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The purpose of this paper is to determine how companies develop and acquire competences to capture the benefits of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies. The authors argue that this is a fundamental and often overlooked prerequisite for industrial transformation.

The authors conduct a process study of 33 small- and medium-sized companies engaged in the transformation of a manufacturing industry from the different perspectives of manufacturers or manufacturing solution providers.

Key findings indicate a strong link between the specific competence development approach, the specific intricacies of the application domain and the process outcomes. On this basis, a competence development framework is proposed.

The conclusions are drawn from a Danish population of companies in the manufacturing industry and are based on particular contingencies, such as low volume/high mix, high skill, low tech and high cost. However, the findings are believed to be applicable across different sets of contingencies where the need to combine legacy and emerging technologies is present, and where the human factor is central to leveraging technology beyond predefined supplier specifications.

In a time of extraordinary investments in the manufacturing of technologies in support of digital transformation, the development of strategic and operational competences to support these investments is lagging behind. This paper develops a conceptual outset for closing this gap.

The research is based on the fundamental argument that to efficiently apply new technology, a strategic approach to the acquisition of new knowledge and skills is required. The empirical research demonstrates that new skills and knowledge are often assumed to follow automatically from the use of new technologies. However, we demonstrate that this perspective in fact limits the ability to capture the potential benefits ascribed to I4.0 technologies. The authors propose that the competence strategy needs to be expansive and cover not only the technological competences but also the organizational- and individual-level competences. These results add to our understanding of how the digital transformation of manufacturing companies unfolds.

Concerning the emergence of Industry 4.0 and the concept of “smartness”, the technology competence of hospitality practitioners that was previously neglected and overlooked should be explored. Therefore, this study aims to explore previous hospitality technology competence through a literature review and then to extend, strengthen and build a new framework of the required technology competencies for hospitality practitioners in terms of facing smartness.

To investigate the previous research on the characteristics of the required technology competencies for hospitality practitioners, this study carried out a systematic literature review (SLR) on works published from 2011 to 2020. Then, based on the SLR results, the required technology competencies for hospitality practitioners in terms of facing smartness was explored with 26 experts from the government, industry and academia. The data were analysed through thematic analysis based on the perspectives of task–technology fit, and then, the framework was constructed.

This study reconfirmed that technology competence has been neglected in the previous hospitality competence literature and that the current methods and ways of thinking cannot succeed in this smart era. Moreover, based on fundamental technology competence, a new framework with ten dimensions of technology competencies required for hospitality practitioners in terms of facing smartness was created.

This study identified the required technology competencies for hospitality practitioners, an area that has rarely been addressed in the previous literature. Moreover, specific competencies, especially those needed to face this smart era, are urgent and novel in the academic hospitality field.

面向智能时代的智能性：为酒店从业人员构建一项包含所需技术能力的理论框架

关于工业4.0的出现和“智慧”的概念, 酒店从业者的技术能力在前人研究中经常被探索和忽视。 因此, 本研究旨在通过文献回顾, 然后扩展、加强和建立酒店从业人员在面对智能方面所需的技术能力的新框架来探索以前的酒店技术能力。

为了调查之前关于酒店从业人员所需技术能力特征的研究, 本研究对 2011 年至 2020 年发表的作品进行系统文献综述 (SLR)。然后, 根据 SLR 结果, 酒店从业人员在面对来自政府、行业和学术界的 26 位专家关于智能进行了探讨。 基于任务-技术契合度 的视角, 通过主题分析和对数据进行分析, 然后构建框架。

本研究再次证实, 在以往的酒店能力文献中, 技术能力一直被忽视, 当前的方法和思维方式无法在这个智能时代取得成功。 此外, 在基础技术能力的基础上, 本研究创建了酒店从业者面对智慧所需的十个维度技术能力的新框架。

本研究确定了酒店从业人员所需的技术能力, 这是以前文献中很少涉及的领域。 此外, 特定的能力, 尤其是面对这个智能时代所需的能力, 在酒店管理的学术领域是紧迫而新颖的。

The purpose of this paper is to deploy an alternative way, drawing upon research in service innovation, to predict service delivery innovation from the extents of market and technology orientations and innovative competence.

Five hypotheses were proposed. A two-part questionnaire was developed. One part of the questionnaire was completed by the sales manager and the other part by the marketing manager of select companies. The questionnaires were distributed to 533 information technology companies in Taiwan. Of the 533 questionnaires returned, 160 questionnaires were deemed usable. This study uses the partial least square analysis to test the hypotheses.

Proactive market orientation and technology orientation affect exploratory and exploitative innovative competences; but, only exploitative innovation competence affects service delivery innovation.

The findings indicate that managers need to understand the market trends and the technology availability and be able to customize corresponding service/product features which can further lead to stimulate exploitative innovative competence and facilitate service delivery innovation.

The paper is among the first attempts to examine how market and technology orientations affect innovative competence and service delivery innovation. In addition, this study provides the explanatory variance missing in the literature that has not examined the black box relationship between market and technology orientations and service delivery innovation.

Technology entrepreneur' competence is one of the main domains of study in the field of technology entrepreneurship. In the dominant rationalistic view, competence is seen as constituted by a set of components used in performing particular functions. This study aims to expand this field of study by using an interpretive view.

