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Digital transformation and emerging technologies create new business opportunities that differ from traditional requirements. Digital twins, referring to digital replicas of a physical entity, are rapidly developing and creating novel innovation opportunities. This study focuses on increasing the understanding of the implications of the use of digital twins for innovation, and case studies were used to gather evidence. The study offers an interesting contribution to the literature on digital twins, presenting a framework that demonstrates how digital twins are characterised, and how they contribute (impact) and are used (scope) in innovation processes in the context of innovation and technology management. In addition, the findings provide interesting implications for different practitioners interested in the utilisation of digital twins. Using the results of this study, managers can enhance their companies' digital transformation by acknowledging the multiple uses of digital twins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the concept and features of the competencies of Ukrainian customs authorities considering ongoing innovations in the customs sector. As Ukraine follows its Euro-integration path, aimed at modernizing its economic infrastructure, addressing technological gaps, attracting foreign investments, and enhancing its international competitiveness, the role of customs authorities becomes vital in facilitating effective foreign economic activities. The article underscores the critical need to update the competencies of customs authorities to meet global standards and incorporate advanced innovative technologies, as envisioned in Ukraine’s Innovation Development Strategy up to 2030. It explores the impact and relevance of innovations such as the ‘Smart Customs’ initiatives, ‘Single Window’ system, pre-arrival cargo information systems, radio-frequency identification, and blockchain technology in improving customs control, management, and interactions with external partners. A major focus of the article is on the new competencies required by customs authorities to successfully implement these innovations. It highlights the importance of developing digital, intellectual, partnership, and security skills. Furthermore, the article examines the effects of economic and political instability, particularly the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, on the innovation processes within customs operations. It identifies significant challenges such as the difficulties in exporting high-tech goods, offering incentives for the import of innovative equipment, and the application of non-tariff regulatory measures, including certification, quotas, and licensing. The article provides detailed recommendations for enhancing the organizational structures of customs authorities and calls for updating the legal and regulatory framework to align with current demands and standards. It advocates for the creation of a modern, intelligent customs system that can rapidly and effectively adapt to changes using state-of-the-art digital technologies and security methods. Emphasis is placed on the necessity of enhancing the qualifications of customs professionals, which is deemed essential for the successful integration of innovations in customs control.

Although enterprises can promote dynamic capabilities by managing their innovation processes, the specific innovation processes and ways to encourage such capabilities have been under-researched. This exploratory research illuminates the relationship between dynamic capabilities and innovation processes through a case study of the largest Chinese e-commerce platform, Taobao, a vast and complex digital platform with various actors and interactions with numerous related platforms. Based on previous research, interviews with ten management personnel at Alibaba from April 2019 to August 2021, and secondary data, we found six innovation processes specific to this digital platform. Furthermore, we found that each of these innovation processes relates to specific dynamic capabilities and, therefore, a platform leader can improve its dynamic capabilities by organising its innovation processes in the digital platform ecosystem. The presented findings show important implications for strategic management and information systems by connecting dynamic capabilities and innovation management theories. In particular, our findings enable us to describe how the innovation processes management induces strong dynamic capabilities, such as environmental scanning and sensing capability, innovation capability, and integrative capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Spain, the leader in pesticide sales in the European Union, a high-tech and innovative company provides services to the wine industry to optimise phytosanitary work, reduce crop losses and lower production costs. Although the nature of its business encourages the transition to a sustainable agri-food system, it also involves risks associated with uncertainty. The objective of this article was to perform the valuation of the company through the real options approach, including an expansion option, analysing whether this company will be able to increase the value of its project by expanding its activity to a larger number of vineyards. Results showed that the application of the real options approach projected a higher result than the traditional net present value method, so that if the company makes additional investments in its precision agriculture project, these will increase the value by a 15%.

