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Article
Publication date: 3 October 2023

Philip T. Roundy and Mark A. Bayer

Research at the interface of marketing and entrepreneurship has emphasized digital entrepreneurship and how entrepreneurs pursue business opportunities centered on new…

Abstract

Purpose

Research at the interface of marketing and entrepreneurship has emphasized digital entrepreneurship and how entrepreneurs pursue business opportunities centered on new technologies. However, a different type of entrepreneurship focused on opportunities involving consumers’ (re)adoption of displaced analog technologies when digital alternatives are dominant – analog entrepreneurship – is a trend and counter phenomenon to digital entrepreneurship that is receiving intense practitioner interest but limited scholarly attention. The purpose of this article is to present a theoretical framework that explains the role of analog entrepreneurship in technology revitalization.

Design/methodology/approach

In this conceptual paper, the authors use the microfoundations perspective to develop a multilevel theory of analog entrepreneurship. The authors define and delineate the “analog entrepreneurship” concept and formulate a midrange theory explaining how entrepreneurs influence the reemergence of analog technologies.

Findings

The theory’s main insight is that the renewal of analog technologies is not confined to consumers. Entrepreneurs are creating businesses that stimulate demand for analog technologies. As a result of entrepreneurs’ activities, legacy analog technologies do not fade into nonexistence in the face of rival digital technologies.

Originality/value

The theory of analog entrepreneurship contributes to research at the intersection of entrepreneurship and marketing by expanding its focus to consider the entrepreneurs who revitalize displaced analog technologies when digital alternatives are dominant. The authors provide insight into the potential trajectories of technologies after their initial displacement and the role entrepreneurs play in shaping the late stages of technology lifecycles. The theory draws attention to an underexplored phenomenon made increasingly prevalent by recent technological disruptions and suggests an agenda for studying how entrepreneurs renew analog technologies.

Details

Journal of Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, vol. 26 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1471-5201

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 March 2023

Donna Ellen Frederick

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of technological change, the data deluge, social change and policy change on the materials in their collection, the services…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of technological change, the data deluge, social change and policy change on the materials in their collection, the services they offer and how service is provided.

Design/methodology/approach

The author examines over four decades of personal experience as a library user and library worker to discover the progression of library resources, reference practices and the storage of information from analogue to digital.

Findings

Since the 1970s, there has been a gradual shift away from analogue technologies towards digital ones. One exception is that of the low-tech analogue book which, while it is not as central as it once was, remains important for most library collections. The change was and is driven by internal and external pressures and can be impeded by factors such as financial and skill limitations or decision makers who do not support changes.

Originality/value

While the Data Deluge Column has many instalments that examine problems created by the growing mass of data and information and the progression to technological change, this instalment puts all of that into a human or lived perspective.

Details

Library Hi Tech News, vol. 40 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0741-9058

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 4 August 2022

Aleksandra Hauke-Lopes, Milena Ratajczak-Mrozek and Marcin Wieczerzycki

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how digital transformation changes highly traditional business processes and how it impacts value co-creation and co-destruction. More…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how digital transformation changes highly traditional business processes and how it impacts value co-creation and co-destruction. More specifically, the aim is to examine, using the resource interaction approach, how the friction between non-digital and digital resources affects the co-creation and co-destruction of value in a network during digital transformation. Based on this, the authors provide managerial implications on how to handle simultaneous digital and traditional business processes to co-create value during digital transformation.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study is conducted of a digital platform provider and of three traditional confectioneries. In this analysis, the authors looked at the business processes of highly traditional confectioneries that have introduced online services through a digital platform and are undergoing digital transformation.

Findings

In some industries, it is neither possible nor advisable to fully digitalise all business processes, and companies have to partially retain their traditional, analogue character to create value. The process of value co-creation during digital transformation is affected by friction between the digital and non-digital resources and is mitigated by specific lubricants (e.g. mutual reliance, smooth personal communication, willingness to help, attitude towards change). This results in the improvement of processes and capabilities in terms of digital development and traditional production. Friction may also lead to value co-destruction, for example, as the result of transformation from face-to-face to digital interactions.

