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1 – 10 of 27Aleksandra Nikolić, Alen Mujčinović and Dušanka Bošković
Food fraud as intentional deception for economic gain relies on a low-tech food value chain, that applies a ‘paper-and-pencil approach’, unable to provide reliable and trusted…
Abstract
Food fraud as intentional deception for economic gain relies on a low-tech food value chain, that applies a ‘paper-and-pencil approach’, unable to provide reliable and trusted data about food products, accompanied processes/activities and actors involved. Such approach has created the information asymmetry that leads to erosion of stakeholders and consumers trust, which in turn discourages cooperation within the food chain by damaging its ability to decrease uncertainty and capability to provide authentic, nutritional, accessible and affordable food for all. Lack of holistic approach, focus on stand-alone measures, lack of proactive measures and undermined role of customers have been major factors behind weaknesses of current anti-fraud measures system. Thus, the process of strong and fast digitalisation enabled by the new emerging technology called Industry 4.0 is a way to provide a shift from food fraud detection to efficient prevention. Therefore, the objective of this chapter is to shed light on current challenges and opportunities associated with Industry 4.0 technology enablers' guardian role in food fraud prevention with the hope to inform future researchers, experts and decision-makers about opportunities opened up by transforming to new cyber-physical-social ecosystem, or better to say ‘self-thinking’ food value chain whose foundations are already under development. The systematic literature network analysis is applied to fulfil the stated objective. Digitalisation and Industry 4.0 can be used to develop a system that is cost effective and ensures data integrity and prevents tampering and single point failure through offering fault tolerance, immutability, trust, transparency and full traceability of the stored transaction records to all agri-food value chain partners. In addition, such approach lays a foundation for adopting new business models, strengthening food chain resilience, sustainability and innovation capacity.
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Marco Savastano, Francesco Bellini, Fabrizio D’Ascenzo and Marco De Marco
Retail customers are now omnichannel both for attitude and behavior. Since individuals interact with multiple touchpoints throughout their shopping journey, retailers must…
Abstract
Purpose
Retail customers are now omnichannel both for attitude and behavior. Since individuals interact with multiple touchpoints throughout their shopping journey, retailers must consider all channels holistically as consumers do, in order to provide them with a unified shopping experience. Thus, recently retailers are showing an increasing interest in the deployment of advanced in-store systems aimed at enhancing the shopping experience by providing customers with innovative tools able to engage them for obtaining deeper insights, saving time and feeling more independent while shopping. Such technologies can help retailers to better react to those emerging settings by: acquiring a positive image and reputation, being perceived as innovator; reducing management costs; maintaining and acquiring loyal consumers; making imitation strategies as difficult as possible for competitors; and reaching a unique and differentiated positioning. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether and how store technology positively affects the customer experience in an omnichannel retail environment and if the early adoption of in-store technology by retailers produces a sustainable competitive advantage.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve the research aim and deeply explore the phenomenon of interest, a multiple-case study involving 15 retailers, operating in different industries of the Italian market, was carried through 80 semi-structured in-depth interviews with store managers and employees.
Findings
Results of the content analysis show that customers are increasingly willing to use the in-store innovations in order to obtain richer shopping experiences while retailers achieve a stronger brand loyalty as well as a better and updated brand image.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the relevant literature by proposing two conceptual frameworks. It provides a deeper understanding of possible advantages and threats resulting from early technology adoption by retailers, which is becoming essential for improving the omnichannel customer management and increasing business performance.
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Eleonora Pantano, Constantinos Vasilios Priporas and Charles Dennis
This study develops the idea of smart retailing, exemplified in innovative, technology-enriched retail services as part of service-oriented strategies. In particular, the purpose…
Abstract
Purpose
This study develops the idea of smart retailing, exemplified in innovative, technology-enriched retail services as part of service-oriented strategies. In particular, the purpose of this paper is to provide a new integrated framework to understand the emerging retail scenario based on the smart usage of technologies to improve retail service and develop innovation management strategies. This framework will provide a comprehensive understanding the basic forms of smart retailing as the current competitive scenario.
Design/methodology/approach
As a viewpoint, this paper employs an interdisciplinary approach, drawing upon the actual challenges in retailing, to propose a new perspective, the smart retailing one, to describe the new competitive scenario and formulates an emerging research agenda.
Findings
The present paper contributes to research on innovation and technology management for retailing by examining the key dimensions of smart retailing, which aims to enhancing retail service quality and retailers’ performance.
Originality/value
The paper clearly explains how current retailing is moving to a smart perspective, and how retail management should be adapted to successfully perform in the current service-dominant logic scenario, as consequence of the increasing consumer involvement in service co-production and the rapid growth of digital technologies.
