The current surge of new digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain, and internet of things have revitalized the interest in the effects of technological changes on organizations and individuals. Linked to this interest is also the potential for efficiency gains from automation, growth through scalability and connectivity in ecosystems offered by these technologies. Some researchers suggest that digitalization might play out differently contingent on the context in which the digitalization occurs. However, to date we have limited understanding of how the digital technologies are used and utilized and what effect they have in different knowledge domains. Consequently, there is a pressing need for more insights into the contingency factors associated with the digitalization in different industries. This paper focuses on servitization where digitization plays a crucial role in traditional manufacturing transformation from offering physical products to offering services. The transition from product- to service-oriented business models is very challenging because companies need to develop new services that are not yet in the marketplace. The utilization of digital technologies is of increasing interest as this type of manufacturing firms seek service-based strategies.

Digitalisation is leading to massive change processes in organisations, which increasingly intensify the relevance of knowledge management for companies. Especially, knowledge creation and transfer are central processes for gaining and sustaining competitive advantage in a knowledge-intensive environment. Researchers identified that enablers (culture, structure, people and IT) are increasing the efficiency of these processes. Here, the people element is one of the most important factors. However, current empirical studies have focused on knowledge enablers on the organisational level. But there are no concepts for the operationalisation of knowledge enablers on individual level. The present study is addressed to fill this gap. The concept of T-shaped skills seems to be suitable for the operationalisation of the knowledge enablers. Therefore, we analysed 489 job advertisements of Scrum Masters by using a mixed-method approach (qualitative and quantitative content analysis as well as variance analysis) to shed light on the explicit T-Shaped skills. With regard to his role we assume that the Scrum Master covers and portrays the needed skills in knowledge-intensive environments. It can be stated that he fills up the key role on knowledge transfer and knowledge creation in companies. Thus, he can be seen as a knowledge enabler on individual level. The results of the analysis were tested for group differences by using an ANOVA. There are no significant major effect for industry sectors and the company size. Thus, suggests that the T-shaped concept is static. As an implication for practitioners the present study could give an important indication for the search and selection for personalized T-shaped knowledge enablers. Further, the results can be used by companies for orientation, in particular in the development of personnel development concepts.

The process of digitalization has enhanced opportunities for exchanging economical and reliable information, consequently it has become a priority in many fields. Particularly in cultural sector digitalization can considered a key challenge in the process of modernizing. The European Commission has studied the best ways to preserve, enrich and make available the cultural heritage for the benefit of present and future generations. On this basis was created an European platform for the management of cultural heritage called Europeana. This paper aims to analyse and assess the impact of this cultural platform through the study of digitalization process. The results show that Europeana is a tool able to create new knowledge and consolidate value chains. Moreover, from the economic perspective Europeana is able to generate welfare effects of digital cultural heritage, among them there are usage value on the one hand and indirect effects economic and social on the other hand.

Using the dynamic capabilities and absorptive capacity as theoretical lenses, this paper investigates the capabilities required to exploit digital technologies in products and/or in processes. We propose that the capabilities to acquire knowledge from external sources, internal sources and manufacturing operations drive the assimilation and transformation capabilities through the formulation of a digital manufacturing strategy, which in turn determine the capability to exploit digital technologies in products and/or in processes. This paper has adopted a quantitative survey. The respondents are from a sample of innovative SMEs of the Piedmont region, a high innovative region with a historical industrial tradition that represent a fruitful context to investigate how SMEs approach Industry 4.0. Employing the factor analysis and structural equation modelling we found that: (1) the use of multiple external knowledge sources supports SMEs both in the introduction of product and process innovation using both operational and informational technologies; (2) the use of multiple internal knowledge sources support SMEs in the introduction of process innovation using information technologies; (3) multiple manufacturing capabilities are positively related with the introduction of digital product innovation strategies. The sample of SMEs is limited to the Piedmont region (North Italy) which limits the generalizability to other contexts. Future research should enlarge this study in other empirical settings.

This paper draws on the literature on innovation in tourism industry to investigate how the promotional tools developed by destinations – websites for information and booking, apps, e-commerce websites, tourist cards, BI and CRM software – may contribute to long-term development of accommodations in the territory. It is assessed by analysing impacts on booking channels, direct and intermediated (both online and offline), and revenue. Hypotheses are tested with a generalized linear model and an ordered logistic regression on data retrieved from 1,226 accommodations distributed in the Italian territory. Empirical results evidence the contribution of smart destinations in increasing the competitiveness of the tourism firms in the same area.

