Innovation, in economic activity, in managerial concepts and in engineering design, results from creative activities, entrepreneurial strategies and the business climate. Innovation leads to technological, organizational and commercial changes, due to the relationships between enterprises, public institutions and civil society organizations. These innovation networks create new knowledge and contribute to the dissemination of new socio-economic and technological models, through new production and marketing methods. Innovation Economics, Engineering and Management Handbook 1 is the first of the two volumes that comprise this book. The main objectives across both volumes are to study the innovation processes in todays information and knowledge society; to analyze how links between research and business have intensified; and to discuss the methods by which innovation emerges and is managed by firms, not only from a local perspective but also a global one. The studies presented in these two volumes contribute toward an understanding of the systemic nature of innovations and enable reflection on their potential applications, in order to think about the meaning of growth and prosperity.

First published in 1999. This study integrated several streams of research on the antecedents of innovation to test a model of individual innovative behavior in a high technology product development organization. The world we live in today is a globally competitive environment of rapidly changing technologies. Organizations must harness the innovative potential of their employees to create better and novel ways to solve old and new problems or risk becoming extinct. Innovative organizations can gain a competitive advantage over their less innovative competition through better products, faster product development times, and lower priced products. The research sample used in this study contained Product Engineers, Application Engineers, Lab Technicians, and Product Designers in an Engineering Department responsible for the development of high technology products. Various survey instruments were used to measure individual problem solving style, leader-member exchange, role expectation, and work climate. The Kirton Adaption-Innovation (KAI) inventory, which is used in many countries, was used to evaluate problem solving style. The KAI score is the summation of the three sub-factors, sufficiency versus proliferation of originality, preference for efficiency, and rule/group conformity. In previous use of the KAI in the general population respondents scored consistently high or low in each of the three KAI sub-groups. In this study, innovative people in the high technology product development organization did not follow this general population trend. Unlike previous KAI studies the innovative people indicated a preference for efficiency. This makes intuitive sense in that to be innovative in a complex high technology environment an individual must have a preference toward efficiency to keep the complex information organized. As the complexity of information required in a high technology product development organization increases so must the complexity of innovative people increase. (D.B.A. dissertation, 1998; revised with new preface and index)

More software engineers are likely to work in a globally distributed environment, which brings benefits that include quick and better software development, less manpower retention, scalability, and less software development cost and sharing of knowledge from the global pool of employees. However, these work environments also introduce a physical separation between team members and project leaders, which can create problems in communication and ultimately lead to the failure of the project. Human Factors in Global Software Engineering is a collection of innovative research focusing on the challenges, issues, and importance of human factors in global software engineering organizations in order to help these organizations better manage their manpower and provide an appropriate culture and technology in order to make their software development projects successful. While highlighting topics including agile software, knowledge management, and human-computer interaction, this book is ideally designed for project managers, administrators, business professionals, researchers, practitioners, students, and academicians.

Following upon the first two volumes in this series, which dealt with a broad spectrum of topics in the environment and behavior field, ranging from theoretical to applied, and including disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and professionally oriented approaches, we have chosen to devote sub sequent volumes to more specifically defined topics. Thus, Volume Three dealt with Children and the Environment, seen from the combined perspective of researchers in environmental and developmental psy chology. The present volume has a similarly topical coverage, dealing with the complex set of relationships between culture and the physical environment. It is broad and necessarily eclectic with respect to content, theory, methodology, and epistemological stance, and the contributors to it represent a wide variety of fields and disciplines, including psy chology, geography, anthropology, economics, and environmental de sign. We were fortunate to enlist the collaboration of Amos Rapoport in the organization and editing of this volume, as he brings to this task a particularly pertinent perspective that combines anthropology and ar chitecture. Volume Five of the series, presently in preparation, will cover the subject of behavioral science aspects of transportation. Irwin Altman Joachim F. Wohlwill ix Contents Introduction 1 CHAPTER 1 CROSS-CULTURAL ASPECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN AMOS RAPOPORT Introduction 7 Culture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Environmental Design 10 The Relationship of Culture and Environmental Design . . . . . . . . . 15 The Variability of Culture-Environment Relations 19 Culture-Specific Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Designing for Culture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Implications for the Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 CHAPTER 2 CROSS-CULTURAL RESEARCH METHODS: STRATEGIES, PROBLEMS, ApPLICATIONS RICHARD W.

This book elaborates on the combined challenges regarding intrapreneurship, sustainability of human resources management (HRM) and digital transformation faced by today’s organizations. Representing the first such attempt in current management literature, it explores the sustainable HRM approach, which focuses on connecting internal and external factors so as to achieve positive outcomes not only for the respective organization but also for the society, economy, and environment. It also discusses cases related to HRM’s role in establishing a corporate sustainability culture, while also working to promote employee engagement, satisfaction, performance and well-being. In closing, the book discusses the new opportunities provided by digitalization and connectivity in the field of intellectual capital, which make employees the central focus of the organization in order to create sustainable competitive advantages.

Redefine what it means to be innovative The Innovative Mindset calls the accepted definition of innovation into question, urging you to consider how innovation might function as a behavior that you perpetuate, rather than an inflexible theory or corporate-defined initiative. By asking yourself what it takes to be innovative—and by being honest with yourself about the answer—you can incorporate innovation into your life much in the same way that you would a behavior to help you lose weight, increase your strength, learn to play the piano, or improve your relationships. This groundbreaking text helps you identify what you need to do in order to become more innovative and less fearful, and assists in creating a regimen that transforms how you act. Innovation has become one of the most popular buzz words of the Digital Age, and there is no better time to reevaluate the true meaning of a concept than when it is being touted by individuals and companies around the world. A fresh, practical understanding of innovation can revolutionize the way you think about work. Master innovation by reexamining what it means and how you can implement it as a behavior Explore the transformative power of the Mindset of Discovery in poignant, up-to-date case studies and improvisation-based tenets Spark innovation, maximize productivity, and increase profitability as a result of implementing the Big Five behaviors Boost performance as you foster and leverage your new approach towards innovation The Innovative Mindset reevaluates the nature of innovation and shows how a change in perspective can lead to more dynamic, more successful endeavors.