This paper proposes science-based organization design that uses construction principles and desig... more This paper proposes science-based organization design that uses construction principles and design rules to guide practitioner-academic projects. Organization science implies construction principles for creating and implementing designs. These principles serve to construct design rules that are instrumental in developing organization designs. Testing and implementing designs require pragmatic experimentation in complex, dynamic settings. The authors explore a circular design process as an example of science-based organization design. Tests of this circular process in over 30 organizations suggest that construction principles are important for creating new design rules as well as for a deeper understanding of the systems and practices created from these rules. In addition, explicit principles and rules for organization design appear to facilitate the transfer of learning between different projects. As such, they can help reconnect organization research to ongoing design work.
Climate change and urbanization have resulted in several societal challenges for urban areas. Nat... more Climate change and urbanization have resulted in several societal challenges for urban areas. Nature-based solutions (NBS) have been positioned as solutions for enhancing urban resilience in the face of these challenges. However, the body of conceptual and practical knowledge regarding NBS remains fragmented. This study addresses this gap by means of a systematic review of the literature, to define NBS as a theoretical concept; its broader significance with respect to societal challenges; the key stakeholders in NBS planning, implementation and management; and major barriers to and enablers of NBS uptake. The results of this review reveal that, despite a lack of consensus about the definition of NBS, there is a shared understanding that the NBS concept encompasses human and ecological benefits beyond the core objective of ecosystem conservation, restoration or enhancement. Significant barriers to and enablers of NBS are discussed, along with a proposed strategic planning framework f...
Academic Spin-Offs and Technology Transfer in Europe
Large, mature organizations are often capable of exploiting existing products efficiently, but ar... more Large, mature organizations are often capable of exploiting existing products efficiently, but are typically less effective in being innovative. Financial systems and bureaucratic procedures adopted to control processes in large organizations tend to be hostile towards innovative ideas, proposals and initiatives. One of the solutions to this problem is to structurally separate exploitation tasks and innovative exploration activities, the latter, for example, in a new venture unit. On the other hand, such a structurally separate unit still needs to have some degree of integration with the parent organization, which forms the lifeline for new ventures in terms of resources and reputation. As such, the new venture unit acts as an ‘ incubation’ semi-structure that mediates organizational rigidities and supports organizational renewal by means of entrepreneurship. Previous studies have provided detailed assessments of the layout of such a new venture unit and its simultaneous integration with and separation from the host organization (e.g. Jansen et al. 2009). However, how these units are established in the first place has largely remained unaddressed. In this respect, our understanding of the process of designing such units is still in its infancy, and studies considering how designers use knowledge to deal with the complex contexts of this design process are rare. Here, this study contributes to the innovation and corporate and academic entrepreneurship literature by studying the interaction between the design processes of new venture units and diverse complex design contexts. The way designers use and process knowledge can be conceptualized in terms of three design strategies (Gavetti et al. 2008): off-line reasoning and planning, feedback-driven learning and associative reasoning. Research on designing new venture units implies that in many organizations this design process is especially driven by experimentation (i.e. feedback-driven learning) or by copying designs (i.e. associative reasoning) from other organizations (Hill and Birkinshaw 2008). An important question then is how specific contexts enable or hamper particular design strategies.
The notion of organizational hierarchy is disputed, also in view of the rise of new organizationa... more The notion of organizational hierarchy is disputed, also in view of the rise of new organizational forms claimed to have “hierarchies without bosses.” To better understand the contested nature of hierarchy, this essay provides a systemic perspective on organizational hierarchy defined as a sequence, or ladder, of accountability levels. I then argue this ladder can be used in a top-down manner (e.g., as a chain of command), but also in bottom-up ways (e.g., by employees taking charge of higher-level responsibilities). Subsequently, several propositions that may guide future work in this area are formulated, and the implications for organization design are fleshed out. Overall, the notion of hierarchy may become less contested by defining it as an accountability ladder which can be instantiated and used in highly different ways.
