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Digital disruption no longer ensures the security or longevity of established firm structures and business models. Instead, it necessitates that firms reinvent their business models, including business processes, people, and technologies that align with the organizational goals. Despite the exponential growth of digital disruption, prior literature indicates that the concept of business model innovation is poorly understood in developing economies. Furthermore, little is known about how low-tech firms in developing economies should adapt and reinvent their business models to cope with and shape digital disruption as it unfolds. Grounded in two overarching theoretical frameworks, namely the theory of disruptive innovation and the resources–processes–values (RPV) framework, this chapter addresses this void in prior literature. Based on multiple case study analyses of 10 low-tech firms in diverse industries in Sri Lanka, the findings indicate that successful disruptive business model innovation in low-tech firms in Sri Lanka is predicated on an effective technology management strategy, suitable organizational structure, compatible organizational culture, and devoted corporate governance. Moreover, external influences like changing market dynamics, competition, and shifts in consumer behavior also significantly influence disruptive business model innovation of selected firms. This chapter acts as a springboard for future researchers by extending the theory of disruptive innovation and RPV framework to low-tech industries in developing economies.

A broad agreement exists that tourism is an effective instrument for social and economic development. However, there is no specific theoretical or practical framework of tourism for development to be found. Even the key issues have remained unformulated: concept of development, tourism's contributions to development, and tourism policy and governance for development. This chapter first summarizes the development paradigms held in the last decades (modernization, neoliberalism, dependency, and sustainability) vis-à-vis tourism, and then goes on to consider proposals emanating from New Institutional Economics and the Theory of Social Capital. It concludes with the results of a 2011 enquiry, involving some 60 international experts.

In the knowledge economy, greater togetherness is the prerequisite for innovating and having more: selflessness extends scope while selfishness increases limitations. But human beings are not automatically attracted to innovation: between the two lies culture and cultural values vary widely, with the egoistic accent or the altruistic intonation setting the scene. In the representations of open innovation we submit to the reader’s attention, selfishness and selflessness are active in the cultural space.

Popularized in the early 2000s, open innovation is a systematic process by which ideas pass among organizations and travel along different exploitation vectors. With the arrival of multiple digital transformative technologies and the rapid evolution of the discipline of innovation, there was a need for a new approach to change, incorporating technological, societal and policy dimensions. Open Innovation 2.0 (OI2) – the result of advances in digital technologies and the cognitive sciences – marks a shift from incremental gains to disruptions that effect a great step forward in economic and social development. OI2 seeks the unexpected and provides support for the rapid scale-up of successes.

‘Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come’ – this thought, attributed to Victor Hugo, tells us how a great deal is at stake with open innovation. Amidon and other scholars have argued that the twenty-first century is not about ‘having more’ but about ‘being more’. The promise of digital technologies and artificial intelligence is that they enable us to extend and amplify human intellect and experience. In the so-called experience economy, users buy ‘experiences’ rather than ‘services’. OI2 is a paradigm about ‘being more’ and seeking innovations that bring us all collectively on a trajectory towards sustainable intelligent living.

This case discusses the journey of SELCO Foundation, a Bengaluru based not-for-profit organization. It provides key learning and insights for social transformation and poverty alleviation. With the vision of “creating inclusive development pathways that were socially and environmentally sustainable,” the Foundation fostered and scaled ecosystems for democratization of access to clean energy and sustainable solutions for the marginalized communities. Using decentralized renewable energy (DRE), SELCO’s initiatives had established linkages between SDG7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG4 (Quality Education), SDG8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and SDG11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). Throughout its journey, it continuously challenged normative development paradigms and perceptions about gender issues, poverty, and sustainability as a whole through a people-centric approach; empowering individuals, communities, and institutions. The recent COVID-19 pandemic landed a massive blow to the country’s socioeconomic structure. SELCO Foundation’s teams deployed in remote locations for livelihood interventions programs had faced a multitude of challenges due to COVID-19 lockdown. As a response to COVID-19 crisis, SELCO Foundation rallied its resources to support relief efforts across India. It leveraged its expertise in energy by deploying a pan India network of grass-root partners; community-sourced innovations to ramp-up last mile healthcare infrastructure, build community resilience programs, and strengthen existing capabilities. Leveraging sustainable solutions as a medium, SELCO’s transformative work extended beyond access to clean energy, and sought to address complex issues such as healthcare, education, reduction in drudgery in manual jobs, creating opportunities for dignified work and more. Through this case study, this chapter discusses the emergence, journey, and initiatives of SELCO Foundation. It explores a practice-based pedagogy of social transformation, and challenges faced in ecosystem building during the times of the pandemic. The chapter initiates a discussion for a way forward for the social enterprise in times of uncertainties and stringencies in order to continue impacting underprivileged lives to the best.

Purpose: In the contemporary knowledge economy, organisations mainly derive a competitive advantage by leveraging their intangible assets. Competent and motivated employees are the primary strategic resources to attain innovation and business continuity. Consequently, workplace learning and development (L&D) is at the forefront of the human resource management (HRM) discipline. At the same time, with the changing technology landscape, organisations are transforming their L&D function to be sustainable. Against this backdrop, the main objective of this chapter is to illustrate how artificial intelligence (AI) contributes to a specific HRM sub-function, that is, workplace L&D.

Design/Methodology/Approach: Grounded on intense scrutiny of literature, this chapter construes AI as intelligent machines that think and work like humans and have the potential for enhancing learning processes. Different themes have been presented, which suggest the capabilities of AI systems to fuel employee learning at the workplace.

Findings: Findings demonstrate that AI-enabled workplace learning is rooted in improved knowledge management (KM) capabilities, developmental feedback, personalised education, learning for a diverse pool of learners, virtual mentoring, and chatbot-based learning.

Research Limitations/Implications: This conceptual study suffers from a lack of empirical support.

Practical Implications: This chapter contributes to expanding scholarship on integrating AI and the HRM domain, particularly L&D. Further, it highlights how L&D professionals should integrate AI into employee learning journeys to evoke effective learning outcomes.

Originality/Value: This chapter provides a gestalt approach to integrating AI with employee L&D