Phenomenology is proposed and explored as an interpretive methodology that is more compatible with technology entrepreneurship. The empirical material is based on interviews with 19 technology entrepreneurs who have established new technology-based firms in Iran.

Findings show that the nature of the technology entrepreneurship's competence is emergent, holistic and relational. Also, the entrepreneurs' perception of entrepreneurship specifies which competence's components they develop and what meaning these components take.

By examining how technology entrepreneurs experience competence in the context of business creation, this study moves beyond the lists or categories of competencies, and it contributes to a broader understanding of competence at technology entrepreneurship.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationships between digital technology, tangible/intangible assets and marketing capabilities to gain more insight into the factors related to small- and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs’) growth in the UK. Based on the resource-advantage theory, this research addresses the question “to what extent does digital technology influence marketing capability which leads to companies’ growth?”

Data were gathered through 21 in-depth interviews with managers from different multinational organizations and six focus groups with employees.

The study identifies the two key components of digital technology as information quality and service convenience. In addition, the relationships between digital technology, tangible/intangible assets and marketing capabilities perform the significant role of facilitator of a company’s growth.

The focus on UK SMEs limits the generalizability of the results. Further studies should be conducted in other sectors and country settings to examine the associations identified in the current study.

This study identifies the main impacts of digital technology on intellectual/physical assets. While managers and employees have specified that marketing capability is significant for organizations, there are a few other areas of concern with regard to consequences related to a company’s growth, competence and core competence, particularly in an SME’s setting.

The study aimed at identifying the degree of professional competence of faculty members from the students’ perspective at Kuwait and Palestine Technical University Kadoorie, and identifying the effect of the variables of gender and academic year.

The researchers developed a 24-item questionnaire and administered it to 115 students each from Kuwait (male: 57, female: 58) and Palestine Technical University Kadoorie (male: 21, female: 94). The study used a descriptive approach to analyze the collected data.

According to the students' perspective, the average professional competence of faculty members at Kuwait University is 2.74 for the teaching competencies, 2.29 for the technology competencies, 2.65 for the evaluation competencies and 2.71 for the human competencies. Similarly, at Palestine Technical University Kadoorie, the mean of the professional competencies of faculty members from the students' perspective is 2.31 for the teaching competencies, 1.96 for the technology competencies, 2.24 for the evaluation competencies and 2.34 for the human competencies. There were significant differences in the degree of professional competence at Kuwait and Palestine Technical University Kadoorie due to the gender of all domains in favor of females. There were significant differences in the degree of professional competence in Kuwait due to the academic year of the technology domain between the first year and second year, in favor of the second year. There were significant differences due to the variable of the academic year of the human domain between the first year and the third year, in favor of the third year. There were significant differences in the degree of professional competence at Palestine Technical University Kadoorie due to the academic year of the technology domain (second, third, fourth year and more) and second year, in favor of (the second year). There were significant differences due to the academic year of the human domain between the first and second year, in favor of second year.

The authors hope that their findings will inspire further research in this area and help universities to better support their faculty members and improve student outcomes.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of user competence on two different usage variables related to information systems (IS) infusion: explorative use and exploitative use.

Structural equation modeling is used to construct a predictive model of user competence toward IS infusion. Individuals’ responses to questions about attitude and intention to use smartphone were collected and analyzed.

The results showed that all first-order factors of user competence were significantly linked to the second-order factor. User competence is then significantly related to IS infusion, both explorative use and exploitative use.

This study discusses individual usage behavior related to IS infusion usage. The authors conceptualized that exploitative use is different from explorative use. The findings in this study suggest that user competence must be included in IS usage models, especially IS infusion model.

The results associated with exploitation are more certain and closer in time, while those associated with exploration are more variable. That is, users are likely to innovate through their smart devices related to IS infusion. Smartphone developers and the relevant service providers should decide which factors are more important along the stages of the information technology implementation process. As indicated in this study, knowledge-based user competence together with perceived usefulness influences the usage behavior of smartphone users. Industry players need to consider user competence when they promote their smartphone services.

The proposed model brings together extant research on IS use and technology acceptance.

Organizational competences are essential sources of competitive advantage and thus are key drivers of competitive strategies for knowledge-intensive companies like automotive manufacturers. In order to cope with increasing market complexity and dynamism, reduced development times, and relentless cost pressures in a highly competitive environment, knowledge-driven companies need to understand how to be proactive in building and leveraging the competences they will need to be successful in the future, especially within their product development activities.

To help managers become proactive in identifying and building useful future competences, the dynamic and systemic perspectives of competence-based strategic management provide a framework for analysis that can help managers to look beyond their organization’s current competences and identify organizational competences that will be needed in the future. Competence theory emphasizes that an organization’s competences are dynamic and constantly need to be updated and reconfigured to adjust to the competitive dynamics of an industry. Any methodology for identifying future competence needs must begin with some means for identifying strategic gaps between the competences a firm has now and the competences it will need in the future. This paper describes a technology and market roadmap-based methodology for forecasting a firm’s future competence needs – the competences a firm will need to start developing now in order to meet expected market demands in the future. The methodology proposed here is applied and, we believe, validated through application to a competence planning process in a German luxury car manufacturer.