Phygital realm is an ecosystem that consist of both physical and digital elements (devices, technologies, platforms) proposes holistic user/customer experience as a continuum of functional, economic and emotional values. Nowadays the novelty in the phygital domain, associated with continuous technology innovation, is the cause of lack of consensus around the phygital construct, its theoretical foundations. The paper research is focused on development of lean framework for capturing and validation business model hypotheses by entrepreneurial team of startup in phygital domain. Consider emerging research area, to gain theoretical insights, authors used a grounded theory approach, which was useful for analysing social phenomena. The authors developed “10 cubes” BM framework that allows phygital startups to test their hypotheses more efficiently with a simple user-friendly visual language. The study revealed the issue with effective management phygital user/customer experience. The authors proposed new building block “Phygital user/customer experience” in the “10 cubes” BM framework and “7 I” phygital startup guidance to improve their user/customer experience.

This paper argues that knowledge management activities can significantly contribute to an increase of the resilience in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It shows how the knowledge management standards ISO 30401 and DIN SPEC 91443 relate to the international, resilience-related standards ISO 22316 and BS 65000. Focusing on SME’s characteristics in contrast to global and stock noted companies’, reveals a long list of SME-specific limitations, which negatively impact their resilience in turbulent contexts. These limitations refer to their volume of financial resources, their ability to attract top talent, their ability to leverage state of the art technology, and their limitations to develop extra-firm networks needed to lower transaction costs and to establish trust. Most of these limitations can be overcome by larger companies, by utilizing scale effects, a shared brand and, by analogy, a shared boundary to the environment. However, all these factors require more knowledge and tangible resources than available for a typical SME. The paper shows how knowledge management can support SMEs in achieving or increasing the competences associated to resilient organizations. This is accomplished by: analysing the level of compatibility and alignment between internationally-recognized standards, related to organizational resilience and knowledge management; and, providing guidance for further convergence of these management frameworks. The results of a semantic analysis show a high degree of compatibility between the requirements for knowledge management and resilience. For SMEs aiming to become more resilient, it seems to be more effective for them to fulfill the requirements for a knowledge management system (ISO 30401), as most of the requirements of the standards for resilience (BS 65000 and ISO 22316) are covered as well. The Fraunhofer framework for resilience helps to operationalize the idea of resilience with a circular approach, covering phases to prepare for, prevent, protect from, respond to, and recover from disruptive events.

This research analyses the relationship between knowledge and entrepreneurial ecosystems (EE). We conducted a systematic literature review. VOSviewer software supported the cluster analysis. NVivo 11 was used to analyse the words’ co-occurrence. We drew a knowledge-sharing trajectory through entrepreneurial ecosystems and relations mediated by leading actors. We deeply revised entrepreneurial literature and proposed a conceptual model which maps relations through all main actors and knowledge flow in ecosystems. The model explains how some tenant anchor conducts startup interactions to accelerate multilevel knowledge replication inside and outside entrepreneurial ecosystems. We propose a theoretical report classified by significant figures, aspects, and relations. The thematic clusters indicate complementary theoretical perspectives: attributes, actors and stakeholders, subsystems, and other entrepreneurial ecosystems. We revealed fundamental discoveries that challenge the existing models’ universal replication. Our findings suggest the knowledge path in the near field sharing mechanisms resulting in a new conception of traditional structures and relations used to make assessments, judgments, and decisions to assess opportunities for the new ventures’ creation, survival, and development. This study contributes to entrepreneurial literature demonstrating knowledge sharing flow through entrepreneurial ecosystems, considering a holistic, dynamic, and multilevel approach. Additionally, highlight political and social contributions to include new emergent perspectives: resources’ scarcity, structural and institutional gaps. This representation is the first knowledge management model applied to different contexts respecting their singularities. Finally, we recommend relevant trends for further research on new venture creation to maximise regional development.

