Innovating in a Learning Community

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-viii

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2. A Simple Theoretical Framework

   • Kai Reimers, Xunhua Guo, Mingzhi Li, Bin Xie, Tiantian Zhang

   Pages 1-4

3. Method

   • Kai Reimers, Xunhua Guo, Mingzhi Li, Bin Xie, Tiantian Zhang

   Pages 5-7

4. Historical Context and Precedents

   • Kai Reimers, Xunhua Guo, Mingzhi Li, Bin Xie, Tiantian Zhang

   Pages 9-11

5. Summary of Data Analysis

   • Kai Reimers, Xunhua Guo, Mingzhi Li, Bin Xie, Tiantian Zhang

   Pages 13-16

6. Findings

   • Kai Reimers, Xunhua Guo, Mingzhi Li, Bin Xie, Tiantian Zhang

   Pages 17-19

7. Theoretical Implications

   • Kai Reimers, Xunhua Guo, Mingzhi Li, Bin Xie, Tiantian Zhang

   Pages 21-23

8. Extensions

   • Kai Reimers, Xunhua Guo, Mingzhi Li, Bin Xie, Tiantian Zhang

   Pages 25-27

9. Answering the Research Question

   • Kai Reimers, Xunhua Guo, Mingzhi Li, Bin Xie, Tiantian Zhang

   Pages 29-31

10. Managerial Implications

    • Kai Reimers, Xunhua Guo, Mingzhi Li, Bin Xie, Tiantian Zhang

    Pages 33-34

11. Limitations

    • Kai Reimers, Xunhua Guo, Mingzhi Li, Bin Xie, Tiantian Zhang

    Pages 35-36

12. Back Matter

    Pages 37-67

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How do firms jointly develop open information infrastructures? To answer this question, this book draws on the results of a longitudinal research project covering the development of the pharmaceutical distribution industry in China from 2004 to 2012, focusing on the emergence and subsequent evolution of industry-wide information infrastructures. How do firms delimit areas of proprietary innovation in open innovation projects? How do firms coordinate, initiate, negotiate and implement the development of innovative infrastructures? How do processes and practices within firms enable and constrain such collective efforts? - This book provides answers to these questions and draws conclusions regarding the challenges and new capabilities that firms will need in a world in which participation in the building of open information infrastructures becomes a necessary task for commercial organizations.

• Government action
• Industry-wide information infrastructures
• Information technology
• Innovation management
• Pharmaceutical distribution industry

• School of Business and Economics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

  Kai Reimers, Tiantian Zhang

• School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

  Xunhua Guo, Mingzhi Li, Bin Xie

Kai Reimers is currently a Professor of Information Systems at the Faculty of Business and Economics, RWTH Aachen University, Germany. He earned a doctorate in economics from Wuppertal University and a venia legendi at Bremen University. His main fields of research are inter-organizational systems, IT standardization, and IT management.

Xunhua Guo is Associate Professor of information systems at the School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University. His research interests include information systems adoption, organizational change and business intelligence. He got his Ph.D degree from Tsinghua University in 2005.

Mingzhi Li is an Associate Professor at the School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, China. His major research interest is in the area of industrial organization and electronic commerce. He got his Ph.D degree in economics from the University of Texas at Austin in 1999.

Bin Xie is an Associate Professor at the School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, China. His research interests focus on Product/Service’s Harm Management, Pharmaceutical Supply Chain, and Consumer-oriented Corporate Governance. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Tsinghua University in 1993.

Tiantian Zhang is a research assistant at the Faculty of Business and Economics, RWTH Aachen University, Germany. She got her BA in Business Administration from RWTH Aachen University in 2009.

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