This paper aims to shed light on the link between digitization processes and market strategies in Italian museums. It is also addressed to understand how digital skills, held or accessible by the museum, do affect the organization’s capability to match technological innovation and strategy. We have adopted the multi-case study approach. A sample of Italian museums has been investigated through semi-structured interviews addressed to their managers. Cases show how digitization processes are mainly driven by museums’ accessibility to technical skills, as well as mimetic and normative isomorphism processes seem having a non-secondary role. This often brings to underestimate the required alignment between digital contents, digital skills held by the cultural organizations, and types of users. Some early managerial implications may derive from this study. In fact, managers’ awareness about the positioning of the museum can raise, as they reflect on the consistency between implemented market strategies, technologies in use, and digital skills held or accessible by the museum itself.

Nowadays the retail industry is changing so fast by means of digitalization processes. Digital and interactive technologies are mediating relationships and strategies among actors and modifying the way through retailers manage their value propositions. This paper applies an ecosystem perspective and represents a preliminary study about the contribution of technology to the workability, management, and survival of retail ecosystem. In particular the work compares service ecosystem features with retail industry dynamics focusing on the role of technology. A qualitative methodology has been adopted emphasizing specific focus useful to further academic research and to practitioners in order to consider retail sector as an ecosystem. Specifically, findings achieved are threefold. Firstly, this paper presents the technology as a key actor able to give a ‘soul’ to the ecosystem multiplying the relationships and improving the resource integration. Secondly, the work considers the relationship management as a key feature to deal with complexity and to help the retail ecosystem to survive during the time. Finally, considers the retailer as the actor able to balance the equilibrium among actors in a retail ecosystem, due to the multiplicity of actors involved and directly connected and the mutual influence they play.

The evolution of the modern retail concept involves many actors and stimulates several dynamics in markets that cannot be represented only by traditional economic sectors. Retail industry is emerging as a meta-sector where production companies, agriculture, logistics, and retail are integrating their strategies and resources to have fast reaction to markets complexity and variability. Retailers stimulate the integration of many actors in the market from the production of raw material to services. Innovation in retail industry involves companies in production, distribution channels and stimulates change and evolution in consumption and demand. Actors in retail industry are influencing, generating and using rules, languages, cultural norms, values, codes – institutions – that cause effects on the same actors involved, on markets and on the complex emerging system. Within this entangled context of actors’ interaction, sharing of institutions and behaviours, following a service perspective, retail industry seems to configure a service ecosystem – retail ecosystem -. The work contributes in explaining the emerging of retail ecosystem, the relevant institutions involved and the contribution of the customer as influencer of institutions dynamics within retail context. The relevance of ecosystem approach emerges and, although the customer represents a relevant actor, the success of the wide system comes by co-evolution of involved actors and institutions dynamics. The survival – final purpose – of the whole retail ecosystem is generated by the resource integration and mutual dependence of every involved actor.

Hospitality is one of the sectors that are nowadays most heavily characterized by consumers’ tendency to share online reviews on dedicated digital platforms. While most past work has focused on understanding the effect of online reviews and ratings on consumers’ evaluation and purchase decisions, this research tackles the issue of what drives the sharing of certain types of online content. Specifically, we investigate the sharing of user-generated content characterized by negative emotional valence, and study the effect of two factors on the extent to which user-generated content contains negative emotions. One such factor is reviewer’s expertise, while the other is hotel quality. Our analysis of 1,200 TripAdvisor reviews on Italian hotels located in three major Italian cities confirm our hypothesis that expert reviewers might share reviews containing less intense negative emotional content compared to less expert reviewers especially when the hotel is of high quality. To support our hypothesis, we build on the research on psychological antecedents of word-of-mouth behavior suggesting that expert consumers are particularly reluctant to share negative word-of-mouth to avoid projecting a negative image of themselves in social contexts, thus possibly damaging their reputation.