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Dimitrios Buhalis, Alexis Papathanassis and Maria Vafeidou
This paper aims to explore and discuss the impact of digital innovations from a business eco-systemic perspective. Key smart technology application themes in the cruise industry…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore and discuss the impact of digital innovations from a business eco-systemic perspective. Key smart technology application themes in the cruise industry are extracted and synthesised in a “Smart Cruise Ecosystem” (SCE) framework.
Design/methodology/approach
Information communication technologies (ICTs) advancements and smart tools revolutionise interactions and affect all transactions, transforming the cruise experience. Gradually a Smart Cruise Ecosystem emerges by incorporating all technologies available and involving cruise passengers, who as smart actors interact dynamically with stakeholders, creating value before, during and after the cruising experience. The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak stressed the need for touchless and digital interactions as well as real-time information, fast-tracking the deployment of smart technologies. The diffusion of ICTs in the cruise industry is multi-faceted and dynamic, resulting in a number of smart-technology use-cases.
Findings
Smart technology constitutes a comprehensive smart ecosystem to manage all actors, controls, devises and systems to optimise ship operations and management, while co-creating value for guests and crew in an effective way. The multiplex SCE proposed is enabled by digital technologies collecting, storing, accessing and processing big data dynamically, including: object detection, Internet of Things, Internet of Everything, satellite communications, Big Data, automation, robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learnin, Cloud Computing, Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Reality. A range of interoperable and interconnected supporting systems form the basis of the smart ecosystem.
Originality/value
The proposed framework offers a holistic perspective of the smart-cruising domain, highlighting innovations, interfaces, dependencies, along with the corresponding key limitations and challenges. The synthesis and conceptual structure provided serves as a topology for guiding and connecting further research in smart cruising.
研究目的
本文从商业生态系统的角度探索和讨论了数字创新的影响。在“智能邮轮生态系统”框架中提取和综合邮轮行业的关键智能技术应用主题
研究方法论/方法/途径
信息通信技术 (ICT) 的进步和智能工具彻底改变了交互并影响所有交易, 从而改变了邮轮体验。通过整合所有可用技术并让邮轮乘客参与其中, 智能邮轮生态系统逐渐出现, 他们作为聪明的参与者与利益相关者动态互动, 在巡航体验之前、期间和之后创造价值。 COVID19 大流行的爆发强调了对非接触式和数字化交互以及实时信息的需求, 以快速跟踪智能技术的部署。信息通信技术在邮轮行业的传播是多方面的和动态的, 产生了许多智能技术用例
研究发现
智能技术构成了一个全面的智能生态系统, 用于管理所有参与者、控制、设计和系统, 以优化船舶运营和管理, 同时以有效的方式与用户和船员共同创造价值。提出的多元智能巡航生态系统(SCE)由数字技术实现, 包括物体检测、物联网、卫星通信、大数据、自动化、机器人、人工智能、云计算、AR、VR, 动态收集、访问和处理大数据。一系列可互操作和互连的支持系统构成了智能生态系统的基础。
研究原创性/价值
本研究提议的理论框架提供了智能巡航领域的整体视角, 突出了创新、接口和依赖关系, 以及相应的关键限制和挑战。所提供的综合和概念结构用于指导和连接智能领域的进一步研究提供划分类型。
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Rosanna Passavanti, Eleonora Pantano, Constantinos Vasilios Priporas and Saverino Verteramo
The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which luxury brand retailers use new technologies as a tool for corporate marketing communication.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which luxury brand retailers use new technologies as a tool for corporate marketing communication.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a multiple-case study approach consisting of five information-rich cases, with the similar characteristics of large firms selling luxury brands which are aware of the importance of innovation. In each company, the authors interviewed the key person in charge of marketing innovation strategies and collected data from annual reports, press releases and direct observation of all the new technology categories used.
Findings
The findings of this paper reveal that this sector is considerably aware of the benefits of using new media as a marketing communication tool, while the effective use of these new media is still limited.
Research limitations/implications
This paper provides an empirical contribution to the emerging topic of innovation and technology management in retailing, with the emphasis being placed on the luxury sector through an in-depth investigation of the usage of new technologies by the firms studied.
Originality/value
This paper is the first one investigating thoroughly the luxury sector usage of new technologies to improve corporate marketing communication.
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Zenia Barnard and Derek Van der Merwe
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the innovative management strategies at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) during volatile post-merger years, in its quest…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the innovative management strategies at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) during volatile post-merger years, in its quest for a sustainable future. It illustrates how the institution went from a place of relative uncertainty and volatility to a place of progression and stability by adapting to its environment and challenging circumstances.
Design/methodology/approach
A holistic and inter-disciplinary approach is taken by the authors to demonstrate that organizational innovation and sustainability do not happen in isolation. The paper includes a literature review to contextualize the challenging environment in which the UJ was established and functions. A brief description of the strategic goals of the university is provided as a framework from within which the innovative management activities were launched. Data and information from the UJ’s stakeholder reports were used as measurement tools to determine the progress in reaching strategic targets.