Originality/value

The authors contribute to research on the digital transformation of highly traditional companies that need to introduce new, digital technologies and resources while continuing their traditional processes. The authors develop the concept of lubricants that mitigate the friction between resources and, therefore, facilitate value co-creation in a business network. Additionally, the authors provide managerial implications for how to handle simultaneous digital and traditional business processes during digital transformation.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 38 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 April 2023

Diego Henrique Antunes Nascimento, Fabrício Anicio Magalhães, George Schayer Sabino, Renan Alves Resende, Maria Lucia Machado Duarte and Claysson Bruno Santos Vimieiro

Currently, several studies have been published using sensorized insoles for estimating ground reaction force using plantar pressure. However, information on design parameters…

Abstract

Purpose

Currently, several studies have been published using sensorized insoles for estimating ground reaction force using plantar pressure. However, information on design parameters, manufacturing techniques and guidelines for developing insoles is scarce, often leaving gaps that do not allow reproducing the insole. This study aims to empirically investigate the main parameters of constructing a sensorized insole for application in human gait.

Design/methodology/approach

Two devices were built to evaluate the force sensors. The first focuses on the construction of the sensors with different settings: the density of the sensor’s conductive trails (thickness and distance of the trails) and the inertia of the sensors (use of spacers to prevent unwanted readings). The second device focuses on the data capture and processing system: resolution of the analog–digital converter, acquisition rate and sensor activation level.

Findings

The resolution increase of the analog–digital converter and acquisition rate do not contribute to noise increase. Reducing the sensors’ coverage area can increase sensorized insole capacity. The inertia of the sensors can be adjusted using spacers without changing the electrical circuit and acquisition system.

Originality/value

Most sensorized insoles use commercial sensors. For this reason, it is not possible a full customization. This paper maps the main variables to manufacture custom sensors and data acquisition systems. This work also presents a case study where it is possible to see the influence of the parameters in the correlation between the sensorized insole and an instrumented treadmill with a force platform.

Details

Sensor Review, vol. 43 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0260-2288

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 July 2023

Perla Innocenti

Religious and secular pilgrimages present rich opportunities for investigating information activities in an original and intriguing context. While the Information Science…

Abstract

Purpose

Religious and secular pilgrimages present rich opportunities for investigating information activities in an original and intriguing context. While the Information Science community has previously shown interest in digital expressions of religion and spirituality, discussion on pilgrimage is at a nascent stage. The purpose of this study is to conduct an in situ investigation of how pilgrims record, curate, and share their experiences.

Design/methodology/approach

A field ethnography was conducted while walking with, observing and interviewing pilgrims along the Camino de Santiago, a popular European pilgrimage and UNESCO World Heritage route. Data collected from 25 semi-structured interviews and participant observations were thematically analysed within a theoretical framework combining Stebbins' contemplation and Nature Challenge Activity in serious leisure and Hektor's model of information behaviour.

Findings

This study expands the interpretation of pilgrimage by introducing new insights into pilgrims, different types of mobilities, spaces and objects, and social interactions. By using field ethnography and close-up observations of praxis, pilgrimage is analysed as a socio-technical process and discussed literature within and beyond Information Science. The work presents new understandings of the interplay between spirituality, embodied information practices, physical and online social interactions, analogue and digital media before, during and after these journeys and legacy aspirations.

Originality/value

The study is original in its combination of theoretical models and their ethnographic in situ application. It contributes to a more in-depth, in-the-field understanding of how pilgrims document their experiences via a rich palette of old and new media, the dynamics of using digital technologies during such physical and inner journeys and pilgrims' sharing practices. Implications for serious leisure and information practices are discussed, from theoretical to practical challenges and opportunities offered by pilgrimage experiences.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 80 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 December 2023

Vaclav Snasel, Tran Khanh Dang, Josef Kueng and Lingping Kong

This paper aims to review in-memory computing (IMC) for machine learning (ML) applications from history, architectures and options aspects. In this review, the authors investigate…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to review in-memory computing (IMC) for machine learning (ML) applications from history, architectures and options aspects. In this review, the authors investigate different architectural aspects and collect and provide our comparative evaluations.

