Knowledge Integration and Innovation Critical Challenges Facing International Technology-Based Firms

by Berggren, Christian; Bergek, Anna; Bengtsson, Lars; Söderlund, Jonas; Hobday, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780199693924
• ISBN10: 0199693927
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-09-30
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

In trying to understand the atom, physicists built quantum mechanics, the most successful theory in science and the basis of one-third of our economy. They found, to their embarrassment, that with their theory, physics encounters consciousness. Authors Bruce Rosenblum and Fred Kuttner explain all this in nontechnical terms with help from some fanciful stories and anecdotes about the theory's developers. They present the quantum mystery honestly, emphasizing what is and what is not speculation. Quantum Enigma 's description of the experimental quantum facts, and the quantum theory explaining them, is undisputed. Interpreting what it all means, however, is heatedly controversial. But every interpretation of quantum physics involves consciousness. Rosenblum and Kuttner therefore turn to exploring consciousness itself--and encounter quantum mechanics. Free will and anthropic principles become crucial issues, and the connection of consciousness with the cosmos suggested by some leading quantum cosmologists is mind-blowing. Readers are brought to a boundary where the particular expertise of physicists is no longer the only sure guide. They will find, instead, the facts and hints provided by quantum mechanics and the ability to speculate for themselves. In the few decades since the Bell's theorem experiments established the existence of entanglement (Einstein's "spooky action"), interest in the foundations, and the mysteries, of quantum mechanics has accelerated. In recent years, physicists, philosophers, computer engineers, and even biologists have expanded our realization of the significance of quantum phenomena. The second edition includes such advances. The authors have also drawn on many responses from readers and instructors to improve the clarity of the book's explanations. "A remarkable and readable presentation." --Charles Townes, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics "This book is unique. The clearest expositions I have ever seen." --George Greenstein, Professor of Astronomy, Amherst College "An immensely important and exciting book." --Raymond Chester Russ, editor of Journal of Mind and Behavior "Exposes the hidden skeleton in the physicist's closet." --Nick Herbert, author of Quantum Reality

Author Biography

Christian Berggren is Professor of Industrial Management, Linkoping University, and Director of the KITE research programme. He has written or co-authored several books on production and product development in international firms, such as The Volvo experience (MacMillan, 1992), The Resilience of Corporate Japan (Sage, 1997), Being local world-wide - ABB and the challenge of global management (Cornell, 1999), as well as many publications in journals such as Creativity and Innovation Management, Industrial and Corporate Change, Research Policy, R&D Management, Sloan Management Review, Technology Analysis, and Strategic Management and Technovation.


Anna Bergek is Associate Professor of Industrial Management, Linkoping University, and founding member of the KITE research programme. She has published articles on industry dynamics, firm strategy in relation to technical change, and innovation and energy policy in journals such as Energy Policy, Industrial and Corporate Change, Research Policy, Technovation, and Technology Analysis & Strategic Management.


Lars Bengtsson is Professor of Innovation Management at the Univeristy of Gavle and Professor within a PhD school at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm. He is a founding member of the KITE research programme and has published many articles and books on the subjects of continuous improvements, manufacturing strategies, and outsourcing.


Michael Hobday is Professor of Innovation Management at CENTRIM (Centre for Research in Innovation Management), Brighton Univeristy. As well as many journal publications, he is the author of various books including Innovation in East Asia: The Challenge to Japan (Edward Elgar, 1997), co-author of The Business of Projects: Managing Innovation in Complex Products and Systems (with Andrew Davies, CUP, 2005), and co-editor of The Business of Systems Integration (with Andrea Prencipe and Andrew Davies, OUP, 2003).



Jonas Soderlund is Professor at BI Norwegian School of Management and founding member of the KITE research programme. He has researched and published widely on the management and organization of projects and project-based firms and the evolution of project competence, including papers in Organization Studies, Human Resource Management, International Journal of Innovation Management, and International Business Review. He is the author or co-author of five books and one of the editors of The Oxford Handbook of Project Management.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
List of Figures	p. ix
List of Tables	p. x
List of Contributors	p. xi
Introduction
Exploring Knowledge Integration and Innovation	p. 3
Knowledge Integration and Innovation: A Survey of the Field	p. 20
People and Processes
Knowledge Integration and Creation in Projects: Towards a Progressive Epistemology	p. 61
Inventors as Innovators and Knowledge Integrators	p. 77
Participants in the Process of Knowledge Integration	p. 96
Projects and Partnerships
Knowledge Integration Processes in New Product Development: On the Dynamics of Deadlines and Architectures	p. 125
Knowledge Integration in Inter-firm R&D Collaboration: How do Firms Manage Problems of Coordination and Cooperation?	p. 148
Knowledge Integration in a P-form Corporation: Project Epochs in the Evolution of Asea/ABB, 1945-2000	p. 170
Strategies and Outcomes
Knowledge Integration Challenges when Outsourcing Manufacturing	p. 205
Trade-offs in Make-Buy Decisions: Exploring Operating Realities of Knowledge Integration and Innovation	p. 228
Creative Accumulation: Integrating New and Established Technologies in Periods of Discontinuous Change	p. 246
Conclusion
Lessons and Insights for Managers	p. 277
Index	p. 293
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.