In Spain, the leader in pesticide sales in the European Union, a high-tech and innovative company provides services to the wine industry to optimise phytosanitary work, reduce crop losses and lower production costs. Although the nature of its business encourages the transition to a sustainable agri-food system, it also involves risks associated with uncertainty. The objective of this article was to perform the valuation of the company through the real options approach, including an expansion option, analysing whether this company will be able to increase the value of its project by expanding its activity to a larger number of vineyards. Results showed that the application of the real options approach projected a higher result than the traditional net present value method, so that if the company makes additional investments in its precision agriculture project, these will increase the value by a 15%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Companies have to be innovative to be able to stay competitive in the market and are coming under ever greater pressure to innovate as a result of the increasingly fast-paced world - they have to keep moving. However, there is no recipe for success for the practical implementation of innovations. So far, only conceptual solutions in individual areas have been resorted to. I would like to approach the problem by describing forms of innovation as movement processes and argue that structural factors for innovation potential are mapped here. Thereby, the thesis shall be strengthened that especially free processes of creation, like chaotic movements without specific target or orientation, promote actual (disruptive) innovation in companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article emphasizes the relevance of applying a strategic approach to planning, attracting, and effective use of financial support for the sake of implementation of innovation and technological projects of domestic enterprises in the face of modern challenges and threats. It is stated that the innovation activity of economic entities is integral when it comes to strengthening their competitive positions and ensuring sustainable and efficient functioning. At this, such activities require proper financial support. Accordingly, the issue of harmonizing the course of innovation processes and their financial and resource provision requires the application of principles and instruments of strategic management. In accordance with this, the study solves the problem of scientific substantiation of methodological and applied provisions regarding the formation and implementation of a system of strategic management of financial resources for innovative development of domestic enterprises. It is shown that the leading elements of such a system are: 1) actualized approach to the strategic nature of management of financial resources of enterprises; 2) development of the conceptual and methodological-applied basis of strategic management of financial support for innovative development of economic entities; 3) building of and adhering to a set of principles of strategizing when forming and using financial support for innovative business development; 4) identification of strategic priorities of the policy of long-term financial support of innovation activity of economic entities; 5) diversification of sources of formation of financial resources to support the processes of innovative development of enterprises. It is concluded that the most rational method of harmonizing the sources of formation of financial provision with the course of the processes of innovative development of enterprises on the basis of building a strategic matrix of management of financial resources, which is based on the stages of the innovation process of enterprise, namely, fundamental and applied research, design development, marketing, production and sale of innovative products (services).

This study examines the impact of coupled open innovation and dynamic capabilities processes on innovation performance. A Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) analysis on data from surveying a quota sample of 213 Tanzanian Micro and Small Furniture Industries (MSFIs) reveals that dynamic capabilities form sequential processes mediating the significantly positive effect of coupled open innovation on innovation performance. These findings underscore the synergy between dynamic capabilities and open innovation perspectives, emphasizing the importance for micro and small business managers and policymakers to cultivate complementary sets of dynamic capabilities for the effective realization of innovation performance

This study addresses the development of new integrated product–service systems (PSSs). Most empirical research on the organisation of development processes has focussed on new product development, new service development, software development and new business model development in isolation; however, the development of new, complex PSSs that require the integration of these development efforts has received limited research attention. We address this literature gap through a qualitative, in-depth study of five firms operating in the business-to-business context. The findings demonstrate that all new PSS development processes did not implement and use one specific process model. Instead, the organisation of new PSS development processes was contingent upon the type of services to be offered and the target business model. This study proposes a contingency framework for development processes that provides considerable guidance to managers searching for ways to facilitate the processes of developing new PSSs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current pandemic situation has forced organisations to adapt quickly and change processes through digital transformation. Businesses began to interact with consumers online and generally had to adjust existing processes and develop or improve the products and services offered. The agile transformation as part of Industry 4.0 started several years ago and in the current situation can be considered the best starting point for ongoing changes. The agile approach is mostly used in the field of IT, where it has penetrated mainly into software solutions and project management. Later, this concept began to penetrate deeper into several areas of the organisation, today we can talk about the