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Because the global economy is increasingly driven by digital businesses, and digitalization affects the businesses of traditional industrial organizations, the need exists for a theory, and empirical understanding, that elucidates the actual value-creating elements. By focusing on traditional industrial organizations that are facing changes and transformation caused by the increase in digitalization, the purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of the characteristics of creating sustainable customer value through digitality.

To increase the understanding of creating sustainable customer value through digitality among traditional industrial organizations, quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection were utilized in the study.

The results suggest that value creation through service process- and product-related elements constitutes improved company performance, whereas cost-related elements do not. In addition, when it comes to the role of digitality in value creation, results show that to generate benefits, digitality must be implemented in the company’s strategy and in an existing business model.

Despite the increasing amount of literature on value creation in the digitalized world, theory and empirical understanding that reflect the complexity and dynamism of the delivery of value to customers through digitality are still lacking. This study contributes to this research gap, by presenting the characteristics of sustainable customer value that contribute to value creation.

The growing uses of digital technologies have been creating several new business opportunities. Recently, a new concept has emerged in the literature, the “digital entrepreneurship ecosystem” (DEE). However, it has been empirically understudied. Thus, this study aims to analyze the influence of DEE on entrepreneurial activity. The meta-organization theory was used as a perspective of analysis. A quantitative methodology was applied in a sample that includes data from 28 European countries through the generalized method of moments. It was concluded that the DEE pillars, informal and formal institutions, market conditions, physical infrastructure, human capital and talent and networking and support positively influence entrepreneurial activity. It was also found that the variables knowledge, creation and dissemination and finance have a negative impact on entrepreneurial activity. Several theoretical and empirical contributions are also left for the various stakeholders. The present study is original, as no known studies analyze the influence of DEE on entrepreneurial activity in European countries from the perspective of meta-organization theory.

Digital twins (DTs) and other data-based solutions are gaining an increasing foothold in manufacturing business, whereas a mere physical product is often insufficient to satisfy all customers’ expectations. As a result, companies are seeking novel ways of value creation, and one exciting opportunity is the use of DTs in new business creation, where they can offer diverse possibilities for innovative businesses. This paper aims to examine the impacts and challenges of DTs on new business creation in the manufacturing industry.

This study used a qualitative research approach, which combined semistructured interviews and an iterative Delphi study as research methods. The participants for the interviews and Delphi study were from different sectors and roles in the manufacturing industry. Altogether, 10 interviewees from eight companies took part in the interviews, and the expert panel of the Delphi method contained 12 professionals.

The results of the study indicated that DT can significantly impact the business models of manufacturing companies. DT can enhance operations, offer cost savings and business growth and allow stakeholders to focus on core competencies while developing their businesses. Several challenges for leveraging DT were identified, such as data ownership, resource allocation, internal bureaucracy and the difficulty of demonstrating the actual value of data-based services to potential customers.

This paper provides a structured expert-led assessment of the potential impacts of DT utilization in the creation of new business opportunities.

The purpose of this study, based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and digital entrepreneurship literature, is to unveil the role of digital entrepreneurial knowledge and entrepreneurial role models in shaping digital entrepreneurial intentions (DEIs) among Saudi Youth through a moderated mediation perspective. This study aims to propose that the relationship between digital entrepreneurial knowledge and intention is mediated by main TPB antecedents under the moderating role of entrepreneurial role models.

Data were collected from a sample of 487 Saudi students from three main Saudi public universities located in Riyadh using an online survey questionnaire. By applying SEM, this study builds and tests the measurement and structural models to examine the hypothesised relationships among main variables.

Results revealed that the main antecedents of TPB (namely, attitudes towards digital entrepreneurship and perceived control behaviour) are significantly related to DEI. In addition, digital entrepreneurial knowledge indicates indirect effects on intentions via these two antecedents. However, entrepreneurial role models exert only a negative and significant moderating effect on the relationship between perceived behaviour control and DEI.

This study contributes to the literature by showing how most of the TPB antecedents can play a mediating role between digital entrepreneurial knowledge and the intentions of Saud Youth. The main limitation of this study is that it was not possible to generalise the findings. Future research directions are proposed to add new insights.

The results of this study have clear implications for both theory (entrepreneurship scholars) by investigating DEI and its determinants and for practice (entrepreneurship educators and policymakers) by promoting digital entrepreneurship among youth through university-based awareness and building capability programs and curricula.

The study helps to understand the role of digital entrepreneurial knowledge in shaping DEI through the development of an extended TPB intention-based model. The findings also indicate that digital entrepreneurial knowledge has indirect effects on Youth's intentions. The findings show insights related to the influence of entrepreneurial role models on TPB antecedents in the transitional context of Saudi Arabia.

In the age of Industry 4.0, digital advancement is reshaping manufacturing models towards product–service systems (PSS). The drivers, readiness and challenges to move to a PSS model are not well understood, and the exploitation of the digital era presents the gap of this research.