During the last years, economies and societies have seen a continuous change inside all their aspects. In this scenario, tourism has always played an increasing crucial role in the growth of many countries and the adoption of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) has led to several transformations in the core of this sector. Specifically, tourism has registered a tremendous growth in the diffusion of technologies which tourists interact with for searching information, communicating, generating content, transaction, and has seen the use of tools like mobile apps, social media platforms, virtual tourism communities, able to transform the tourist’s travel experiences and to support tourists in discovering new attractive destinations, scheduling activities, personalizing their travel, and, more in general, making smart decisions. Moreover, the use of ICTs has culminated with the notion of Smart Tourism Destinations (STDs), where ICT is a driver for a smart growth and for the competitiveness of a destination. Further studies have enlarged this idea, highlighting that the fundamental constructs of a STD are human capital and social capital constructs, supported and enabled by advanced ICT infrastructures. In order to work toward the development of a smart and sustainable tourism destination, it is necessary to assess the “state of the art” of a tourism destination under different perspectives and evaluate its promptness to adopt a smart configuration. In literature several authors have considered many aspects of smart tourism and STD. Nevertheless, there is the need of investigative and holistic frameworks able to integrate all the perspectives of a STD. Accordingly, the aim of this paper is setting up a conceptual methodological framework that integrates different levels of analysis using several dimensions characterizing a tourism destination. Such framework attempts to assess and evaluate the state of the art of a tourism destination in terms of smartness, to provide hints among the tourist actors toward the development of a sustainable tourism destination and to improve the customer perception of a destination.

Starting from the theoretical framework of ecosystem in Service-Dominant Logic (S-D Logic) perspective, this conceptual study aims to understand the role of private label in the modern retail. The assumption of the work is that the literature about service ecosystem could support the analysis of retail dynamics helping to explain the relationships and interactions between manufacturer companies, copackers, retail companies, logistics, and customers; in this sense, it is possible to explain how actors’ relationships in the retail ecosystem are affected by specific institutions that define actors behaviour. The role of the private label in modern retail is analysed as institution of the retail ecosystem, in order to understand if the private label actually represents a shared language and code that affects production, retailers, customers and other actors who should recognize the growing value of private labels and could contribute to value co-creation. The main managerial implications of the paper concern the marketing and management competences and knowledge necessary for retailers to manage an institution of increasing importance for the entire retail ecosystem, which generates economic, social and environmental value.

Over the last decade, the retail sector had trouble due to the economic crisis and the growing complexity of the environment. In this context, the banking system becomes a relevant actor for accessing a critical resource such as credit. The objective of this work is to investigate the role of the legality rating, introduced by the Italian Law 62/2012 as an award-winning instrument for “virtuous” companies, in managing the relationships with bank. With this aim, this paper benefits of the systems theories and the literature on ecosystems. Primary data have been collected from 123 retailers and analysed using a qualitative approach based on the frequency distributions of the variables. Results show the main benefits provided by the legality rating that retailers claim they have had in the relationship with the banks. This paper offers an original contribution for the study of legality ratings by the business perspective and for the understanding of the retail ecosystems emersion.

Modern Modern markets can be seen as a complex system embedding the various stakeholders in a mutually influencing network of relationship that is able to influence their decision-making processes and their value creation processes. As a consequence, modern businesses have been called to adopt a broader perspective in order to not focus their actions only on trying to maximize their economic performance, but to design them taking into account even the social and environmental impacts they have on the system as a whole; according to Zimmerman and Zeits (2002) firms have to respond to the expectations of the various social actors operating in the same systems they are embedded into as a way to obtain the legitimacy needed to create a beneficial environment that will help them in creating a positive effect out of the system of relations the companies are part of without violating the social contract tying together all the actors in a given system (Donaldson and Dunfee, 2002). It follows that, when companies can effectively communicate to their systems’ actors how they are following the principles of sustainability and somehow prove that their actions are Socially Responsible, they can get several advantages. One of the way companies have to accomplish this feat is to ask third parties to certify their actions in order to be able to print on their products one of the various Ethical Labels. Using these labels to mark their products can be used as a tool to influence the consumer in buying the company’s over the competitors’ one leveraging on a higher legitimacy. In this paper, we have studied the evolution of the practice of non-financial disclosure trough ethical labels that 14 coffee brands, both in Italy and in England, as a way to understand how, in different markets they have changed over a 5 year time span.

