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Business schools are tasked with matching curriculum to techniques that industry practitioners rely on for profitability. Forecasting is a significant part of what many firms use to try to predict budgets and to provide guidance as to the direction the business is headed. This chapter focuses on forecasting and how well business schools match the requirements of industry professionals. Considering its importance to achieving successful business outcomes, forecasting is increasingly becoming a more complex endeavor. Firms must be able to forecast accurately to gain an understanding of the direction the business is taking and to prevent potential setbacks before they occur. Our results suggest that, although techniques vary, in large part business schools are introducing students to the forecasting tools that graduates will need to be successful in an industry setting. The balance of our chapter explores the forecasting tools used by business schools and firms, and the challenge of aligning the software learning curve between business school curriculum and industry expectations.

Present for more than 20 years, 3D food printing (3DFP) technology has not experienced the same widespread adoption as its non-food counterparts. It is believed that relevant business models are crucial for its expansion. The purpose of this study is to identify the dominant prototypical business models and patterns in the 3DFP industry. The knowledge gained could be used to provide directions for business model innovation in this industry.

The authors established a business model framework and used it to analyse the identified 3DFP manufacturers. The authors qualitatively identified the market’s prototypical business models and used agglomerative hierarchical clustering to extract further patterns.

All identified 3DFP businesses use the prototypical business model of selling ownership of physical assets, with some variations. Low-cost 3D food printers for private usage and dedicated 3D food printers for small-scale food producers are the two primary patterns identified. Furthermore, several benefits of 3DFP technology are not being used, and the identified manufacturers are barely present in high-revenue markets, which prevents them from driving technological innovation forward.

The extracted patterns can be used by the companies within the 3DFP industry and even in other additive manufacturing segments to reflect upon, refine or renew their business model. Some directions for business model innovation in this industry are provided.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first quantitative study to give an account of the current 3DFP business models and their possible evolution. This study also contributes to the business model patterns methodological development.

This study is an exploration of areas pertaining to the use of production data in non-production environments. During the software development life cycle, non-production environments are used to serve various purposes to include unit, component, integration, system, user acceptance, performance and configuration testing. Organisations and third parties have been and are continuing to use copies of production data in non-production environments. This can lead to personal and sensitive data being accidentally leaked if appropriate and rigorous security guidelines are not implemented. This paper aims to propose a comprehensive framework for minimising data leakage from non-production environments. The framework was evaluated using guided interviews and was proven effective in helping organisation manage sensitive data in non-production environments.

Authors conducted a thorough literature review on areas related to data leakage from non-production systems. By doing an analysis of advice, guidelines and frameworks that aims at finding a practical solution for selecting and implementing a de-identification solution of sensitive data, the authors managed to highlight the importance of all areas related to sensitive data protection. Based on these areas, a framework was proposed which was evaluated by conducting set of guided interviews.

This paper has researched the background information and produced a framework for an organisation to manage sensitive data in its non-production environments. This paper presents a proposed framework that describes a process flow from the legal and regulatory requirements to data treatment and protection, gained through understanding the organisation’s business, the production system, the purpose and the requirements of the non-production environment. The paper shows that there is some conflict between security and perceived usability, which may be addressed by challenging the perceptions of usability or identifying the compromise required. Non-production environments need not be the sole responsibility of the IT section, they should be of interest to the business area that is responsible for the data held.

This paper proposes a simplified business model and framework. The proposed model diagrammatically describes the interactions of elements affecting the organisation. It highlights how non-production environments may be perceived as separate from the business systems, but despite the perceptions, these are still subject to the same legal requirements and constraints. It shows the interdependency of data, software, technical infrastructure and human interaction and how the change of one element may affect the others. The proposed framework describes the process flow and forms a practical solution in assisting the decision-making process and providing documentary evidence for assurance and audit purposes. It looks at the requirements of the non-production system in relation to the legal and regulatory constraints, as well as the organisational requirements and business systems. The impact of human factors on the data is also considered to bring a holistic approach to the protection of non-production environments.

Drawing on the resource-based view, this study aims to examine how family involvement in migrant-founded small businesses gives rise to distinctive resources that help these businesses survive.

Using microdata from the 2007 US survey of business owners (SBO), this study uses logit regression modeling to test the hypothesized relationships.

Results show that small businesses founded by migrant entrepreneurs are less likely to survive and that family involvement weakens the negative relationship between founder migrant status and business survivability. In addition, the positive moderating effect associated with family involvement is further strengthened by the use of external/borrowing startup capital, thus migrant families founded small businesses with access to external capital have the highest probability of survival.