Our electricity is predominantly powered by alternating current (AC), ever since the War of Curre... more Our electricity is predominantly powered by alternating current (AC), ever since the War of Currents ended in the favor of Nicola Tesla at the end of the 19th century. However, lots of the appliances we use, such as electronics and lights with light-emitting diode (LED) technology, work internally on direct current (DC) and it is projected that the number of these appliances will increase in the near future. Another contributor to the increase in DC consumption is the ongoing electrification of mobility (Electric Vehicles (EVs)). At the same time, photovoltaics (PV) generate DC voltages, while the most common storage technologies also use DC. In order to integrate all these appliances and technologies to the existing AC grid, there is a need for converters which introduce power losses. By distributing DC power to DC devices instead of converting it to AC first, it is possible to avoid substantial energy losses that occur every time electricity is converted. This situation initiated ...
Maandblad Voor Accountancy en Bedrijfseconomie, 2002
De sterk verouderde structuur van de kapitaalmarkt en de vennootschap verschaft een vruchtbare vo... more De sterk verouderde structuur van de kapitaalmarkt en de vennootschap verschaft een vruchtbare voedingsbodem voor fraude, bedrijfsblindheid, misbruik van bedrijfsmiddelen, ontoereikende accountantscontrole en klachten over het gebrek aan invloed van aandeelhouders op beursgenoteerde ondernemingen. Een herbezinning op de vennootschap, het aandeel en de aandeelhouder noodzaakt tot fundamentele oplossingen. In dit artikel wordt een mogelijke oplossing verkend, namelijk een vennootschap op basis van consentaandelen. Betoogd wordt dat deze vennootschapsvorm bijdraagt aan een moderne invulling van eigendomsverhoudingen waarin kapitaalverschaffers gelijkwaardig zijn aan andere ‘eigenaars’, zoals de verschaffers van arbeid en kennis.
Maandblad Voor Accountancy en Bedrijfseconomie, 2002
Door de opkomst van informatietechnologie (IT) zijn de mogelijkheden en de belangstelling voor ke... more Door de opkomst van informatietechnologie (IT) zijn de mogelijkheden en de belangstelling voor kennismanagement sterk toegenomen. Te vaak wordt kennismanagement gelijkgesteld aan IT. Dit artikel bespreekt waarom investeringen in IT-gestuurd kennismanagement in sommige gevallen niet de gewenste resultaten opleveren. Besproken wordt het onderscheid tussen impliciete en expliciete kennis en de verschillende soorten kennisprocessen en kennisactiva die voor bedrijfsprocessen van belang zijn. Vervolgens worden verschillende wegen naar kennismanagement beschreven waarin IT een ondergeschikte rol speelt, en één weg waarin IT de hoofdrol speelt.
Maandblad Voor Accountancy en Bedrijfseconomie, 2002
Door de turbulente gebeurtenissen in de Nederlandse politiek in de afgelopen maanden, is de aanda... more Door de turbulente gebeurtenissen in de Nederlandse politiek in de afgelopen maanden, is de aandacht van de media voor de discussie over de rol van de accountant wat weggezakt. Toch wordt nog steeds alom gesproken over een crisis in de accountancy, vooral naar aanleiding van het Enronschandaal (bijvoorbeeld: Business Week, 28 januari 2002, pp. 50-55).
Maandblad Voor Accountancy en Bedrijfseconomie, 2002
In dit artikel wordt ingegaan op de vraag of een synthese tussen werknemerschap via het arbeidsco... more In dit artikel wordt ingegaan op de vraag of een synthese tussen werknemerschap via het arbeidscontract enerzijds en partnerschap in de deelname in eigendom en leiding van de onderneming anderzijds mogelijk is. Met andere woorden, kan het binden en boeien van medewerkers tegelijkertijd worden vormgegeven en gerealiseerd? De kringorganisatiemethode wordt beschreven als een mogelijke oplossing voor deze vraag.
This paper proposes science-based organization design that uses construction principles and desig... more This paper proposes science-based organization design that uses construction principles and design rules to guide practitioner-academic projects. Organization science implies construction principles for creating and implementing designs. These principles serve to construct design rules that are instrumental in developing organization designs. Testing and implementing designs require pragmatic experimentation in complex, dynamic settings. The authors explore a circular design process as an example of science-based organization design. Tests of this circular process in over 30 organizations suggest that construction principles are important for creating new design rules as well as for a deeper understanding of the systems and practices created from these rules. In addition, explicit principles and rules for organization design appear to facilitate the transfer of learning between different projects. As such, they can help reconnect organization research to ongoing design work.
