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1 – 9 of 9Silvia Massa, Maria Carmela Annosi, Lucia Marchegiani and Antonio Messeni Petruzzelli
This study aims to focus on a key unanswered question about how digitalization and the knowledge processes it enables affect firms’ strategies in the international arena.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to focus on a key unanswered question about how digitalization and the knowledge processes it enables affect firms’ strategies in the international arena.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conduct a systematic literature review of relevant theoretical and empirical studies covering over 20 years of research (from 2000 to 2023) and including 73 journal papers.
Findings
This review allows us to highlight a relationship between firms’ international strategies and the knowledge processes enabled by applying digital technologies. Specifically, the authors discuss the characteristics of patterns of knowledge flows and knowledge processes (their origin, the type of knowledge they carry on and their directionality) as determinants for the emergence of diverse international strategies embraced by single firms or by populations of firms within ecosystems, networks, global value chains or alliances.
Originality/value
Despite digital technologies constituting important antecedents and critical factors for the internationalization process, and international businesses in general, and operating cross borders implies the enactment of highly knowledge-intensive processes, current literature still fails to provide a holistic picture of how firms strategically use what they know and seek out what they do not know in the international environment, using the affordances of digital technologies.
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Stefano Franco, Antonio Messeni Petruzzelli and Umberto Panniello
The purpose of this study is to explore how companies can adopt digital humanism (DH), defined as the integration of humanistic skills in the development process of digital…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore how companies can adopt digital humanism (DH), defined as the integration of humanistic skills in the development process of digital technologies, to create value and consequently develop effective business models. Specifically, the aim is to answer the following research question: what are the main DH mechanisms through which companies create value?
Design/methodology/approach
Given the limited understanding of the phenomenon under investigation, a qualitative approach was adopted based on a multiple-case study to explore how companies are embracing DH. The study will focus on three exemplar cases in the use of DH, namely, IBM, Microsoft and SAP, well recognized as three of the market leaders in the IT industry. In addition, the selected companies are recognized as some of the most innovative in their specific industries, hence offering a rich set of information on how to specifically embrace DH.
Findings
This study unveils the main mechanisms through which companies can create value by implementing DH’s approaches into their business models.
Originality/value
The originality of this research lies in its focus on how companies integrate DH into their business models. Indeed, the study aims at uncovering the main mechanisms that companies use to integrate DH into their overall business practices. Overall, this research provides valuable insights into how companies can effectively integrate DH into their business models, which could have important implications for creating responsible, sustainable and inclusive solutions that prioritize human needs and values.
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Fabrizio Errico, Antonio Messeni Petruzzelli, Umberto Panniello and Angelo Scialpi
This paper aims to explore the effects of two drivers, namely, the received fundings and its interaction with the specialized competences owned by the managerial board, on the R&D…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the effects of two drivers, namely, the received fundings and its interaction with the specialized competences owned by the managerial board, on the R&D activities performed by start-ups.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper tests hypotheses on a sample of 405 innovative start-ups established in Italy and registered into the Chamber of Commerce official database. This study uses the R&D expenses as a measure of the innovative performance of start-up, and the authors also collected the number and total amount of grants received by them and the presence of high qualified team in their management board.
Findings
The analysis reveals that both the number and total amount of grants received by start-ups positively impact the innovative performance. The same is for the integration of the total amount of grants with the presence of high qualified team in the management board.
Research limitations/implications
This study did not distinguish between different types of grants adopted by start-ups, while it would be interesting to study whether any difference does exist among them in terms of their influence on innovative performance. Also, this paper considers the total number of specialized people in the team while it would certainly be interesting to analyze people’s background and competences in relation to the innovative performances.
Practical implications
This paper allows us to offer some provisional conclusions such as having funds in the preliminary phase of start-up life cycle, and investments mainly for R&D expenses. The start-up must also leverage its skills and therefore it is necessary to invest in human capital.
Social implications
Findings suggest that policymakers should introduce integrated measures to support start-ups throughout the entire life cycle, from the creation of the idea to incubation up to industrial consolidation.
Originality/value
This paper focuses on the determinants of start-up innovative performance because both external (such as political, economic, social and technological) and internal (such as organizational) influencing factors have to be considered as crucial for start-ups innovation and growth. Finally, this study is one of the few attempts exploring the phenomenon by using an empirical methodology based on real and certificated data.
