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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) New Distribution Capability (NDC) standard aims at modernising the airline distribution landscape. It has supported the spread of Direct Connects by providing a common standard for linking airlines to travel agencies. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the historical development of airline distribution and to derive implications for the future.

This paper follows the approach of Yeoman and McMahon-Beattie (2017) in providing a chronological account based on published research.

Direct Connects are discussed to be a step back in the evolution of the distribution landscape because they foster disaggregation. An analysis of the history of distribution finds that a comparison of Direct Connects to the early stages of computer reservation system technology falls short to recognise the tremendous technological and market changes connected to the internet, cloud computing and the rise of low-cost carriers. Moreover, drawing on the seminal article by Anderson and Tushman (1990) on technical discontinuities and dominant designs, the current state of the distribution landscape is characterised to be an era of ferment that is driven by design competition and that might end up in a new dominant design.

The originality of this paper lies in a critical review of the turning points of distribution. By reviewing the past developments, the paper sheds light on the contribution that IATA NDC and Direct Connect technology might deliver to the field of airline distribution.

This paper deals with the organizing of interactive product development. Developing products in interaction between firms may provide benefits in terms of specialization, increased innovation, and possibilities to perform development activities in parallel. However, the differentiation of product development among a number of firms also implies that various dependencies need to be dealt with across firm boundaries. How dependencies may be dealt with across firms is related to how product development is organized. The purpose of the paper is to explore dependencies and how interactive product development may be organized with regard to these dependencies.

The analytical framework is based on the industrial network approach, and deals with the development of products in terms of adaptation and combination of heterogeneous resources. There are dependencies between resources, that is, they are embedded, implying that no resource can be developed in isolation. The characteristics of and dependencies related to four main categories of resources (products, production facilities, business units and business relationships) provide a basis for analyzing the organizing of interactive product development.

Three in-depth case studies are used to explore the organizing of interactive product development with regard to dependencies. The first two cases are based on the development of the electrical system and the seats for Volvo’s large car platform (P2), performed in interaction with Delphi and Lear respectively. The third case is based on the interaction between Scania and Dayco/DFC Tech for the development of various pipes and hoses for a new truck model.

The analysis is focused on what different dependencies the firms considered and dealt with, and how product development was organized with regard to these dependencies. It is concluded that there is a complex and dynamic pattern of dependencies that reaches far beyond the developed product as well as beyond individual business units. To deal with these dependencies, development may be organized in teams where several business units are represented. This enables interaction between different business units’ resource collections, which is important for resource adaptation as well as for innovation. The delimiting and relating functions of the team boundary are elaborated upon and it is argued that also teams may be regarded as actors. It is also concluded that a modular product structure may entail a modular organization with regard to the teams, though, interaction between business units and teams is needed. A strong connection between the technical structure and the organizational structure is identified and it is concluded that policies regarding the technical structure (e.g. concerning “carry-over”) cannot be separated from the management of the organizational structure (e.g. the supplier structure). The organizing of product development is in itself a complex and dynamic task that needs to be subject to interaction between business units.

The aim of this paper, considering the two types of networks and the scope of power from structural holes, is to clarify the relationship between employees’ performance and their social network structure in Chinese small and medium enterprises from the whole-network perspective. The complicated relationship in Chinese culture requires human resource management (HRM) practitioners to be aware of the implications of social network.

An empirical research approach is used in this paper. Using the cluster sampling method, authors collected 118 employees’ characteristic data and network data by face-to-face interviews through structured questionnaire survey, and also got their performance data from the financial department, which support correlation analysis and OLS regression analysis.

First, informal network, but not formal network, has a significant impact on employees’ performance. Second, individual performance of brokerage is greater for direct than indirect contacts. Finally, broker-of-brokers will be the winner in the competition.

First, previous research focuses on egocentric network as the difficulty of data collection, while this paper analyzes a whole network based on the real social network. Second, this paper reveals the network structure mode where individuals get benefits. Third, it also uncovers the effect of relationship type on employees’ performance in Chinese SME. Finally, this paper identifies the status homophily and status crystallization phenomenon in the process of social network formation.

There is a strong academic and professional interest in the changing business model of LCCs in Europe. Recently, even Ryanair which is often considered a European LCC role model has departed from the point-to-point paradigm by offering transfers within its own network. We first provide a general overview of recent changes in the business model of airlines that used to be categorized as LCCs. We then add to existing studies on LCC network strategies toward building connections. While we distinguish different approaches to accommodate transfer passengers, our analysis focuses on mesh networks as an airline network topology other than hub-and-spoke networks to provide online connections. A schedule analysis of Ryanair’s direct and indirect services at its base at Porto airport exemplifies that a mesh network might allow LCCs to go beyond stand-alone operations to become network carriers without requiring a complete transition of the generic LCC business strategy.

In this article, I propose a theory of network opportunity emergence. The core of the argument is that as an overall industry network structure becomes centralized, opportunities emerge for new entrants. As the institutional environment evolves toward a centralized network flow structure, innovators can identify newly emerged rich resource niches that serve as the perfect breeding ground for an entrepreneurial start-up. While the framework is an aggregate level conceptualization of market opportunities, it also identifies specific actionable opportunities at a very micro level. Examples from the networks of the airline industry illustrate the logic. I conclude by discussing the innovation and entrepreneurship implications for a wide variety of industries and network tie types, calling for utilization of the framework to answer a broad variety of research questions.

