Search results
1 – 10 of over 22000Piera Centobelli, Roberto Cerchione, Emilio Esposito, Renato Passaro and Ivana Quinto
This paper aims to conceptualize the digital behavior of startups and investigate the emerging behaviors about digital strategies of the Italian startup firms enrolled in the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to conceptualize the digital behavior of startups and investigate the emerging behaviors about digital strategies of the Italian startup firms enrolled in the Startup Act policy initiative. Digital technologies were divided into intra- and inter-organizational digital infrastructures, and this categorization offers startups the opportunity to identify a set of enabling technologies that could be used to improve their digital strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
An empirical analysis has been conducted to investigate the degree of adoption of digital intra- and inter-organizational digital infrastructures in the entire population of 6,178 Italian firms listed in the Register of Innovative Startups.
Findings
The paper proposes a taxonomy bringing together four startup behaviors for adopting digital technologies: digital follower, technical influencer, social influencer and digital leader. From the perspective of policy makers, considering the financial efforts that public authorities are supporting in the last decade, implications are mainly concerned with policy measures aimed both to reinforce the overall adoption of digital technologies and to develop a balanced adoption of intra- and inter-organizational digital infrastructures.
Originality/value
Measures addressed to support female and foreign entrepreneurship could be useful to support a more dynamic and well-balanced cultural and racial contamination, thus improving the adoption of digital tools.
Details
Keywords
Abstract
Purpose
In the context of the digital economy, information technology (IT) investment has become a necessary way for enterprises to transform digitally. However, why and how IT investment can enhance digital transformation is lacking in the literature. Based on the resource-based view (RBV), this study explored the impact mechanism of IT infrastructure on the digital transformation of enterprises from the perspective of the digital transformation strategy. Further, this study examined the moderating role of top management on the relationships between IT infrastructure and digital transformation strategy and between digital transformation strategy and enterprise's digital transformation.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a questionnaire survey of Chinese enterprises, 180 sample data were collected, and the partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method was used to test the hypothesis.
Findings
Digital transformation strategy fully mediates the relationship between IT infrastructure and enterprise digital transformation. Furthermore, top management has a significant positive moderating effect on the relationship between IT infrastructure and digital transformation strategy, as well as the relationship between digital transformation strategy and digital transformation.
Originality/value
This study explores the moderating role of top management in the relationship between IT and enterprise performance, as well as the mediating role of digital transformation strategy in the relationship between IT infrastructure investment and digital transformation performance. As a result, the study adds significantly to the body of knowledge on IT business value, digital transformation and strategic management. The authors' findings can help update managers' perceptions of IT value and provide theoretical guidance on deriving digital transformation performance from IT infrastructure investments.
Details
Keywords
Jwan Khisro, Tomas Lindroth and Johan Magnusson
The purpose of this study is to contribute to research concerning the role of digital infrastructure in digital government. This is done by answering the research question: how…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to contribute to research concerning the role of digital infrastructure in digital government. This is done by answering the research question: how does digital infrastructuring constrain ambidexterity in public sector organizations?
Design/methodology/approach
The research is designed as a clinical inquiry in a large Swedish municipality, involving data collection in the form of interviews and internal documents. The method of analysis involves both exploring generative mechanisms in digital infrastructuring and theorizing on the findings based on previous literature.
Findings
The findings identify four generative mechanisms through which stability and change in digital infrastructuring constrain ambidexterity in terms of both efficiency (exploitation) and innovation (exploration).
Research limitations/implications
This study’s limitations are related to international and intersectoral transferability and risks associated with its approach to clinical inquiry. The main implications are its contribution to the literature on how stability counteracts not only innovation but also efficiency and how change counteracts not only efficiency but also innovation.
Practical implications
This study identifies clear generative mechanisms that should be avoided by managers striving for digital government, and it offers clear recommendations for said managers regarding how to avoid them.
Social implications
This study offers implications for national-level digital infrastructure policy and contributes to efforts to increase the capabilities of digital government.
Originality/value
As two of the four identified generative mechanisms are novel contributions, this study offers a concrete addition to existing research. This study has resulted in factual change in the studied organization as well as at the national level through successful dissemination of the findings for both policy and practice in other public sector organizations.
Details
Keywords
The presence of digital learning space is widely seen as there is an active engagement between educators and learners. However, the challenge raised mainly amidst the pandemic…
Abstract
Purpose
The presence of digital learning space is widely seen as there is an active engagement between educators and learners. However, the challenge raised mainly amidst the pandemic age, which is potentially leading to the interference on the active engagement in education process. The necessary act to have a critical response from the student’s feedback towards the online learning services should be taken into consideration in ensuring the continuance of teacher education in enabling to grab the potential chance to advance the assessment of strategic approach in online learning. This paper aims to examine the digital access during the pandemic age through elaborating the extensive value of better learning service or adaptation for the online learning achievement amidst the pandemic age.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is conducted with a qualitative approach through the particular method of data collection, namely, structured interview. This qualitative approach was selected to enable obtaining the richness of information and related data. The insightful feedback will be coming from 27 higher education learners.