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Francesco Paolo Appio, Emanuele Cacciatore, Fabrizio Cesaroni, Antonio Crupi and Veronica Marozzo
The purpose of this paper is to fill a gap in the literature regarding the open innovation management approaches that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can use to access…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to fill a gap in the literature regarding the open innovation management approaches that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can use to access digital technologies and incorporate them into their organizational processes. The research question is: What organizational and process-level managerial actions do SMEs take to successfully access and implement digital technologies within their organizational processes?
Design/methodology/approach
Using Guertler et al.'s (2020) Action Innovation Management Research (AIM-R) framework, this study examines the digital transformation experiences of 10 European SMEs to gain insights into the managerial actions that foster successful digital transformation.
Findings
The findings of the paper reveal two major contributions. First, a digital transformation roadmap for SMEs is proposed, with a focus on accessing external resources and reconfiguring internal ones to ease their digital transformation journey. Second, three distinct paradoxes that influence the digital transformation process in SMEs are highlighted, providing useful insights into the challenges and tensions SMEs face during this journey.
Originality/value
This paper provides a unique perspective on the digital transformation of SMEs by examining the managerial actions required for successful technology adoption and revealing the paradoxes that may emerge during this transformative process. The findings form the basis for future research, deepening our understanding of digital transformation in SMEs and providing actionable advice to managers and practitioners navigating this journey.
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Ricardo Benjamín Perilla Maluche and Luis Antonio Orozco Castro
The purpose of this paper is to create a model that connects drivers between organizational innovation and business model innovation (BMI) to guide empirical research and the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to create a model that connects drivers between organizational innovation and business model innovation (BMI) to guide empirical research and the design of innovation management strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
The model was designed based on the results of a systematic literature review over the past 25 years that provides common predictor variables to build bridges between these two types of innovations.
Findings
It is a conceptual relationship between organizational innovation and BMI based on processes, new structures and customer relationship management. Moreover, there are five bridges from common predictors: strategy, top management, exploratory learning, technological innovation and environmental complexity.
Originality/value
The relationships between organizational innovation and BMI have been neglected in the literature. The model fills this gap by proposing hypotheses for empirical research and critical variables and relationships to steer organizational and business model innovation.
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Martin Leipziger, Dominik K. Kanbach and Sascha Kraus
Small businesses are facing evolving environments, with a resulting need to shift their traditional approaches toward new business models (BMs). Many face difficulties within this…
Abstract
Purpose
Small businesses are facing evolving environments, with a resulting need to shift their traditional approaches toward new business models (BMs). Many face difficulties within this transition process due to their specific resource constraints. Based on this, incremental changes to the BM – business model transition (BMT) – are proposed as comprising a suitable framework for entrepreneurial small businesses.
Design/methodology/approach
This study conducts a systematic literature review (SLR) to cover a broad range of relevant literature within a final sample of 89 articles. The SLR method was chosen to integrate research in a systematic, transparent and reproducible way. For qualitative analysis and framework derivation, the study draws on a thematic ontological analysis.
Findings
The broad search criteria, focusing on BM, incremental BM changes and small businesses, pave the way for a comprehensive overview of multiple research streams of BM concepts (e.g. digital and sustainable BM). The main contribution of this work is the resulting holistic BMT framework, comprising the main parts BM innovation, external antecedents (transition of environment, entrepreneurial ecosystem), internal antecedents (dynamic capabilities, entrepreneurial orientation, resilience, strategy) and output (firm performance).
Practical implications
The framework provides guidance for entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial managers to implement and complete BMT in small businesses. Furthermore, the presented paper sets a future research agenda focusing on small businesses structured according to the derived framework.
Originality/value
This study provides the first SLR of existing BM concepts with a small-business specific perspective on BMI and a focus on various incremental BM changes.