Climate change and urbanization have resulted in several societal challenges for urban areas. Nat... more Climate change and urbanization have resulted in several societal challenges for urban areas. Nature-based solutions (NBS) have been positioned as solutions for enhancing urban resilience in the face of these challenges. However, the body of conceptual and practical knowledge regarding NBS remains fragmented. This study addresses this gap by means of a systematic review of the literature, to define NBS as a theoretical concept; its broader significance with respect to societal challenges; the key stakeholders in NBS planning, implementation and management; and major barriers to and enablers of NBS uptake. The results of this review reveal that, despite a lack of consensus about the definition of NBS, there is a shared understanding that the NBS concept encompasses human and ecological benefits beyond the core objective of ecosystem conservation, restoration or enhancement. Significant barriers to and enablers of NBS are discussed, along with a proposed strategic planning framework f...
Academic Spin-Offs and Technology Transfer in Europe
Large, mature organizations are often capable of exploiting existing products efficiently, but ar... more Large, mature organizations are often capable of exploiting existing products efficiently, but are typically less effective in being innovative. Financial systems and bureaucratic procedures adopted to control processes in large organizations tend to be hostile towards innovative ideas, proposals and initiatives. One of the solutions to this problem is to structurally separate exploitation tasks and innovative exploration activities, the latter, for example, in a new venture unit. On the other hand, such a structurally separate unit still needs to have some degree of integration with the parent organization, which forms the lifeline for new ventures in terms of resources and reputation. As such, the new venture unit acts as an ‘ incubation’ semi-structure that mediates organizational rigidities and supports organizational renewal by means of entrepreneurship. Previous studies have provided detailed assessments of the layout of such a new venture unit and its simultaneous integration with and separation from the host organization (e.g. Jansen et al. 2009). However, how these units are established in the first place has largely remained unaddressed. In this respect, our understanding of the process of designing such units is still in its infancy, and studies considering how designers use knowledge to deal with the complex contexts of this design process are rare. Here, this study contributes to the innovation and corporate and academic entrepreneurship literature by studying the interaction between the design processes of new venture units and diverse complex design contexts. The way designers use and process knowledge can be conceptualized in terms of three design strategies (Gavetti et al. 2008): off-line reasoning and planning, feedback-driven learning and associative reasoning. Research on designing new venture units implies that in many organizations this design process is especially driven by experimentation (i.e. feedback-driven learning) or by copying designs (i.e. associative reasoning) from other organizations (Hill and Birkinshaw 2008). An important question then is how specific contexts enable or hamper particular design strategies.
The notion of organizational hierarchy is disputed, also in view of the rise of new organizationa... more The notion of organizational hierarchy is disputed, also in view of the rise of new organizational forms claimed to have “hierarchies without bosses.” To better understand the contested nature of hierarchy, this essay provides a systemic perspective on organizational hierarchy defined as a sequence, or ladder, of accountability levels. I then argue this ladder can be used in a top-down manner (e.g., as a chain of command), but also in bottom-up ways (e.g., by employees taking charge of higher-level responsibilities). Subsequently, several propositions that may guide future work in this area are formulated, and the implications for organization design are fleshed out. Overall, the notion of hierarchy may become less contested by defining it as an accountability ladder which can be instantiated and used in highly different ways.
Our electricity is predominantly powered by alternating current (AC), ever since the War of Curre... more Our electricity is predominantly powered by alternating current (AC), ever since the War of Currents ended in the favor of Nicola Tesla at the end of the 19th century. However, lots of the appliances we use, such as electronics and lights with light-emitting diode (LED) technology, work internally on direct current (DC) and it is projected that the number of these appliances will increase in the near future. Another contributor to the increase in DC consumption is the ongoing electrification of mobility (Electric Vehicles (EVs)). At the same time, photovoltaics (PV) generate DC voltages, while the most common storage technologies also use DC. In order to integrate all these appliances and technologies to the existing AC grid, there is a need for converters which introduce power losses. By distributing DC power to DC devices instead of converting it to AC first, it is possible to avoid substantial energy losses that occur every time electricity is converted. This situation initiated ...