This study contributes to the literature on both migrant entrepreneurship and family business. This paper finds family involvement in the business, interacting with the founder’s migrant status, tends to create distinctive resource endowments that help to compensate for the resource constraints associated with migrant entrepreneurs. Such resource endowments may take the form of high levels of solidarity among migrant family members and the spanning role of the migrant kinship networks extended from the country of origin to the country of residence.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of mobile technology and related service platforms in supporting informal micro-entrepreneurships in rural Ghana. It aims to extend our knowledge through the development of a conceptual model.

A qualitative research design used in-depth semi-structured interviews with five micro-entrepreneurship owners in the Kwahu South District in the Eastern region of Ghana. Identification of potential case firms was facilitated by a local official. Interview data were analysed thematically.

Mobile technology engendered pride and emotional connectedness and, being easy to use, helped to increase business confidence. Adoption advantages included improved communications with customers and business partners, and effective stock control, providing competitive advantage. Further understanding of mobile technology’s role in improving business processes is needed.

This exploratory research is based on five micro-entrepreneurships in one Ghanaian rural area. Further research is needed using larger samples, additional locations and sectors and larger businesses, to identify other factors influencing mobile technology adoption and associated benefits and problems.

Government policy supporting growth of informal micro-entrepreneurships using mobile phone technology could increase economic advantage. Micro-business owners need education and training in understanding business processes. Telecommunications companies can highlight technological, business and socio-cultural benefits of mobile phone adoption in rural Ghana.

The paper draws upon the experiences of a range of rural-based Ghanaian micro-entrepreneurships to propose a model setting out and linking the technical, business and socio-cultural benefits of mobile phone adoption in supporting business processes.

Hoping to increase the productivity of their employees, firms provide and expect their employees to use approved mobile apps. However, despite an intuitive appeal, the relationship between information technology usage and productivity is still seen as paradoxical. This study examines the relationship between employees' experience and engagement with business mobile apps provided by employers and its effects on employee work productivity.

Data from respondents who use employer-provided business apps were used to test the hypotheses. Measurement-corrected latent scores extracted from the PLS measurement evaluation were used in regression-centric assessment using PROCESS.

Results indicate that employee-users’ experience-based attributions of the business app, i.e. customization, performance quality and compatibility, have positive effects on productivity mediated by participation intensity. Further, work type (retail vs non-retail) and the depth of the employee user’s experience moderate experience-based attributions' indirect effects on productivity.

Unlike previous studies delving into this topic, this study focuses solely on the mediation and moderation effects for hypothesis testing. Specifically, this study investigates effects conditional on work type (retail vs non-retail), which the authors believe has significant implications for retailing. These findings have interesting implications for both future research and managers.

This study provides a comprehensive framework of adaptation in triadic business relationship settings in the service sector. The framework is based on the industrial network approach (see, e.g., Axelsson & Easton, 1992; Håkansson & Snehota, 1995a). The study describes how adaptations initiate, how they progress, and what the outcomes of these adaptations are. Furthermore, the framework takes into account how adaptations spread in triadic relationship settings. The empirical context is corporate travel management, which is a chain of activities where an industrial enterprise, and its preferred travel agency and service supplier partners combine their resources. The scientific philosophy, on which the knowledge creation is based, is realist ontology. Epistemologically, the study relies on constructionist processes and interpretation. Case studies with in-depth interviews are the main source of data.

Organizational studies of time tend to be done by academic researchers rather than practitioners. This chapter builds on academic research to provide a practitioner perspective by reviewing time situated in theory and constructing two phenotypes: timescapes of business and social time. These timescapes are defined by six dimensions, each with a social and business time parameter. Organizational business and social timescapes have different functions and applications. Timescapes, with their concomitant dimensions and sets of parameters, are used differently by senior managers, middle managers, and entry-level managers. Three multi-level approaches (self, dyadic, and social relationships), composition theory, and compilation theory confirm these three managerial timescape usages. After a review of the theoretical bases of the timescape constructs and a brief discussion of the grounded, anthropological, research methodology used in the study, this chapter applies timescape theory and models to an extended time case study of the Procter & Gamble Company that frames the company's timescape understanding and use from a practitioner's view.