Design/methodology/approach

Collecting over 40 IMC papers related to hardware design and optimization techniques of recent years, then classify them into three optimization option categories: optimization through graphic processing unit (GPU), optimization through reduced precision and optimization through hardware accelerator. Then, the authors brief those techniques in aspects such as what kind of data set it applied, how it is designed and what is the contribution of this design.

Findings

ML algorithms are potent tools accommodated on IMC architecture. Although general-purpose hardware (central processing units and GPUs) can supply explicit solutions, their energy efficiencies have limitations because of their excessive flexibility support. On the other hand, hardware accelerators (field programmable gate arrays and application-specific integrated circuits) win on the energy efficiency aspect, but individual accelerator often adapts exclusively to ax single ML approach (family). From a long hardware evolution perspective, hardware/software collaboration heterogeneity design from hybrid platforms is an option for the researcher.

Originality/value

IMC’s optimization enables high-speed processing, increases performance and analyzes massive volumes of data in real-time. This work reviews IMC and its evolution. Then, the authors categorize three optimization paths for the IMC architecture to improve performance metrics.

Details

International Journal of Web Information Systems, vol. 20 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-0084

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 March 2021

Roohie Kaushik, Jasdeep Kaur and Anushree

Reference voltage or current generators are an important requirement for an analog or digital circuit design. Bandgap reference circuits (BGR) are most common way of generating…

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Abstract

Purpose

Reference voltage or current generators are an important requirement for an analog or digital circuit design. Bandgap reference circuits (BGR) are most common way of generating the reference voltage. This paper aims to provide a detailed insight of design of a folded cascode operational amplifier (FC op amp) and a BGR circuit. The complete study flow from design to layout of the circuits on 180 nm semiconductor laboratory (SCL) process leading to bonding diagram for possible tape-out is discussed. This study work has been supported by MeitY, Govt. of India, through Special Manpower Development Project Chip to System Design.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper provides a detailed insight in design of a FC op amp and a BGR circuit. The complete study flow from design to layout of the two circuits on 180 nm SCL process leading to bonding diagram for possible tape-out is discussed. Section 2 shows the design of FC op amp, beta-multiplier circuit and their simulation results. Section 3 describes the comparison of design of conventional BGR and the proposed BGR with other state-of-art BGR circuits. Section 4 gives the comparison of their performance. The conclusion is given in Section 5.

Findings

The post-layout simulation of FC op amp show an open-loop gain of 64.5 dB, 3-dB frequency of 5.5 KHz, unity-gain bandwidth of 8.7 MHz, slew rate of 8.4 V/µs, CMRR of 111 dB and power of 25.5µW. Among the two BGR designs, the conventional BGR generated 693 mV of reference voltage with a temperature coefficient of 16 ppm/°C the other BGR, with curvature correction generated 1.3 V of reference voltage with a temperate coefficient of 6.3 ppm/°C , both results in temperature ranging from −40°C to 125°C. The chip layout of the circuits designed on 180 nm SCL process ensures design rule check (DRC), Antenna and layout versus schematic (LVS) clean with metal fill.

Research limitations/implications

Slew rate, stability analysis, power are important parameters which should be taken care while designing an op amp for a BGR. Direct current gain should be kept higher to reduce offset errors. Input common mode range is decided by the operating temperature range. A higher power supply rejection ratio will reduce BGR sensitivity to supply voltage variations. Input offset should be kept low to reduce BGR error in reference voltage. However, this paper emphasis on the flow from schematic to layout using simulation tools. As part of the study, the bonding diagram for tape-out of BGR and FC design in the given SCL frame size with seal ring is also explored, for possible tape-out.

