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As the size of the population is growing and the capacity of the planet Earth is limited, human beings are searching for sustainable and technology-enabled solutions to support society, ecology and economy. One of the solutions has been developing smart sustainable cities. Smart sustainable cities are cities as systems, where their infrastructure, different subsystems and different functional domains are virtually connected to the information and communication technologies (ICT) and internet via sensors and devices and the Internet of Things (IoT), to collect and process real-time Big Data and make efficient, effective and sustainable solutions for a democratic and liveable city for its various stakeholders. This chapter explores the concepts and practices of sustainable smart cities across the globe and explores the use of technologies such as IoT, Blockchain technology and Cloud computing, etc. their challenges and then presents a view on business models for sustainable smart cities.

As organizations globalize, they are facing twin challenges of (1) how to develop actionable intelligence from the vast amount of data flowing into their organization and (2) how to effectively manage the increasing risks to their supply chain. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to bring these two issues on a single platform to understand how firms can effectively predict supply chain risk by developing and using BDA capabilities, through an automated risk alert tool.

The authors used a questionnaire-based survey methodology supported by secondary data to collect information related to managerial perceptions on how firms can develop a risk alert tool by improving BDA capabilities. A database of 213 senior and middle-level managers was developed and used to test the proposed hypothesis. Using econometric techniques, the authors identify the conditions necessary for such an automated risk management tool to be effective.

The results suggest that if organizations focus on developing an effective IT infrastructure supported by a strong BDA capability, they will be able to leverage these capabilities to develop an effective risk management tool. Moderating influences of Upstream and Downstream Supply Chain IT Infrastructure capabilities were also observed on different types of BDA capabilities within a firm. In conclusion, it was argued that the effectiveness of a risk alert tool is dependent on how well firms harness big data analytics capability.

The value of the research stems from the fact that it uses managerial surveys to identify specific BDA capabilities that can enable firms to develop risk resilience capabilities. In addition, the article is one of the few empirical studies that aims to identify how firms can use BDA capabilities within a supply chain context to develop an automated risk alert tool. The article, therefore, contributes to the literature that identifies the value of BDA capabilities within the context of supply chain risk management.

The project – AskingBristol – uses university students to connect third sector organizations with particular “asks” to organizations which might be able to respond with “offers”. The authors describe the task of the experiment as being an attempt to embed students and their universities within the cities that they are based in, but are often not really very connected to.

This reflective report on practice describes an initiative aimed at producing a piece of “social infrastructure”. Written by the four people involved, the authors theorize and evaluate what we have done so far and what we hope to do in future.

Over two phases, it has had some success, and we think represents a concrete approach to thinking about how “civic” ideas might gain traction within universities. Using ideas about social networks, boundary objects and infrastructure the authors explore the opportunities and problems of such a project, stressing that it allows co-ordination between a wide variety of people and organizations that do not necessarily share common interests.

This is one “experiment”, in one city, but it demonstrates the possibilities of getting “civic” universities engaged with local third sector organizations.

If it became a piece of social infrastructure, such a project could embed ideas about “civic”, “impact”, “engagement” and so on into the routines of the city and the university.

Though Asking Bristol cannot solve the problems of the city, it shows that we can transfer resources, time, skills and space to where they are needed.

The authors do not think anything like this has been attempted before, and hope that sharing it will stimulate some comparisons, and perhaps some dissemination of the idea.

Digital innovation requires organizations to reconfigure their information technology infrastructure (ITI) to cultivate creativity and implement fast experimentation. This research inquiries into ITI generativity, an emerging concept demoting a critical ITI capability for organizational digital innovation. More specifically, it conceptualizes ITI generativity across two dimensions—namely, systems and applications infrastructure (SAI) generativity and data analytics infrastructure (DAI) generativity—and examines their respective social and technical antecedents and their impact on digital innovation.

This research formulates a theoretical model to investigate the social and technical antecedents along with innovation outcomes of ITI generativity. To test this model and its associated hypotheses, a survey was administered to IT professionals possessing knowledge of their organization's IT architecture and digital innovation performance. The dataset, comprising responses from 140 organizations, was analyzed using the partial least squares technique.

Results reveal that both dimensions of ITI generativity contribute to digital innovation performance, with the effect of DAI generativity being more pronounced. In addition, SAI and DAI generativities are driven by social and technical factors within an organization. More specifically, SAI generativity is positively associated with the usage of a digital application services platform and IT human resources, whereas DAI generativity is positively linked to the usage of a data analytics services platform, data analytics services usability and data analytics human resources.