company-wide transformation into an agile platform. While agility was initially perceived as a benefit, especially for software solutions, today it helps in successful business mainly by penetrating the organisational culture in which organisations define the desired values, ideas and procedures of employee behaviour in the organisation and is able to implement agile management principles. In the presented article, we present the results of research focussed on the analysis of the current state of application of agile management methods in companies operating in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The aim of this paper is to identify the approach to building an agile culture as a basic prerequisite for their effective implementation. The contribution of this article to agile management research is to identify specific aspects of agile culture that support agile management functioning. The size of the examined sample and the comparison of the results between the group of companies in the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic provide findings with a high degree of reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The point of departure in this article are the pressing challenges in countless rural communities that provide the backdrop for the emergence of socially innovative approaches. The pivotal point is that in the respective communities the conditions of daily life are unfavorable compared to many urban areas due to limited economic productivity, poor job prospects and deteriorating infrastructural facilities. Simultaneously, however, the emergence of rural social innovations can be observed. In clarifying what exactly can be understood as social innovation, it becomes clear that two different streams must be distinguished, each of which has developed its own understanding. However, it also becomes clear that the streams complement each other and are now even merging. In this broader understanding of social innovation, innovative initiatives develop where actors with different social backgrounds come together, collaboratively respond to societal challenges, and explore new ways to develop novel approaches to solving them. In this article we clarify the central concepts required for the analysis of the dynamics of social innovations in rural areas: "contexts and targets of social innovations", "drivers and processes", "social enterprises" as specific actors of social innovations, and the notion of "rural development". Against this background, an introduction to the individual contributions of the special issue is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the transformation of traditional domain specific products to smart, connected and interdisciplinary products that are increasingly developed within value creation networks, an exchange of innovation-relevant knowledge in early engineering phases is required, covering interdependencies of several technical systems. Knowledge-based collaboration within a value creation network could enable an acceleration during the innovation development of smart products. Discipline- and stakeholder-specific knowledge, e.g. semiconductor research and production knowledge along the product lifecycle must be prepared for the usage within innovation development. This paper introduces a conceptual approach of a knowledge base to support the collaboration during innovation processes within value creation networks for smart products. The main focus is the sharing of relevant knowledge from different stakeholders within the innovation value creation network. Through knowledge networking, decentrally collected initial knowledge is centralized, made explorable and realized through a three-stage tagging architecture similar to an ontology. The collaboration of different stakeholders is enabled through mutual knowledge interests and automated suggestions independent from their respective IT ecosystems. The presented approach is instantiated and validated by considering the function to charge mobile phones wirelessly while car driving. Prerequisites for the presented approach are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving sustainable food and nutritional security requires a transformation of the existing agrifood system. In livestock farming based on natural grassland in Uruguay, an ecological intensification strategy could play a radical role in the transition towards more sustainable systems. This study analyzes the continuity of interconnected projects that used co-innovation approaches to promote and evaluate ecological intensification strategies over a period of 15 years (2004–2019). The purpose of the article is to provide evidence on the development of a socio-technical niche in sustainable livestock farming and to identify anchoring points for further regime transformation. Our contention is that interactive research in the context of application based on a sequence of co-innovation projects has the potential to trigger a sustainability transition through ecological intensification of livestock farming based on natural grassland. The research followed a single-case study design with multiple units of analysis, based on the study of documents produced by the different projects and semi-structured interviews. In addition, network analysis was used to examine the linkage of persons and projects. Results show that a socio-technical niche in sustainable livestock farming base on natural grassland was developed in Uruguay, promoted by research institutions and progressively involving other social actors throughout the process. The continuity of projects over 15 years, was fundamental to achieve the three essential processes for a niche conformation: i) an alignment of expectations and the development of a common vision, linked to the sustainable development of family-farming; ii) the creation and expansion of a network of stakeholders, comprising researchers, farmers, extensionists, and other relevant actors; iii) the development of learning processes through interaction, accumulating knowledge around two main axes: a new way of promoting innovation through research in application contexts associated with co-innovation, and a new way of sustainable livestock farming associated with ecological intensification. This study reveals the importance of sequencing co-innovation projects and continuity in the negotiation of visions of change, the