Findings
The finding revealed that better design of achievement pathway on the digital access could be enhanced in supporting the online learning performance through the online services. The main point refers to look into detail about digital online infrastructure insufficiency for online access support and improvements on digital online infrastructure for accessibility of learning service. The main occupations are clearly pointed in the following phase. Those are empowering digital access for learning service support and enhancing digital-adaptation for online learning achievement.
Originality/value
This study is supposed to contribute in assisting the value contribution with an extensive point to continue the digital access during pandemic age through the adaptation empowerment of higher learner’s online learning services.
Details
Keywords
Gongtao Zhang and M.N. Ravishankar
Digital technologies create myriad innovation opportunities and have inspired the establishment of many new start-ups in recent years. Despite the growing knowledge on digital…
Abstract
Purpose
Digital technologies create myriad innovation opportunities and have inspired the establishment of many new start-ups in recent years. Despite the growing knowledge on digital entrepreneurship, few studies explore how start-ups exploit these opportunities to achieve entrepreneurial success. The purpose of this paper is to explore start-ups’ capabilities for successful delivery of digital artefacts in a cloud computing infrastructure.
Design/methodology/approach
Empirical data were collected during a qualitative case study of an established start-up in the Chinese market by interviewing 41 interviewees. Informed by the notion of dynamic capabilities and using the Gioia methodology, the case firm's life cycle was analysed in detail.
Findings
The study identifies start-ups’ ordinary and dynamic capabilities for successful development and delivery of digital services. The findings provide insights into a portfolio of start-ups’ capabilities, namely adaptation, networking, reengineering and refinement.
Originality/value
The study suggests that start-ups’ capabilities and underlying entrepreneurial actions determine the degree to which adoption of digital technologies create and transfer value to customers. The study offers specific insights into how start-ups successfully develop and deliver digital artefacts in a cloud infrastructure based on entrepreneurs' prior expertise, vision and accumulated experience.
Details
Keywords
Jana Brockhaus, Alexander Buhmann and Ansgar Zerfass
This article studies the digitalization of corporate communications and the emergence of communication technology (CommTech). The authors show communicators' expectations…
Abstract
Purpose
This article studies the digitalization of corporate communications and the emergence of communication technology (CommTech). The authors show communicators' expectations regarding digitalization, gauge the current level of digitalization across communication departments and agencies and examine the effectiveness of strategic approaches to manage digitalization.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conceptualize the phenomenon of CommTech and propose a framework for studying CommTech's emergence and consequences by combining (1) recent theorizing on digitalization in corporate communications, (2) the concept of digital maturity from information systems research and (3) a socio-technical approach to analyze the development of work systems. The authors apply this framework in a quantitative study (n = 2,664) among communication practitioners from 46 countries.
Findings
While digitalization of both communication activities and the underlying support infrastructure is seen as critically important among communicators, a large fraction of communication departments and agencies are still assessed as digitally immature. Further, data reveal the relevance of different (technology, tasks, structure and people) dimensions of digitalization strategies and the influence of such strategies on the digital maturity of communications.
Practical implications
The framework and empirical instruments developed in this study help practitioners to uncover and evaluate the level of digital maturity of communication departments and agencies. This allows to identify current challenges and future opportunities for improvement.
Originality/value
The authors propose a concise definition for the much-debated concept of CommTech and develop a new theoretical framework for understanding CommTech's emergence and consequences in the profession. This empirical work constitutes the first large-scale study on the digital maturity of communication departments and agencies.
Details
Keywords
Edward J. Oughton, Zoraida Frias, Mischa Dohler, Jason Whalley, Douglas Sicker, Jim W. Hall, Jon Crowcroft and David D. Cleevely
Public policy requires effective identification of the current and emerging issues being faced in industry and beyond. This paper aims to identify a set of key issues currently…
Abstract
Purpose
Public policy requires effective identification of the current and emerging issues being faced in industry and beyond. This paper aims to identify a set of key issues currently facing digital communications and reviews their relevance for the strategic provision of infrastructure, particularly within the UK context.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology focusses on taking a horizon-scanning approach to obtaining current information from a range of authoritative decision makers across industry, government and academia. After structuring the issues identified, these areas are explored by a multi-disciplinary research team covering engineering, economics and computer science.
Findings
Five key categories were identified including future demand; coverage and capacity; policy and regulation; economics and business models; and technology. The results are reported for both fixed and wireless networks. Shared issues affecting the wider digital ecosystem are also identified including Brexit, connecting remote areas and the degree to which the economics of infrastructure allows for building multiple overlapping infrastructures. The authors find that future demand uncertainty is one of the major issues affecting the digital communications sector driven by rigid willingness-to-pay, weak revenue and an increasing shift from fixed to wireless technologies. Policy must create the market conditions that encourage the entry of new competitors with innovative thinking and disruptive business models.
Research limitations/implications
A limitation of the analysis is that it is quite UK-focussed; hence, further research could broaden this analysis to assessing issues at a continental or global scale.