Planned learning can be applied to a range of education and training interventions and events in an organization. Its value can be directly measured through observable performance improvement of trainees in job contexts following the planned learning highlighting transfer of learning. More specific and directly connected organizational metrics need to be identified. The connections should be both to the trainee performance and learning and to the broader organizational performance. Reports a redefinition of training evaluation resulting from the authors work with members of a global manufacturing training department. The effort was undertaken to create a process for the department to demonstrate the impact of planned learning on key organizational performance measures. The value‐added from training was established when the direct relationships between training (planned learning) and systematic job performance improvements were observed that were drawn from and directly linked to broader organizational productivity and performance metrics. From those successful field experiences and the training evaluation literature, proposes a refinement within the traditional four‐level evaluation process akin to a new level 3.5 – performance impact, to fit between Kirkpatrick’s model of level 3 (behavior) and level 4 (results).

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how sequence learning can build on pattern‐recognition systems and how it can contribute to the behavioral options of goal‐oriented systems.

A functional approach is used to develop the necessary cybernetic structures of a subsystem for sequence learning, that can recognize patterns, register patterns occurring repeatedly and connect these to sequences. Based on that it is analyzed how goal‐oriented systems can use information about reoccurring sequences.

A subsystem for sequence learning basically requires pattern recognition and it needs a structure for the directed connection of single standards for pattern matching to standards for sequences, given that it can learn both new patterns and new sequences. Such a subsystem for sequence learning may recognize a certain pattern and with that the end of a certain sequence. So it may deliver more than one output signal at a point in time, and therefore needs additionally a subsystem for directing attention.

The paper analyses the principles of an “associative” way of connecting standards for pattern matching to standards for sequences. Also it shows the cybernetic necessity of an attention directing system that has to decide how to deal with the multiple outputs of a subsystem for sequence learning, i.e. to decide to act either towards a pattern or a whole sequence.

The paper investigates basic mechanisms of sequence learning and its contribution to goal‐oriented behavior. Also, it lays the base for an analysis of attention directing systems and anticipatory systems.

The researchers and policy makers worldwide have proposed many ideas for smart cities and homes in urban areas. The extensive work done for urban smart homes neglects the unique constraints of homes at remote mountain tops and deserts and rural village homes. The purpose of this paper is to propose a smart energy management system for a self-sustained home of any type situated in any geographical location with the availability of renewable energy sources like solar, etc. The purpose is mainly to highlight the importance and advantages of direct current (DC) homes with DC loads rather than a conventional alternating current (AC) home with both AC and DC loads. An attempt has been made to evolve a multi-agent coordinated control for the low voltage direct current (LVDC) smart home system.

LVDC supply systems with in situ power generation are providing an efficient solution for the energy needs of a DC smart home. The individual sub-systems of the LVDC system have their unique functions and priorities and hence require both coordinated and independent control. The entire DC smart home system is modeled in the Matlab and codes are implemented for each agent of the home. LVDC grid is operating either in battery connected mode or utility grid-connected mode, and the DC link voltage is held constant in both the cases. Energy imported from the utility grid is minimized by load shedding during the rectifier mode of the bidirectional converter. In addition, load shedding is also done when the battery is discharging to increase the discharge time of the battery. Load shedding is done on the basis of a fixed priority of loads. A 48 s simulation is performed on the Matlab model to bring out the 24-hour operation of the proposed system. Various modes are simulated and the corresponding actions of the agents are tested.

A new control strategy with agents for each sub-system of the LVDC system is presented. Each individual agent works in tandem with other agents and meets its own control imperatives without compromising the requirements of the overall system. Unlike the centralized control system, the proposed control strategy is a distributed control system. The control algorithm for each of the agents is developed, and the pseudo code is presented. The results of the simulation of the proposed scheme are presented to confirm the usefulness of the new control approach.

The multi-agent concept for an energy management system is less addressed and thus its potential for efficient home energy management is presented. The proposed multi-agent strategy for a complete DC smart home with exclusive DC loads is not done earlier and is reported for the first time. The success of this strategy can be extended to other DC micro-grid systems like telecom power systems, ships, aircraft, datacentres, server rooms, residential complexes and commercial malls.

While various scholars have identified relationship marketing objectives as a rationale for sports sponsorship engagement, analytic investigations of the implications of a relational approach to the corporate sponsorship network have been slow to materialize. The purpose of this paper is to advance the discussion of sponsorship as a means of industrial sports marketing towards a network conceptualization, which can be dissected from both the perspective of the sponsoring firms and that of the sponsored enterprise.

This paper employs an illustrative case‐based approach to the application of network analysis tools as a means of exploring the relationship marketing dynamics of corporate sponsorship portfolios.

Several research propositions and applicable network analytics are presented within the context of Formula One racing team sponsorship portfolios. The concepts of network range, density, power, growth, and social capital are explored in regards to their influence on network actors and prospective actors.

Though often neglected in sponsorship research, B2B relational objectives are the focus of this paper, where various evaluative methods are suggested and their dynamic implications illustrated.

By utilizing an international contextual case and explicating several analytic network measures, this research extends the investigation of sports sponsorship beyond the image and awareness‐based objectives that have dominated this area of research. This application of social network analysis to the study of inter‐organizational networks in sport builds on the discussion of sponsorship as a bilateral relationship and advances the dialog towards a broader exploration of corporate sponsors and sport enterprises as network partners.

Evidence suggests that, in the presence of imperfect market institutions, individuals devote resources to the establishment of reliable connections to attenuate the frictions that reduce trading and insurance opportunities. In this chapter, the author surveys the relevant literature on strategic formation of networks and use it to study this particular economic situation. A simple model is built to show that the investment in strong ties often, though not always, produces stable configurations that manage to improve upon the imperfections of market institutions.