Making sense of data is increasingly necessary to separate what is factual and evidence- based from what is not in today’s digital society. Making sense of data to make decisions or what is also called data literacy involves the general use of data, critical thinking and, importantly, the active detection of cognitive biases to make meaningful search choices when thinking about topics in social medical, economic and political settings (Leighton, Cui & Cutumisu, 2021; Ridsdale et al., 2015). A large pilot study was conducted to evaluate the design of a digital performance assessment (DPA) to measure data literacy in post- secondary students. The study included randomly assigning participants to one of three distinct DPA conditions: eye-tracking, think aloud and control. The objective of the present paper is to share the results obtained from the think-aloud condition as validity evidence of response processes. Three research questions guided the think-aloud portion of the study: (1) Can meaningful response processes be captured as participants think aloud in completion of a DPA on data literacy? (2) Do the response processes that characterize participants’ performance support inferences about their data literacy? (3) What is the relationship between students’ PA performance and their cognitive biases? Thirty of 170 participants were presented with a DPA on data literacy and asked to think aloud. Participants were interviewed remotely using Zoom videoconferencing software. Based on two coding schemes developed to assess verbal reports, the results revealed that participants spent an excessive amount of time reading in relation to thinking aloud. This result did not permit the use of participants’ response processes as a meaningful predictor of data literacy. Moreover, participants’ cognitive biases did not predict performance on the DPA. On the surface these results suggest that measuring response processes may not be worthwhile for DPAs. However, a more meaningful interpretation of the results leads us to conclude that the extent of constraints built into the DPA may be precluding the measurement of response processing.

Even though digital transformation efforts range from the use of digital technologies to improve a single process, product, or service to the major redesign of an organization’s work logic and the way it generates value for its customers, they are an unavoidable path for thriving in contemporary market. Technologies associated with digital transformation include data analytics and big data, as well as their application to the contemporary organizations. This paper presents a data-driven strategy to consumer segmentation that is based on data mining techniques. It demonstrates an example of a data-based decision- making process in dividing the market and assessing different market segments individually, taking into account the specificities of each, allowing the company to create a differentiated and customized marketing strategy for all defined segments. However, data mining techniques often neglect the smallest segment of the best and most important customers, due to the bias of classifiers towards larger classes. Hence, this paper proposes an approach that solves this problem. By using accurate customer targeting, companies can allocate their marketing budgets efficiently, which reduces costs and increases their sales and profits. By using data mining and analytics techniques, countries from the less- developed regions can boost their business performances and affect the changes in the market transformation and development.

The tourism sector has been strongly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and, as it is necessary to respond to crisis situations as quickly as possible, there is great interest in the study of organisational resilience. Resilience should be developed as an iterative process for long term organisational development rather than a crisis management tool (McManus et al., 2007). From strategic management field, the theory of dynamic capabilities could provide an analysis perspective for tourism organisations, investigating how they can increase their resilience in turbulent environments. Based on these ideas, the objective of this study is to develop a model that allows us to: (1) identify organisational strategies that, in the context of dynamic capabilities, can influence the degree of resilience of hotels; (2) analyse whether the resilience capability of hotels affects their performance; (3) determine whether resilience capability mediates the relationship between the organisational strategies of hotels and their performance. To reach our objective we have designed a survey which has been sent to the CEOs of 555 hotels with 3 or more stars in the Valencian Community of Spain. The research is still in progress as the data collection phase and the analysis of the results have yet to be concluded. However, the paper offers various theoretical and practical contributions.

The objective of this paper, which is grounded in Total Quality Management (TQM) theory, is to ascertain whether management hubris can be a constructive feature that allows tourist industry organizations to thrive, even for brief periods, in turbulent situations and contexts such as those presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study employs a qualitative approach to develop in- depth insights on the potential benefits of hubris as a behavioral technique. Specifically, 24 interviews were conducted with personnel of Italian hospitality facilities. The participants were asked whether they identified the trait of hubris in their supervisors’ behaviors and, if so, what tactics were implemented to achieve total quality. The findings reveal that in a crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, managers might use hubris to attain total quality while grappling with the dangers and ambiguities of the setting in which the tourism business operates. This study is the first to leverage qualitative approaches to emphasize the beneficial aspects of managerial hubris for TQM in times of extreme ambiguity, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the specific context of tourism accommodations.

