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The new digital era brings several opportunities and challenges that accelerate the need to implement digital solutions in organisations. This speed of change creates many questions, but unfortunately, references cases to answer them or general guidelines to succeed are still rare. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to present four cases that illustrate the procedure followed by companies to introduce digital elements in their operations (automotive industry supplier, toy industry, catering company and circuit trainings company). Each case offers inspiration and knowledge about the procedure to introduce digital elements and facilitates the proposal of a general procedure that aims to become guidance for practitioners.

The research implements comparative analysis in a multi-case design. It sensitises the concept of “digitalisation path” as a research instrument. Projects documentation and informal conversational interviews allow the researchers to describe each organisation and their digitalisation path. The interviewees review, enhance and approve the cases. Furthermore, the research compares the paths and summarises the findings into a digitalisation path model that explains the digitalisation of these organisations and it serves as a guide for other organisations.

The digitalisation paths evidence the necessity of business process management to develop digitalisation. Technology is not the goal, but the instrument and process excellence is the driver to introduce new technologies in the operations. Furthermore, the four organisations share a similar pattern and activities within their digitalisation paths.

The multi-case methodology lacks generalisation, but it provides detail over the digitalisation paths.

The paper presents a guideline for practitioners to introduce digital elements in the organisation.

The paper presents a practical perspective to introduce digitalisation in organisations, which is currently rare in literature.

The authors seek to understand the process of digital servitization as a shift of manufacturing companies from the provision of standard products and services to smart solutions. Specifically, the authors focus on changes in the business model (i.e. the value proposition, the value delivery system and the value capture mechanism) for digital servitization.

The authors examine a Chinese air conditioner manufacturer, Gree, who became the global leader with their smart solutions. These solutions included performance-based contracts underpinned by artificial intelligence (AI)-powered air conditioners that automatically adjust to environmental changes and are capable of remote monitoring and servicing thanks to its Internet of things (IoT) technology.

To successfully offer smart solution value propositions, a manufacturer needs an ecosystem value delivery system composed of suppliers, distributors, partners and customers. Once the ecosystem relationships are well aligned, the manufacturer gains value with multiple value capture mechanisms (i.e. efficiency, accountability, shared customer value and novelty). To arrive at this point, a manufacturer has to pass through different stages that are characterized by both discontinuous and continuous interplay between business models and digital technologies. At the beginning of each stage, new value propositions and value delivery systems are first discontinuously created and then enabled with digital technology. As a result, new value capture mechanisms are activated. Meanwhile, the elements of the existing business model are continuously improved.

By combining process-perspective and business-model lenses, the authors offer nuanced insights into how digital servitization unfolds.

Executives can obtain insights into the business model elements, they need to change over the course of digital servitization and how to manage the process.

A longitudinal case study of a traditional manufacturer that has achieved stellar success through digital servitization business models development.

The objective of this chapter is to identify the key characteristics of Global Services businesses that will thrive and achieve success in the future. These factors are integrated into three main pillars, which we refer to as the Triple-Win. The first and most obvious pillar is technology as a tool. The second pillar is the design and sustainability of the business model, without which the previous factor would be merely a cost and not an investment. And last but not the least, there is the purpose which gives meaning to the proposal, focusing on the human being and their environment. The DIDPAGA business model sits at the intersection of these three elements.

Briefly reviews previous literature by the author before presenting an original 12 step system integration protocol designed to ensure the success of companies or countries in their efforts to develop and market new products. Looks at the issues from different strategic levels such as corporate, international, military and economic. Presents 31 case studies, including the success of Japan in microchips to the failure of Xerox to sell its invention of the Alto personal computer 3 years before Apple: from the success in DNA and Superconductor research to the success of Sunbeam in inventing and marketing food processors: and from the daring invention and production of atomic energy for survival to the successes of sewing machine inventor Howe in co‐operating on patents to compete in markets. Includes 306 questions and answers in order to qualify concepts introduced.

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

Industry 4.0 is one of the most used terms in the current industrial discussion. There are several perspectives and approaches related to Industry 4.0 so far, but no universal definition. Often-mentioned basic requirements to “implement” Industry 4.0 are lean and well-organized processes. In the past and still until today, a lot of companies try to implement lean production systems (LPS) according to the example of Toyota to realize a systematic approach to ensure well-organized processes. The process model aims to support organizations to integrate Industry 4.0 elements into LPS, regardless of the size of the organization. The purpose of this paper to describe a model as a first basis for further elaborations that could focus on the detailed design of each model-phases. Furthermore, the identified digital elements of Industry 4.0 build a first foundation to choose pilot projects related to existing challenges of the organizations LPS. In this context, especially the suitability of LPS and Industry 4.0 elements should be further investigated.