The research was conducted using semi-structured interviews in six manufacturers. Two forum debates were also conducted to supplement and validate the findings.

Social and economic motivations rather than environmental considerations were driving the change to PSS. Digital technologies could be an important driver if manufacturers reached a certain PSS maturity level. A high level of technical readiness was offset by a low level of social investments and the strategic development of human resources. Value co-creation was a main challenge though manufacturers had the advantage of digital connectivity, which indicated new human requirements; the greater the enabling power of digital technologies, the greater the need for advanced human skills.

Human resource management has underpinned lean models; yet, the role of employees within PSS is underdeveloped despite the impact of staff in exploiting digitalisation and value co-creation. A “learning organisation” and socio-technical fit are required for the “diffusion of innovation” of PSS.

This research attempted to explore drivers, readiness and challenges for PSS from a socio-technical systems (STS) perspective. Three levels of PSS maturity with STS features were derived from the research, providing guidance for manufacturers.

There has been a digital transformation of the sport industry that has resulted in an increase in the number of startups. Technological innovations derived from big data and social media have altered the way entrepreneurship is embedded in a sport context. This has influenced more technologically enabled sport startups that are driving change in the global economy. This chapter discusses the role of digitalization in changing existing business models and fostering a more entrepreneurial ecosystem. This includes focusing on technological innovations such as the impact of cloud computing and other data changes.

Digital technology is crucial to improving a firm’s core competitiveness. However, the existing research on the relationship therein shows heterogeneity. Using digital technology can enhance competitive advantage, which is crucial for enterprises and scholars. Thus, based on the digital technology affordance theory, this study explores the relationship between digital technology affordance and digital competitive advantage.

Survey data were collected from 509 large and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in China, and multiple regression and structural equation modelling were used to test the hypotheses. Specifically, we discuss the mediating role of digital business capability and the moderating role of organisational legitimacy.

Editability, association and visibility positively affect digital competitive advantage, and their coordination is strong. Further, they can help enterprises gain a competitive advantage through the mediating role of digital business capability (digital strategy, digital integration and regulation). However, the influence effect and action path differ per in different dimensions. Organisational legitimacy positively moderates the mediating effect of digital integration and regulation, and there is a moderated mediating effect. However, the moderating effect on the mediating effect of digital strategy is not significant.

Existing studies neglect the relationship between the coordination of digital technology functions and digital competitive advantage. This study provides a new theoretical explanation for an in-depth understanding of these issues. These findings promote the development of innovation theory and provide valuable insights for guiding the application of digital technology in enterprises.

The purpose of this paper is to present, analyse and demonstrate the impact and potentials of a pragmatically derived information technology (IT) governance framework, IT4IT™, for the discipline of management of technology (MoT) especially within the IT industry.

This paper is based on an extensive literature study working with the limitations of the relatively recent publication of IT4IT™ and the normative character of IT4IT™. A mixed-method case study is presented based on an IT service provider organisation. Both a qualitative method and a systems and design oriented method are being used.

IT4IT™ can provide value and a clearer understanding of the service delivery framework if the technological core of the focal organisation is adapted to a value stream thinking. This suggests a more operational character of all IT processes and analogue to general MoT frameworks and corporate governance models.

Given the recent publication of the IT4IT™ framework, this study is primarily ex ante and suggests further full-scale ex post research in the future.

Validation and successful implementation of the IT4IT™ framework will give companies better opportunities for safe and controlled value creation using IT. Control connects with risk reduction and less risk can encourage innovation and “tame” development complexity. Using value streams will align IT better with manufacturing and services.

Companies are striving to seek governance and risk minimisation in IT development and operations. This paper is discussing the applicability of the IT4IT™ framework for finding a better understanding of the value creation and value proposition delivered by introducing controlled processes minimising risk.

This paper aims to explore the sharing economy in Italy, focusing on key socioeconomic characteristics.

Adopting an exploratory approach, it analyzes the answers of a questionnaire, created using Google Forms and administered via social networks and e-mails. To analyze the answers statistical tests and descriptive statistics were used. The survey reveals potential behavioral factors, which influence the participation propensity to share economic practices.

Results exhibit that the age of the consumer is an impactful participating factor of sharing economy, and therefore, it seems to be a discriminant. On the contrary, gender and annual income are insignificant determinants.

The sample is unbalanced, the majority of the answers were provided by young people.

The paper can give a picture of the role and the importance of the sharing economy in Italy. Motivated by its global economic growth that could reach in 2025 the value of €570bn, it contextualizes what drives people to collaborate and share tangible and intangible assets.

It aims to discover how this digital trend shapes the social fabric of the global economy, providing a broader reflection in terms of future sustainability developments. Ongoing dynamic changes on digital consumer preferences toward sharing products and services provide valuable evidence on their future commercial behavior.