During the 2007-2008 school year, the e-business Center PwC&IESE will be working on the following research projects:

Fostering Learning in Organizations
Rafael Andreu, IESE professor
Sandra Sieber, IESE professor 
Maria Barceló, PwC
The goal of this project is to create an original new book with a rigorous and practical approach that will serve as a point of reference for Knowledge Management. The book will review the most prominent theories on knowledge and learning, placing emphasis on the so-called paths of learning in organizations and paths of knowledge integration in organizations, while providing illustrative cases of specific management experiences in this area. The text will argue that all knowledge-management projects should include certain organizational measures in order to increase their chances for success.

ICT as an Innovation Driver for Businesses (Technological Innovation Project) (In Spanish)
(PDF, 1691 Kb) Sandra Sieber, IESE professor
The main goal of this research is to understand the material and human factors that take part in an innovation project. It focuses upon the factors that effect the different areas within a company, the design of the organization, and the changes in the tasks and practices of work itself. In order to carry out this goal, the Center has conducted a series of interviews with information systems directors from a variety of companies. In addition, the research describes best practices for several kinds of innovation, specifically focusing on change management and the implementation process.

Business and Information Technologies Project 
Josep Valor, IESE professor
Sandra Sieber, IESE professor
The Business and Information Technologies Project (BIT) is carried out in collaboration with the Anderson School of Management UCLA. It aims to obtain global indicators, which describe the changes industrial firms, and sectors have experienced over the last few years with the introduction of new technologies, and also may predict their evolution. These indicators will provide an overview of the impact of ICT on business practices. A questionnaire-based survey is conducted every two years, to follow ICT’s impact on business practices. The last survey was launched in May of 2007.

Top Ten: The 10 Technologies that Are Changing the World
Brian Subirana, IESE professor
The goal of this project is to identify the top 10 technologies affecting the business world. Over the past decade we have witnessed drastic changes in many sectors, and it seems that this transformation process has not yet concluded. Our aim is to investigate the technologies that are currently producing these changes and their impact at the sectorial level. We will then analyze the possible candidates for inclusion in the top ten ranking for 2010. Part of our investigation will include a review of the conceptual frameworks that are being used to analyze the impact of disruptive technologies.

Mobility-Based Business Applications
Sandra Sieber,IESE professor
Josep Valor, IESE professor
This project is sponsored by  Tempos 21
The objective of this project is to develop a model to be employed by corporate decision makers for the process of adopting mobile technology. The model is also designed to help understand the impact that mobile applications have on business. The project focuses its attention on the process of innovation originating from the demand for services, in order to understand the organizational factors that foster or inhibit this adoption. Thus, the model is designed to help at various levels: First, it consists of validating the models companies use for adopting technology that are proposed in management literature. Second, by understanding how decisions are made by companies to adopt these technologies, the project will give rise to a report that will serve as a basis for helping companies providing mobile services to better focus their sales strategy.

The Impact f the ICT in the Work Practices: The Case of l’Anella Industrial
Josep Valor, IESE professor
Technological innovation is supposed to be a source of competitive advantages for enterprises. As well it can generate disruptive changes in industries. But what is the impact of the technological adoption on work practices? ICTs are supposed to generate positive effects on efficiency and productivity. We try to test these hypotheses by studying the impact of powerful collaboration-based telecommunications built-in the automotive park of Catalonia.