Suchergebnisse

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to further build up the knowledge about reasons for small and mid‐sized enterprises (SMEs) to adopt open source enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents and analyses findings in articles about proprietary ERPs and open source ERPs. In addition, a limited investigation of the distribution channel SourceForge for open source is made.FindingsThe cost perspective seems to receive a high attention regarding adoption of open source ERPs. This can be questioned and the main conclusion is that costs seem to have a secondary role in adoption or non adoption of open source ERPs.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper is mainly a conceptual paper written from a literature review. The ambition is to search support for the findings by doing more research in the area.Practical implicationsThe findings presented are of interest both for developers of proprietary ERPs as well as SMEs since it is shown that there are definitely reasons other than costs involved when deciding on proprietary ERPs or open source ERPs.Originality/valueIt can be argued that there is a lack of research conducted and published about why SMEs choose open source ERPs instead of proprietary ERPs. This paper identifies the gap and suggests future research directions about this subject.

A major component of this study is a review of models and inference structures used in analysis of energy project impacts (economic, institutional, and environmental) -- the supporting databases, and the uses of such information in pertinent policy analysis. In this effort, the study emphasized the regional dimension of impact analysis. Second, in order to capture the rich and complex pattern of energy initiatives, their multidimensional impacts, and methods of assessment of such impacts, five case studies of large-scale energy projects in four countries were commissioned. Large-scale adjustments in energy supply and demand, and in economic and environmental systems are inherently surrounded by technological and political uncertainties. Further, these countries -- Canada, the USA, Sweden, and the USSR -- vary considerably in the objective conditions of energy supply and demand, in their policy formulation and decision frameworks, and in their policy implementation settings. The case studies were consequently intended to elucidate, in these diverse decision-making and implementation contexts, the antecedents and development of the energy investments: how energy crises were perceived; how they were transformed into public policy issues by the various national and regional interest groups; how the scope of energy impact assessment studies were defined; what methods and databases were used in impact analysis; and how these technical study results interfaced with policy-making groups or influenced the energy investment outcomes. The overall study attempted to integrate these two prongs of analysis -- the comparative study of impact assessment models and management methods and the rich, complex delineation of energy development case studies -- into a broad understanding of the process of policy formulation and decision making on large energy initiatives. This book attempts to capture the salient features of the process of assessment and decision making on large-scale energy initiatives, from initial specifications of the energy problem, through impact assessments, to the final stage of using such studies in policy decisions.

A major component of this study is a review of models and inference structures used in analysis of energy project impacts (economic, institutional, and environmental) -- the supporting databases, and the uses of such information in pertinent policy analysis. In this effort, the study emphasized the regional dimension of impact analysis. Second, in order to capture the rich and complex pattern of energy initiatives, their multidimensional impacts, and methods of assessment of such impacts, five case studies of large-scale energy projects in four countries were commissioned. Large-scale adjustments in energy supply and demand, and in economic and environmental systems are inherently surrounded by technological and political uncertainties. Further, these countries -- Canada, the USA, Sweden, and the USSR -- vary considerably in the objective conditions of energy supply and demand, in their policy formulation and decision frameworks, and in their policy implementation settings. The case studies were consequently intended to elucidate, in these diverse decision-making and implementation contexts, the antecedents and development of the energy investments: how energy crises were perceived; how they were transformed into public policy issues by the various national and regional interest groups; how the scope of energy impact assessment studies were defined; what methods and databases were used in impact analysis; and how these technical study results interfaced with policy-making groups or influenced the energy investment outcomes. The overall study attempted to integrate these two prongs of analysis -- the comparative study of impact assessment models and management methods and the rich, complex delineation of energy development case studies -- into a broad understanding of the process of policy formulation and decision making on large energy initiatives. This book attempts to capture the salient features of the process of assessment and decision making on large-scale energy initiatives, from initial specifications of the energy problem, through impact assessments, to the final stage of using such studies in policy decisions.

The contributions in this volume extend our understanding about the different ways distance impacts the knowledge conversion process. Knowledge itself is a raw input into the innovation process which can then transform it into an economically useful output such as prototypes, patents, licences and new companies. New knowledge is often tacit and thus tends to be highly localized, as indeed is the conversion process. Consequently, as the book demonstrates, space or distance matter significantly in the transformation of raw knowledge into beneficial knowledge

Metropolitan growth has been dramatic in the past several decades, and today metropolitan regions are recognized as the main driving forces in national growth and development as well as in national and global innovation processes. The purpose of this book is to contribute to a better understanding of how metropolitan regions and their subsystems interact and compete, why they differ in their capacity to nurture innovation and growth, and how metropolitan policies must be designed to secure the region's long-term vitality. To that end, it presents new contributions on theories of urban growth, institutions and policies of urban change, and case studies of urban growth prepared by international experts.

1. Introduction : innovation, technology and knowledge / Charlie Karlsson, Borje Johansson and Roger R. Stough -- 2. Three stories about national systems of innovation / Alina Liden -- 3. Innovation, productivity and export evidence from Italy / Roberto Antonietti and Giulio Cainelli -- 4. Profiting from the breakthrough : technology commercialisation in the global age / Samantha Sharpe -- 5. Innovation and regional disparities : a survey of regional growth drivers and economic performance / Andreas P. Cornett and Nils Karl SØRENSEN -- 6. Knowledge integration and network structure : modelling innovation activity / Piergiuseppe Morone and Richard Taylor -- 7. Proximity, innovation, and success within free/libre open source software development projects / Nicola Bellantuono, Pierpaolo Pontrandolfo and Barbara Scozzi -- 8. Knowledge creation and innovation in medium-technology clusters / Riccardo Cappelin -- 9. Invention, innovation and regional growth in Swedish regions / Olof Ejermo and Urban Grasjo -- 10. Intangible assets and MNEs' locational strategies for innovation-- or, why the regional matters : empirical insights from Germany and the UK / Jan-Philipp Kramer. [and others] -- 11. High technology and regions in a era of open innovation / Darrene Hackler -- 12. Regional innovation, growth and convergence-divergence patterns in the EU / George Petrakos and George Anastasiou -- 13. A social capital approach to regional transformation / Marina Jogmark -- 14. A multidimensional perspective on the role of social capital in innovation / Soogwan Doh -- 15. The potential of place : using location to attract global talent / Kathrine Richardson, Richard Florida and Kevin Stolarick.

In the last four decades the developed economies have developed into veritable knowledge economies at the same time as more and more economies have entered the road to economic development. Typical for the developments during this time has been substantially increased investments in research and development (R & D) to generate new knowledge and new technologies and increased investments in diffusing existing knowledge by means of education and thereby raising the volume of human capital. However, many member states and regions within the EU are struggling with their economic development. This book explores the uneven patterns of development within the EU, discusses the relative effect of investments on innovation and productivity growth and looks at the mechanisms involved in economic development and policy.