Originality/value
The value of this paper originates from the breadth of the expert elicitation exercise carried out to gather the initial set of issues, followed by the analysis of this data by a multi-disciplinary team of researchers. The results direct a future research agenda, as many issues are indicative of a lack of existing evidence to support effective decision-making.
Details
Keywords
Digital technology is gaining attention among many scholars as a way to facilitate trade. This study aims to investigate three important digital dimensions (DD), namely, digital…
Abstract
Purpose
Digital technology is gaining attention among many scholars as a way to facilitate trade. This study aims to investigate three important digital dimensions (DD), namely, digital infrastructure, digital usage and digital security on trade using selected Asian countries and 20 selected trade partners. Digital infrastructure focussed on the availability and accessibility of digital infrastructure in exporting and importing countries. The second dimension, digital usage, highlights the importance of household usage of mobile phones, broadband data and the internet. Finally, the third dimension focusses on digital security as many online transactions occur across the globe.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses the gravity model to investigate the impact of DD as tools to facilitate trade in selected Asian countries with selected trading partners between 2003 and 2017. The Hausman test is used to determine whether to use the random effect model or fixed effect model. However, for robustness, the Hausman and Taylor estimation is used to allow the time-invariant model to be included and at the same time to remove correlations between the error terms.
Findings
The result of this study confirmed that having digital infrastructure is not sufficient for trade facilitation, but it must be supported with an intensity of use by businesses and consumers and be accompanied by strong internet security for trade. The study also revealed that a narrowing digital divide in terms internet users and security will be a benefit to both trade partners in a transaction through better and efficient trade facilitation.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the literature in three ways. First, the classification of DD is used to identify which dimensions need to be addressed for policymakers. Most studies focussed on the first two dimensions without including security dimensions. Second, the authors estimate digital trade facilitation variables for both exporters and importers to ensure unbiased results between two trade partners. Finally, this study introduces new variables in the analysis of the digital user gap and the digital security gap as indicators for the digital divide.
Details
Keywords
The massive expansion of digital platform has been responsible for the widespread progressive engagement created amongst learners and educators. The practice of requiring student…
Abstract
Purpose
The massive expansion of digital platform has been responsible for the widespread progressive engagement created amongst learners and educators. The practice of requiring student feedback on online learning services ensures that teacher education continues to advance its strategic approach to online learning. This paper aims to examine the level of accessibility and adaptability of digital technology with particular focus on Malaysia, by elaborating the value of superior learning service and practical adaptability of online learning during the pandemic era.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was conducted using qualitative approach of data collection, namely via structured interview. The listed respondents included 30 higher learners who participated in the study by providing feedback on the issues encountered during the research process.
Findings
The findings revealed that the strategic enhancement of digital accessibility continued with digital adaptability to sources of learning services would contribute to advancing achievement of digital learning pathway.
Practical implications
Increasing accessibility to digital platforms in digital learning system can help to shape the digital environment. Digital expansion can create unlimited boundaries for online knowledge acquisition.
Social implications
The social implication refers to acquiring the abilities developed through online engagement with peers by actualising and exploring information together with continuous inter-connectedness of sharing pathway in online platform. The instructor would need to give a proportional gateway to make learners experience the digital environment for future education.
Originality/value
This study aims to assess the value of developing accessibility of digital technology for students' online learning services during the pandemic and beyond. A well-structured plan would enable digital learning capabilities and mutual accessibility amongst learners. This can allow digital abilities to be transformed into collaborative teamwork amongst learners.
Details
Keywords
Beatriz López-Morales, Leopoldo Gutierrez, Francisco Javier Llorens-Montes and Araceli Rojo-Gallego-Burin
This study aims to test how three types of institutional pressure (normative, coercive, and mimetic) influence supply chain digital embeddedness (SCDE) and how SCDE benefits…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to test how three types of institutional pressure (normative, coercive, and mimetic) influence supply chain digital embeddedness (SCDE) and how SCDE benefits supply chain (SC) competences.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors develop and test hypotheses through structural equation modeling (SEM) based on data from 201 European firms. Institutional theory is applied to determine the reasons that lead SCs to embed digitally. SCDE is assessed through three dimensions: technology, infrastructure and culture. The data were analyzed using SEM-partial least squares (PLS-SEM) modeling with SmartPLS software.
Findings
The findings show a positive relationship of normative and coercive pressures to SCDE but no relationship between mimetic pressures and SCDE. Additionally, results confirm a positive relationship between SCDE and SC competences that contribute to SC competitive advantage obtaining.
Practical implications
The results underscore the importance of analyzing the environment when undertaking digital projects. Key issues include SC culture and infrastructure in these projects and the advisability of anticipating potential influence of digitalization projects on SC competences that support the chain’s competitive advantage.
Originality/value
This study contributes to institutional theory by providing empirical evidence of the individual effect of the three types of institutional pressure, with noteworthy lack of influence from mimetic pressures. The paper also contributes a conceptualization of SCDE composed of three dimensions: digital technologies, digital infrastructure and digital culture. Finally, the study advances the literature on SC competences.
Details