David Probert’s research while affiliated with University of Cambridge and other places

The engineering design process transforms stakeholder needs into design specifications. This study focuses on the engineering design process for systems of products and services known as product-service systems (PSS) and proposes a novel way to analyze PSS ideas by four characteristics: customer perceived value level, connectivity number, type and degree of connectivity, and configuration type. The process to apply this characterization scheme examines the interdependencies within a PSS and between the PSS and its environment and holistically incorporates the interests of customers, end-users, and social and environmental stakeholders early in the development process. This process clarifies design specifications in seven cases across five industries.

Scientists, engineers and other technologists have a crucial role to play in the development and deployment of technology for the economic benefit of society, and also to address challenges facing humanity, such as climate change and resource scarcity. In this context, the management of engineering and technology becomes increasingly important. Technological investment and effort needs to be aligned with organisational and wider social needs and aspirations throughout the life cycle from design, through to production and the creation of valuable services. In order to manage engineering and technology, processes are needed to align inputs and activities with desired outputs along the technology management process framework comprising five broad areas of activity. These process areas are elaborated in this chapter, posed as questions that managers, engineers and technologists must address for the effective management of engineering and technological knowledge and resources.

Radically innovative products and services are frequently developed and commercialized by new ventures. In this context, entrepreneurs may face the challenge of coordinating a complex network of actors in the presence of individual and collective uncertainties. Previous literature on entrepreneurship has focused on how entrepreneurs manage individual uncertainties (those that affect a single firm) rather than collective uncertainties that also affect members of the innovation ecosystem, which in turn may fundamentally affect the survival and growth of new ventures. Drawing on five longitudinal, inductive, in-depth case studies of start-ups and their innovation ecosystems, we find that current approaches for coping with individual uncertainties do not consider the impacts of uncertainties and actions on the innovation ecosystem partners. In that sense, entrepreneurs themselves may contribute to the propagation of uncertainties in the innovation ecosystem. We also identify processes by which entrepreneurs manage collective uncertainties in the innovation ecosystem, i.e., perceiving collective uncertainties, bridging uncertainties, conducting collective learning experiments and building a common template. This study improves understanding of how entrepreneurs act in uncertain environments.

From a theoretical perspective, innovation portfolio management may appear to be a well-researched topic, but practical understanding of its effectiveness seems to be limited. Moreover, only a few prior studies have attempted to review how firms manage innovation portfolios, and what their associated challenges are. This paper aims to contribute to these two gaps. A total of 3 workshops and 13 semi-structured interviews with relevant portfolio management stakeholders in 39 organizations were conducted in four phases, over a period of 8 months in India and UK. The field work indicates that most of the participating firms acknowledge the ineffectiveness of their portfolio management practice, and are looking for recommendations to better manage the activities underpinning innovation portfolio decision-making. Based on multinational cross-industry fieldwork, this paper offers 11 practice themes that could support technology intensive firms in improving their portfolio management processes. Additionally, portfolio challenges identified in the fieldwork have been discussed with respect to the portfolio management literature, and a future research agenda has been outlined. Finally, this paper calls for more practice-based studies in portfolio management to support firms in making better innovation portfolio decisions.

Radically innovative products and services are frequently developed and commercialized by new ventures. In this context, entrepreneurs may face the challenge of coordinating a complex network of actors in the presence of individual and collective uncertainties. Previous literature on entrepreneurship has focused on how entrepreneurs manage individual uncertainties (those that affect a single firm) rather than collective uncertainties that also affect members of the innovation ecosystem, which in turn may fundamentally affect the survival and growth of new ventures. Drawing on five longitudinal, inductive, in-depth case studies of start-ups and their innovation ecosystems, we find that current approaches for coping with individual uncertainties do not consider the impacts of uncertainties and actions on the innovation ecosystem partners. In that sense, entrepreneurs themselves may contribute to the propagation of uncertainties in the innovation ecosystem. We also identify processes by which entrepreneurs manage collective uncertainties in the innovation ecosystem, i.e., perceiving collective uncertainties, bridging uncertainties, conducting collective learning experiments and building a common template. This study improves understanding of how entrepreneurs act in uncertain environments.

The importance of translating research into practice is well established. Research has shown that management consultancies and other intermediaries provide a key mechanism to disseminate academic knowledge to industry. This paper presents a process for, and lessons learned from, translating a research output into a business improvement tool.

This paper aims to analyse the key factors influencing knowledge sharing in open source software (OSS) projects. Four deep cases are analysed to develop a conceptual framework based on within-case and cross-case analysis. In terms of data collection, online (including Skype meeting, email, email-list, internet relay chat (IRC), forum, group meeting, etc.) and offline (mainly with face-to-face discussion) activities are two major platforms. The research framework is that distributed innovation (independent variable) will influence shared knowledge (medium variable) and continue to affect the performance of OSS projects (dependent variable). During distributed innovation, developers located on the supply side will affect the shared knowledge from the aspects of participative motivation, social networks and organisational culture. Meanwhile, users situated on the demand side will function from the view of user innovation. Differences and similarities of China and the West towards OSS Projects are derived fro...

This paper is aimed at current and future managers in the field of technology management (TM), and those who train and educate them. After briefly describing TM as a management discipline, the potential challenges likely to rise in the field are introduced according to three processes given in the TM framework: innovation, operation and strategy. Then, a set of propositions are developed regarding the potential impact of those challenges on TM professionals. Concentrating on a long term perspective provides TM professionals with the opportunity to consider their existing knowledge and skill base so that they can prepare for the challenges they will face in the future. The paper ends with implications for professionals and educators.

The literature has shown that open innovation (OI) can be a winning strategy in improving firm performance. However, in order to adopt and implement it, managers need to resolve practical problems, such as understanding the role played by OI capacities and openness on firm performance. In response to these needs, this study aims to investigate the hierarchical relationships between openness, OI capacities and performance using a structural equation model approach. This paper also attempts to compare the levels of openness between firms in different industries to discover similarities and differences in OI phenomena. The analysis of data obtained from a survey of Korean firms shows significant interrelations between openness, OI capacities and firm performance. Our results go further in developing understanding of the building blocks on which successful OI is built and particularly suggest that desorptive capacity which underpins the out-bound OI process, is in turn strongly supported by knowledge management capacity. It is hoped that the results of this study can enrich our understanding of the OI mechanism *and provide managerial and policy implications.