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Nik Mohd Hazrul Nik Hashim, Nor Rahimy Khalid, Suraya Akmar Mokhtaruddin, Abdullah Al Mamun and Mohammed Abdur Razzaque
Researchers have paid little attention to elucidating how customer-perceived innovative apparel attributes are linked to brand reputation and consumer buying behaviors. This study…
Abstract
Purpose
Researchers have paid little attention to elucidating how customer-perceived innovative apparel attributes are linked to brand reputation and consumer buying behaviors. This study intends to bridge that gap by providing empirical evidence on the effects of product novelty, product difference and product inimitability on brand reputation and behavioral intentions in the context of garment purchasing. We also investigate the moderating effects of self-congruity and value consciousness on the attribute‒brand reputation linkages, as well as their immediate influence on the domain variables.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed model was estimated using data from a web-based survey of 299 female apparel customers. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the relationships between variables.
Findings
The results indicate that product novelty, product inimitability, self-congruity and value consciousness significantly influence brand reputation. The results also demonstrate that self-congruity, value consciousness and brand reputation have direct effects on behavioral intention, while self-congruity and value consciousness appear to moderate the relationship between innovative product attributes and brand reputation.
Originality/value
This study is the first to present a conceptual model that systematically encompasses product innovation, brand perceptions and behavioral links in the field of women's clothing. The findings have important implications for both academics and practitioners in the field of fashion marketing.
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Shaohua Yang, Murtaza Hussain, R.M. Ammar Zahid and Umer Sahil Maqsood
In the rapidly evolving digital economy, businesses face formidable pressures to maintain their competitive standing, prompting a surge of interest in the intersection of…
Abstract
Purpose
In the rapidly evolving digital economy, businesses face formidable pressures to maintain their competitive standing, prompting a surge of interest in the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation (DT). This study aims to assess the impact of AI technologies on corporate DT by scrutinizing 3,602 firm-year observations listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges. The research delves into the extent to which investments in AI drive DT, while also investigating how this relationship varies based on firms' ownership structure.
Design/methodology/approach
To explore the influence of AI technologies on corporate DT, the research employs robust quantitative methodologies. Notably, the study employs multiple validation techniques, including two-stage least squares (2SLS), propensity score matching and an instrumental variable approach, to ensure the credibility of its primary findings.
Findings
The investigation provides clear evidence that AI technologies can accelerate the pace of corporate DT. Firms strategically investing in AI technologies experience faster DT enabled by the automation of operational processes and enhanced data-driven decision-making abilities conferred by AI. Our findings confirm that AI integration has a significant positive impact in propelling DT across the firms studied. Interestingly, the study uncovers a significant divergence in the impact of AI on DT, contingent upon firms' ownership structure. State-owned enterprises (SOEs) exhibit a lesser degree of DT following AI integration compared to privately owned non-SOEs.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the burgeoning literature at the nexus of AI and DT by offering empirical evidence of the nexus between AI technologies and corporate DT. The investigation’s examination of the nuanced relationship between AI implementation, ownership structure and DT outcomes provides novel insights into the implications of AI in the diverse business contexts. Moreover, the research underscores the policy significance of supporting SOEs in their DT endeavors to prevent their potential lag in the digital economy. Overall, this study accentuates the imperative for businesses to strategically embrace AI technologies as a means to bolster their competitive edge in the contemporary digital landscape.
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Organisations are investing in systems such as product lifecycle management (PLM) to support product development, collaboration across complex supply chains and to provide a…
Abstract
Purpose
Organisations are investing in systems such as product lifecycle management (PLM) to support product development, collaboration across complex supply chains and to provide a framework for digital transformation. Graduates of apparel programmes would benefit from a knowledge of PLM to help realise the opportunities that PLM offers. The purpose of this paper is to report on an educational research project that used PLM as a context for practice-based learning and as a mechanism to update the learning experience and stimulate the development of future practice.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reports on the experiences, critical reflections and data from an action research study to establish a learning community through an educational partnership for PLM software within an undergraduate fashion business course. The cohort of the first year of the intervention (n = 28) is the main study population.
Findings
The findings indicate that PLM provided a stimulating learning context supportive of a detailed understanding of current industry practice, critical and innovative thinking and the development of a professional identity.
Research limitations/implications
The opportunity for the development of both industry and educational practice is outlined.
Practical implications
A general introduction to PLM provides important information to support and advance Fashion Industry 4.0. Educational partnerships can reduce barriers to the integration of advanced technologies into the higher education curriculum.
Originality/value
Applications of PLM are under researched in textiles and apparel. The paper contributes to the broadening of the knowledge base of PLM and its potential to achieve strategic transformation of the sector.
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