The article provides an analysis of the terminology associated with novel coronavirus based on the study of the terms of scientific publications and social media messages by ITO and ITO-Sent models. These two models are outcomes of digitalisation of the SECI model. There are three main differences between these two models and the SECI model. First, first two models distinguish between two knowledge representation forms: words and computer codes. Second, they include four transition processes: visualisation (computer codes → words), digitalisation (words → computer codes), conceptualisation, and annotating, apart from four processes already present in the SECI model (socialisation, externalisation, combination, internalisation). Third, they serve as a theoretical basis for developing information technology for the goal-oriented discovery of new knowledge in texts. An information technology has been developed to discover traditional and new medical terms in the texts of scientific publications and Twitter messages associated with novel coronavirus.

Today investors are particularly interested in having a direct impact on the achievement of a sustainable global development model, and therefore they consider as very relevant the disclosure of sustainability issues of the companies in which they invest. In fact, in recent years there has been an increase in Sustainable Responsible Investing (SRI), that is an investment strategy that accounts for environmental, social and governance factors (ESG factors) into investment decisions. The integration of sustainability within corporate strategies can have an impact on various aspects of a company, including also extraordinary operations like Initial Public Offerings (IPO). The integration of these factors within the business, in fact, can affect the performance of an IPO. This study analyses the effect of disclosing ESG information on IPO performance (in terms of underpricing) using a large sample of IPO in Europe. When companies go public, the equity they sell in an IPO tends to be underpriced, resulting in a substantial price jump on the first day of trading. Given the growing importance of ESG factors and of their disclosure to all the stakeholders, the objective of this work is to examine the possible impact of the disclosure of the ESG report on the IPO performance, in terms of underpricing and, therefore, to understand how to manage it. The analysis is conducted using the European IPOs which took place between 2017 and 2021, considering a sample of 100 companies, of which 50 disclose the ESG report prior to the IPO, and 50 that did not. The study represents a contribution regarding the incentive of companies to disclose knowledge related to ESG information, with the aim to increase the level of transparency towards all the stakeholders, in order to reduce the information asymmetry which is able to increase IPO underpricing.

The recent pandemic has changed the reference context of companies and imposed significant changes on them to react to the crisis and contain its effects. The paper aims to investigate the managers’ contribution to overcoming the crisis both in managing internal production processes and through the networks and relationships that they can activate or use. This research contributes to the literature highlight the contribution of relationships to companies’ value and managers’ role. The results show that managerial skills are drivers of critical success factors for the manager’s professional qualities and the ability to manage and implement solid formal relationships in the reference territory and through networks.

Since the last three decades Creative industries (CIs) have seen a sharp rise in their development. They became a central element of modern economy. Nowadays, discourses on CIs are mainly led by their distinctive contribution to different spheres of social and economic activity: economic growth, new jobs, social cohesion, innovation and competitiveness of companies. Paradoxically, despite compelling calls for the promotion of CIs, their integration success remains rather elusive. In fact, on the one hand knowledge transfer from CIs to other industry sectors is underused, potential unexploited and synergies between CIs and other sectors arriving at innovation limited. In addition, low cross-sectoral collaboration and engagement of CIs in co-creation activities are linked with lack of awareness from both sectors, differences in communication and working methods. On the other hand, traditional industry sectors, such as maritime or production industry record low innovativeness, suffer from pressure resulting from environmental impact and necessity to provide sustainable solutions. In the face of the European Green Deal objectives to be reached by 2050 and contribution to the Agenda 2030 of the United Nations, sustainable innovation and development become the epicentre of the European future related discourses. In this light, the paper addresses research-to-practice problem pointing to the missing theoretical and practical foundation for cross-sectoral collaboration partnerships and tangible results thereof within the regional geographical nexus in which creative economy and CIs are getting an increasing importance. In particular, using real-life innovation prototyping projects as implemented in the South Baltic Sea Region (SBSR) in the frame of the cross-border project “CTCC – Creative Traditional Companies Cooperation” (July 2017–June 2021) that is part-financed by the European Regional Development Funds (ERDF), 32 traditional industry Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) from blue (ports, shipping, shipbuilding and tourism) and green (nutrition, renewable energy, recycling) economy sectors engaged both in formal and informal collaboration modes with CIs. The present research delivers particularly managerial contributions by showcasing how enterprise managers and innovation developers can engage into cross-sectoral innovation development through real-life prototyping along with CIs, what tools and processes help them to chop their way through the undergrowth in the frame of innovation development project as well as how tangible results can be achieved and ramped up. From the theoretical perspective, the research gap on cross-sectoral collaboration with CIs and co-creation for innovation is decreased as well as the focus on CIs as innovation brokers and intermediaries on a firm-level strengthened.