To investigate the current status regarding the realization of Industry 4.0 approaches and related challenges in the German industry, the two authors realized a survey with over 300 participants from different sectors and company sizes, using an online questionnaire. The results of the survey will be a part of this paper and a technology analysis, which was the outcome of an extensive literature analysis. The results were summarized in a model to integrate digital elements into existing LPS. Practitioners can use the process model as a first orientation to integrate industry 4.0 technologies into their existing LPS, based on specific challenges with their LPS processes.

Even if most of the participating German companies recognize Industry 4.0 as an important or very important topic, many of them do not consider themselves well prepared. The participants see huge challenges with regard to the needed qualifications and investments Industry 4.0 requires. In general, the companies hope to improve productivity and customer satisfaction to name two main objectives of the implementation of digital elements of Industry 4.0. In addition to the survey, a profound literature analysis was made and identified eight core digital elements. On this basis a milestone-based model to integrate these digital elements into existing LPS was developed.

This paper considers results from a study and analysis regarding the potentials of digital elements of Industry 4.0 for production system from different angles and introduces a model for integrating these elements.

The evolving digital transformations of organizational processes involve vast complexities. Factors such as labor resources at the individual and team levels that integrate and utilize information resources and evolving technologies to achieve collective intelligence are essential to this process. In order to better understand evolving demands of labor resources, existing research regarding worker/technology interactions for firm performance must be implemented and adapted to the changing market. This paper provides a conceptual research model enabling organizations to better understand the integration of worker/team attributes with collaboration modes, information resources and augmented technologies that yield effective collective intelligence for decision-making.

This manuscript includes a literature review on worker/team attributes interfacing with various technology platforms and the creation of collective intelligence. It then reviews complementary research including leadership elements for organizational outcomes and introduces more current work involving a digital transformation. The literature review provides the underpinnings for a conceptual model that incorporates essential elements for the creation of collective intelligence for decision-making and adds factors that are relevant for digital transformations. These elements include augmented technologies including cognitive technologies, collaborative platforms and worker attributes (skills, social sensitivity, leadership) all of which illustrate components of intellectual capital.

The paper summarizes key findings of existing research in worker/team interactions with technology platforms on organizational performance and provides an applied, conceptual research model incorporating these findings, along with new elements in the digital era for better identifying new worker requirements.

The value of this work is the introduction of an applied conceptual model based on established literature findings that includes new technologies (e.g. cognitive technologies), collaboration modes and worker/team attributes to address the requirements of the evolving knowledge worker in the digital era. It provides a framework to better understand more optimal resource allocations for the creation of collective intelligence and integrates the model components within an intellectual capital framework.

The aim of this article is to map the use of AI in the user experience (UX) design process. Disrupting the UX process by introducing novel digital tools such as artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to improve efficiency and accuracy, while creating more innovative and creative solutions. Thus, understanding how AI can be leveraged for UX has important research and practical implications.

This article builds on a systematic literature review approach and aims to understand how AI is used in UX design today, as well as uncover some prominent themes for future research. Through a process of selection and filtering, 46 research articles are analysed, with findings synthesized based on a user-centred design and development process.

The authors’ analysis shows how AI is leveraged in the UX design process at different key areas. Namely, these include understanding the context of use, uncovering user requirements, aiding solution design, and evaluating design, and for assisting development of solutions. The authors also highlight the ways in which AI is changing the UX design process through illustrative examples.

While there is increased interest in the use of AI in organizations, there is still limited work on how AI can be introduced into processes that depend heavily on human creativity and input. Thus, the authors show the ways in which AI can enhance such activities and assume tasks that have been typically performed by humans.

The purpose of this paper is to address the development of a conceptual framework to drive and assess the quality of software production in the digital ecosystem domain.

This research used action research paradigm, the soft methodology SSM and the framework PRO2PI-MFMOD. The methodologies were applied at Brazilian Public Software Ecosystem.

The results of this research shows: the dimension of the capacity, as suggested by ISO/IEC 15504, is insufficient for quality treatment in certain domains; SSM methodology is suitable for scope and domain clarification in digital ecosystems; and PRO2PI-MFMOD framework is suitable to create a reference model process for digital ecosystems software production.

A complete SSM cycle was conducted, but with only one research cycle. In that sense, the results obtained in this research can be interpreted as boundaries to reflections regarding the learning occurred in the system.

The research offers an empirical contribution, mapping and defining maturity framework elements that can be used by the software production digital ecosystems, aiming the description and understanding of the phenomenon through the theoretical views of complexity theory, systemic thinking, digital ecosystems and maturity models.

The contributions can be summarized in the following aspects: the maturity models evolution, shifting from command and control basis to cooperation and connection basis; the maturity models scope, drifting from organizational units to collaborative networks of software production; the assimilation and broadcast of digital ecosystems concept by MCTI; and the maturity levels introduced in the research can be used as a particular case of capacity dimension of the further ISO/IEC 33000 standards.

Through the results obtained with systematic revision of the literature, one can notice the absence of publications that approach all the four axes that ground this research simultaneously. The proposed subject is original and relevant to the software community in the matter of software process improvement and to the current and further public digital ecosystems of software development.