Practical implications

Reference voltage or current generators are an important requirement for an analog or digital circuit design. BGR are most common way of generating the reference voltage. This paper provides a detailed insight in design of a FC op amp and a BGR circuit. The complete study flow from design to layout of the circuits on 180 nm SCL process leading to bonding diagram for possible tape-out is discussed. The chip layout of the circuits was designed on 180 nm SCL process ensuring DRC, antenna and LVS clean with metal fill using Cadence virtuoso and Mentor Graphics Calibre simulation tools.

Social implications

BGR are most common way of generating the reference voltage. This paper gives a detailed insight of a BGR design using a folded-cascode operational amplifier. The FC op amp is biased using a beta multiplier circuit and high-swing cascode current mirror circuit. The paper discuss FC circuit design flow from schematic to layout.

Originality/value

FC op amp is biased using a beta multiplier circuit and high-swing cascode current mirror. The paper discusses FC design flow from schematic to layout. The circuits were designed on 180 nm SCL technology with 1.8 V of power supply. The post-layout simulation show an open-loop gain of 64.5 dB, 3 dB frequency of 5.5 KHz, unity-gain bandwidth of 8.7 MHz, slew rate of 8.4 V/µs, CMRR of 111 dB and power of 25.5 µW. BGR were designed using FC op amp. The proposed BGR generated 1.3 V of reference voltage with a temperature coefficient of 6.3 ppm/°C in the range from −40°C to 125°C in schematic simulation.

Details

Circuit World, vol. 50 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0305-6120

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 August 2023

S. Balasubrahmanyam and Deepa Sethi

Gillette’s historically successful “razor and blade” business model (RBM) has been a promising benchmark for multiple businesses across diverse industries worldwide in the past…

Abstract

Purpose

Gillette’s historically successful “razor and blade” business model (RBM) has been a promising benchmark for multiple businesses across diverse industries worldwide in the past several decades. The extant literature deals with very few nuances of this business model notwithstanding the fact that there are several variants of this business model being put to practical use by firms in diverse industries in grossly metaphorically equivalent situations.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts the 2 × 2 truth table framework from the domains of mathematical logic and combinatorics in fleshing out all possible (four logical possibilities) variants of the razor and blade business model for further analysis. This application presents four mutually exclusive yet collectively exhaustive possibilities on any chosen dimension. Two major dimensions (viz., provision of subsidy and intra- or extra-firm involvement in the making of razors or blades or both) form part of the discussion in this paper. In addition, this study synthesizes and streamlines entrepreneurial wisdom from multiple intra-industry and inter-industry benchmarks in terms of real-time firms explicitly or implicitly adopting several variants of the RBM that suit their unique context and idiosyncratic trajectory of evolution in situations that are grossly reflective of the metaphorically equivalent scenario of razor and recurrent blades. Inductive method of research is carried out with real-time cases from diverse industries with a pivotally common pattern of razor and blade model in some form or the other.

Findings

Several new variants of the razor and blade model (much beyond what the extant literature explicitly projects) have been discovered from the multiple metaphorically equivalent cases of RBM across industries. All of these expand the portfolio of options that relevant entrepreneurial firms can explore and exploit the best possible option chosen from them, given their unique context and idiosyncratic trajectory of growth.

Research limitations/implications

This study has enriched the literature by presenting and analyzing a more inclusive or perhaps comprehensive palette of explicit choices in the form of several variants of the RBM for the relevant entrepreneurial firms to choose from. Future research can undertake the task of comparing these variants of RBM with those of upcoming servitization business models such as guaranteed availability, subscription and performance-based contracting and exploring the prospects of diverse combinations.

Practical implications

Smart entrepreneurial firms identify and adopt inspiring benchmarks (like razor and blade model whenever appropriate) duly tweaked and blended into a gestalt benchmark for optimal profits and attractive market shares. They target diverse market segments for tied-goods with different variants or combinations of the relevant benchmarks in the form of variegated customer value propositions (CVPs) that have unique and enticing appeal to the respective market segments.

