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This study aims to explain the effects of different types of innovations on organizational performance in terms of firms’ external effectiveness and internal efficiency. The study examines the interrelationship of technical and nontechnical innovations in complex services and the mediating effect of customer participation on the relationship between innovation type and organizational performance.

The study draws on a neo-Schumpeterian model for innovation to examine the complex service setting of healthcare provision. Data from Statistics Sweden, containing 38 hospitals and 242 primary care units in Sweden, provided the study's results.

The findings show the importance of combining different types of innovations in complex services, demonstrating a mediating effect of nontechnical innovation on both the relationship between technical innovations and external effectiveness and internal efficiency. Moreover, the results show that customer participation has a positive mediating effect for technical innovation and nontechnical innovation on external effectiveness. However, there is no such significant effect on internal efficiency.

The findings are based on self-assessment data, which has inherent limitations. The innovation data used were cross-sectional, which may lack reliability (although self-assessed data counter this risk to some extent).

Managers should pursue both technical and nontechnical innovations for gains in external effectiveness and internal efficiency. However, complex services call for technical innovations to be accompanied by nontechnical innovations to support positive effects. The results cause a dilemma for managing customer participation in complex services. As the results show customer participation resulting in external effectiveness, they also fail to establish an effect on internal efficiency.

The primary contribution is to add to the knowledge of different types of innovation in complex services by demonstrating their interdependent effects on both external effectiveness and internal efficiency. Furthermore, the study tests and advances the mediating effect of customer participation in complex services on organizational performance.

The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze the barriers associated with the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies in agricultural supply chains.

The study initially identified thirteen barriers by conducting a literature review and semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders. Subsequently, these barriers were validated and modeled using an integrated Fuzzy Delphi-ISM approach. Finally, MICMAC analysis was employed to categorize the barriers into distinct clusters.

The results provide considerable insights into the hierarchical structure and complex interrelationships between the barriers as well the driving and dependence power of barriers. Lack of information about technologies and lack of compatibility with traditional methods emerged as the two main barriers which directly and indirectly influence the other ones.

The robust hybrid Fuzzy Delphi and ISM techniques used in this study can serve as a useful model and benchmark for similar studies probing the barriers to Industry 4.0 adoption. From a theoretical standpoint, this study expands the scope of institutional theory in explaining Industry 4.0 adoption barriers.

The study is timely for the post-COVID-19 recovery and growth of the agricultural sector. The findings are helpful for policymakers and agriculture supply chain stakeholders in devising new strategies and policy interventions to prioritize and address Industry 4.0 adoption barriers.

It is the first comprehensive, multi-country and multi-method empirical study to comprehensively identify and model barriers to Industry 4.0 adoption in agricultural supply chains in emerging economies.

Complex technology not only provides potential economic benefits but also increases the difficulty of application. Whether and how upstream technological complexity affects downstream manufacturers' innovation through vertical separation structure is worth discussing, but it has not been effectively discussed.

Through theoretical analysis and empirical testing, this article discusses the cost effect and market competition effect caused by upstream technological complexity on downstream manufacturers and further elucidates the impact of upstream technological complexity on downstream manufacturers' innovation.

Research has found that the impact of upstream technological complexity on the downstream manufacturers' innovation depends on the cost effect and market competition effect. The cost effect caused by the complexity of upstream technology inhibits the innovation of downstream manufacturers. In contrast, the market competition effect promotes the innovation of downstream manufacturers. There are differences in the cost effect and market competition effect of upstream technological complexity on different types of downstream manufacturers, so there is also significant heterogeneity in the impact of upstream technological complexity on innovation of different types of downstream manufacturers.

The conclusions of this article improve the understanding of the relationship between upstream technological complexity and downstream innovation and provide helpful implications for industrial chain innovation.

Blockchain technology (BT) is creating a new standard for all business operations. It can assist businesses in handling the complexity of circular digital supply chain (DCM) management. Despite this optimistic view, several barriers hinder its implementation. In this regard, this study contributes to Industry 4.0, circular economy (CE), the viability with a critical emphasis on its potential ramifications and influence on the future agenda while using BT technology in the supply chain (SC). In addition, the research reduces the knowledge gap by investigating and ranking the key barriers to the deployment of BT in viable circular digital supply chains (VCDSCs) and studies their interdependencies and causal relationships. The purpose of this paper is to address these issues.

The barriers to BT adoption in the VCDSC are identified through a thorough literature review and considering viability performance. These barriers are then classified using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method. Decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) is then employed to examine the cause/effect, correlation, and connection among the 14 barriers selected barriers from the AHP classification to estimate each barrier's overall degree of impact over the others.

This paper identifies and analyzes the BT adoption barriers in the VCDSC as well as examines how the key barriers interact. As a result, according to the AHP/DEMATEL method, the most prominent influencing barriers to the BT implementation in the VCDSC are “Data transparency,” “Market competition,” “Missing infrastructure,” “Lack of standardization,” “Complex protocol,” “Lack of industry involvement,” “Financial constraints,” “Missing infrastructure,” “Data transparency” and “Interoperability.” The outcomes offer a potential path for identifying important barriers as well as insight into the implementation of BT in the SC while integrating different capabilities such as viability, sustainability and CE principles.

