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A Digital Twin (DT) is a digital replica of an artefact which is updated on real-time or semi–real-time basis. In 2017, Gartner listed DT as one of the top 10 emerging technologies of the year. Since then, there have been numerous attempts to develop architecture and reference models for DTs, and in some studies, DT construction for real-world case studies is reported. This chapter attempts to provide a contextualised background on DT for smart cities. It also discusses various stakeholders involved in devising and/or employing DTs in a smart city. The chapter concludes with a set of recommendations for the training requirements of final DT users.

Financial inclusion is more than just granting access to financial services; it involves fostering individuals’ overall financial health and prosperity. Financial inclusion has gained significant importance for policymakers and academia in the preceding two decades. It encourages individuals by extending ownership of their financial situation and empowering them to make well-informed decisions regarding their future. The literary work highlights the importance of financial inclusion in promoting prosperity and progress in society. Furthermore, the psychological effects of financial inclusion are addressed with an emphasis on reducing anxiety and stress associated with accessing necessary financial resources and increasing experiences of financial assurance and trust. Finally, the current condition of financial inclusion and ongoing initiatives to improve it is discussed with a regional focus on Asia. The idea of the empowered consumer is introduced, along with a discussion of how financial inclusion may enlighten customers, making them more knowledgeable and engaged members of the financial market. Finally, the conclusion presents a global perspective of underdeveloped nations, emphasizing the imperative requirement for financial integration in these places and the potential benefits it can provide. The chapter provides a comprehensive understanding of financial inclusion, its significance, and its psychological effects on people and their communities, particularly in Asia and developing nations.

The current era is characterized by hyperturbulence, population growth, attention to food security, the need to identify sustainable strategies to reduce pollution and poverty, and the disparity between developed and undeveloped economies. These circumstances force a global paradigm shift based on sustainable practices and processes that put people and the environment at the core of each activity, contributing to sustainable, social, and economic development and promoting well-being in the community.

In this spirit, a strong impulse can derive from the practices of Green Technology, considered here as that set of processes aimed at eco-sustainability that acquire undisputed relevance, especially for emerging economies.

This chapter focuses on the role that Green technology practices exert in generating local well-being in the world's fifth-largest country: Brazil. Dynamic growth and effective social policies lifted millions of people out of poverty in the 2000s, even if socio-economic development varies widely across the country. Brazil is a leading global agricultural, minerals, and oil producer. The natural environment represents the primary source of Brazil's development that deserves to be protected and push firms and citizens to find new sustainable solutions based on green policies. Drawing inspiration from a Brazilian case study, this chapter proposes a set of building blocks that foster sustainable business practices in emerging countries.

The chapter is organized as follows: the first part introduces the concept of green technology practices; the second highlights the opportunities of green technologies; the third focuses on a single case study.

Acquisitions are complex and ambiguous events fraught with information asymmetries emphasizing market failure before an acquisition or organizational failure during integration. While often treated in isolation, market and organization failure are intertwined in acquisitions as integration planning starts before a deal is closed. Effective integration begins with a deep understanding of the target to be able to share assets and knowledge. However, acquiring firms currently have limited solutions to address information asymmetries. Most remedies primarily aim at market failure using due diligence and external advisors, leaving information asymmetry due to organizational failure primarily unattended. The authors develop a typology that leverages informal and formal social ties to address information asymmetries across the acquisition process that jointly considers market and organizational failure. The typology of this study combines existing research to develop how social ties with stakeholders influence acquisitions and can increase their success.

Adoption of digital technology at different levels of economic activity is an important indicator of development. Countries are adopting digital technology at business and government levels to increase efficiency and accountability of service delivery to appropriate user groups. Many countries are using digital technology in banking, education, and many other sectors and recasting the relationship among customers, workers, and employers. The digital transformation progressively changes productivity across all sectors and industries. The empirical investigation shows that mainly the role of per capita income (state of living) and supply-side factors explain cross-country variations in Digital Adoption Index (DAI) in business using a static panel data model with fixed effect (FE) approach for 169 countries over the period 2014–2016. In this context, this study makes an attempt to understand the state of digital adoption in business across 169 countries in 2016 using World Bank data. The empirical results state that only major variable like labour force are positively and statistically significant with DAI across the countries. Although there are caveats that the International Monetary Fund has made about the digital economy, they state that we should think carefully about how to devise policies that will allow us to fully exploit the digital revolution’s benefits while minimizing job dislocation.