Fraunhofer-Institut für Produktionsanlagen und Konstruktionstechnik IPK

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  • Publication
    Implementing a European KM Approach in a Brazilian Innovation Institute on a Remote Basis
    ( 2022)
    Will, Markus
    ;
    Budde, Felix
    ;
    Orth, Ronald
    ;
    Neumann, Fernanda
    ;
    Santos, Victoria
    This case study paper outlines the approach and experiences gained in a KM project conducted between two continents on a completely remote basis - due to the pandemic in 2021. The project scope comprises the systematic initiation, design and implementation of a comprehensive knowledge management system at an innovation institute in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The practical business process-oriented KM (BPO-KM) methodology of the Berlin-based Competence Center Knowledge Management at Fraunhofer IPK, was used to define KM goals, to analyze strengths and gaps in knowledge handling and to set up customized KM action programs. Starting with the examination of the institute’s business strategy, the overall KM goals were derived together with the institute’s top management and KM core team. According to the holistic KM approach on the levels "People, Organization, Technology", an online survey ("KM Fitness Check") was conducted with over 100 respondents. The survey results were discussed in an online kick-off workshop in order to prioritize the main strategic and operational KM challenges. In online breakout sessions with different working groups, using collaborative online tools, the knowledge flows inside the institute’s value adding core processes were analyzed in depth ("KM Process Profiles"). In parallel, the KM core team was supported to develop a map of the institute’s crucial knowledge to serve as a common taxonomy for the research groups and administrative functions involved in the KM project, such as HR, IT and project management office. After this initial analysis phase, suitable solutions for the main KM challenges were designed and transformed into three main action programs to start the actual implementation of the institute’s KM system. In a preliminary evaluation, a systemic controlling logic was defined to keep track on results, benefits and impacts of the KM actions regarding the institute’s business strategy. Major learnings, discussed in this paper, include the following findings: a) accompanying change management and communication from the beginning is key to keep motivation high, b) connecting KM to other organizational functions is crucial to anchor KM in the organization, c) remote and online project collaboration bears advantages and drawbacks.
  • Publication
    Business model innovation: A comparative analysis
    ( 2016)
    Steinhöfel, Erik
    ;
    Kohl, Holger
    ;
    Orth, Ronald
    In the past, companies often maintained a business model (BM) for long periods. Today, this is no longer possible as changes in the business environment such as inter-industry competition, shifting patterns of demand, new products, production or distribution technologies erode the power of established BMs. As a consequence, companies are forced to systematically manage or reinvent their BMs and become able at doing so. Although companies believe that the management and innovation of BMs can significantly contribute to business success they are often not able to realize such transformation due to a lack of required abilities and knowledge as well as suited processes and mechanisms to support them. Against this background, the focus of this contribution is on current approaches and procedure for managing and innovating BMs. Based on a literature review within the BM discipline and further associated disciplines BMI approaches have been identified and are described, analysed and compared regarding a practical application. Thus, giving the reader an overview of current comprehensive approaches and thereby establishing a basis for further research and development is the aim of this paper.
  • Publication
    Towards corporate sustainability
    ( 2013)
    Kohl, Holger
    ;
    Orth, Ronald
    Corporate sustainability can be defined as a business approach that creates and sustains the long-term value of a company by embracing opportunities and managing risks from three dimensions: the economic, environmental, and social perspective (Lo and Sheu 2007). In this context the development and use of intellectual capital (IC) provides an important lever for the implementation of sustainability management due to the fact that the IC of an organisation affects the performance of the three sustainability dimensions equally. A variety of sustainability management concepts point out the relevance of intangible resources whereas appropriate assessment and management approaches which reveal the contribution of IC are not or only very limited provided. Study results prove that the number of enterprises which are oriented towards sustainability has increased in recent years, but the implementation still encounters a variety of limits. This especially applies to small and medium sized enterprises (SME). Due to time and financial restrictions, many SMEs do not see themselves in a position to implement sustainable development as a part of the corporate strategy (Drenk 2009). Therefore concepts and methods have to be found in order to provide new and promising instruments in particular for SMEs which constitute the majority of Europe's economic strength. Within this research paper different aspects regarding the integration of Intellectual Capital and Sustainability Management in a SME context should be examined in detail. Against the background of the "Fraunhofer Integrated Model" the relevance of indicators for an integrated management approach will be highlighted. In the past, in particular quantitative indicators represented the largest share of measured variables. However, more and more non-monetary, qualitative indicators are increasingly included in the catalogues (Hirsch et al. 2004). Based on a systematic review of existing indicator catalogues, requirements and initial content for an integrated indicator format will be formulated. Against this background the aspect of benchmarking will be taken into account. The developed methodology is currently tested in a SME from the manufacturing sector. The last chapter of this paper will outline the preliminary results of this practical implementation.