Managers and researchers will benefit from this research by gaining an understanding of the challenges that must be prioritized and examined for BT to be implemented successfully in the VCDSC.

The use and implementation of blockchain-enabled VCDSC continue to face challenges despite an increase in relevant practice and research. Despite the benefits of BT, managers struggle to apply such technology in the context of their company. In this respect, this paper uses an integrated AHP–DEMATEL for categorizing the BT barriers as well as the interrelationship between them. In this respect, this paper presents the BT barriers studied are those related to the use of BT in the SC while integrating different paradigms such as viability, digitalization and CE. While many studies look at the barriers to BT adoption; none of them has ever included the viable capability, which means the ability to “react agilely to positive changes, be resilient to absorb negative events and re-cover after disruptions and survive at long-term periods.” The study concludes with insightful comments based on the findings and suggestions for eradicating those obstacles and their associated effects.

While the potential for digital innovation (DI) to transform organizational practices is widely acknowledged in the information systems (IS) literature, there is very limited understanding on the socio-political nature of institutional interactions that determine DI and affect organizational practices in social cash organizations. Drawing on the neo-institutionalist vision, the purpose of the study is to examine the unique set of institutional exchanges that influence the transition to digital social cash payments that give rise to new institutional arrangements in social cash organizations.

The paper draws on an in-depth case study of a government social cash organization in Pakistan. Qualitative data were collected using 30 semi-structured interviews from key organizational members and stakeholders.

The results suggest that DI is determined by the novel intersections between the coercive (techno-economic, regulatory), normative (socio-organizational), mimetic (international) and covert power (political) forces. Hence, DI is not a technologically deterministic output, but rather a complex socio-political process enacted through dialogue, negotiation and conflict between institutional actors. Technology is socially embedded through the process of institutionalization that is coupled by the deinstitutionalization of established organizational practices for progressive transformation.

The research has implications for government social cash organizations especially in the Global South. Empirically, the authors gained rare access to, and support from a government-backed social cash organization in Pakistan (an understudied country in the Global South), which made the data and the consequent analyses even invaluable. This made the empirical contribution within this geographical setting even more worthy, since this case study has received little attention from indigenous scholars in the past. The empirical findings showcased a unique set of contextual factors that were subject to BISP and interpreted through an account of socio-cultural sensitivities.

The paper provides practical implications for policymakers and practitioners, emphasizing the need to address institutional challenges, including covert power, during the implementation of digitalization projects in the public sector. The paper has certain potential for inspiring future e-government related (or public sector focused) studies. The paper may guide both private and government policy-makers and practitioners in presenting how to overcome certain institutional challenges while planning and implementing large scale multi-stakeholder digitization projects in similar country contexts. So while there is scope of linking the digitization of public sector organizations to anti-corruption measures in other Global South countries, the paper may not be that straightforward with the private sector involvement.

The paper offers rich social insights on the institutional interchanges that occur between the social actors for the innovation of technology. Especially, the paper highlights the social-embeddedness nature of technology that underpins the institutionalization of new organizational practices. These have implications on how DI is viewed as a socio-political process of change.

This study contributes to neo-institutional theory by theorizing covert power as a political force that complements the neo-institutional framework. This force is subtle but also resistive for some political actors as the force shifts the equilibrium of power between different institutional actors. Furthermore, the paper presents the social and practical implications that guide policymakers and practitioners by taking into consideration the unique institutional challenges, such as covert power, while implementing large scale digital projects in the social cash sector.

Adoption of Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) is a crucial step towards the digital transition of the healthcare sector. This review aims to determine and synthesise the influential factors in CDSS adoption in inpatient healthcare settings in order to grasp an understanding of the phenomenon and identify future research gaps.

A systematic literature search of five databases (Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Web of Science and Scopus) was conducted between January 2010 and June 2023. The search strategy was a combination of the following keywords and their synonyms: clinical decision support, hospital or secondary care and influential factors. The quality of studies was evaluated against a 40-point rating scale.

Thirteen papers were systematically reviewed and synthesised and deductively classified into three main constructs of the Technology–Organisation–Environment theory. Scarcity of papers investigating CDSS adoption and its challenges, especially in developing countries, was evident.

This study offers a summative account of challenges in the CDSS procurement process. Strategies to help adopters proactively address the challenges are: (1) Hospital leaders need a clear digital strategy aligned with stakeholders' consensus; (2) Developing modular IT solutions and conducting situational analysis to achieve IT goals; and (3) Government policies, accreditation standards and procurement guidelines play a crucial role in navigating the complex CDSS market.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first review to address the adoption and procurement of CDSS. Previous literature only addressed challenges and facilitators within the implementation and post-implementation stages. This study focuses on the firm-level adoption phase of CDSS technology with a theory refining lens.

