Calls for papers

 

International Journal of Logistics Economics and Globalisation

 

Special Issue on: "Innovation in Product and Process Development"

Guest Editors:
Dr. Venkatesh Balasubramanian, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India
Harlina Suzanna Jaafar, Malaysia Institute of Transport, Malaysia
Dr. K. Ganesh, McKinsey and Company, India
Dr. Tom Page, Loughborough University, UK

There is a growing need expressed by many developing countries for the capacity to discover, develop and produce innovative products and processes. There is also a desire felt by many countries to better access and utilise indigenous knowledge for innovative products and processes.

These needs have been recognised most recently in a report by the Commission for Intellectual Property and Innovation. There are increasing instances of institutions focusing on product and process innovation-driven R&D, mainly in emergent economies. However, the application of innovation with consideration for usability, safety and ergonomics remains a challenge to both the public and private sectors of developing countries.

Internationally there is a greater level of understanding about how to develop public-private partnerships for product and process development. Opportunities exist to coordinate existing academic networks and research groups into internationally competitive R&D teams, linking them to appropriate private sector contacts, and brokering access to technologies and practices that would empower them to competitively develop products and processes and to obtain funding from national and regional sources as well as the larger international community. An area that could be particularly capitalised on is that of indigenous knowledge and its potential application to innovative products and processes.

The objective of this special issue is to contribute new insights to the extant body of knowledge, focusing on innovation in product and process development with consideration for usability, safety, reliability, durability and ergonomics. The special issue is intended for revised and substantially extended versions of selected papers presented at the International Conference on Ergonomics and Human Factors: Innovation and Usability in Product Development - Humanizing Work and Work Environment (HWWE 2011) on 15 th to 17th December, 2011 (http://www.hwwe2011.org/), organised by the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai - 600036, Tamil Nadu, India . However, we also encourage other researchers to submit their manuscripts to this special issue.

Subject Coverage
Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Innovation management
• Models of innovation
• Economics and market adoption
• Marketing insights to facilitate innovation
• Innovative new products and consumption patterns
• Innovation diffusion theories
• Organisational heritage and innovation experience
• Cross functional cooperation and coordination
• Strategy towards innovation, alliance and networks in innovation
• Process design and triggers for innovation
• Total quality management in product and process innovation
• Business process reengineering for product and process innovation
• Managing intellectual property
• Human genetic patenting
• Technology trajectories in product and process innovation
• New service and product innovation and development
• Market research and its influence
• Product differentiation and innovation positioning
• Product platforms and knowledge platforms
• Excellence in design and product reliability
• Designing to ensure quality
• Establishing product selling price
• Fostering innovation and entrepreneurship
• Innovation through new technologies
• Convergence theory and macro-ergonomics
• Performance measurement in innovation

Notes for Prospective Authors

Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. (N.B. Conference papers may only be submitted if the paper was not originally copyrighted and if it has been completely re-written).

All papers are refereed through a peer review process. A guide for authors, sample copies and other relevant information for submitting papers are available on the Author Guidelines page

Important Dates

Manuscript submission: 1 April, 2012

Notification of initial decision: 1 May, 2012

Submission of revised manuscript: 1 June, 2012

Notification of final acceptance: 1 July, 2012

Submission of final revised paper: 1 August, 2012