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"Lager, Thomas"
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Equipment supplier/user collaboration in the process industries
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide theoretical insight and practical guidance on how both process firms and equipment manufacturers can address the challenges posed by collaboration during the operational stage of the process technology/equipment life cycle. Design/methodology/approach - Motives and driving forces for entering collaborative projects far from always converge, and while some projects require deep and long-lasting relationships, others call for pure transactions and arms-length relationships. The questions of why, when and how collaboration should take place and be organised and managed are addressed and discussed in the light of the literature on technology diffusion and technology transfer, and supplemented by ideas from industry professionals. Findings - A tentative list of potential pros and cons has been compiled to serve as an embryo for further creation of a more complete set of expected outcomes with a view to developing a firm benchmarking instrument for establishing new collaborative relationships. Subsequently, a conceptual model of the full life-cycle of process technology/equipment is developed to create a platform for determining collaboration intensity and success factors during different phases. Finally, a matrix with the dimensions \"type of capability\" and \"expected performance improvements\" is introduced as a tool for selection of different forms of collaboration. Research limitations/implications - The main limitation is that so far this is only a theoretical framework, but as such it will serve as a new platform and a guide for further empirical studies of this important yet under-researched area. Originality/value - This area of technology and innovation management research for the process industries has not been addressed before in depth. The new framework can already be deployed by industry professionals in their efforts to improve inter-company collaboration and technology transfer, but also as a means of avoiding unintended technology diffusion. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
Journal Article
Modelling company generic production capabilities in process industries
Purpose: In the process industries, it is essential to have a well-articulated manufacturing strategy within companies. However, to facilitate manufacturing strategy development, it is important to start with a good characterisation of the material transformation system and company production capabilities. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach: A grounded theory approach, with inspiration from configuration modelling, attempted to characterize the material transformation system as a set of variables. The variable development was based on a literature review and the knowledge base of five industry experts. Two exploratory mini-case studies were carried out, primarily to illustrate the use of the model, but additionally to test its industrial usability. Findings: A set of 31 variables was developed, and related measures and scales were tentatively defined. Two mini-cases supported the usability of the model. The model, focussing on company generic process capabilities, is a conceptual taxonomy and the study’s theoretical contribution. Research limitations/implications: The lucidity of the definitions and scales for the variables are open to further refinement, and the limited discussions of variable relationships in this study are addressed in an agenda for further research. Practical implications: The model can be deployed as a facilitative instrument in the analysis of company material transformation systems and may serve as a platform in further discussions on companies’ strategy development. Originality/value: The model is a new instrument for analysing company generic process capabilities and an effort to build new theory rather than to test an existing one.
Journal Article
Modelling company generic production capabilities in process industries
Purpose
In the process industries, it is essential to have a well-articulated manufacturing strategy within companies. However, to facilitate manufacturing strategy development, it is important to start with a good characterisation of the material transformation system and company production capabilities. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
A grounded theory approach, with inspiration from configuration modelling, attempted to characterize the material transformation system as a set of variables. The variable development was based on a literature review and the knowledge base of five industry experts. Two exploratory mini-case studies were carried out, primarily to illustrate the use of the model, but additionally to test its industrial usability.
Findings
A set of 31 variables was developed, and related measures and scales were tentatively defined. Two mini-cases supported the usability of the model. The model, focussing on company generic process capabilities, is a conceptual taxonomy and the study’s theoretical contribution.
Research limitations/implications
The lucidity of the definitions and scales for the variables are open to further refinement, and the limited discussions of variable relationships in this study are addressed in an agenda for further research.
Practical implications
The model can be deployed as a facilitative instrument in the analysis of company material transformation systems and may serve as a platform in further discussions on companies’ strategy development.
Originality/value
The model is a new instrument for analysing company generic process capabilities and an effort to build new theory rather than to test an existing one.
Journal Article
Profiling company-generic production capabilities in the process industries and strategic implications
Purpose
– A robust description of the material transformation system is fundamental for understanding its capabilities and thus for communicating, prioritising and changing the system. Deploying a previously developed configuration model the purpose of this paper is to test the industrial usability of the model as an instrument to gain a better understanding of the material transformation system through externalising the generic production capabilities of the system.
Design/methodology/approach
– In a multiple case study approach and using a prior conceptual configuration model of the material transformation system in the process industries as a research instrument, company-generic production capabilities were investigated in three companies representing the mineral, food and steel industries.
Findings
– The empirical results supported the utility of the model as an instrument in providing a coherent set of elements that define operations and thus serve as a platform to model company-generic production capabilities and serve as input to strategizing though implicating needed change to the material transformation system. The theoretical contribution was mainly the empirical validation of the previously developed conceptual model as a tool in knowledge formation of the capabilities of the system and to outline the concept of “production capabilities configuration”.
Research limitations/implications
– Three sectors of the process industries were studied but it is recommended that the results should be replicated in complementary case studies or a survey of larger samples from the process industries. Those studies should not only be limited to increase the empirical knowledge base, but possibly to identify additional new variables, further refine the set of variables in the present model and investigate their relationships.
Practical implications
– It is argued that the model can already be used as a tool to support both horizontal and vertical communication on production capabilities, thus facilitating, e.g. manufacturing strategy development.
