A French revolution: technology management in the aerospace industry. The case of Toulouse

Longhi, Christian

doi:10.1504/ijtm.2005.005996

Cited by 15 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The aerospace industry produces a wide range of equipment for civilian and defence purposes, including complex products (aircrafts, satellites, missiles, helicopters, etc) and components (engines, fuselages, etc), specialized electronic devices, dedicated software and telecommunication applications. It is characterized by several important traits (Longhi, 2005; Niosi and Zhegu, 2005): (i) the key players are large firms, which compete at the global level; (ii) in several countries, it has locally developed in geographical clusters; and (iii) it is dominated by military requirements and by the crucial role played by national governments as both main financers and clients.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While in the past innovation was strictly related to technology, today it is increasingly market‐oriented and driven by customer needs. Further, the increasing competition at the global level and the concomitant reduction of public expenditure in the defence sector has pushed firms to enhance managerial capabilities in order to improve organizational efficiency (Longhi, 2005).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Heterogeneity and Specificity of Inter‐Firm Knowledge Flows in Innovation Networks

Sammarra

Biggiero

2008

J Management Studies

364

304

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Literature on innovation networks reveals little of to what extent different types of knowledge are exchanged and combined by collaborating firms to foster innovation. Based on field research in the aerospace industrial cluster of Rome, this study investigates the exchange of technological, market and managerial knowledge. Using social network analysis, the paper shows that the three types of knowledge are unevenly distributed and exchanged, thus revealing that the process of exchange is knowledge-specific. Further, it is found that in most collaborative relationships, partners exchange technological knowledge together with market and managerial knowledge, emphasizing the complex nature of the innovation process which requires access to and recombination of diverse knowledge. This phenomenon concerns not only large companies, but also small-to-medium enterprises. The reconsideration of the relative salience of the three types of knowledge has remarkable managerial and theoretical implications, which are developed in terms of propositions offered for further research. Copyright (c) Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2008.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heterogeneity and Specificity of Inter‐Firm Knowledge Flows in Innovation Networks

Sammarra

Biggiero

2008

J Management Studies

364

304

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“…In such a knowledge-intensive landscape (Longhi, 2005), innovation plays a paramount role, and it is on the basis of competitiveness of aerospace clusters and firms (Giuri et al, 2007;Niosi and Zhegu, 2005). As a consequence, several scholars investigated issues related to R&D, innovation and technology management in this industry (Hatzichronoglou, 1997;Esposito, 2004;Giuri et al, 2007).…”

Section: Innovation Network In the Aerospace Industrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge exchanges in innovation networks: evidences from an Italian aerospace cluster

Alberti

Pizzurno

2015

Competitiveness Review

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Purpose -This paper aims at investigating the multifaceted nature of innovation networks by focusing on two research questions: Do cluster actors exchange only one type of innovation-related knowledge? Do cluster actors play different roles in innovation-related knowledge exchange? Design/methodology/approach -This paper builds on data collected at the firm level in an Italian aerospace cluster, that is a technology-intensive industry where innovation is at the base of local competitiveness. A questionnaire was used to collect both attribute data and relational data concerning collaboration and the flows of knowledge in innovation networks. The authors distinguished among three types of knowledge (technological, managerial and market knowledge) and five types of brokerage roles (coordinator, gatekeeper, liaison, representative and consultant). Data analysis relied on social network analysis techniques and software. Findings -Concerning the first research question, the findings show that different types of knowledge flow in different ways in innovation networks. The different types of knowledge are unevenly exchanged. The exchange of technological knowledge is open to everyone in the cluster. The exchange of market and managerial knowledge is selective. Concerning the second research question, the authors suggest that different types of cluster actors (large firms, small-and medium-sized enterprises, research centers and universities and institutions for collaboration) do play different roles in innovation networks, especially with reference to the three types of knowledge considered in this study. Research limitations/implications -The present paper has some limitations. First of all, the analysis focuses on just one cluster (one industry in one specific location), cross-and comparative analyses with other clusters may illuminate the findings better, eliminating industry and geographical biases. Second, the paper focuses only on innovation-related knowledge exchanges within the cluster and not across it. Practical implications -The results have practical implications both for policy makers and for managers. First, this research stresses how innovation often originates from a combination of different knowledge types acquired through the collaboration with heterogeneous cluster actors. Further, the analysis of brokerage roles in innovation-driven collaborations may help policy makers in designing programs for knowledge-transfer partnerships among the various actors of a cluster. Social implications -The paper suggests a clear need of developing professional figures capable of operating at the interface of different knowledge domains.Originality/value -The data illuminate several aspects of how innovation takes place in a cluster opening up intriguing aspects that have been overlooked by extant literature. The authors believe that this may trigger several lines of further research on the topic.

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“…Authors such as Dupuy and Gilly (1999), Jalabert (1995), Kechidi and Panadero (1994), Longhi (2005), Zuliani (1998), Zuliani et al (2003Zuliani et al ( , 2005, Frigant et al (2006) among others have widely described the organization and the internal and external mechanisms of growth of the central productive apparatus centred on the aeronautical industrial complex, the space sector and, in a smaller way, that of automobile electronics. There is a lot less research into the more specialized dynamics that surround the aerospace complex in general and above all into the computer industry and the development of on-board electronics and software technologies among other local industrial sectors.…”

Section: On-board Systems and Cross-over Of Skills Between Industrialmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Toulouse Cluster of On-board Systems: A Process of Collective Innovation and Learning

Zuliani

2008

European Planning Studies

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Analysis by product or by type of activity is becoming less and less pertinent when characterizing the production organization of industrial clusters and local productive systems. In numerous regions and metropolitan areas, the way that economic activities are based geographically reveals relationships which go across different sectors of activity, on the basis of the similarity of skills required. At Toulouse, on-board systems, mainly sets of equipment composed of electronic and computer components integrated into an aircraft, a satellite or an automobile, were first developed on a sectorial basis before becoming progressively the subject of transverse skills and knowledge between the different industrial sectors (aeronautics, space, automobile electronics). Today this system is tending to consolidate on the basis of positive externalities such as the sharing of common subcontracting of information technology services, the collaboration of industrial firms with engineering science institutions, the circulation of personnel within the local labour market. To this must be added a strong institutional input which is manifested by the addition of an "on-board systems" section to the Competitive Cluster "Aeronautics and Space" common to the Midi-Pyrenees and Aquitaine regions. In the case of Toulouse, the "on-board systems" activities form the basis of a local organization of these hightechnology activities into a local skills system.

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A French revolution: technology management in the aerospace industry. The case of Toulouse

Cited by 15 publications

References 21 publications

Heterogeneity and Specificity of Inter‐Firm Knowledge Flows in Innovation Networks

Heterogeneity and Specificity of Inter‐Firm Knowledge Flows in Innovation Networks

Knowledge exchanges in innovation networks: evidences from an Italian aerospace cluster

The Toulouse Cluster of On-board Systems: A Process of Collective Innovation and Learning

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