Maandblad Voor Accountancy en Bedrijfseconomie, 2002
De sterk verouderde structuur van de kapitaalmarkt en de vennootschap verschaft een vruchtbare vo... more De sterk verouderde structuur van de kapitaalmarkt en de vennootschap verschaft een vruchtbare voedingsbodem voor fraude, bedrijfsblindheid, misbruik van bedrijfsmiddelen, ontoereikende accountantscontrole en klachten over het gebrek aan invloed van aandeelhouders op beursgenoteerde ondernemingen. Een herbezinning op de vennootschap, het aandeel en de aandeelhouder noodzaakt tot fundamentele oplossingen. In dit artikel wordt een mogelijke oplossing verkend, namelijk een vennootschap op basis van consentaandelen. Betoogd wordt dat deze vennootschapsvorm bijdraagt aan een moderne invulling van eigendomsverhoudingen waarin kapitaalverschaffers gelijkwaardig zijn aan andere ‘eigenaars’, zoals de verschaffers van arbeid en kennis.
Maandblad Voor Accountancy en Bedrijfseconomie, 2002
Door de opkomst van informatietechnologie (IT) zijn de mogelijkheden en de belangstelling voor ke... more Door de opkomst van informatietechnologie (IT) zijn de mogelijkheden en de belangstelling voor kennismanagement sterk toegenomen. Te vaak wordt kennismanagement gelijkgesteld aan IT. Dit artikel bespreekt waarom investeringen in IT-gestuurd kennismanagement in sommige gevallen niet de gewenste resultaten opleveren. Besproken wordt het onderscheid tussen impliciete en expliciete kennis en de verschillende soorten kennisprocessen en kennisactiva die voor bedrijfsprocessen van belang zijn. Vervolgens worden verschillende wegen naar kennismanagement beschreven waarin IT een ondergeschikte rol speelt, en één weg waarin IT de hoofdrol speelt.
Maandblad Voor Accountancy en Bedrijfseconomie, 2002
Door de turbulente gebeurtenissen in de Nederlandse politiek in de afgelopen maanden, is de aanda... more Door de turbulente gebeurtenissen in de Nederlandse politiek in de afgelopen maanden, is de aandacht van de media voor de discussie over de rol van de accountant wat weggezakt. Toch wordt nog steeds alom gesproken over een crisis in de accountancy, vooral naar aanleiding van het Enronschandaal (bijvoorbeeld: Business Week, 28 januari 2002, pp. 50-55).
Maandblad Voor Accountancy en Bedrijfseconomie, 2002
In dit artikel wordt ingegaan op de vraag of een synthese tussen werknemerschap via het arbeidsco... more In dit artikel wordt ingegaan op de vraag of een synthese tussen werknemerschap via het arbeidscontract enerzijds en partnerschap in de deelname in eigendom en leiding van de onderneming anderzijds mogelijk is. Met andere woorden, kan het binden en boeien van medewerkers tegelijkertijd worden vormgegeven en gerealiseerd? De kringorganisatiemethode wordt beschreven als een mogelijke oplossing voor deze vraag.
This is Introduction chapter to "The Quest for Professionalism: The Case of Management and Entrep... more This is Introduction chapter to "The Quest for Professionalism: The Case of Management and Entrepreneurship" (Oxford University Press, 2016).
One important reason why there are so many very badly managed firms in the world today is the wid... more One important reason why there are so many very badly managed firms in the world today is the widespread belief that management should be the responsibility of a few people at the top. The future of corporations may therefore depend on the rise of distributed forms of management, such as holacracy. This short article discusses three misconceptions that have grown up around holacracy.
CERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation, 2023
In this paper on design science (DS), I outlines what DS is, what it is good for, and how it can ... more In this paper on design science (DS), I outlines what DS is, what it is good for, and how it can be applied. This primer on DS also includes an annotated list of references.
CERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation, 2023
As a research methodology, design science operates at the interface of creative design and explan... more As a research methodology, design science operates at the interface of creative design and explanatory science to create and test innovative solutions. Design Science (DS) methodologies have emerged in various disciplines such as information systems, operations management, innovation management, and entrepreneurship. A major source of inspiration for the rise of DS is Simon’s monograph (1969) The Sciences of the Artificial. DS can be applied to tangible artifacts (e.g. hardware and software), intangible artifacts (e.g. innovation processes and team collaboration), or combinations of the two (e.g. a system for creating deep-tech ventures). Moreover, it can draw on a diverse set of (semi)experimental and related methods for collecting and analysing (qualitative and/or quantitative) data, which also enables its application to innovation settings in which the number of observations and cases initially is rather small. DS therefore differs from action research by focusing on solutions as artifacts as well as adopting a broader and more flexible approach to data collection and analysis. DS also goes beyond merely problem-solving, because it draws on evidence-based protocols and also fuels theory development. In this primer on DS, I outline what it is, what it is good for, and how it can be used.
Deep-tech startups have enormous potential to solve major societal challenges, but their failure ... more Deep-tech startups have enormous potential to solve major societal challenges, but their failure rates are quite high (above 90%). In this respect, deep-tech systems and products have long development times and thus require substantial amounts of investment capital long before the first customer can be served. Moreover, potential investors increasingly expect that the value proposition of a deep-tech venture has a clear sustainability dimension. We therefore designed a tool that serves to develop a convincing value proposition for investors, one that is explicitly connected to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. We adopted a design science approach to develop and test this tool in the context of a deep-tech venture builder located in The Netherlands. The final tool arising from this study extends and integrates various existing tools with an explicit connection to the SDGs. As such, this tool enables deep-tech entrepreneurs to develop a value proposition that is more likely to attract early-stage investors.
The Brainport-Eindhoven region has developed into a leading location for deeptech entrepreneurshi... more The Brainport-Eindhoven region has developed into a leading location for deeptech entrepreneurship in Europe. Against all odds, it has transformed itself from a region that heavily depended on the multinational company Philips, into a diverse and fast-growing deeptech ecosystem. While this success has not gone unnoticed, there is not yet a clear account of how and why the Eindhoven region emerged as a global hotspot for deeptech innovation and entrepreneurship. Moreover, such an account might provide an exemplary model of a collaborative ecosystem, one that provides an alternative to the “winner-takes-all” entrepreneurial culture of Silicon Valley. This essay explores the performance of the Eindhoven region in terms of three structural conditions. First, the focus on deeptech R&D and entrepreneurship appears to be deeply rooted in the region’s history as well as strong competencies in systems engineering, design thinking, and multidisciplinary collaboration. Second, a collaborative approach to regional policy gives industrial, academic, and governmental actors an equivalent position in its “triple helix” governance. Finally, the Eindhoven region benefits from a systemic approach toward co-locating R&D and entrepreneurial activities on five campuses. Overall, the huge complexity of deeptech systems and products apparently requires a truly collaborative approach at all levels of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The Brainport-Eindhoven region has developed into a leading location for deeptech entrepreneurshi... more The Brainport-Eindhoven region has developed into a leading location for deeptech entrepreneurship in Europe. Against all odds, it has transformed itself from a region that heavily depended on the multinational company Philips, into a diverse and fast-growing deeptech ecosystem. While this success has not gone unnoticed, there is not yet a clear account of how and why the Eindhoven region emerged as a global hotspot for deeptech innovation and entrepreneurship. Moreover, such an account might provide an exemplary model of a collaborative ecosystem, one that provides an alternative to the "winner-takes-all" entrepreneurial culture of Silicon Valley. This essay explores the performance of the Eindhoven region in terms of three structural conditions. First, the focus on deeptech R&D and entrepreneurship appears to be deeply rooted in the region's history as well as strong competencies in systems engineering, design thinking, and multidisciplinary collaboration. Second, a collaborative approach to regional policy gives industrial, academic, and governmental actors an equivalent position in its "triple helix" governance. Finally, the Eindhoven region benefits from a systemic approach toward co-locating R&D and entrepreneurial activities on five campuses. Overall, the huge complexity of deeptech systems and products apparently requires a truly collaborative approach at all levels of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
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Papers by A Georges L Romme
truly collaborative approach at all levels of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.