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• 1. [Article] Assessing Strategic Intent in the Context of Competition and Absorptive Capacity

  High technology firms compete fiercely for their share of wealth. Strategic Management is a discipline that determines a firm’s intent and direction for creating a competitive advantage and wealth. Often, ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Assessing Strategic Intent in the Context of Competition and Absorptive Capacity Author: Sperry, Richard Chad Year: 2010 High technology firms compete fiercely for their share of wealth. Strategic Management is a discipline that determines a firm’s intent and direction for creating a competitive advantage and wealth. Often, strategies are set though polices that govern the firm’s products and services, how it positions itself to compete, the choice of scope and diversity to compete, as well as the administration polices used to define and coordinate work. Two prevailing economic theories that help explain how an economic phenomenon affects economic competition are Schumpeterian and Kirznerian. Both theories attempt to explain entrepreneurship and its effect on the economy. Firms that are able to learn and exploit technological opportunities before their competitors position themselves with a competitive position, while reaping the profits. The theory of Absorptive Capacity is predicated on the firm’s ability to predict more accurately the nature of technological advances through the accumulation of the firm’s knowledge by recognizing the value of new external information, assimilating it, and exploiting it commercially. This paper discusses expanding the Absorptive Capacity model developed by Cohen and Levinthal to include technical regime incentives and dynamically model Schumpeterian and Kirznerian competition when assessing the firm’s strategic intent Title: Assessing Strategic Intent in the Context of Competition and Absorptive Capacity Author: Sperry, Richard Chad Year: 2010 High technology firms compete fiercely for their share of wealth. Strategic Management is a discipline that determines a firm’s intent and direction for creating a competitive advantage and wealth. Often, strategies are set though polices that govern the firm’s products and services, how it positions itself to compete, the choice of scope and diversity to compete, as well as the administration polices used to define and coordinate work. Two prevailing economic theories that help explain how an economic phenomenon affects economic competition are Schumpeterian and Kirznerian. Both theories attempt to explain entrepreneurship and its effect on the economy. Firms that are able to learn and exploit technological opportunities before their competitors position themselves with a competitive position, while reaping the profits. The theory of Absorptive Capacity is predicated on the firm’s ability to predict more accurately the nature of technological advances through the accumulation of the firm’s knowledge by recognizing the value of new external information, assimilating it, and exploiting it commercially. This paper discusses expanding the Absorptive Capacity model developed by Cohen and Levinthal to include technical regime incentives and dynamically model Schumpeterian and Kirznerian competition when assessing the firm’s strategic intent Close