The paper aims to propose a theoretical framework that brings together all the determinants behind VC investment decisions in startups, assessing the relevance of determinants in uncertain times. Specifically, we explore whether these determinants are subject to change during periods of high uncertainty, such as that generated by the covid-19 pandemic. We conducted a literature review drawing a taxonomy of VC determinants. In the literature review, we have recognized 4 determinants: localness, networking, startup industry and entrepreneurial team. Later this we have developed semi-structured interviews to test the relevance of identified determinants. Interviews are directed to 5 VC experts. Results show a relevant emphasis for the entrepreneurial team and networking determinants, while a moderate relevance for the localness and industry.

In dynamic business environments with uncertainty and risks entrepreneurs make efforts to customize new products to latent user needs. In a product development process, user/customer integration (an approach of giving users an active role in an innovative product design) relates to challenging processes of collaboration and knowledge sharing with and within an entrepreneurial team. The paper research is focused on a model that comprise knowledge conversion and knowledge sharing barriers in an entrepreneurial team working in collaboration with innovative and “ordinary” users at early stage of product design. The key barriers to knowledge sharing in collaborative entrepreneurial team were formulated and assessed based on qualitative research (observation, questionnaire, and in-depth interviews). At the early stage of product design, in the model of knowledge conversion in collaborative entrepreneurial teams, the role of exploratory prototyping is identified.

Cities are rediscovering the importance of becoming as intelligent communities and facing the challenge of advancing as smart, inclusive and sustainable cities in order to promote urban communities as engines of social and economic growth and societal development. Intelligent cities drive the urban community towards sustainability for ensuring social and inclusive growth. The future of sustainable urban development relies on intelligent cities which are able to promote future urban development and support social and economic growth of urban areas, developing urban intelligence to solve problems and drive towards the urban community towards urban sustainability. Intelligent cities identify possible itineraries of urban development in terms of social and economic growth within urban environments. Cities construct a pathway to develop urban intelligence as a source for sustainable urban future, promoting a smart vision to urban development as a key driver for enhancing the urban community and driving collaboration and cooperation among the urban private and public actors as a framework for innovation, knowledge and value creation processes.

This paper presents the profile of the professionals at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation who work in scientific research, with the aim of understanding within a perspective of decolonization and understanding the central actors of collaborative research networks. The methodology used was through reinforce the theoretical framework and data extraction in platforms that compile data from researchers and technologists who conducted research at Fiocruz are working in Science and Technology. In the conclusion, this initial project allowed an approximation of understanding about the profile of Fiocruz research professionals and analize data to mapping of both scientific collaborative networks, their central nodes, and links.

