November 2015 Download this article as a PDF

Welcome to the November 2015 special issue of the Technology Innovation Management Review. This is indeed a "special issue" because it is our 100th issue since the journal first began in July 2007.

In the first article, I look back over these first 100 issues of the TIM Review, the themes they covered, trends in authorship and readership, and future opportunities and challenges for the journal. The other authors in this issue were asked to look forward to the next 100 issues by identifying key unanswered questions in emerging domains where theory and practice are limited. Their articles share insights about lean and global startups, the disruptive impacts of 3D printing on supply chains, an agenda for securing cyberspace, and encouraging companies to engage in collaborative innovation.

Erik Stavnsager Rasmussen and Stoyan Tanev, Associate Professors at the University of Southern Denmark, identify the emergence of the "lean global startup" as a new type of firm. By examining the connections in the literature on lean startups and born-global firms, they identify areas of future research to better understand lean global startups from a theoretical perspective.

Next, Sebastian Mohr and Omera Khan from the Technical University of Denmark identify key questions about 3D printing that they predict will have disruptive impacts on future supply chains. Their analysis of potential impact areas includes mass customization, resource efficiency, decentralization of manufacturing, reduction of complexity, rationalization of inventory and logistics, product design and prototyping, and legal and security concerns.

Then, Renaud Levesque, D’Arcy Walsh, and David Whyte from the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) in Ottawa, Canada, examine the challenge of securing cyberspace. They share their experiences in contributing to the establishment of the VENUS Cybersecurity Corporation, a not-for-profit corporation that aims to make Canada a global leader in cybersecurity. They argue that a radical shift is required in terms of how cybersecurity research is conducted, how researchers are educated, how new defendable systems are developed, and how effective defensive countermeasures are deployed. After examining the key drivers and corresponding focus areas for securing cyberspace, they put forth a list of "big questions" that must be addressed first.  

Katri Valkokari, Principle Scientist at VTT (Technical Research Centre of Finland) then asks "In the innovation game, why do so many companies stay on the sidelines?" Valkokari examines the benefits of collaborative innovation and the barriers that are holding some companies back (despite the benefits). She also describes potential strategies to encourage companies to overcome their reluctance and identifies several promising avenues for future research that will help companies know where to play, with whom to play, and how to play the innovation game.

Finally, this issue includes a summary of a recent TIM Lecture presented by Firdaus Kharas, a social innovator, director, and humanitarian who founded Chocolate Moose Media, a social enterprise with the mission to better the human condition through media. Kharas shared his experiences producing animations, documentaries, films, and television series designed to educate, entertain, and change societal and individual behaviour via a process he calls "Culture Shift". His goal is to positively influence the viewers’ knowledge, attitude, and behaviour, especially in children and young adults.

In our December and January issues, we revisit a recurring and popular theme in the TIM Review: Living Labs. Our guest editors will be Seppo Leminen (Laurea University of Applied Sciences and Aalto University, Finland), Dimitri Schuurman (iMinds/Ghent University, Belgium), Mika Westerlund (Carleton University, Canada), and Eelko Huizingh (University of Groningen, Netherlands).

For future issues, we welcome your submissions of articles on technology entrepreneurship, innovation management, and other topics relevant to launching and growing technology companies and solving practical problems in emerging domains. Please contact us with potential article topics and submissions.

We hope you enjoy this 100th issue of the TIM Review and will share your comments online.

Chris McPhee
Editor-in-Chief

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Keywords: 3D printing, born-global firms, collaborative innovation, cybersafety, cybersecurity, cyberspace, future research, innovation, lean global startups, lean startups, management, Open innovation, social innovation, supply chains, technology, technology innovation management review, TIM Review

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