This research contributes to the literature on digital innovation by introducing ITI generativity as a crucial ITI capability and deciphering its role in digital innovation. It also offers useful insights and guidance for practitioners on how to build ITIs to achieve better digital innovation performance.

This study aims to investigate the various systems in logistics industry of Pakistan through the lens of the World Bank's logistics performance indicators (LPI) and understand their impact on the China–Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC) that is a vital part of China's belt and road initiative (BRI).

In this study thematic analysis was performed on twenty-three semi-structured interviews with experts in Pakistan's logistics and supply chain sector to gain an in-depth insight into the logistics performance relative to CPEC.

A performance gap exists in the logistics systems in Pakistan, both for hard and soft infrastructure. The significant challenges are the inefficiencies of the government, minimal use of information and computing technology (ICT), and an incapable workforce. It is essential to be cognizant of the ground realities and amendments required in the existing policies and practices in light of the challenges faced and best practices adopted by developed and developing countries with good standing in logistics performance. This study will guide policymakers and practitioners for hard and soft logistics infrastructure improvement, which may benefit economic corridors in general and CPEC in particular.

This study contributes to the existing literature by highlighting the role of ICT in improving both soft and hard logistics infrastructure, which can lead to significant development of economic corridors. The study makes use of a case study of the CPEC to demonstrate the lack of ICT can hamper the growth of an economic corridor despite billions of dollars of investment in the hard infrastructure development projects.

Mega-infrastructure development plans pave the way for policies to upgrade the infrastructure, environmental management and different aspects of locals’ well-being. These developmental dynamics can positively affect rural tourism including heritage sites destinations. The quality of life of local people can be linked to this positive developmental change through long-term and sustainable economic revitalization projects. In terms of this process, developing large-scale infrastructure and incorporating tourism sustainability can improve the quality of life-related to different dimensions that are critical to the community's well-being. Therefore, researchers have attempted to address this issue.

Data were collected between September and October 2020. The study sample size was the residents of Zhabagly village, including Zhabagaly, Abaiyl and 115 Railway settlements. Moreover, the residents were older than 18 years. A systematic random sampling technique was utilised to reach the targeted sample size and the researchers received 243 responses from the locals. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used for analysis.

The findings from the structural equation modelling suggest that sustainable tourism increases due to the positive effect of mega-infrastructure development and positively impacts the locals' quality of life. Notably, no direct effect of mega-infrastructure development on quality of life reveals the pivotal role of sustainable tourism. Therefore, during the COVID-19 period, the dimensions of sustainable tourism – economic, market, socio-cultural and environmental – played a role in securing the positive impact of mega-infrastructure development on the locals’ quality of life.

This research highlighted the fact that when infrastructure projects are implemented to their full potential, they will generate sustainable tourism activities, provide eco-adventure activities, relax, treat signatories and boost the economy of all stakeholders. The study used AMOS to test the hypotheses. Qualitative research methods, including interviews with citizens, government officials and tourism managers, require further study.

The infrastructural development on a mega-scale means building an upscaling tourism ecosystem. This ecosystem is marked by the availability of drinking water, waste and energy management facilities that support the elevation of living material, community, health, safety and emotional well-being. It reflects the policy-level implications for future Belt and Road initiatives (BRIs). The tourism industry's resilience during COVID-19 has practical lessons for other industries.

Large-scale infrastructure construction must create favourable conditions for the rapid development of tourism. The availability of clean water, waste and energy management facilities contributes to the food production, social cohesion, physical and mental health and general well-being of the ecosystem. This is one of the few studies that used sustainable tourism as a mediator between the impact of large infrastructure projects and their impact on the quality of life of locals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Aksu-Zhabagly, a World Heritage Site in Kazakhstan, was the site of this field study.

This study aims to examine how three types of information technology (IT) capability (supplier technological capability, customer technology-sensing capability and relatedness of IT infrastructure) facilitate knowledge acquisition by the customer when the supplier is dominant in the supplier-customer relationship.

The unit of analysis was project. The authors designed two different questionnaires that were responded by the project manager of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software supplier and the contact person of the customer organization in the same project, respectively. The two questionnaires were matched by means of project name. The final sample included a total of 136 projects. The authors used ordinary least squares to test the research hypotheses.

The authors found that supplier power advantage negatively influenced knowledge acquisition by the customer. The three types of IT capability did not have direct impacts on knowledge acquisition. The moderating effect of customer technology-sensing capability was not significant either. However, supplier technological capability and relatedness of IT infrastructure attenuated the negative effect of supplier power advantage on knowledge acquisition, indicating that both factors promoted knowledge acquisition.

