innovation and cloud computing

Firms are increasingly shifting from the ‘closed’ innovation paradigm, in which their innovation design and implementation activities were based on their own internal knowledge resources, skills and production facilities, towards the inter-organizational ‘open’ innovation paradigm, which is based to a significant degree on collaboration with other organizations, aiming at the exploitation of external knowledge resources, skills and production facilities as well. This paper investigates empirically the effects of firm’s inter-organizational collaboration for the design and implementation of innovations, and also use of ICT for supporting this collaboration, on firm’s propensity to adopt cloud computing (CC), and in this way it examines in an ‘objective’ manner to what extent firms regard CC as a cost-effective means of supporting inter-organizational collaboration for the design and implementation of innovation. Our study is based on a dataset collected in the e-Business Survey of the European Commission from 676 European firms from the glass, ceramics and cement manufacturing sectors. It has been concluded that firms of these sectors regard CC as a cost-effective means of supporting collaboration with other firms for the design of innovations in their products, services and processes, and also of reducing the costs and increasing the capabilities and flexibility of already existing electronic support of inter-organizational innovation design collaboration. Furthermore, our results indicate that firms find CC useful for the reduction of the costs and the increase of the capabilities and flexibility of their existing electronic support of the complex operations required for the inter-organizational implementation of innovations.     

论产品设计中的概念化、视觉化、商品化

设计的工作核心是美与创新,美是心理与生理层面的工作,是所有人共同的视觉标准。对于专业的设计师来说,透过不断的尝试、洞察比较、学习交流,才能实践美与创新。设计师的成果,除了让人看得懂,引起共鸣外,还要能够让它生产出来。也就是说,除了坚持美与创新的原则外,还要考虑生产,工程方面的问题,市场的流行需求等等。在整个设计流程中,要把握住概念化、视觉化、商品化。     

Which types of firm use collaborative innovative spaces?

Collaborative innovation spaces (CIS) can bring together multiple actors to enhance creativity, collaboration and knowledge exchange, sometimes leading to innovation. In this paper, we suggest that CIS can be categorized into three broad types (internal to the firm, external and virtual) and that each type is related to innovation processes, knowledge-sourcing and geographic context in specific ways. Our results, based on an original firm-level survey, reveal that there is heterogeneity with respect to firm attributes and innovation activities associated with different types of CIS. In particular, whilst innovation is associated with the use of CIS in general, radical and technological innovations are more strongly associated with internal CIS, whereas smaller firms tend to use virtual CIS. External CIS, whilst not associated with technological innovation, are associated with high-tech firms. CIS use does not vary across geographic context. These results emphasize the importance of in-person, internal, CIS for radical and technological innovation and the need to distinguish between different types of CIS in order to understand how each is associated with different types of innovation, knowledge-sourcing and firm.     

Internet computing as a disruptive information technology innovation: the role of strong order effects1

A cross‐sector survey study was conducted between 2004 and 2005 among 121 software firms that adopted internet computing for the presence of strong order effects, which explain how, why and in which order radical innovations in information system (IS) are adopted. The following strong order effects were detected: (1) the amount of base innovations positively and directly influenced the amount of service innovation and the amount of process innovation, while the amount of service innovation partially mediates the impact of base innovation on process innovation; (2) the radicalness of base innovations directly and positively influences the radicalness of service innovation, while the impact of the radicalness of the base innovation on the radicalness of process innovations is fully mediated by the radicalness of service innovation; (3) the predominant sequence of initial adoption of radical information technology innovations is first in base innovations, followed by service innovations and finally by process innovations. Our study helps to better understand how and why radical innovations are adopted in ensembles by software firms. In consequence, software organizations should orchestrate flexible innovation strategies that recognize that radical innovations are interconnected and heterogeneous.     

Hypermedia and engineering design

Abstract

Building Services Engineering (bse) is an applied discipline within the construction industry. It is concerned with the design, installation, operation and maintenance of all mechanical and electrical systems in buildings. Design software developed for the bse industry is typically structured on sets of well-established rules and building codes. Anecdotal evidence indicates that junior designers, who may lack experience and confidence, frequently adopt a ‘black box’ approach when applying design software. This may be contrasted with the more experienced designer who typically questions the assumptions and algorithms adopted before applying the programs. However, this is not always possible even for the experienced designer, particularly where ‘conventional’ computer-languages have been used to develop die software. It is therefore argued within the paper that for some applications design software based on hypermedia may be more appropriate. This is demonstrated through the development of a prototype ‘fire sprinkler layout design’ model using HyperCard. The paper also indicates that by constructing strategic relations between objects the effectiveness of the design model can be enhanced. In this way the designer is better able to control the process of navigation within die model.     