Social implications

Value-sensitive customers on the rise globally choose the option that best suits them from among multiple alternatives offered by competing firms in the market. As long as the ratio of utility to price of such an offer is among the highest, even a no-frills CVP may be most appealing to one market segment while a plush CVP may be tempting to yet another market segment simultaneously. While professional business firms embrace resource leverage practices consciously, amateur customers do so subconsciously. Each party subliminally desires to have the maximum bang-to-buck ratio as the optimal return on investment, given their priorities ceteris paribus.

Originality/value

Prior studies on the RBM have explicitly captured only a few variants of the razor and blade model. This study is perhaps the first of its kind that ferrets out many other variants (more than ten) of the razor and blade model with due simplification and exemplification, justification and demystification.

Details

Benchmarking: An International Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-5771

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 November 2022

Toritseju Begho, Kehinde Odeniyi and Olusegun Fadare

Future foods such as plant-based meat alternatives (PBMA) are a means to achieving a more sustainable food system. However, there is a gap in what is known about PBMA from the…

Abstract

Purpose

Future foods such as plant-based meat alternatives (PBMA) are a means to achieving a more sustainable food system. However, there is a gap in what is known about PBMA from the consumer side, considering it is a relatively new food. Therefore, the paper aims to examine whether trust and perception could explain the intention to consume PBMA among Chinese adults.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper elicited the level of trust and perceptions related to PBMA. Then logistic regressions and mediation analysis were estimated to determine the associations between consumption intentions towards PBMA and a range of trust and perception variables.

Findings

The results indicate that most respondents trust food safety regulators and the labelling and composition standards. A comparison of the perception of meat and PBMA revealed that the majority of respondents perceive meat as tastier than PBMA while PBMA as being better for the environment. Regarding the effect of trust and perception on consumption intention, respondents that perceive PBMA as being better for the environment and having lower food safety risks are more likely to eat PBMA. Also, consumption intentions for PBMA are higher among respondents who trust safety regulators and independent promoters.

Practical implications

The finding on both the intention to try and the potential for sustained consumption is a prerequisite to predicting future demand. These findings are also crucial to guiding market orientation.

Originality/value

This paper focuses on drivers/barriers of consumer consumption intention – a shift from studies which examine product attributes and sensory or marketing determinants of consumption decisions.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 125 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2021

Muhammad Yasir Faheem, Shun'an Zhong, Muhammad Basit Azeem and Xinghua Wang

Successive Approximation Register-Analog to Digital Converter (SAR-ADC) has been achieved notable technological advancement since the past couple of decades. However, it’s not…

Abstract

Purpose

Successive Approximation Register-Analog to Digital Converter (SAR-ADC) has been achieved notable technological advancement since the past couple of decades. However, it’s not accurate in terms of size, energy, and time consumption. Many projects proposed to make it energy efficient and time-efficient. Such designs are unable to deliver two parallel outputs.

Design/methodology/approach

To this end, this study introduced an ultra-low-power circuitry for the two blocks (bootstrap and comparator) of 11-bit SAR-ADC. The bootstrap has three sub-parts: back-bone, left-wing and right-wing, named as bat-bootstrap. The comparator block has a circuitry of the two comparators and an amplifier, named as comp-lifier. In a bat-bootstrap, the authors plant two capacitors in the back-bone block to avoid the patristic capacitance. The switching system of the proposed design highly synchronized with the short pulses of the clocks for high accuracy. This study simulates the proposed circuits using a built-in Cadence 90 nm Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor library.

Findings

The results suggested that the response time of two bat-bootstrap wings and comp-lifier are 80 ns, 120 ns, and 90 ns, respectively. The supply voltage is 0.7 V, wherever the power consumption of bat-bootstrap, comp-lifier and SAR-ADC are 0.3561µW, 0.257µW and 35.76µW, respectively. Signal to Noise and Distortion Ratio is 65 dB with 5 MHz frequency and 25 KS/s sampling rate. The input referred noise of the amplifier and two comparators are 98µVrms, 224µVrms and 224µVrms, respectively.

Originality/value

Two basic circuit blocks for SAR-ADC are introduced, which fulfill the duality approach and delivered two outputs with highly synchronized clock pulses. The circuit sharing concept introduced for the high performance SAR-ADCs.

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