ALBERT

Notes: In this paper a framework of university-industry interactions is discussed. The presence or absence of academic entrepreneurial behaviour is considered as a basic variable in distinguishing a host of transfer mechanisms. As a hypothesis it is stated that university-industry interactions are hampered by three types of barriers: cultural, institutional and operational.This framework is then applied to the Belgian university system. The relative importance of different groups of transfer mechanisms is described. Particular attention is given to the barriers occurring during licensing arrangements and entrepreneurial ventures. A mix of cultural, institutional and operational barriers helps to explain why licensing arrangements and entrepreneurial ventures occur at present less frequently then the assistance mechanisms.

Notes: The paper explains why the traditional relationship between design and manufacturing needs to be changed and what it should be replaced with. Traditionally, the relationship has been sequential. At the beginning of the innovation process design goes ahead alone, manufacturing's input being largely overlooked. Only after the design has been completed does manufacturing take over responsibility, and only then may it emerge that re-design is necessary to make production feasible. The results can be high costs, late delivery and disappointing performance.The changes that have made this practice less supportable include shortened product lifecycles, Japanese competition, customers becoming increasingly quality-conscious, need to deliver exactly on time, and minimization of inventories.Fortunately, new technologies such as CAD/CAM and FMS have come along that can help to rectify these deficiencies; how far they are taken up and effectively used depends on the sharp distinction between the functions being discarded and replaced by their substantial integration. Possibilities that each enterprise could explore include ensuring continuous communication and cooperation between the functions, joint problem solving, replacement of functional management by project management, supplier involvement, elimination of the status differential between design and manufacturing, design for manufacturability, and better understanding by the design function of the realities of the business world.The author warns that integration may not be a universal cure. In particular, he suggests that the innovations closely linked with scientific advances may need some degree of functional differentiation.Changes in the competitive environment require manufacturing organizations to change their view on the relationship between manufacturing and design, and on the way the interface between these two functions has to be managed. In this paper we will first describe the traditional view. Afterwards we will describe the environmental changes that make us question the effectiveness of this view. Finally in a third part we will describe the characteristics of the new approach.