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Existing innovation management literature significantly enhances our knowledge about "What" open innovation is and "Why" it is crucial for innovating superior products. However, very little is known about the process of "How" firms adopt openness. We engage in a qualitative exploratory study using a grounded theory method to understand the process by which firms open and migrate from ego‐systems to open innovation ecosystems. This paper reports on our findings from 3 rounds of 54 interviews with managers in the Macquarie Business Park, Australia. The first two rounds (n = 22 + 22) describe the openness process, define its qualitatively different phases, and detect critical variables that trigger or inhibit phase transition. In the final round (n = 10), member checks verify our interpretive model, revealing that inter‐firm openness occurs in four transitory phases—realization, socialization, strategic alignment, and two‐way openness. Phase transition starts somewhat spontaneously for firms but gets more complex as they proceed from ego‐system to an ecosystem, and the degree of openness increases in each subsequent phase. The study has significant theoretical and practical implications for product innovation management. Interdependence, social exchange, and trust play a significant role in creating open innovation ecosystems. Inter‐firm openness follows four interlocking transitory phases—realization, socialization, strategic alignment, and two‐way openness. Phase transitions start spontaneously but become complex as the degree of openness increases in subsequent phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how sustainability reporting managers (SRMs) institutionalise sustainability reporting within organisations. Design/methodology/approach: In total, 35 semi-structured interviews with SRMs in Australia and New Zealand were analysed using an institutional work perspective. Findings: SRMs' institutional work can be categorised into four phases with each phase representing a different approach to sustainability reporting. Organisations transition from phase one to four as they achieve a higher level of maturity and a deeper embedding and routinisation of sustainability reporting. These include educating and advocacy work undertaken by engaging with managers (phase one), transitioning to a decentralised sustainability reporting process (phase two), transitioning to leaner, focussed, materiality driven sustainability reporting (phase three), and using sustainability key performance indicators and materiality assessment reports for planning, decision-making, goal setting, performance appraisal, and incentives (phase four). However, SRMs face challenges including their inexperience, limited time and resources, lack of management commitment to sustainability reporting and low external interest in sustainability reporting. The study identifies ten reasons why material issues are not always (adequately) disclosed. Practical implications: This study recommends more training and development for SRMs, and that regulation be considered to mandate the disclosure of the materiality assessments in sustainability reports. Originality/value: This research extends the existing literature examining how sustainability reports are prepared and sheds further light on how a materiality assessment is undertaken. The study identifies ten reasons for the non-disclosure of material matters, including but not limited to, legitimacy motives. Researchers can use these reasons to refine their methods for evaluating published sustainability reports. At a theoretical level, the study provides four observations that institutional researchers should consider when examining forms of institutional work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we report the 3-D electrical conductivity distribution beneath the Australian continent in the depth range 410–1600 km, which we have imaged by inverting C-response estimates from a regional network of geomagnetic observatories. The inversion scheme is based on a quasi-Newton optimization method while the forward algorithm relies on an integral-equation approach. To properly account for the ocean effect in responses at coastal observatories we included a high-resolution (1° × 1°) fixed thin laterally varying surface conductance layer. As starting model in the inversion we considered a laboratory-based 3-D conductivity model of the region obtained from seismic surface wave data and thermodynamic modelling. This model provides a good fit to observed C-response estimates supporting its choice as initial model. The most striking feature of the obtained 3-D model is a high-conductivity anomaly in the lower part of the mantle transition zone (MTZ; 520–660 km depth) beneath southeastern Australia implying considerable lateral as radial heterogeneity in the conductivity structure. The high-conductivity region appears to be 0.5–1 log units more conductive than previous global and other regionalized 1-D models. Further analysis using laboratory-based conductivity models combined with thermochemical phase equilibrium computations shows that the strong conductivity anomaly implies water contents of around 0.1 wt per cent in the upper part and >0.4 wt per cent in the lower part of the MTZ. This implies a large MTZ water reservoir that likely totals one to three times that which currently resides in the oceans. The amount of water in