Download or read book The Impact of Participation in Publicly Funded R D Projects on Firm Competitiveness Benefits and Barriers to the Use of National and EU Funding Programmes on the Example of Swiss SMEs in the Field of Renewable Energy written by Manuel Kaar and published by diplom.de. This book was released on 2011-03-30 with total page 129 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Inhaltsangabe:Introduction: Never before in history has global demand for energy been stronger than today. While exhaustible resources such as oil, gas, and coal are expected to remain the world s primary basis of energy generation in the near future, alternative resources like biomass, solar, or wind energy are predicted to grow significantly in importance (e.g. International Energy Agency, 2009). The strong global energy demand, together with rising costs of finding and exploiting fossil fuels, has contributed to a considerable increase in public awareness for the energy supply issue in recent years, and thus also to an acceleration of the investments and developments in the field of alternative resources. Yet, in order to achieve a fundamental shift away from exhaustible resources on a long-term basis, creative innovations and new technology solutions for renewable energy production are vital. The basis for the successful development and commercialisation of such new technologies is effective research and development (R&D) work by companies, universities, and other organisations. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) take on a special role in this respect. The majority of European companies are SMEs if measured by the EU criteria (EC DG Research Communication Unit, 2010a, p. 6), that is, they have less than 250 employees, and an annual turnover and/or balance sheet total lower than EUR 50 million and/or EUR 43 million, respectively. The large number of SMEs in Europe implies that there is a high diversity, and thus also a vast potential for innovation, in these organisations. Nevertheless, in most countries, including Switzerland, the bulk of research in the private sector is undertaken by larger businesses. In Switzerland, R&D by SMEs (SFSO definition, i.e. firms with less than 100 employees) accounted for only 16% of total in-house R&D spending in 2008, although some 99% of Swiss companies are categorised as SMEs (SFSO, 2010, p. 9). In addition, many smaller companies do not engage in R&D at all, as they simply do not possess the necessary resources. These facts lead to a situation where much potential for innovation in smaller firms remains unused. Providing SMEs with the opportunity to engage in publicly funded R&D projects offers one way to tap into this potential for innovation that would otherwise continue to lie idle, and is therefore highly reasonable from a policy point of view. At the same time, participation in such projects [...]
Download or read book Impact Assessment of the Participation of SMEs in the themes of FP5 and FP6 2009 written by Union européenne. Direction générale de la recherche and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 45 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This study focuses on SMEs that participate under the "thematic" programmes of FP5 and the "thematic" areas of FP6. It sheds new light on the role SMEs play in such projects and what social and economic impacts project participation has on the SMEs themselves. It reveals the reasons why SMEs embark on EU-funded projects, the skills they bring and the factors influencing the extent to which SMEs benefit from the projects. Crucially it highlights the need for the creation of an integrated SME strategy covering the entire framework programme."--Editor.
Download or read book Business Model Innovation written by Constantinos Markides and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2023-06-29 with total page 119 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Digital technologies have allowed for the proliferation of new business models, something that has attracted the attention of academic research. Much of this research has focused on (i) understanding what a business model is and its theoretical connection to the concept of strategy, and (ii) exploring what business model innovation is and what its sources and outcomes are. Less work has gone into studying the issues that established firms face in business model innovation – such as how to respond to the arrival of a disruptive business model in one's industry, or how to compete with dual business models or how to migrate from one business model to another. This Element approaches the topic of business model innovation from the perspective of the established firm and examines the unique strategic and organizational issues that big, established companies face when a new business model enters their markets.
Download or read book The Science of Citizen Science written by Katrin Vohland and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021 with total page 520 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book discusses how the involvement of citizens into scientific endeavors is expected to contribute to solve the big challenges of our time, such as climate change and the loss of biodiversity, growing inequalities within and between societies, and the sustainability turn. The field of citizen science has been growing in recent decades. Many different stakeholders from scientists to citizens and from policy makers to environmental organisations have been involved in its practice. In addition, many scientists also study citizen science as a research approach and as a way for science and society to interact and collaborate. This book provides a representation of the practices as well as scientific and societal outcomes in different disciplines. It reflects the contribution of citizen science to societal development, education, or innovation and provides and overview of the field of actors as well as on tools and guidelines. It serves as an introduction for anyone who wants to get involved in and learn more about the science of citizen science.