Gambling versus Designing: Organizing for the Design of the Probability Space in the Energy Sector

The objective of this paper is to elucidate an organizational process for the design of generic technologies (GTs). While recognizing the success of GTs, the literature on innovation management generally describes their design according to evolutionary strategies featuring multiple and uncertain trials, resulting in the discovery of common features among multiple applications. This random walk depends on multiple market and technological uncertainties that are considered exogenous: as smart as he can be, the ‘gambler’ must play in a given probability space. However, what happens when the innovator is not a gambler but a designer, i.e., when the actor is able to establish new links between previously independent emerging markets and technologies? Formally speaking, the actor designs a new probability space. Building on a case study of two technological development programmes at the French Center for Atomic Energy, we present cases of GTs that correspond to this logic of designing the probability space, i.e. the logic of intentionally designing common features that bridge the gap between a priori heterogeneous applications and technologies. This study provides another example showing that the usual trial‐and‐learning strategy is not the only strategy to design GTs and that these technologies can be designed by intentionally building new interdependences between markets and technologies. Our main result is that building these interdependences requires organizational patterns that correspond to a ‘design of exploration’ phase in which multiple technology suppliers and application providers are involved in designing both the probability space itself and the instruments to explore and benefit from this new space.     

Beyond free software: An exploration of the business value of strategic open source

The phenomenon of open source software (OSS) has been well studied from the software development perspective, but it has received much less attention from the perspective of business value. Nevertheless, OSS, when viewed as a value creation process rather than ‘free’ software, provides businesses with value through access to knowledge and innovation capacity resident in online communities. This conceptualisation, which we label ‘strategic open source’ requires firms to rethink their strategy and processes as there is a shift in focus from ownership to openness and collaboration with external parties. Nonetheless, the emergence of OSS poses a puzzle for conceptions of organisational theory. Therefore, a theorising process is needed in order to develop a deeper understanding of how value is created and captured with OSS. Using a field study of eleven European firms, this paper explores the creation and capture of business value from strategic open source. The findings reveal that while decision makers look to open innovation initiatives like OSS for value creation and capture, there is still a desire to remain self reliant, resulting in collaborative design (of external innovations) rather than collaborative decision making with value network partners in relation to how such innovations would help create and capture value within firms.     

Exploring Over: The Presumed Identity of Emerging Technology

While scientists are stepping up their efforts to develop new technologies, the ability of firms to determine the value of their technologies by identifying potential applications has become a major challenge. This article focuses on a particular phase of technology development: the emergence phase. When a promising new technology first sees the light of day in a fundamental research laboratory, its target markets often seem plentiful but are ill‐defined. The inability to produce prototypes or to identify potential users makes it difficult to explore potential commercial applications. On the basis of four micro‐nanotechnologies case studies conducted within a multi‐partner innovation project, this article aims to theoretically explain why the identification of applications from emerging technologies is not a trivial problem. That research analyses how technologists and non‐experts interact during creative investigations into new applications. It shows that the technologists are victims of a form of cognitive fixation. Indeed, their beliefs and activities are guided by a stable cognitive representation of their technology: the presumed identity of technology. Based on a recent design framework, C‐K Design Theory, the technological exploration process followed in our four case studies is modelled, and mechanisms to dismantle the presumed identity and to design an extended identity of technology are provided.     

A vision-oriented approach for innovative product design

Nowadays, business globalization, complex consumer requirements, and high technology development have led to vigorous business competition and market uncertainty. In new product design, it is increasingly important to put more emphasis on innovative concerns than quality and speed of production. Providing unique, innovative and value-added products becomes a crucial strategy for success. This study aims to develop a new product design process that concentrates on radical innovations. Visioning thinking, TRIZ, Image Scale, and Morphological Analysis are integrated for developing designs with a balance of rational/logical analyses and intuitive/creative thinking. The proposed process fulfills the need for radical innovation through enriching heuristic thinking. It is a useful methodology that adds value to products in terms of technological functions, form perceptions, and holistic usability. A proposal of therapy bike design for cerebral palsy children is demonstrated using the new process. Through case demonstration, designers could enhance products with human-centered values while coping with market uncertainty effectively. The applicability of the vision-oriented approach for innovative product design is verified.     

The Challenges of Using Design Thinking in Industry – Experiences from Five Large Firms

Design Thinking (DT) is advocated as a user‐centred approach to innovation, based on the way designers think and work. Despite being increasingly promoted as an approach to innovation, there is still little evidence of successful impact. Rather, indications suggest that firms find implementation challenging. The purpose of this paper is to analyse challenges of using DT in light of literature on innovation barriers, in order to discuss whether there is something unique about DT as a concept that makes it particularly challenging to use. The paper is based on an interview study of five large firms that all have at least five years of experience of using DT. The analysis shows that several of the perceived challenges can be linked to known barriers to innovation. However, other challenges have not previously been described in the innovation literature, and the paper suggests that there are some unique aspects of DT that makes it particularly challenging for firms to integrate it in innovation work. These are related to its core themes: user focus, problem framing, experimentation, visualization and diversity. Additionally, the paper contributes with an empirically based categorization of challenges that managers will find useful if they want to implement design thinking in their organizations.     

