Industrial Engineering

Innovation is important for competitiveness. It thrives on the availability of NEW public and private domain knowledge. Thus the ability to access, analyze, synthesize, share, and re-use knowledge is important. These activities grow the available pool of knowledge. It also facilitates learning from mistakes, capturing and enhancing opportunities for future innovation.
Formally networking resources improves the ability of any participating enterprise to use/re-use knowledge, in a growing knowledge base. Such a "Knowledge Network” (KN)' enhances knowledge sharing between individuals, groups, and organizations in informal and formal ways.
How to successfully design and deploy a successful KN is a challenge and has been researched in the past decade. It requires understanding of social processes and how people learn and share knowledge. KN management requires a proactive, systematic approach to the planning and deployment of formalized networks for knowledge creation and transfer. It includes promoting and improving conditions to cultivate informal and formal networking within a larger network of enterprises.
This paper presents a refined methodology for initiating, deploying, managing and operating an Innovation Project KN within the Global Competitiveness Centre in Engineering of the Stellenbosch University. The network involves about 300 users, some 180 projects, and 50 odd generic roadmaps and resides collectively on 6 servers in 4 countries. It incorporates concepts of generic, partial and specific roadmaps, best practise, templates and examples and allows individual teams to capture knowledge about specific projects and expertise in context for later re-use.

This research paper illustrates that accurate and truthful capacity assessments are a fundamental phase of any capacity building process, and that capacity assessments play
a fundamental role in reaching the necessary performance efficiency. Service delivery performance enhancements by municipalities are becoming increasingly necessary. At the same time, however, the majority of municipalities in South Africa find themselves under-capacitated. Some municipalities are aware of the lack of capacity within their organisation, but are unable to identify, define and quantify these shortcomings. Many other municipalities are not aware
of their capacity shortfalls. In both cases, this is often caused by the lack of necessary systems and procedures to assess the different dimensions of organisational capacity. In this regard, this research paper introduces a proposed Subjective Municipal Capacity Self-Assessment Model (SMCSAM) as an alternative solution to the current practices of the Municipal Demarcation Board. It is intended that this model be used internally by municipalities to sustain internal capacity building and performance enhancement initiatives.

This paper provides key results from an exploratory research study aimed at understanding the current landscape in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa with regard to their appetite for, and use of, open innovation. The survey, which was conducted within a contained group of SMEs that belong to business network groups on LinkedIn, explored the current use and perception of open innovation. It was found that collaboration is the approach most preferred by the SMEs surveyed, with customers and suppliers as their preferred innovation partners.
Based on the findings of the survey, this paper proposes 25 design requirements, grouped into five functional categories, for an open innovation approach. The design requirements have been developed as a primer to a more complete open innovation approach for SMEs.

Rare events, known as ‘Black Swans’, have determined the course of history. One of these was the global economic crisis of 2008. Such events highlight fields like strategic management and their shortcomings in helping to prepare organisations. The Strategic Framework for Improbable Circumstances was designed to add to the strategic management process by improving organisational preparation for these rare events. The framework was validated through interviews with experts who showed the need for such a framework, and who confirmed that it is a good first step for organisations to take towards addressing these Black Swan events.

The Internet provides an abundance of new opportunities for innovative businesses and wealth creation. The large number of e‐business failures attests however, that it is by no means easy to make a success online. One obstacle hindering e‐business start‐ups is the ambiguity in which value creation in e‐business is shrouded. Its consequence is the formulation of ineffective strategies that ultimately result in failure. In order to provide greater clarity on the subject and thereby assist e‐business start‐ups, this paper proposes an integrated perspective on sources of e‐value creation.
The nature of the research is exploratory, made use of inductive reasoning, and drew on existing e‐value creation and generic value creation literature to develop its integrated perspective. The resulting model was subsequently refined through feedback obtained in one‐on‐one interviews with academics and practitioners in the domains of e‐business, strategy, innovation and entrepreneurship.
The result of the research endeavour was a model named “18 sources of e‐value”. The identified sources of e‐value include 12 predominantly functional sources, namely (1) effectiveness, (2) affordability and cost reduction, (3) range and complementarities, (4) reach and accessibility, (5) findability, (6) timeliness and immediacy, (7) authenticity, trust and security, (8) richness of information exchange, (9) interpretation, (10) simplicity, (11) convenience, and (12) customer empowerment. Six predominantly emotional sources of e‐value were also identified and these include (13) novelty and newness, (14) aesthetics and brand attractiveness, (15) embodiment, (16) individualisation, (17) connectivity and socialisation, and (18) personal fulfilment.
These 18 sources of e‐value inform our understanding of value creation in e‐business and therefore enhance our ability to develop strategies for the e‐domain and enhance our ability to compete in the e‐domain. More importantly, the 18 sources of e‐value can serve as a sound basis for spurring further theoretical conversations about the vital topic of e‐value creation.
Key words: E‐Business, Value Creation, E‐Value, Sources of Value, Integration

The literature indicates that implementing Open Innovation as a formal management practice in organisations remains a challenge. Open Innovation (OI) is receiving increased focus in academia and industry, but practical implementation and application guidance for users are still limited. This is even more relevant for the application of Open Innovation in small and medium sized enterprises (SME). Open Innovation is still largely an emerging field of research in academia, with larger organisations receiving most of the focus.
In this paper the authors introduce a framework for the development of an Open Innovation approach for SMEs, based on models and frameworks from the literature.
Following a design sciences method, the authors review various models and frameworks on innovation and general implementation best practices, and deduct core elements that can be applied in an Open Innovation Framework. The framework is based on a continuous improvement cycle that aims to mature the Open Innovation capability within the organisation through various iterations. The framework comprises of four main components, six sub‐components and twenty three core elements.
The four main components of the framework are: Plan and Prepare for OI, Perform OI, Measure and Evaluate OI, and Improve and Mature OI.
The framework suggested in this paper can be used towards the development of an Open Innovation approach for SMEs. Such an approach should include descriptive elements for the implementation and application of Open Innovation within the context of SMEs.