Information and communications technology (ICT) offers enormous opportunities for individuals, businesses and society. The application of ICT is equally important to economic and non-economic activities. Researchers have increasingly focused on the adoption and use of ICT by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as the economic development of a country is largely dependent on them. Following the success of ICT utilisation in SMEs in developed countries, many developing countries are looking to utilise the potential of the technology to develop SMEs. Past studies have shown that the contribution of ICT to the performance of SMEs is not clear and certain. Thus, it is crucial to determine the effectiveness of ICT in generating firm performance since this has implications for SMEs’ expenditure on the technology. This research examines the diffusion of ICT among SMEs with respect to the typical stages from innovation adoption to post-adoption, by analysing the actual usage of ICT and value creation. The mediating effects of integration and utilisation on SME performance are also studied. Grounded in the innovation diffusion literature, institutional theory and resource-based theory, this study has developed a comprehensive integrated research model focused on the research objectives. Following a positivist research paradigm, this study employs a mixed-method research approach. A preliminary conceptual framework is developed through an extensive literature review and is refined by results from an in-depth field study. During the field study, a total of 11 SME owners or decision-makers were interviewed. The recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed using NVivo 10 to refine the model to develop the research hypotheses. The final research model is composed of 30 first-order and five higher-order constructs which involve both reflective and formative measures. Partial least squares-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is employed to test the theoretical model with a cross-sectional data set of 282 SMEs in Bangladesh. Survey data were collected using a structured questionnaire issued to SMEs selected by applying a stratified random sampling technique. The structural equation modelling utilises a two-step procedure of data analysis. Prior to estimating the structural model, the measurement model is examined for construct validity of the study variables (i.e. convergent and discriminant validity).

The estimates show cognitive evaluation as an important antecedent for expectation which is shaped primarily by the entrepreneurs’ beliefs (perception) and also influenced by the owners’ innovativeness and culture. Culture further influences expectation. The study finds that facilitating condition, environmental pressure and country readiness are important antecedents of expectation and ICT use. The results also reveal that integration and the degree of ICT utilisation significantly affect SMEs’ performance. Surprisingly, the findings do not reveal any significant impact of ICT usage on performance which apparently suggests the possibility of the ICT productivity paradox. However, the analysis finally proves the non-existence of the paradox by demonstrating the mediating role of ICT integration and degree of utilisation explain the influence of information technology (IT) usage on firm performance which is consistent with the resource-based theory. The results suggest that the use of ICT can enhance SMEs’ performance if the technology is integrated and properly utilised. SME owners or managers, interested stakeholders and policy makers may follow the study’s outcomes and focus on ICT integration and degree of utilisation with a view to attaining superior organisational performance.

This study urges concerned business enterprises and government to look at the environmental and cultural factors with a view to achieving ICT usage success in terms of enhanced firm performance. In particular, improving organisational practices and procedures by eliminating the traditional power distance inside organisations and implementing necessary rules and regulations are important actions for managing environmental and cultural uncertainties. The application of a Bengali user interface may help to ensure the productivity of ICT use by SMEs in Bangladesh. Establishing a favourable national technology infrastructure and legal environment may contribute positively to improving the overall situation. This study also suggests some changes and modifications in the country’s existing policies and strategies. The government and policy makers should undertake mass promotional programs to disseminate information about the various uses of computers and their contribution in developing better organisational performance. Organising specialised training programs for SME capacity building may succeed in attaining the motivation for SMEs to use ICT. Ensuring easy access to the technology by providing loans, grants and subsidies is important. Various stakeholders, partners and related organisations should come forward to support government policies and priorities in order to ensure the productive use of ICT among SMEs which finally will help to foster Bangladesh’s economic development.

Companies in all industries are searching for new sources of competitive advantage since the competition in their marketplace is becoming increasingly intensive. The resource-based view of the firm explains the sources of sustainable competitive advantages. From a resource-based view perspective, relational based assets (i.e., the assets resulting from firm contacts in the marketplace) enable competitive advantage. The relational based assets examined in this work are brand image and corporate reputation, as components of brand equity, and customer value. This paper explores how they create value. Despite the relatively large amount of literature describing the benefits of firms in having strong brand equity and delivering customer value, no research validated the linkage of brand equity components, brand image, and corporate reputation, simultaneously in the customer value–customer loyalty chain. This work presents a model of testing these relationships in consumer goods, in a business-to-business context. The results demonstrate the differential roles of brand image and corporate reputation on perceived quality, customer value, and customer loyalty. Brand image influences the perception of quality of the products and the additional services, whereas corporate reputation actions beyond brand image, estimating the customer value and customer loyalty. The effects of corporate reputation are also validated on different samples. The results demonstrate the importance of managing brand equity facets, brand image, and corporate reputation since their differential impacts on perceived quality, customer value, and customer loyalty. The results also demonstrate that companies should not limit to invest only in brand image. Maintaining and enhancing corporate reputation can have a stronger impact on customer value and customer loyalty, and can create differential competitive advantage.