How does the application of an IT service innovation affect firm performance? A theoretical framework and empirical analysis on e-commerce

Understanding the effects of IT-related innovations on firm performance is crucial for businesses. Extant research has investigated the implications of IT innovations and provided some important findings, but the varied theoretical approaches have produced results that are often ambiguous: thus there is a need to examine the process further. We attempted to provide a systematic, theoretically informed framework for understanding the conditions that may enhance (or hinder) the potential of IT innovations in a sample of firms. Our model included business and IT resources, both internal and external, that may influence the performance of firms which have applied a pervasive IT service innovation: e-commerce. Our empirical test of the model used a research design that takes into account time-lag effects. The model explained more than half of the variance in the performance of IT innovators and offered several explanations for why some firms succeeded in implementing IT service innovations while others did not. Several theoretical and managerial implications result from these findings.     

Design‐Driven Innovation in Retailing: An Empirical Examination of New Services in Car Dealership

The paper focuses on innovation in the automotive retail industry. Innovation in service has been acknowledged as a critical source of competitive advantage and retail firms are looking for innovations that can increase their competitiveness. This notwithstanding, there are no studies that focus on whether and how design‐driven innovation (DDI) can be pursued by retail firms as an innovation strategy. In the attempt to close this gap in our understanding of innovation in retail firms, this paper discusses 104 examples of strategic innovation projects identified by automotive retail firms which operate in the UK, Germany, Italy, Serbia and Spain. The exploratory empirical analysis shows that a certain number of automotive retail firms (although not the majority) choose DDI as a strategy embodied in strategic innovation projects designed to achieve superior performance. Moreover, by following the typology proposed by Sawhney and colleagues, the analysis suggests that these projects are elicited by spatial reconfiguration and expansion, whereas temporal innovation does not seem to provide a fertile ground for DDI.     

External Design for Reputation,Perspective and Exposure

This paper analyses why and how design‐centred industrial firms with internal design teams contract external designers. This research is based on an exploratory multiple case study methodology, with a sample of five highly reputable design‐centred industrial firms, operating in hypercompetitive industries. While some results challenge the mainstream literature on design management, others expand the existing literature, highlighting that not all firms extract the same benefits from external designers; neither do all external designers bring the same benefits to firms. The paper shows that firms with internal design teams contract external design for (1) reputation (external designers sign products and bring their reputation to the product and to the firm), (2) perspective (external designers bring a different perspective, especially when they come from a different industry from the firm), and (3) exposure (external designers bring exposure that enriches internal design teams).     

论产品设计中的区域性文化与情感

本文着重阐述了区域性文化与情感因素在产品设计中的重要作用,并指出设计师在设计产品时不仅要在设计中传承和发扬民族的文化,表现自身的情感,更重要的是应通过产品设计最大限度地满足大众心理和情感上的需求,实现人性化设计,最终在产品和人之间建立一种情感层次上的深刻关系,实现"人与物"的高度统一,推进时代和社会的进步。     

Patterns of Mobile Interaction

The design of systems for mobile scenarios covers a wide range of issues, ranging from mobile networking to user interface design for mobile devices. Mobile applications often run distributed on several connected devices, used by many users simultaneously. Considering all issues related to mobile scenarios, a designer might be overwhelmed. As a solution, we propose a specific kind of design patterns which we call mobility patterns, derived from successful mobile applications. They allow a designer to re-use design elements as building blocks in their own designs. After describing the idea of mobility patterns, we give a brief overview of patterns we have identified so far. Two patterns are described in more detail with the help of our research platforms QuickStep and Pocket DreamTeam.     

Innovative Ecological Economic System Based on 5G Network and Internet of Things

Technological Economic Analysis innovation is the primary driving force for economic growth and human progress. However, some critics deny the vast benefits that innovation has given and continue to give to humanity. 5G Network on the living standards and human well-being of broader economic growth and technological innovations address policy discussions and address technology critics' concerns and the literature. The Economic Analysis historical record is clear about the continuous innovations in improving our lifestyle. However, the network analysis short-term destructive aspects of technological change are important because they exist. The Economic Analysis attitude of communication towards cultural technology and public policy is the role of innovations in promoting economic growth and playing ability. The results of this research will shape the impact of continuous development. Talk extension     

Population evolution analysis in collective intelligence design ecosystem

The Collective Intelligent Design Ecosystem is a dynamic ecosystem founded on an online design platform that leverages collective intelligence to support the creation of novel products. The system's primary components are its users and designers. Maintaining the system's sustainability requires expanding the scale of the designer and user populations as it evolves to stabilize. However, the unity of ecological interactions between various populations is fragmented in contemporary studies of population-scale evolution, and the parameterization of evolutionary models is illogical. To overcome this gap, this research provides a population evolution model of collective intelligent design incorporating participants' intra- and interspecific ecological connections. The model's validity is verified by the evolutionary simulation of 110 designers and 5990 users of China's largest collective intelligence design platform, the Zhubajie platform, and illuminating conclusions are in turn drawn from this simulation. First, the designer's influence on the user is greater than the user's impact on the designer. Second, keeping current members engaged is more crucial to the system's viability than luring in new ones. Third, fostering collaboration among designers while retaining user competitiveness can promote system growth. Fourth, decreasing the reliance between particular designers and users might hasten the system's evolution.