Knowledge acquisition is important for the success of software implementation in the supplier-customer relationship. There is limited evidence in the literature on how to apply externally oriented IT capability to enhance knowledge management, improve knowledge acquisition and manage the business relationship that is typically dominated by the software supplier. The authors provide evidence to examine related issues.

The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 outlines sustainability as associated with peace, good governance and justice. The perception of international tourists about security measures and risks is a key factor affecting destination choices, tourist flow and overall satisfaction. Thus, we investigate the impact of armed forces personnel, prices, economic stability, financial development and infrastructure on tourism.

This research used data from 130 countries from 1995 to 2019, which were divided into four income groups. This study employs a two-step generalized method of moments (GMM) technique and a novel tourism index comprising five relevant indicators of tourism.

A 1% increase in armed forces personnel expands tourism in all income groups – 0.369% High Income Countries (HICs), 0.348% Upper Middle Income Countries (UMICs), 0.247% Lower Middle Income Countries (LMICs) and 0.139% Low Income Countries (LICs). The size of the tourism-safety coefficient decreases from high to low-income groups. The impact of inflation is significantly negative in all panels, excluding LICs. The reduction in tourism was 0.033% in HICs, 0.049% in UMICs and 0.029% in LMICs for a 1% increase in prices. The increase in the global tourism index is more in LICs (0.055%), followed by LMICs (0.024%), UMICs (0.009%) and HICs (0.004%) for a 1% expansion in the gross domestic product (GDP)/capita growth. However, the magnitude of the growth-led tourism impact is greater in developing countries. A positive impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow was found in all panels like 0.016% in HICs, 0.050% in UMICs and 0.119% in LMICs for a 1% increase in FDI inflow. The rise in the global tourism index is 0.097% (HICs), 0.124% (UMICs) and 0.310% (LMICs) for a 1% rise in the financial development index. The increase in the global tourism index is 0.487% (HICs), 0.420% (UMICs) and 0.136% (LICs) for a 1% rise in the infrastructure index.

Empirical analysis infers important policy implications such as (a) establishment of a peaceful environment via recruitment of security personnel, use of safe city cameras, modern technology and law enforcement; (b) provision of basic facilities to tourists like sanitation, drinking water, electricity, accommodation, quality food, fuel and communication network and (c) price stability through different tools of monetary and fiscal policy.

First, it explains the effect of security personnel on a comprehensive index of tourism instead of a single variable of tourism. Second, it captures the importance of economic stability (i.e., economic growth, financial development and FDI inflow) in the tourism–peace nexus.

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between nonmarket strategy and innovation performance, as well as the boundary factors that influence this relationship in the context of the pharmaceutical industry in emerging markets.

This study analyzed matched data of 227 Chinese pharmaceutical firms and two secondary databases with SPSS to examine the hypotheses.

Nonmarket strategy promotes the innovation performance. High level of firm internal knowledge utilization ability and strategic flexibility strengthens the effect of nonmarket strategy in promoting innovation performance, while information technology (IT) environment weakens the effect of nonmarket strategy in promoting innovation performance.

The research studies the positive impact of nonmarket strategy on innovation performance in the specific context of Chinese pharmaceutical industry, and it introduces the internal capabilities and external IT environment of the firm as moderators of the relationship between nonmarket strategy and innovation performance. More importantly, this research echoes the call for research on moderator of nonmarket strategy and identifies important boundary conditions. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it also explores the impact of the IT environment on the implementation of nonmarket strategy for the first time, which deepens the research on nonmarket strategy’s effect on innovation.

This paper aims to provide a framework regarding Information Technology (IT) Flexibility in Supply Chain and its relationship with the benefits we could see from Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. Furthermore, this research explores the moderating effect of Process Integration Capability in the relationship between IT flexibility and ERP benefits.

This research model will help organizations get additional benefits from their ERP systems that incurred huge costs, time and multiple resources at their implementation. The technique used for analyzing data is structural equation modeling (SEM), and data is collected from 107 respondents through a questionnaire from Business and IT Professionals.

The study findings reveal a positive and significant relationship between IT flexibility and ERP systems benefits; moreover, results also confirmed that the organization's process integration capability significantly increased the benefits of ERP systems. The findings also highlight empirical evidence about the significance of the top-to-bottom approach investing in IT flexibility and the bottom-to-top approach during the implementation of IT systems for successful implementations.

This study has various implications for practitioners that help them successfully implement and long-term viability of their IT infrastructure.

This study's findings will help IT managers and strategists make effective decisions for creating IT flexibility in alignment with the strategic goals to realize the desired results expected from ERP systems and implementations of new IT systems.