Originality/value
– The validated conceptual model supported by the empirical evidence is new knowledge to be used in the analysis of company-generic production capabilities in the process industries.
Journal Article
Equipment supplieruser collaboration in the process industries
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide theoretical insight and practical guidance on how both process firms and equipment manufacturers can address the challenges posed by collaboration during the operational stage of the process technologyequipment life cycle. Designmethodologyapproach Motives and driving forces for entering collaborative projects far from always converge, and while some projects require deep and longlasting relationships, others call for pure transactions and armslength relationships. The questions of why, when and how collaboration should take place and be organised and managed are addressed and discussed in the light of the literature on technology diffusion and technology transfer, and supplemented by ideas from industry professionals. Findings A tentative list of potential pros and cons has been compiled to serve as an embryo for further creation of a more complete set of expected outcomes with a view to developing a firm benchmarking instrument for establishing new collaborative relationships. Subsequently, a conceptual model of the full lifecycle of process technologyequipment is developed to create a platform for determining collaboration intensity and success factors during different phases. Finally, a matrix with the dimensions type of capability and expected performance improvements is introduced as a tool for selection of different forms of collaboration. Research limitationsimplications The main limitation is that so far this is only a theoretical framework, but as such it will serve as a new platform and a guide for further empirical studies of this important yet underresearched area. Originalityvalue This area of technology and innovation management research for the process industries has not been addressed before in depth. The new framework can already be deployed by industry professionals in their efforts to improve intercompany collaboration and technology transfer, but also as a means of avoiding unintended technology diffusion.
Journal Article
Equipment supplier user collaboration in the process industries
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide theoretical insight and practical guidance on how both process firms and equipment manufacturers can address the challenges posed by collaboration during the operational stage of the process technology equipment life cycle.Design methodology approach - Motives and driving forces for entering collaborative projects far from always converge, and while some projects require deep and long-lasting relationships, others call for pure transactions and arms-length relationships. The questions of why, when and how collaboration should take place and be organised and managed are addressed and discussed in the light of the literature on technology diffusion and technology transfer, and supplemented by ideas from industry professionals.Findings - A tentative list of potential pros and cons has been compiled to serve as an embryo for further creation of a more complete set of expected outcomes with a view to developing a firm benchmarking instrument for establishing new collaborative relationships. Subsequently, a conceptual model of the full life-cycle of process technology equipment is developed to create a platform for determining collaboration intensity and success factors during different phases. Finally, a matrix with the dimensions \"type of capability\" and \"expected performance improvements\" is introduced as a tool for selection of different forms of collaboration.Research limitations implications - The main limitation is that so far this is only a theoretical framework, but as such it will serve as a new platform and a guide for further empirical studies of this important yet under-researched area.Originality value - This area of technology and innovation management research for the process industries has not been addressed before in depth. The new framework can already be deployed by industry professionals in their efforts to improve inter-company collaboration and technology transfer, but also as a means of avoiding unintended technology diffusion.
Journal Article
Managing the manufacturing – R&D interface: an extended editorial viewpoint
Purpose
– This extended editorial viewpoint aims to introduce the individual contributions for this special issue.
Design/methodology/approach
– The articles included in this special issue are reviewed.
Findings
– The preliminary synthesis of all articles identifies four different perspectives on this topical area: a corporate strategy perspective, a cross-functional work-process perspective, an outsourcing perspective and a specific Chinese perspective.
Research limitations/implications
– Some of the articles in this special issue are of a theoretical character; thus, further empirical research is recommended.
Practical implications
– The individual papers present important information, guidelines and frameworks that firms can use in their efforts to bridge the manufacturing – R&D interface.
Originality/value
– This special issue focuses on a less-researched topical area and attempts to bridge the disciplines of operations and innovation management.
Journal Article
Nurturing a sustainable corporate innovation-oriented culture in the process industries
Once primarily considered an output of R&D laboratories and design offices, innovation has today become a corporate priority that touches every facet of an organization, but the influence of the related topical area of organizational culture is unfortunately still insufficiently addressed in innovation management research. In particular for companies operating in more mature and productionoriented industrial sectors, promoting a more innovative attitude is sometimes considered a demanding mission. In an exploratory multiple case study of corporate innovation culture three leading global Japanese companies from steel, beverage, and chemical (pharmaceutical) industries were inquired about the importance of a corporate innovation culture and its influence on their overall corporate innovation R&D performance. The findings not only indicate a consensus on the importance of fostering a strong corporate innovation culture with a firm linkage to R&D, but to further develop metrics and indicators to be utilized in a corporate innovation culture diagnostic.
Conference Proceeding
Success factors for improvement and innovation of process technology in process industry
In a study of the development of process technology in the process industry, 25 potential success factors were developed and later ranked in a survey to R&D managers in the European process industry. The results show that success factors for process development and product development are different, but also that success factors for process improvement and process innovation are different. For R&D managers in the process industry, the success factors can be used as a \"shopping list\" for the development of a company-specific list of success factors for process development. The difference between success factors for process improvement and process innovation indicates that there is a need to better distinguish between process development work of different nature and content.
Journal Article