![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.rnd2014.iao.fraunhofer.de\/en\/r-d-management-conference-2014\/_jcr_content\/stage\/image.img.jpg\/Comp%20KV_R%26D_v4_web.1381852247448.jpg\" "\\"The")
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How is R&D management performed in Asia? What are the specifics of China\u2019s innovation systems? How can Australian SMEs assess their innovation capability? How do Taiwanese universities manage their patent activities? Answers to these questions will be presented at the upcoming R&D Management Conference in Stuttgart, Germany in a special session entitled \u201cR&D Management across Cultures\u201d. This session will focus on the (inter-) cultural aspects of innovation management with, within and across Asia-Pacific countries. The Fraunhofer Competence Center R&D Management is giving a presentation based on experience it gained while working on a consulting project with a local partner in South Australia. In the project, which was funded by the South Australian government, the Australian-German team developed a framework to measure the innovation capability and sustainability of SMEs. This framework meets the current state-of-the-art in Europe and leverages existing diagnosis tools.<\/p>\n The Fraunhofer researchers worked together with their local partner and several South Australian SMEs to design a new tool based on an existing business diagnostic tool. Project challenges included understanding the differences between Australian and German SMEs, identifying which are the most important items of European innovation audits for inclusion in the new tool, and developing a concept that fits the local conditions in Australia. Given the cultural differences between the nations, adapting the European frameworks to the Australian market was no easy feat for the team.<\/p>\n Besides the cultural challenges, there are also differences in regulations, laws and funding schemes to be considered when designing an assessment tool for foreign markets. The German-Australian project, for example, had to respect the fact that pricing policies and cost control mechanisms are not given the same importance in both economies.<\/p>\n The project\u2019s success is not only due to the excellent combination of personal strengths and cultural backgrounds in the team, but also to its members\u2019 respect for and interest in the culture of their overseas colleagues. Their willingness to learn from each other and the open exchange of knowledge and experiences within the team and with the local SMEs was crucial in helping them achieve their objectives.<\/p>\n We\u2019d love to discuss any questions you have on cultural challenges in R&D projects and to hear about lessons you have learned. What are the challenges you\u2019ve faced? What has proven essential for coping with them? And what are the issues you\u2019re still struggling with?<\/p>\n Links:<\/strong><\/p>\n Stephan Sch\u00fcle (re-posted from http:\/\/blog.iao.fraunhofer.de)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How is R&D management performed in Asia? What are the specifics of China\u2019s innovation systems? How can Australian SMEs assess their innovation capability? How do Taiwanese universities manage their patent activities? Answers to these questions will be presented at the upcoming R&D Management Conference in Stuttgart, Germany in a special session entitled \u201cR&D Management across … <\/p>\n
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