M11 - Production ManagementReturn

The income of agricultural enterprises has always been influenced by both weather and price volatility. Nevertheless, the risk environment of various farms seems not to be the same. Similarly, risk factors are not independent of each other. The aim of the paper is to assess the spatial and commodity particularities determining the risk environment of agricultural enterprises in the Czech Republic. Within the main objective, the efficiency of crop insurance depending on farm size is also considered. Using calculation of statistical indicators of variability in the panel data, as well as Monte Carlo simulation, differences in farm risk exposure and efficiency of crop insurance between small and large farms were found. It was found that the risk of crop price volatility is generally of a more systemic nature and it is more difficult to diversify than the risk of crop yield volatility. The hypothesis that smaller crop acreage increases the risk of farm crop yield fluctuation was not statistically confirmed within a set of medium and large agricultural enterprises. In the sample of typical farms with specialized crop field types of farming, it was revealed that agricultural insurance is more effective for small farms than for large agricultural enterprises. Based on the main findings, we make some recommendations for the business sector and policy makers.

Integrating technology and business strategy, technology capacities with customers' needs, technology and business processes require a three-step mechanism of technology management (TM), namely integration of technology identification, implementation, and potential technology commercialization processes. TM requires creation of a functional technology network and good communication channels between strategic and technology managers, technologists and workers, and between a company and its stakeholders. This partly methodological and partly analytical study focuses on identifying the links within and between technology implementation and commercialization processes that could ensure maximum synergies and benefits for TM. Its added value also lies in the bibliometric statistics of the ScienceDirect and EBSCOhost databases (1960-2010), done for the identification of trends in TM. According to the statistics, and in terms of the development of integration aspects in TM, technology identification dominates, followed by technology commercialization, while the technology implementation phase is the least developed.

Innovation processes have become more open and complex. Large corporations and vertically integrated R&D labs are giving way to distributed networks of innovation which connect different companies and organizations into innovation ecosystems. Business and technology strategies of smaller companies and public policy should follow this trend and reconsider the roles of technology, human capital, competition policy, intellectual property, and public data in promoting the environment for open innovation. Integrating technology and business trends, technology and business strategy, technology capacities with customers' needs, technology and business processes; this requires a three-step mechanism of technology management (TM), namely integration of technology identification, implementation and potential technology commercialization processes. TM requires the creation of a functional technology network and good communication channels between strategic and technology managers, technologists and workers, and between a company and its stakeholders. This partly methodological and partly analytical study focuses on identifying the links within TM, especially in a technology identification phase and between TM and other business processes that could ensure maximum synergies and benefits for a company. Its added value also lies in the bibliometrical statistics of the ScienceDirect and EBSCOhost databases (1960 - 2010) for the identification of trends in TM.