Teleworkers need to use information and communication technology (ICT) to communicate and collaborate with their team members, however, when new and complicated information systems should be used, this can lead to stress. Receiving adequate information and emotional support from team members could reduce the stress caused by technological complexity and subsequent work and occupational strains.

Participants (N = 400) teleworked at least half of their working hours and were employed in organizations with a minimum of 250 employees. Data from the online survey were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

Results demonstrate that aspects of informational and emotional communication contribute to perceived social support from team members, with emotional communication explaining more variance. Stress from technological complexity is mitigated by both supportive team communication and the extent of telework. Perceived stress from technological complexity, however, still increases work and occupational strains.

The findings emphasize the importance of supportive internal communication to foster a collaborative telework environment. Practitioners in internal communication need to encourage teleworkers to help each other with adequate information and provide also emotional support to overcome the negative effects of complex ICT.

The study shows that supportive communication among team members is important for teleworkers to reduce work and occupational strains, especially when facing difficulties with complex ICT.

Emerging technologies and the concept of Industry 4.0 are on the rise. Thus, available solutions for SCM get more complex and dynamic. Technology adoption is crucial for organizations competitiveness, but resources are limited. Therefore, this paper aims to gain insights into the successful management of technology pre-adoption in SCM.

In-depth polar case studies of technology pre-adoption initiatives in various industries were collected using an interview-based approach. Subsequently, the paper deploys transcript coding on the data to analyze information within and across the cases. Lastly, utilizing contingency theory, supply chain-specific influencing factors and corresponding management practices were identified.

The research reveals eight contingency dimensions and corresponding variables that influence the design of successful technology pre-adoption in SCM (e.g. complexity and criticality). Moreover, ten response variables were identified, referring to the pre-adoption process or organization. They systemize possible options when conducting technology pre-adoption initiatives.

The paper contributes to research by systemizing potential influencing factors and responses of technology pre-adoption through an explorative, empirical study. The paper is limited by its qualitative approach and the number of case studies conducted.

The results provide supply chain managers a guideline for analyzing potential influences on the technology pre-adoption process and propositions how to manage pre-adoption accordingly.

This research is among the first to provide in-depth insights into technology pre-adoption from an organization's perspective considering supply chain-specific contingencies. Also, it introduces a new perspective on technology selection as a management process.

The cold supply chain industry is still emerging and digital transformation is in the nascent stage in this industry. This paper argues that there are various barriers to implementing blockchain technology in the cold supply chain and aims to develop and validate a model for overcoming key barriers to implementing blockchain technology in the cold supply chain.

The adoption of blockchain technology was proposed through interpretive structural modeling (ISM) and further it is validated using structural equation modeling (SEM).

In this study, ten key barriers to implementing blockchain technology in the cold supply chain were identified, modelled and analysed. Poor leadership style of top management was found to be the most important barriers to implementing blockchain technology in the cold supply chain. The results of SEM indicate that all the paths are supported. The findings showcase the barriers responsible for the lack of blockchain technology infrastructure that ultimately impacts the cold supply chains.

This study highlights the fact that the fate of blockchain technology infrastructure development depends on the leadership style of top management. Demonstrating good leadership style by top management can help overcome the barriers. A good leader pulls the entire team instead of pushing the team. A good leader can guide the entire team to improve IT governance, financial investment, digital footprint, digital readiness, skills and collaboration with service providers to implement blockchain technology. Not only that, a good leader provides mental strength to the team and helps overcome the fear of implementing blockchain in the cold supply chain. A good leader demonstrates good administrative skills and focus on security and privacy policies.

This is a novel contribution towards analysing the key barriers to implementing blockchain technology in the South African cold supply chain using the integrated ISM–MICMAC and SEM approach.

This paper aims to develop a conceptual framework as a valuable investigative tool for future empirical studies examining stakeholders’ interactions within a high-performance computing (HPC) service ecosystem and identifying the enablers for better value co-creation under various service provisioning contexts.

This conceptual paper follows a theory adaptation research design that systematically examines the literature on a substantive topic encompassing HPC technology adoption and usage by European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Furthermore, it introduces theoretical perspectives from service innovation research as its methodological approach (method theory) to develop a theoretical framework for value co-creation within an HPC service ecosystem.

The conceptual framework presented in this paper identifies the critical resource elements of SMEs, which can potentially be integrated with other stakeholders’ resources and complement the limited internal resources of SMEs for enhanced value co-creation within an HPC service ecosystem.

The conceptualisation of an HPC service ecosystem and the potential of value co-creation through integrating stakeholders’ resources, presented in this paper, underscore further empirical research in this direction.

Findings from this paper can inform European policymakers for regional development to frame regional strategies and policies that enable SMEs to better uptake HPC services. Service providers can revisit their business models to reconfigure their organisational resources for enhanced value proposition and co-creation.

This study advances the agenda of transformative service research that aims uplifting changes and societal well-being through a more inclusive and sustainable value co-creation among a wider set of stakeholders within the service ecosystem.

The paper addresses an under-investigated research gap by examining SMEs’ adoption of HPC services and opportunities for higher value co-creation using a service ecosystem approach based on multi-actor interaction, collaboration and resource integration.