The pandemic from Covid 19 brought changes in the PA and the actuality of the topic of smart working (SW) in PA has exploded since March 2020. In a very short time the use of digital has increased more than it has been attempted in many years. The PA has reacted swiftly to ensure the provision of services to citizens and to respond to the needs generated by the pandemic, understanding the importance and the need for a profound renewal based on cultural change, digital transformation and the enhancement of women and men. Of course we can not consider the SW an innovation or a new mode of work as the Law n. 191 of 1998 has been in force for more than 20 years. The paper wants to reflect on the decisive role of human action within organizations and tries to answer research questions trying to understand the reasons that motivate employees of the PA to want to continue working in SW even after the pandemic and if this can be considered a new way of working. All this is part of the introduction of an innovative mode of work organization, based on the use of flexibility, on the assessment by objectives, on the recognition of the needs of employees, all in the light of the need to reconcile work and personal time.

The main purpose of this work is to systematically reconstruct the context of industrial symbiosis initiatives with relation to the networks of actors, the roles they play, the factors that determined the initiative, the obstacles that hinder (or have hindered) their implementation, the expected and/or achieved benefits, and the development prospects through the presentation of an original database of 18 case studies.

The health system’s role for the welfare of the community and the growth and development of nations is widely known, and Business Economics scholars have paid great attention to the study of the sector. This paper focuses on a particular aspect of health care and aims to analyse the intellectual capital (IC) in the healthcare system regarding telemedicine’s contribution at Covid-19. The healthcare sector is “knowledge-intensive”. For this reason, the study of IC becomes central in Business Economics studies that are increasingly oriented towards enhancing the intangible resources used and created by organisations. Recent scholars have investigated the development of knowledge-based activities as a significant factor in adopting innovation in healthcare organisations and institutions. However, scholars have paid little attention to the contribution of telemedicine to the generation of IC. This paper aims to bridge the gap focusing on a particular aspect of health care and analyse the IC in the healthcare system regarding telemedicine’s contribution at Covid-19. Notably, we focus on how digital transformation and the knowledge management system used by telemedicine could contribute to the intellectual capital in the healthcare sector. To comply with the paper aim, we use a qualitative research method based on a case study particularly suitable for IC in health care studies. More precisely, we analyse a non-profit organisation that for over 15 years has offered a free multi-specialist teleconsultation service to answer medical questions from the most disadvantaged places in the world. The findings show that telemedicine can develop and share knowledge in disadvantaged areas of the world . The IC makes the new business model capable of contributing to the improvement of the health conditions of the entire population, including the most fragile. Thus this research provides an original contribution to the literature on IC at the time of Covid-19.

This paper explores the moderation effect of knowledge complexity and social integration mechanisms on the relationships between the absorptive capacity (ACAP) components in southern Brazilian firms. Our sample includes 174 ICT firms from ten clusters of technology-based firms located in Southern Brazil. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) supported by the software ADANCO 2.0.1. We found that knowledge complexity matters for absorptive capacity. Depending on knowledge complexity, social integration mechanisms may be both: a bless and a curse for absorptive capacity. Specifically, we found that in the paths from acquisition to assimilation, and from acquisition to transformation, high levels of social integration mechanisms help acquire complex knowledge, but they may constraint the absorption of simple knowledge. Our findings contribute to the KBV of the firm by improving our understanding of the role of knowledge complexity as an antecedent of absorptive capacity’ components. By identifying the role of knowledge complexity on the efficiency of both social integration mechanisms and ACAP, this study brings valuable information to managers of both Brazilian firms and foreign organisations willing to establish their operations in Brazil, for the efficient allocation of firm resources for improving the firm innovative performance.

Research on entrepreneurial ecosystems has gained significant interest throughout the academic community in recent years. In this context, the role of digital transformation and particularly digital platforms for improving the communication and collaboration of various actors in such ecosystems is increasingly being discussed. In this paper, we conceptualize how excubation platforms (XPs) can support the interaction among the actors in entrepreneurial ecosystems contributing to 1) an improved matchmaking between entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship supporters, 2) a better coordination of the multitude of support programs available, 3) novel approaches for quality control enabled by one digital solution used by all actors and 4) a more structured exchange of competence and experience between the individual entrepreneurs. We illustrate these potentials by the case of the Norwegian entrepreneurial ecosystem, where a pilot for an XP is currently being developed.