The paper presents an approach helping to create a big picture view of the different information pieces involved into research. The approach is based on the use of modern visual knowledge mapping techniques. The focus of this paper is on applying systems thinking and visual metaphors for generalization of the selected research domain of management research. The visualization techniques serve not only to present the results of research analysis and to illustrate generative/analytical techniques representing the data. They are providing insight and communicative tools forming the context essential for the understanding and implementation of the research results and further discussions. Our aim is to give advice on how we can improve general understanding by using visual metaphors for different data, knowledge category and purposes. Examples for the use of this classification system for a big picture view of management research are presented. Specific examples are illustrated by concept maps, mind maps and Ishikawa diagrams. This paper is considering the design science research approach and systems thinking. It is focused on the differentiated question-based aspects depending on knowledge type and the visualization techniques. We split the research knowledge domain into seven main categories of knowledge: what, what for, how to, who, where, when, and why. Each of these categories could be better presented by a different visual knowledge codification technique, enabling to create a set of diagrams for the development a big picture view of management research. This research puts in evidence on the issue of big picture thinking with the use of visualization technique for the knowledge domain of management research. Different stages of research work are exploiting various complex cognitive processes. Research is a collective work and joint understanding and knowledge sharing are essential for the success. Decomposing research tasks ranging from writing a paper to creating a grant application often results in a comprehensive set of subtasks that have complex dependencies on each other. Visual approach simplifies all the above-mentioned difficulties by creating the illustrations and simplifications of the pieces. Described big picture visual approach may help young researchers and knowledge analysts to accomplish, to present and to share their results in the research community. This will also help other researchers to interpret the meanings of the concepts correctly, avoiding the cases of semantic ambiguity.

In relation to SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises), there is a lack of managerial mechanisms to overcome environmental knowledge barriers. Some of these barriers are related to resource shortages or outdated knowledge, which can impede the utilization of Knowledge. In the following paper, we consider that if environmental knowledge barriers are present then specific knowledge management practices are required to stimulate the utilization of knowledge and, hence, provide for the assimilation of knowledge. Thus, in this paper, we focus on socializations practices as a method to counteract the problem of environmental knowledge barriers. We have analysed the relationships between environmental knowledge barriers and the SECI model using an empirical study of 87 Spanish Knowledge Intensive Business Services (commonly known as KIBS) (are services and business operations heavily reliant on professional knowledge) in SMEs, in order to identify whether the impact of environmental knowledge barriers on knowledge utilization can be mitigated through socializations practices. Our results confirm that when environmental knowledge barriers take place, the relationship between socializations practices and the utilization of Knowledge is weaker than it otherwise would be.

What pushes an actor, be it an individual or an organization, to imitate the choices of others, is a theme that has fascinated scholars of several disciplines that observed this underlying dynamic in diverse phenomena. This paper provides a review on conformism across diverse research disciplines that are rarely considered altogether when conformism is addressed.

This paper explores the role of social integration mechanisms for knowledge absorptive capacity (ACAP) in southern Brazilian firms. We followed a positivist approach and we used quantitative methods. Our sample includes 125 firms from Southern Brazil. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling (SEM) supported by the software ADANCO 2.0.1. Our paper contributes to the knowledge-based view literature by contributing to understand ‘why’ and ‘how’ social integration mechanisms are influencing knowledge absorptive capacity in firms. Our results suggested that social integration mechanisms have a positive effect on ACAP dimensions, and that the use of teams that are cross-functional and composed by people with diverse background, is likely to improve ACAP capabilities in firms. We suggest that further studies may perform a deeper analysis about the moderation effect of social integration mechanisms on ACAP. By identifying the relevance of social integration mechanisms for improving ACAP, this study brought 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 innovative performance.

Smart waste management and smart parking management are necessary improvements for civil society and significant effort how to achieve vision of smart city. Proposed innovative solutions create important knowledge to further understanding of the knowledge ecosystem in accordance to create the sustainable future. Smart trends are necessary for sustainable development and call for local and global challenges. The digital revolution and technological approaches represent unlimited source for growth. Using technological improvements and digital knowledge for innovative social solutions could significantly improve quality of life and support ecosystem. Smart devices are a key factor and ecosystem should benefit from them. Along with smart traffic, smart lighting, smart energy and smart waste management is an integral part of any smart city. There are two innovative functions of smart waste management. One is operational efficiency and second is waste reduction. Although public services and waste management companies have been around for a long time, they have implemented only limited innovations with operational efficiency, until the last few years. The other side of smart waste management deals with managing the quantity of waste created on a daily basis. Consumers and businesses create millions of tonnes of garbage every year. User friendly waste management and analytics platform could make more effective waste management. Smart waste management could simply save the costs a improve ecosystem. Another innovative approach, which is smart parking management mainly optimise parking space usage, improve the efficiency of parking operations and help traffic in city flow more freely. Smart parking designs, develops and produces outstanding leading-edge technology that enables people to manage on-street and off-street parking efficiently and cost-effectively. The first goal of the submitted article is to identify and define the key features and tools for smart waste management and smart parking management. The second goal is to examine usage of technological approaches in this area. The last aim is to draft theoretical solutions, which could be easily practically implemented into the praxis. Innovative solutions in this area will be just small step in vision of the smart city, but big improvement in quality of life. The most important contribution of the article is to highlight the necessity of smart waste management and smart parking management in contemporary world.

