Copyright (c) 2009 All rights reserved. http://works.bepress.com/peter_cebon Recent documents in Peter Cebon en-us Sun, 31 May 2009 10:23:44 PDT 3600 http://works.bepress.com/peter_cebon/10 http://works.bepress.com/peter_cebon/10 Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:20:02 PDT This submission takes the findings of "Measured Success: Innovation Management in Australia" and applies them to the problem of creating an effective innovation system in Australia. Peter Cebon http://works.bepress.com/peter_cebon/9 http://works.bepress.com/peter_cebon/9 Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:04:36 PDT This Op-Ed argues that the financial meltdown can be understood as an example of a systems accident, as first described by Charles Perrow. Innovations in the financial system increased interactive complexity, increased coupling, and increased the extent of mis-matches between the financial system in reality and the financial system that the regulators thought they were regulating. Peter Cebon http://works.bepress.com/peter_cebon/8 http://works.bepress.com/peter_cebon/8 Thu, 04 Sep 2008 10:53:03 PDT Institutional rules come in two varieties. Constitutive rules direct peoples' thinking and behavior while regulative rules sanction deviation. Categorization research within institutional theory has focused almost exclusively on these rules in situations where field-level theories dominate. However, individuals are mindful, and so construct their own theories, shaped by field-level processes. In this article, I present arguments to facilitate development of institutional research in situations where individuals' theories are given voice.This article is currently under review, and so can't be posted on the site. If you'd like a copy, please email me. Peter Cebon Institutional Theory http://works.bepress.com/peter_cebon/7 http://works.bepress.com/peter_cebon/7 Thu, 04 Sep 2008 10:49:52 PDT We explore how engagement with intermediaries shapes meanings that managers hold. Specifically, we examine variations in the adoption patterns of Manufacturing Best Practice programs, and use this to infer how managers understood the meaning of 'Manufacturing Best Practices.' Sites that engaged with intermediaries adopted a constellation of practices that was more consistent with normative theories than sites that did not, indicating that intermediaries shape meanings within a field. Interestingly, sites that engaged with theorizing agents and communities of practice adopted practices consistent with one normative theory while those who engaged with customers &suppliers adopted practices more consistent with another.This article is currently under review, and so can't be posted on the site. If you would like a copy, please email me. Peter Cebon Institutional Theory http://works.bepress.com/peter_cebon/6 http://works.bepress.com/peter_cebon/6 Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:57:50 PDT This book conducts an in-depth analysis of eleven cases of high-technology innovation in Australia. While all eleven cases were potential world-beaters, only three or four were truly successful. By contrasting the successful and unsuccessful cases, the book provides insights into the limited success which Australian innovators achieve. The eleven cases include a project within a large corporation, a joint venture between a large corporation and some Australian academic institutions, and nine start-ups. They are drawn from domains such as software, minerals exploration and smelting, scientific instruments, ship building and biotechnology. Most of the ventures are over ten years old, so they have enough history to allow us to draw useful lessons. While they have not been particularly successful, they are definitely more successful than the vast majority of Australian high-technology attempts. In addition, the book contains commentaries from five Australian leaders with an interest in innovation. The book makes two distinct contributions. On one hand, there is a shortage of well documented cases of Innovation in Australia. Consequently, the cases give people with an interest in the subject a glimpse into the goings on within Australian high technology ventures, and the problems they face. On the other hand, the analysis, combined with the commentaries, provide valuable directions for both a research and policy agenda for innovation in Australia. Peter Cebon Innovation http://works.bepress.com/peter_cebon/5 http://works.bepress.com/peter_cebon/5 Fri, 04 Jul 2008 17:22:20 PDT Many aspects of product life cycle theory - which underlies the theories of technical innovation in economics, strategy, marketing, operations management and product development - are based on the implicit assumption that products are integrated wholes. We argue that the modularisation of products undermines specific synergies that are associated with integrated product designs and that have been characterised as driving the product life cycle. We suggest how this effect of modularity impacts the structure of organisations, the boundaries of industries and the structure of economies. Peter Cebon Innovation http://works.bepress.com/peter_cebon/3 http://works.bepress.com/peter_cebon/3 Wed, 07 Nov 2007 21:39:45 PST This study considers how organisation-level and field-level meaning systems affect when firms adopt administrative innovations. We use a sample of over 1200 manufacturing sites to test hypotheses regarding the timing of adoption of Manufacturing Best Practice Programs. The results indicate that compatibility of the diffusing practice with the organisation's internal meaning system is an important predictor of when firms adopt such Programs. However, the influence of such compatibility declines for later adopters - consistent with institutional pressures in the form of field-level meaning systems playing an increasing role over time. We also find that this decline occurs for sites with high exposure to institutional pressures, but not for sites with lower exposure. The findings suggest that internal meaning systems and differential exposure moderate the role of institutional pressures in the diffusion of administrative innovations. We discuss implications for theory and research on institutionalization and the diffusion of innovations. E. Geoffrey Love Institutional Theory