David L. Francis | University of Brighton (original) (raw)

Book chapters by David L. Francis

Innovation Through Crisis: Journalism and News Media in Transition, 2024

This unique study, for the first time, explores the relative importance of 8 × 2 types of media i... more This unique study, for the first time, explores the relative importance of 8 × 2 types of media innovations in the newspaper industry, based on empirical data postpandemic, from a survey of over 100 Norwegian newspaper executives (i.e., editorsin-chief, managing directors, and publishers). In the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis, newspaper leaders did not want to make any dramatic changes; rather, they prioritised incremental change. Improving market positions, the products and services, and the existing revenue streams were top priorities. This was not the time to redefine either the concept of newspapers or the genres of journalism. While radical change was not at the top of the agenda, some indications of a willingness to experiment were identified.

Papers by David L. Francis

International Journal of Technology Management and Sustainable Development, 2005

It has been suggested that the social sciences would benefit if researchers forged a high-level, ... more It has been suggested that the social sciences would benefit if researchers forged a high-level, creative and dynamic interdependence between theory and research, rather than having them remain as relatively separated domains. This has been termed 'adaptive theory', as models, frameworks and conceptual schema are seen as evolving and generative. Adaptive theory asserts that theory construction can be, and should be, subject to continuous improvement-sometimes incremental, sometimes radical. However, few case studies examine how dynamically adapting theory within the research process works in practice. This article describes an attempt to explore adaptive theory through an action research case study of the transfer of a' soft' technology. The setting for our study is the transfer of a 'soft' technology from a UK university to a mining corporation in Africa. We begin by 'setting the scene', summarizing the evolution of technology transfer and suggesting four dimensions that define technological softness. Then we explore how aspects of a soft technology, continuous improvement (CI), were transferred. Finally, we examine our experience and consider whether we did, in fact, adapt theory or extend understanding of the applicability of extant theories. We conclude that standalone theories were not challenged in a fundamental way but gaps were found and the ways in which theories were configured for use changed markedly.

The TQM Magazine, 2000

Competitive advantage increasingly rests upon a dynamic capability to compete successfully in an ... more Competitive advantage increasingly rests upon a dynamic capability to compete successfully in an environment of frequent, challenging and, often, unpredictable change. Sustaining competitive advantage through price alone is no longer a viable strategy for most firms. Firms need to succeed in markets where a range of non‐price advantages are expected by customers. Order‐winning criteria include rate of innovation, fitness for purpose, volume flexibility, variety, extreme customisation and, above all, rapid responsiveness. Increasing global and local competition mean that companies unable to respond to these customer demands are unlikely to survive. Deployment of the principles and practices of agile enterprise appears to offer a solution. This paper, based upon preliminary findings of the Agile Manufacturing Research Group (AMRG), discusses these issues and, through the introduction of the agile wheel reference model (AWRM), identifies the specific policies and practices that support...

Agile organizations take more decisions more frequently than non- agile organizations. This place... more Agile organizations take more decisions more frequently than non- agile organizations. This places stress on top managers who can be overwhelmed by the quantity of decisions to be taken and be asked to make judgments on matters that they do not understand fully. Problems of decision-making are particularly significant for the management of innovation in agile organizations since multiple initiatives

International Journal of Innovation Management, 1998

Dealing with complex and uncertain environments requires a steady stream of innovation as well as... more Dealing with complex and uncertain environments requires a steady stream of innovation as well as occasional radical transition. Developing mechanisms to secure such continuous improvement (CI) is seen as a major strategic priority for many organisations. In particular, it raises the challenge of increasing employee involvement in the innovation process and of mobilising widespread problem-solving and learning behaviour. This paper reports on a major five-year research programme in the United Kingdom which explores the implementation of high involvement incremental innovation activities. It presents a reference model developed in this work for helping position and guide organisations in their implementation of CI.

This paper presents a reference model of 18 components and 56 elements of innovation capability d... more This paper presents a reference model of 18 components and 56 elements of innovation capability derived from a grounded-theory study of 107 innovative organizations. The reference model defines the range of organizational factors that enabled an organization to be innovative. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the implications of the reference model for organization development - reviewing 62 interventions that have been conducted using the framework. Keywords: innovation, capability, organizational development. 1. INNOVATION AND INNOVATIONCAPABILITY The rationale for examining,innovation is persuasive. It has been argued that exploiting the potential of new,ideas will be the cornerstone of competitive success in the 21st century (Hamel 2000). Throughout this paper the term innovation will be considered as: “the full exploitation of the latent value of ideas (new to the unit of adoption) that strengthen an organization’s competitive position and/or benefit other stakehol...

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 2004

Widespread recognition of the strategic imperative posed by a turbulent external environment has ... more Widespread recognition of the strategic imperative posed by a turbulent external environment has brought into focus a key challenge for firms – that of increasing involvement in innovation by the staff in the organisation. Much research has suggested that organisations that mobilise a large proportion of their staff to participate in innovation can make significant gains. Achieving this depends on a systematic process of organisational development in which the facilitative patterns of behavioural routines are extended and reinforced, so that they become a major culture change. This paper reports on progress with this organisational development methodology using a detailed case study of its use within a major mining company in South Africa. It makes use of a reference model framework to help structure and direct the change process towards enabling higher involvement in innovation. In particular it explores practical issues involved in moving a large organisation along a path of high ...

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2004

A paradox in innovation management is that firms deploying what is generally recognised 'good pra... more A paradox in innovation management is that firms deploying what is generally recognised 'good practice' can find themselves under threat through disruption caused by some form of discontinuity in their operating environment. Routines suited to dealing with 'steady state' innovation differ from and may even conflict with those needed to explore and exploit discontinuous shifts in technology or markets. This paper explores this 'innovator's dilemma' and reviews the experience of a case study firm working in the medical products field. It argues that firms need to learn to manage innovation but that two complementary learning approaches-adaptive and generative-are needed.