In the context of business, the concept of ‘peripheral vision’ is usually used to refer to instances involving detecting information that may be important for the “safe and an effective navigation of the world”. In contrast, the concept of ‘tunnel vision’ is used to refer to the situation where peripheral vision is lost and only central vision is retained with potential deleterious effects on business performance and decision-making. This study investigates how unlearning activities can counteract the presence of tunnel vision, along with how these activities can, in turn, result in the improvement of peripheral vision. In this study the influence of what has been termed ‘Intentional Unlearning’ on peripheral vision as a mediating variable between focal vision and peripheral vision is investigated through an empirical study. This study used ADANCO 2.0.1 and it involved the collection and analysis of data provided by 203 bank managers. The findings complement organizational theories of management by providing a clearer definition of tunnel-vision and provide guidance for managers as to how they may improve peripheral vison. This study shows the need for knowledge workers to adopt procedures that will have the effect of causing them to question the familiar frameworks they use to interpret their perceptions of the external environment.

While numerous management theories and technologies have been established to help managers address the challenges they routinely encounter, there are always sudden problems for which organizations are often unprepared. These low frequency and high consequence challenges are commonly defined as crises. The main characteristics of crises are uncertainness and ambiguation which threaten the productivity of an organization. for organizations to prosper and survive, they must act strategically in allocating their key resources and perform effectively and efficiently. This is especially true when dealing with crises. Unfortunately, one of the most valuable resources that organizations possess, knowledge, has been largely ignored in the CM literature. To address this deficiency, this study discusses about a knowledge management system (KMS) which helps organizations better managing of a crisis. This KMS possesses several requirements which aim to develop a strategic alignment framework that seeks to align CMS with knowledge strategy. The use of collaborative networks regarding to the process of acquiring, sharing, and storing their knowledge is necessarily complex and also complicated for the managers. In regard to published related research works, despite the contributions of these CM studies, very limited research has been explicitly investigated the requirements of implementing KM strategies and system in a CM perspective. In order to fill this gap, our model of identifying KMS requirements will be designed and presented. Therefore, this study aims to present the requirements of implementing knowledge management system in crisis management; a new trend which is not widely studied in research works. Knowledge management system will be helpful for managers to confront with internal and external crises effectively while it will support organizations not only to manage their knowledge but also in applying knowledge strategies properly. This study has conceptualized the required process and elements of knowledge management system implementation through semi-structured in-depth interviews with a focus expert group selected from Chabahar municipality. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews are utilized extensively as interviewing format possibly with a group in designing new models or processes. Recognizing focus group respondents was done through snowball sampling method. Snowball sampling is where research participants recruit other participants for a test or study. Content analysis method is used to analyze the interviews as a research technique used to make replicable and valid inferences by interpreting and coding textual material. Chabahar municipality (at the south of Balouchestan, Iran) has been selected as a case study. Chabahar is a strategic port not only for Iran but also for India and China. Because hug amount of foreign investment in Chabahar, it is now the only sanction-except city of Iran. The strategic nature of this port confronts this port with several crises which should be managed and solved by its municipality. This organization, the same as other municipalities, is encountered with various crises during the year including natural crises like flood and human crises like social protest and even shooting in urban area. In order to achieve practical solution to implement knowledge management system, this organization is selected as a case study. The result is a seven-dimension-model that presents the requirements of implementing a KM system in organizations, extracted by using a case study. These dimensions are as following: determine a crisis phase – determine sensitive factors – identify stakeholders – data gathering – data verification – data analysis – Knowledge management