the lower MTZ appears to exceed the experimentally determined water storage capacity of the main lower MTZ mineral ringwoodite, which, as a result, undergoes dehydration-induced partial melting. Including contributions to conductivity from a thin melt layer (20 km thick) located in the mid-MTZ increases conductivity locally in the melt layer to ∼1 S m−1, that is, about 0.5 log units more conductive than the average surrounding mantle. This provides an adequate explanation for the strong conductivity anomalies observed beneath part of the continent and points to lateral variations in melt in the MTZ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction : In mid-2007 the State of New South Wales (NSW) in Australia introduced modifications to the existing graduated driver licensing system, lengthening the mandatory number of supervised hours for learner drivers aged under 25 years from 50 to 120 and extending the minimum learner period from 6 to 12 months. Additional driving restrictions were also introduced for young drivers in the two provisional licensed periods, P1, P2. This paper aims to evaluate this change by comparing the crash and offense experiences of young learner drivers before and after it occurred. Method : From driver licensing files supplied by the NSW transport authority two cohorts of persons obtaining their initial learner's permits in the year prior to the changes and in the subsequent year were constructed with demographic data, dates of transition to the driving phases, dates of crashes, and dates and types of traffic offenses. Both cohorts comprised around 100,000 individuals. Crash rates per 100 years of person-time under observation post P1 with their standard errors were calculated. Using a survival-analytic approach the proportion of crashes of all types were graphed in three month periods post P1. Sexes were treated separately as were initial learner ages of 16, 17, 18–21, and 22–24 years. The distribution of traffic offense types during P1 and P2 phases were also compared. With such large numbers formal statistical testing was avoided. Results : No meaningful differences in the crash or offense experiences of the two cohorts in either sex or at any age were observed. Delaying progress to unsupervised driving has road safety benefits. Conclusions : At least in conditions similar to those in NSW, requiring more than 50 h of supervised driving seems to have few road safety benefits. Practical applications : Licensing authorities should be cautious in extending the mandated number of supervised driving hours beyond 50. • We evaluated changes in 2007 to the graduated driver licensing system in an Australian state from its licensing database. • Crash and offence profiles of affected learners licensed in the years prior to and after the changes were compared. • No substantial year to year changes were observed in the crash rates, probabilities of crashing or offense distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the understanding of three key conceptual categories relating to the kinetic particle theory: (1) intermolecular spacing in solids, liquids and gases, (2) changes of state and intermolecular forces and (3) diffusion in liquids and gases, amongst 148 high school students from Brunei, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore using 11 multiple-choice items that required students to provide explanations for their selection of particular responses to the items. Students’ responses to the items revealed limited understanding of the particle theory concepts, with nine alternative conceptions held by more than 10% of various samples of students. Also, 40.5–78.4% of all students indicated consistent understanding relating to the three conceptual categories based on their responses to the 11 items. However, when their explanations were taken into account, very few students displayed consistent understanding of the related concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Metal hydride (MH) thermal management in a solar-hydrogen system was modelled. • A phase change material (PCM) was used for thermal management of MHs. • Low conductivity of PCMs was a major challenge for thermal management of MHs. • Using PCM offers an energy saving equivalent to about 15% of the total yearly hydrogen production. In this paper, a model of a metal hydride thermal management using phase change material in the context of a standalone solar-hydrogen system is proposed and investigated. The HOMER software is used to simulate the optimal system architecture and yearly power profiles of the electrolyser and fuel cell stacks used in a case study of a remote household in southeast Australia. A dynamic theoretical model of a phase change material arrangement for thermal management of the metal hydride hydrogen storage unit is then built in MATLAB environment to study the performance behaviour of the hydrogen storage system in this context. Based on the case used for this study, it was found that approximately equivalent to ~12% of total energy content of the hydrogen generated by the electrolyser can be saved annually by replacing an external energy thermal management system with the proposed phase change material thermal management solution. It was also found that the conductivity of phase change materials must be improved to a minimum of 1.5 W/mK, in order to make this thermal management arrangement more practical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]