Journal of Improvement management
Year:2011 | Volume:5 | Issue:2 (13)|Papers Count:7

Innovation literature advises the organizations to follow innovation in different aspects of their activities, especially in their products, as a key factor of competitive advantage. To sustain this advantage, they need to follow the process innovations fit to and aligned with those product innovations. This article is to propose the process innovations fit to the product innovations of the organizations, especially in defense industry, to improve their performance by following the proposed model. Therefore, the conceptual model which is derived from the literature study is tested in a population consisting of several organizations in the defense industry.To conduct the test, the product and process innovation strategy of each organization is assessed and then compared to the proposed model and the sample is divided into two groups based on following the proposed model. By a comparison of the performance in the organizations following the proposed model, with those who didn’t follow the model, it is observed that the followers of the model had a meaningful superiority in performance than the other members.Finally, the regression model of organizational performance as a function of coordination with the model is described, and based on the statistical results; the theoretical results and several titles for the future research are suggested.

Dealing with uncertainties in long range planning is one of the main challenges.Different planning tools such as “Assumption Base Planning (ABP)” are utilized to reduce uncertainties.In this study ABP is used to plan proactive actions, contain shaping and hedging ones. Using ABP in a systematic participatory process which is implemented in this research helps decision makers to achieve consensus and commitment to the outputs. ABP is seen as an Ex-Ante evaluation in a policy process to reduce vulnerable conditions by separating conditions into 1) scenarios and 2) policies. “Comprehensive System of Information Technology”: 2015, as one of the long range whitepapers in diffusion technology in I.R. Iran is analyzed as a case study.

The Transaction Regulations as one of the most important basis of industrial and research co-operations should always be responsive to strategic concerns of both sides, principal and agent. These regulations have a main role in mutual trust expansion, communication development and mutual cooperation between of two sides and contractor, and promotion of ability and parties’ intention for risk/reward sharing and finally, the development of mutual commitment between them.Developing agility of Iranian industries on the basis of networking strategy is very prevailing nowadays. So, Transaction Regulation as the infrastructure of cooperation with network is investigated in this research. For this purpose, Transaction Regulations have been analyzed by doing 48 interviews from different aspects and using typology strategy for categorizing problems and solutions. Then the alignment of these regulations with different cooperation strategies was reviewed by focus group approach. Finally, some approaches have been presented for responding to main identified bottlenecks.

Many researchers have introduced NPD as a knowledge intensive process that with increasing growth of complexity of products and technologies, need effective knowledge management urgently. Many studies have examined the effect of knowledge management applications on new product development performance but there is a limited research on efficient knowledge management tools in this process. The goal of this paper is to address gap in this area. In this study with using of AHP and experts judgments, KM tools in new software development process and also in each stages of development process have been prioritized with respect to academic experts judgments, business experts judgments and combined all judgments. In hierarchy model of research, selection of KM tools in software NPD as a goal, is in zero level, stages of NPD process based on gate-stage model in next level, KM processes as a comparison criteria in third level and finally, KM tools as alternatives in lowest level. Based on result of this research, process of transfer and sharing knowledge, both in academic and business expert opinions allocated highest priority value between KM processes, and groupware and collaboration tools got first priority between KM tools in most stages of new software product development.

The venture capital is one of the most important infrastructures for technological entrepreneurship, which facilitate growth of new technology based firms not only by providing financial resources, but also through business development services (such as managerial helps or council). So, a gap in the venture capital industry or the unattractiveness of private sector for independent venture investors are the obstacles which the entrepreneurs faced, the reaction of policy makers will be intervention, to shape venture capital funds, these kind of funds are categorized as nontraditional VC funds. Therefore university affiliated VC funds are kinds of nontraditional funds which develop to facilitate creating university spin-offs and to support commercialization of research outcomes. This paper investigates a model which has been developed for creating a nontraditional VC fund, and then the model is localized for shaping a university affiliated venture capital fund in Iran. As a case study, this model is applied for university of science and technology.

Transformational leadership has always played an important role in promoting the performance of knowledge-based organizations. On the other hand, the notion of team empowerment introduced in this study as the combination of team work and team efficiency is expected to mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational performance. Accordingly, this paper attempts to investigate the mediating effects of team empowerment in explaining the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational performance in the context of target organizations. To test the hypotheses of the study, a questionnaire was distributed among employees of the sample. The findings were based upon the outputs of path analysis method using LISREL Software of 8.8 ver. with good fitness. The results indicate that there is no direct relationship between transformational leadership and organizational performance in target organizations. However, taking the mediating effect of team empowerment into consideration, such relationship turned to be positive and significant. This means that transformational leadership can leave a positive and meaningful impact on the performance of target organizations through team empowerment.

In the past decade, intermediary organizations like brokers, boundary organizations and innovation mediators, have critical role in the well-functioning of national and sectoral innovation system. Based on the innovation system approach, knowledge transfer and sharing throw technological collaboration is one of the main aspects of well-functioning of any system. This paper focuses on the role of intermediaries in the formation and success of technological collaboration in Iranian aerospace sector.Methodologically, both quantitative and qualitative research methods have been employed. The conceptual model was developed based on explorative studies about previous and current situation of technological collaborations in the aerospace sector and identifying problems regarding the formation and success of technological collaborations and also literature review about the role of intermediaries in the innovation system approach. This model has two main variables: 1. “the role of intermediaries in the institutionalization of innovation system” as independent variable and 2. Collaboration effectiveness as dependent variable which has five constructs: collaboration decision making, partner selection, design of collaboration, implementation of collaboration and termination. Empirical data was collected using 220 Questionnaires and research hypotheses were examined by statistical analyses such as factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Based on the results of structural equation modeling, the model was validated and the results indicate that partner selection, design of collaboration, and termination are more relevant to institutionalization.