Technovation, 2004

Innovation is often described in terms of changes in what a firm offers the world (product/servic... more Innovation is often described in terms of changes in what a firm offers the world (product/service innovation) and the ways it creates and delivers those offerings (process innovation). Arguably this definition is insufficient since it does not take into account two other areas where innovation is possible-market position and business models. Market position relates to the situation where an established product/service produced by an established process is introduced to a new context; here the innovation management challenge is concerned with issues like adoption behaviour and technology transfer. Business model innovation relates to the situation in which a reframing of the current product/service, process and market context results in seeing new challenges and opportunities and letting go of others. Each of these poses challenges for the ways in which innovation is organised and managed-what we term innovation management capability. The paper explores some of these challenges and also looks at the additional issues raised by discontinuous innovation, moving beyond the steady state conditions of 'doing what we do but better' to a new set of conditions in which 'doing different things in different ways' becomes the norm.

Trials, Jan 21, 2006

Securing and managing finances for multicentre randomised controlled trials is a highly complex a... more Securing and managing finances for multicentre randomised controlled trials is a highly complex activity which is rarely considered in the research literature. This paper describes the process of financial negotiation and the impact of financial considerations in four UK multicentre trials. These trials had met, or were on schedule to meet, recruitment targets agreed with their public-sector funders. The trials were considered within a larger study examining factors which might be associated with trial recruitment (STEPS). In-depth semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted in 2003-04 with 45 individuals with various responsibilities to one of the four trials. Interviewees were recruited through purposive and then snowball sampling. Interview transcripts were analysed with the assistance of the qualitative package Atlas-ti. The data suggest that the UK system of dividing funds into research, treatment and NHS support costs brought the trial teams into complicated negotiatio...

Health Technology Assessment, 2007

Trials, Jan 7, 2006

A commonly reported problem with the conduct of multicentre randomised controlled trials (RCTs) i... more A commonly reported problem with the conduct of multicentre randomised controlled trials (RCTs) is that recruitment is often slower or more difficult than expected, with many trials failing to reach their planned sample size within the timescale and funding originally envisaged. The aim of this study was to explore factors that may have been associated with good and poor recruitment in a cohort of multicentre trials funded by two public bodies: the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme. The cohort of trials was identified from the administrative databases held by the two funding bodies. 114 trials that recruited participants between 1994 and 2002 met the inclusion criteria. The full scientific applications and subsequent trial reports submitted by the trial teams to the funders provided the principal data sources. Associations between trial characteristics and recruitment success were tested using the Chi-squared test, or Fisher's...

Trials, 2007

Background: Publicly funded clinical trials require a substantial commitment of time and money. T... more Background: Publicly funded clinical trials require a substantial commitment of time and money. To ensure that sufficient numbers of patients are recruited it is essential that they address important questions in a rigorous manner and are managed well, adopting effective marketing strategies. Methods: Using methods of analysis drawn from management studies, this paper presents a structured assessment framework or reference model, derived from a case analysis of the MRC's CRASH trial, of 12 factors that may affect the success of the marketing and sales activities associated with clinical trials. Results: The case study demonstrates that trials need various categories of people to buy inhence, to be successful, trialists must embrace marketing strategies to some extent. Conclusion: The performance of future clinical trials could be enhanced if trialists routinely considered these factors.

Trials, 2014

Background: Recruitment is a major challenge for many trials; just over half reach their targets ... more Background: Recruitment is a major challenge for many trials; just over half reach their targets and almost a third resort to grant extensions. The economic and societal implications of this shortcoming are significant. Yet, we have a limited understanding of the processes that increase the probability that recruitment targets will be achieved. Accordingly, there is an urgent need to bring analytical rigour to the task of improving recruitment, thereby increasing the likelihood that trials reach their recruitment targets. This paper presents a conceptual framework that can be used to improve recruitment to clinical trials. Methods: Using a case-study approach, we reviewed the range of initiatives that had been undertaken to improve recruitment in the txt2stop trial using qualitative (semi-structured interviews with the principal investigator) and quantitative (recruitment) data analysis. Later, the txt2stop recruitment practices were compared to a previous model of marketing a trial and to key constructs in social marketing theory. Results: Post hoc, we developed a recruitment optimisation model to serve as a conceptual framework to improve recruitment to clinical trials. A core premise of the model is that improving recruitment needs to be an iterative, learning process. The model describes three essential activities: i) recruitment phase monitoring, ii) marketing research, and iii) the evaluation of current performance. We describe the initiatives undertaken by the txt2stop trial and the results achieved, as an example of the use of the model. Conclusions: Further research should explore the impact of adopting the recruitment optimisation model when applied to other trials.

IntechOpen eBooks, Aug 8, 2023

Many governments, global management consultancies, university researchers and top executives have... more Many governments, global management consultancies, university researchers and top executives have strongly advocated that either Innovation or Agility is essential for twenty first century enterprises (both commercial and not-for-profit). However, the similarities and differences between Innovation and Agility, and how they interrelate, has been explored less frequently. In this chapter we explore Innovation and Agility by examining two cases where they were mission-critical during a period of extreme disruption due to VUCA (volatile + uncertain + complex + ambiguous) conditions. Using data from our case examples we suggest a specification of the contingency factors that determine where Innovation and/or Agility are likely to be beneficial. From a theoretical perspective we propose that Innovation and Agility are usefully viewed as instruments for deploying clusters of micro-foundations of Dynamic Capabilities, hence contributing to the development of middle-range theories of action. We conclude by reflecting on the implications of our study for researchers, teachers and managers and propose topics for further investigations.