• 2. [Article] Open Source Medical Solutions

  Open Source Medical Solutions is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the development of medical technologies through open source principles. OS Medical is dedicated to developing low-cost ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Open Source Medical Solutions Author: Alshafi, Rami, King, Joseph Year: 2012 Open Source Medical Solutions is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the development of medical technologies through open source principles. OS Medical is dedicated to developing low-cost medical devices. The first device, currently in development, is the Blind Vision Project. Worn as a conventional pair of glasses, the BVP utilizes ultrasonic sensors to perceive physical objects, transmitting their proximity with massaging motors connected to the earpieces of the glasses. The device’s range can be easily adjusted to facilitate indoor or outdoor use. The device is powered by a lithium-ion battery, which is recharged with a standard USB cable. 3 million Americans are currently blind and 25 million suffer from impaired vision. Blindness can lead to a variety of other health conditions such as depression, diabetes and high cholesterol. Globally, 40 million are blind and 285 million visually impaired. In developing, lack of mobility can dramatically shorten life expectancy. The BVP will strive to increase the mobility and improve the life of blind people around the world. Both blind people and advocacy groups have expressed interest in the BVP, though similar devices have failed to catch on in the past. The failure of similar devices is generally attributed to a lack of functionality or unwieldy appearance. Competing devices are currently in development by Oxford University, Brainport Technology and potentially Apple Computers. By harnessing the power of open source development, OS Medical will strive to become the preeminent assistive device design community. OS Medical is committed to adhering to open source principles. All design specifications and IP will be published freely. Thriving open source communities exist to support software applications such as Linux, Mozilla and Drupal. Open source hardware communities are growing quickly. OS Medical will be the first open source community dedicated specifically to medical devices. Production of devices will be performed in partnership with electrical engineering classes at universities. The BVP will be delivered as a kit, which will be assembled by students as they learn basic engineering skills. Completed kits will be donated to blindness advocacy organizations for distribution to users. The BVP would replace the kits currently used, which have minimal social value and are generally thrown away or salvaged for parts at the conclusion of the class. OS Medical is currently in discussions with Prof Phillip Wong to develop a pilot program in conjunction with his Electrical Programming class. In 2013, OS Medical would like to provide the BVP to users free of cost. With an initial goal of 200 devices, OS Medical will require $30,000 in start-up funding. This will provide for the components of the device and administrative costs for the website which would support the OS Medical community. OS Medical would like to develop additional devices to serve other disabilities by 2015 and grow to serve 4,000 users by 2017. OS Medical will strive to both supply devices and serve as a cornerstone in the open source medical device community. OS Medical will serve as a conduit connecting disability advocacy organizations, educational institutions and open source developers to facilitate the design and distribution of the next generation of assistive devices. Rami Alshafi is the founder of OS Medical and will serve as Executive Director. He is currently completing a Master’s Degree in electrical engineering at Portland State University. He is assisted by Joseph King, a recent graduate of the Portland State MBA program, who will sit on the OS Medical Board of Directors. Title: Open Source Medical Solutions Author: Alshafi, Rami, King, Joseph Year: 2012 Open Source Medical Solutions is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the development of medical technologies through open source principles. OS Medical is dedicated to developing low-cost medical devices. The first device, currently in development, is the Blind Vision Project. Worn as a conventional pair of glasses, the BVP utilizes ultrasonic sensors to perceive physical objects, transmitting their proximity with massaging motors connected to the earpieces of the glasses. The device’s range can be easily adjusted to facilitate indoor or outdoor use. The device is powered by a lithium-ion battery, which is recharged with a standard USB cable. 3 million Americans are currently blind and 25 million suffer from impaired vision. Blindness can lead to a variety of other health conditions such as depression, diabetes and high cholesterol. Globally, 40 million are blind and 285 million visually impaired. In developing, lack of mobility can dramatically shorten life expectancy. The BVP will strive to increase the mobility and improve the life of blind people around the world. Both blind people and advocacy groups have expressed interest in the BVP, though similar devices have failed to catch on in the past. The failure of similar devices is generally attributed to a lack of functionality or unwieldy appearance. Competing devices are currently in development by Oxford University, Brainport Technology and potentially Apple Computers. By harnessing the power of open source development, OS Medical will strive to become the preeminent assistive device design community. OS Medical is committed to adhering to open source principles. All design specifications and IP will be published freely. Thriving open source communities exist to support software applications such as Linux, Mozilla and Drupal. Open source hardware communities are growing quickly. OS Medical will be the first open source community dedicated specifically to medical devices. Production of devices will be performed in partnership with electrical engineering classes at universities. The BVP will be delivered as a kit, which will be assembled by students as they learn basic engineering skills. Completed kits will be donated to blindness advocacy organizations for distribution to users. The BVP would replace the kits currently used, which have minimal social value and are generally thrown away or salvaged for parts at the conclusion of the class. OS Medical is currently in discussions with Prof Phillip Wong to develop a pilot program in conjunction with his Electrical Programming class. In 2013, OS Medical would like to provide the BVP to users free of cost. With an initial goal of 200 devices, OS Medical will require $30,000 in start-up funding. This will provide for the components of the device and administrative costs for the website which would support the OS Medical community. OS Medical would like to develop additional devices to serve other disabilities by 2015 and grow to serve 4,000 users by 2017. OS Medical will strive to both supply devices and serve as a cornerstone in the open source medical device community. OS Medical will serve as a conduit connecting disability advocacy organizations, educational institutions and open source developers to facilitate the design and distribution of the next generation of assistive devices. Rami Alshafi is the founder of OS Medical and will serve as Executive Director. He is currently completing a Master’s Degree in electrical engineering at Portland State University. He is assisted by Joseph King, a recent graduate of the Portland State MBA program, who will sit on the OS Medical Board of Directors. Close