Download or read book Sustainability Impact Assessment of Land Use Changes written by Katharina Helming and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2008-06-11 with total page 502 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There are many reasons why strategic intelligence is required to support policy decisions. These primarily stem from the nature of today's kno- edge society with two contrasting trends. On the one hand, there is a trend of increasing human intelligence in the economic, social and political s- tems. On the other hand, there is a trend towards dissolving certainties about the problems and solutions of today's society. Clearly, more inf- mation does not necessary imply more certainties on how to act. What is more, the same facts are often interpreted in markedly different ways: the same policy relevant information can – and often does – results in confli- ing framing of a problem by different stakeholders. This is mainly due to competing assumptions, rather then because of inconsistent facts. The- fore, it is not surprising that policy-makers are calling for strategic intel- gence to support their understanding of today's challenges, including the relevant aspects of science and technology, their impact and their possible future developments. Over the last 15 years, Europe has rapidly adopted the practice of dev- oping and using Impact Assessment (IA) tools to support decision-making. Formal procedures and guidance for IA are well established within the European Commission and in most EU Member States. The adoption of IA procedures alone, however, does not guarantee that every policy domain is actually using the full potential of these assessment tools in the preparation of policies and legislation.
Download or read book Knowledge Management in Organizations written by Lorna Uden and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-07-30 with total page 732 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book contains the refereed proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Knowledge Management in Organizations, KMO 2018, held in Žilina, Slovakia, in August 2018. The theme of the conference was "Emerging Research for Knowledge Management in Organizations." The 59 papers accepted for KMO 2018 were selected from 141 submissions and are organized in topical sections on: Knowledge management models and analysis; knowledge sharing; knowledge transfer and learning; knowledge and service innovation; knowledge creation; knowledge and organization; information systems and information science; knowledge and technology management; data mining and intelligent science; business and customer relationship management; big data and IoT; and new trends in IT.
Download or read book Handbook of Tourism and Quality of Life Research written by Muzaffer Uysal and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-01-07 with total page 740 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Quality of life (QOL) research in tourism has gained much momentum over the last two decades. Academics working in this area research issues related to tourists and host communities. Practitioners are becoming increasingly interested in understanding the science that allows them to develop better marketing and managerial programs designed to enhance the quality of life of tourists. Tourism bureaus and government agencies are increasingly interested in issues of sustainable tourism, specifically in understanding and measuring the impact of tourism on the quality of life of the residents of the host communities. This handbook covers all relevant topics and is divided into two parts: research relating to travelers/tourists, and research relating to the residents of host communities. It is the only state-of-the-art reference book in its field and will prove invaluable to academics interested in QOL research, as well as tourism practitioners interested in applying the science of QOL in the tourism industry.
Download or read book Network Centric Collaboration and Supporting Frameworks written by Luis M. Camarinha-Matos and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-06-09 with total page 647 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Collaborative Networks is a fast developing area, as shown by the already large number of diverse real-world implemented cases and the dynamism of its related involved research community. Being recognized as the most focused scientific and technical conference on Collaborative Networks, PRO-VE continues to offer the opportunity for presentation and discussion of both the latest research developments as well as the practical application case studies.
Download or read book Plant Genetic Conservation written by Nigel Maxted and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-12-01 with total page 462 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The recent development of ideas on biodiversity conservation was already being considered almost three-quarters of a century ago for crop plants and the wild species related to them, by the Russian geneticist N.!. Vavilov. He was undoubtedly the first scientist to understand the impor tance for humankind of conserving for utilization the genetic diversity of our ancient crop plants and their wild relatives from their centres of diversity. His collections showed various traits of adaptation to environ mental extremes and biotypes of crop diseases and pests which were unknown to most plant breeders in the first quarter of the twentieth cen tury. Later, in the 1940s-1960s scientists began to realize that the pool of genetic diversity known to Vavilov and his colleagues was beginning to disappear. Through the replacement of the old, primitive and highly diverse land races by uniform modem varieties created by plant breed ers, the crop gene pool was being eroded. The genetic diversity of wild species was equally being threatened by human activities: over-exploita tion, habitat destruction or fragmentation, competition resulting from the introduction of alien species or varieties, changes and intensification of land use, environmental pollution and possible climate change.
Download or read book The Practice of Evaluation written by Ryan P. Kilmer and published by SAGE Publications. This book was released on 2020-09-18 with total page 403 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Practice of Evaluation: Partnership Approaches for Community Change provides foundational content on evaluation concepts, approaches, and methods, as well as applied, practical examples, with an emphasis on the use of evaluation and partnership approaches to effect change.
Download or read book World Social Science Report 2010 written by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and published by UNESCO. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 444 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Social science from Western countries continues to have the greatest global influence, but the field is expanding rapidly in Asia and Latin America, particularly in China and Brazil. In sub-Saharan Africa, social scientists from South Africa, Nigeria andKenya produce 75% of academic publications. In South Asia, barring some centres of excellence in India, social sciences as a whole have low priority. These are a few of the findings from World Social Science Report, 2010: Knowledge divides. Produced by the International Social Science Council (ISSC) and co-published with UNESCO, the Report is the first comprehensive overview of the field in over a decade. Hundreds of social scientists from around the world contributed their expertise to the publication. Gudmund Hernes, President of the ISSC, Adebayo Olukoshi, Director of the United Nations African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP), Hebe Vessuri, Director, Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC), and François Héran, Director of Research, National Institute for Demographic Studies (INED), France, are among the experts who presented the Report during its official launch at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 25 June 2010.