Findings
Innovation in higher education reported on in this paper is a result of many planning sessions, policy and procedure formulations, brainstorming and benchmarking exercises, performance reviews, management interventions and statistical analyses. A set of necessary and sufficient conditions for innovation in sustainable development in higher education include decisive leadership on strategic direction; regular, flexible and inclusive planning; regular culture climate surveys; constant monitoring of progress; and strategic agility that is essential to promote innovation among the entire workforce.
Originality/value
The challenges, context and approaches provided in this paper serve as a frame of reference for other institutions of higher learning that face similar challenges in a dynamic, diverse and volatile environment.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the current state of the knowledge-based economy in two distinctive case studies in the Arab World: Qatar and Lebanon. Based on five…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the current state of the knowledge-based economy in two distinctive case studies in the Arab World: Qatar and Lebanon. Based on five aspects of the knowledge-based economy namely: ICT, human capital and education; innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic and institutional regime, we provide a careful view of the obstacles and challenges that Qatar and Lebanon are facing and how this is hindering their transformation to a knowledge-based economy.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology of this research is based on a literature review and information collected through semi-structured interviews with the different stakeholders of the knowledge-based economy in Qatar and Lebanon.
Findings
The research reveals that numerous factors shape the knowledge-based economy in Qatar and Lebanon. In Qatar, the main strength of the knowledge-based economy is the determination of the Qatari government to diversify the economy and the main weaknesses are the shortage of qualified human resources, the fear of failure and the low performance of the innovation system. In Lebanon, the knowledge-based economy is driven by the education system and the entrepreneurship culture, nevertheless the political instability of the country and the weak ICT infrastructure impede its development.
Originality/value
These findings contribute to the clarification and critical analysis of the current state of the knowledge-based economy in Qatar and Lebanon, which would have several policy implications.
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Chi-Un Lei, Wincy Chan and Yuyue Wang
Higher education plays an essential role in achieving the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs). However, there are only scattered studies on monitoring how…
Abstract
Purpose
Higher education plays an essential role in achieving the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs). However, there are only scattered studies on monitoring how universities promote SDGs through their curriculum. The purpose of this study is to investigate the connection of existing common core courses in a university to SDG education. In particular, this study wanted to know how common core courses can be classified by machine-learning approach according to SDGs.
Design/methodology/approach
In this report, the authors used machine learning techniques to tag the 166 common core courses in a university with SDGs and then analyzed the results based on visualizations. The training data set comes from the OSDG public community data set which the community had verified. Meanwhile, key descriptions of common core courses had been used for the classification. The study used the multinomial logistic regression algorithm for the classification. Descriptive analysis at course-level, theme-level and curriculum-level had been included to illustrate the proposed approach’s functions.
Findings
The results indicate that the machine-learning classification approach can significantly accelerate the SDG classification of courses. However, currently, it cannot replace human classification due to the complexity of the problem and the lack of relevant training data.
Research limitations/implications
The study can achieve a more accurate model training through adopting advanced machine learning algorithms (e.g. deep learning, multioutput multiclass machine learning algorithms); developing a more effective test data set by extracting more relevant information from syllabus and learning materials; expanding the training data set of SDGs that currently have insufficient records (e.g. SDG 12); and replacing the existing training data set from OSDG by authentic education-related documents (such as course syllabus) with SDG classifications. The performance of the algorithm should also be compared to other computer-based and human-based SDG classification approaches for cross-checking the results, with a systematic evaluation framework. Furthermore, the study can be analyzed by circulating results to students and understanding how they would interpret and use the results for choosing courses for studying. Furthermore, the study mainly focused on the classification of topics that are taught in courses but cannot measure the effectiveness of adopted pedagogies, assessment strategies and competency development strategies in courses. The study can also conduct analysis based on assessment tasks and rubrics of courses to see whether the assessment tasks can help students understand and take action on SDGs.
Originality/value
The proposed approach explores the possibility of using machine learning for SDG classifications in scale.
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Eleonora Pantano and Kim Willems
This chapter provides an overview of technology management to support retailing, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, it focuses on the technologies developed…
Abstract
This chapter provides an overview of technology management to support retailing, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, it focuses on the technologies developed and in use before the pandemic, the ones further developed as response to the pandemic, while the final part of the chapter proposes a new technology implementation process (cycle) to support retailers in introducing new technology. In particular, the process in based on seven main activities: (1) Technology need recognition; (2) Technology screening; (3) Initial development and testing; (4) Business analysis; (5) Technology development; (6) Market acceptance testing; and (7) Technology adoption, while monitoring and learning actions should occur constantly throughout the process to evaluate the benefit of the technology at each stage (or to discard for further investment).
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