Limitations of the Study, Article Critique Example

The main limitation mentioned in the article is the use of repeated measures, as the authors ntoe, “Policy capturing, a within-subject design, was ideally suited to collect the data but imposed limitations

on the statistical techniques appropriate for testing the hypotheses. Where a scenario is the unit of analysis and each respondent replies to multiple scenarios, it is best to employ statistical tests that take into account the repeated measures from each participant(Kachra & Roderick, 2008)

The authors go on to point out how contemporary literature focused on the epistemology of know-how transfers fails to accounts for this discrepancy in the process of quantitative analysis. They point out how there are numerous top publishing magazines that avoid this topic. The authors states that contemporary analysis in the field of know-how transfers entails treating multiple observations from the same respondent as though they have nothing in common. By ignoring this correlation the authors feel these studies are limited to the credibility of the single respondent, and even more so their result will be bias based on previously recorded results. Upon further analysis of this concept, the author cites Scullen and Barr, two authors who isolated the core cause of bias from this evaluation methods and argue they pose two risks. These risks are “(1) autocorrelation and (2) heteroscedasticity.” From their study of policy capturing and regression based techniques Kachra and Roderick believe that autocorrelation, the act of likening one thing to another, is a natural response from each respective decision maker. The authors also note that heteroscedasticity is also a likely occurrence due to the fact that each decision maker will already have a preconceived distribution. To sum up the core limitation of this method, the authors say, Although we can conduct tests to determine the degree of autocorrelation and heteroscedasticity, we cannot negate the reality: responses in our study are not independent; they are dependent by definition and design.”

Your assessment of the general relevancy of the article in contributing to your knowledge of the management of technology.
The article uses policy capture methodology to study the correlation between different triggers of context and know-how transfer efforts among bio-tech scientists. It evaluates the cutting edge of new know-how transfer efforts and I believe it does this in an accurate and effective way. The study is very thorough in it analysis breaking the process of know-how transfer into three “contextual cues” and studying 79 biotech R&D scientists. I also appreciate the way the study focused keenly on the act of reciprocity between the deliver of knowledge and the recipient. The main thing I found refreshing about this study is that it did not break the process down into a group of metrics or numerical factors, but assessed the values qualitatively with terms that are understandable. The use of contextual cues such as competitiveness, social relationship, and within or across firm boundaries, playing a key role in the transferability of information seemed legitimate and understandable.

The concluding argument of the article is that the study allows better understanding of the know-how transfer process through empirically testing the factors that go into it. This is specifically in regards to the social and community factors. The failure the business and tech world has made in regards to know-how transfers, according to the authors, is that managers don’t recognize the social factors involved in know-how transfer but just think of the issue on an economic level.

In addition, there is a case study that related to this Unit and it is about Apple Computer, and I want to answer this question about it in one page double space.

The Question is: From the Apple Computer case what appear to be Apple’s major competences and assets? Describe these competences and assets in terms of their coreness and imitability?

One factor for success the author mentions is that the only way for the company to be successful is for Apple to take some of the market share from their competitors. Microsoft being Apple’s major competitor, this a challenging obstacle, but the company has done well with the implementation of iTunes, The Apple Store, the Genius Bar, keen marketing and even more creative design when it comes to manufacturing their products.  Apple’s coreness comes from its manufacturing of proprietary hardware to match its software. The main competition Apple has is Microsoft, which lags in the design and marketing department compared to Apple. Apple’s marketing and advertising campaigns are also unique talents the company has working in its favor as its advertising expenditures per ad outweighs the industry average, but they rarely produce ad multiple ad campaigns in a fiscal season. Its major competences can be seen as the advertising techniques it uses.  The key to gaining a share in Apple’s market share is to convince users of other products to switch to Apple.

In sum, Apple’s use of outsourcing has led to a more efficient distribution for the company but also increased sales. Apple’s online store and the implementation of iTunes is also a core strength the company has established to double market share. This can be seen as a competence for Apple because re-sellers The Apple store increase visibility and excitement around the apple products distribution Apple is positioning itself to be the entertainment hub of the future.

References:

Kachra, A., & Roderick, W. (2008). Know-how transfer: The role of social, economic/ competitive, and firm boundary factors. Strategic Management Journal, (29), 425-445.