Download or read book Mapping research and innovation in the State of Israel written by Lemarchand, Guillermo A. and published by UNESCO Publishing. This book was released on 2016-03-10 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Grid and Cloud Computing written by Katarina Stanoevska and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009-11-04 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In today’s dynamic business environment, IT departments are under permanent pressure to meet two divergent requirements: to reduce costs and to support business agility with higher flexibility and responsiveness of the IT infrastructure. Grid and Cloud Computing enable a new approach towards IT. They enable increased scalability and more efficient use of IT based on virtualization of heterogeneous and distributed IT resources. This book provides a thorough understanding of the fundamentals of Grids and Clouds and of how companies can benefit from them. A wide array of topics is covered, e.g. business models and legal aspects. The applicability of Grids and Clouds in companies is illustrated with four cases of real business experiments. The experiments illustrate the technical solutions and the organizational and IT governance challenges that arise with the introduction of Grids and Clouds. Practical guidelines on how to successfully introduce Grids and Clouds in companies are provided.
Download or read book Local Public Sector Reforms in Times of Crisis written by Sabine Kuhlmann and published by Palgrave Macmillan. This book was released on 2016-09-05 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book compares the trajectories and effects of local public sector reform in Europe and fills a research gap that has existed so far in comparative public administration and local government studies. Based on the results of COST research entitled, ‘Local Public Sector Reforms: an International Comparison’, this volume takes a European-scale approach, examining local government in 28 countries. Local government has been the most seriously affected by the continuously expanding global financial crisis and austerity policies in some countries, and is experiencing a period of increased reform activity as a result. This book considers both those local governments which have adopted or moved away from New Public Management (NPM) modernization to ‘something different’ (what some commentators have labelled ‘post-NPM’), as well as those which have implemented ‘other-than-NPM measures’, such as territorial reforms and democratic innovations.
Download or read book Concurrent Engineering in the 21st Century written by Josip Stjepandić and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-01-30 with total page 836 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presenting the gradual evolution of the concept of Concurrent Engineering (CE), and the technical, social methods and tools that have been developed, including the many theoretical and practical challenges that still exist, this book serves to summarize the achievements and current challenges of CE and will give readers a comprehensive picture of CE as researched and practiced in different regions of the world. Featuring in-depth analysis of complex real-life applications and experiences, this book demonstrates that Concurrent Engineering is used widely in many industries and that the same basic engineering principles can also be applied to new, emerging fields like sustainable mobility. Designed to serve as a valuable reference to industry experts, managers, students, researchers, and software developers, this book is intended to serve as both an introduction to development and as an analysis of the novel approaches and techniques of CE, as well as being a compact reference for more experienced readers.
Download or read book Strategic Management written by and published by Van Schaik Publishers. This book was released on 2004 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a business world characterised by change, turbulence and corporate scandals, strategy is more crucial today than ever before. Far too often top management develops a strategy for the company that is never communicated to or understood by other levels.
Download or read book Challenge Social Innovation written by Hans-Werner Franz and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-13 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In recent years, social innovation has experienced a steep career. Numerous national governments and large organisations like the OECD, the European Commission and UNESCO have adopted the term. Social innovation basically means that people adopt new social practices in order to meet social needs in a different or more effective way. Prominent examples of the past are the Red Cross and the social welfare state or, at present, the internet 2.0 transforming our communication and cooperation schemes, requiring new management concepts, even empowering social revolutions. The traditional concept of innovation as successful new technological products needs fundamental rethinking in a society marked by knowledge and services, leading to a new and enriched paradigm of innovation. There is multiple evidence that social innovation will become of growing importance not only concerning social integration, equal opportunities and dealing with the greenhouse effects but also with regard to preserving and expanding the innovative capacity of companies and societies. While political authorities stress the social facets of social innovation, this book also encompasses its societal and systemic dimensions, collecting the scientific expertise of renowned experts and scholars from all over the world. Based on the contributions of the first world-wide science convention on social innovation from September 2011 in Vienna, the book provides an overview of scientific approaches to this still relatively new field. Forewords by Agnès HUBERT (Member of the Bureau of European Policy Advisers (BEPA) of the European Commission) and Antonella Noya (Senior Policy Analyst at OECD, manager of the OECD LEED Forum on Social Innovations)