creation of a community committed with the direction of change, and the promotion of interdisciplinarity and interactive learning, that foster changes at a socio-technical level. Anchoring challenges, and therefore advancement of the transition process, face the need for significantly expanding trained research and extension personnel to implement co-innovation and ecological intensification practices in livestock systems, and the organization of an extension program to sustain long term transformation of livestock farming in Uruguay. • Sustainability Transitions and Co-innovation are integrated in long term analysis. • A socio-technical niche is developed out of a sequence of co-innovation projects. • An expanding community with a common vision and accumulated learning emerged. • Niche is based on sustained interactive on-farm research in livestock systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the modern world, industrial enterprises function in the conditions of a globalized market economy and permanent technological evolution. Innovative processes involve the introduction of a new or significantly improved process for the production or delivery of a product. It is the implementation of innovative potential at the tactical level that allows the enterprise to create added value through the creation of a new product, and at the strategic level, it allows the survival of the enterprise due to a high level of competitiveness based on technological superiority. Effective implementation of innovation potential depends on the effectiveness of management and optimization of innovation processes. The military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and, in connection with this, the imposition of martial law in Ukraine led to the fact that industrial enterprises faced a high level of uncertainty. Under such conditions, the importance of increasing the efficiency of management of innovative processes of an industrial enterprise increases, which makes the topic of the study relevant. The purpose of the study is to develop a methodology for optimizing innovative processes at the enterprise. The study was implemented on the basis of data that were gathered with an expert survey of the specialists of a separate industrial enterprise regarding the importance of relevant measures to increase the efficiency of the innovative activity of the enterprise. Linear programming method, such as the simplex method, was used to develop the decision-making model. The result of the study was the formulation of an algorithm for the optimization of innovation processes, which involves seven stages: analysis of the current state of the enterprise's functioning, determination of possible directions for optimizing innovation processes, determination of alternative optimization projects, assessment of the cost of project implementation, construction of a decision-making model regarding the selection of an optimization project, implementation of the selected project, evaluation of the results of project implementation, adjustment of the project of optimization of innovative processes. Due to the proposed algorithm, it becomes possible to more effectively make decisions regarding an adequate set of measures aimed at optimizing innovation processes, and to adjust them in accordance with the specifics of the industry. Several projects aimed at optimizing innovation processes were analyzed, and due to the built model, the optimal combination of optimization projects was selected, namely: migration to cloud storage, creation of a separate subdivision to manage the innovation process, and provision of a security platform to protect sensitive information. Ensuring the effective implementation of innovative potential becomes critically important in the conditions of martial law, because industrial enterprises due to optimization can achieve: increase profitability, increase productivity, reduce production defects and reduce production time and cost. Due to the optimization of innovation processes, enterprises can at least partially reduce the risks associated with martial law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The important effort that is being carried out by the public administrations to articulate family intervention and support actions within state, regional and local plans and strategies must be linked to innovation and improvement processes aimed at promoting the quality of services and programs for children and families. In this sense, there is a clear consensus between institutional managers and researchers on the need for family intervention actions to be practical and evidence-based programs. This article reflects on the central role of professionals for the incorporation of evidence-based best practices in the field of family intervention, concluding on the need to identify and promote the workforce skills in family intervention to guarantee the quality of family care services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of smart products and systems includes a dramatically growing share of non-mechanical domains like microelectronic and software. This determines fundamentally new collaboration challenges and needs for system and product developers and their industrial organizations. Besides the rising number of relevant engineering disciplines (e.g. product-related internet-based service engineering and data platform engineering), the collaboration across several disciplines needs to become more systematic and has to be based on consistent system models. Since traditional value chains are transforming into new agile and distributed value creation networks, engineering collaboration approaches and solutions also have to stronger emphasize model-based, cross-company engineering collaboration. Also, the number of engineering stakeholders involved is increasing, while at the same time stakeholders are taking on new roles and completely new players are emerging, the collaboration share also has to grow continuously. This paper introduces a generic methodical approach for modeling collaborative innovation processes in value creation networks for smart products and supporting them with information technology by using an integrated, cross-company knowledge base. The support of engineering collaboration with a generic common reference innovation process along the value creation network with a seamless transformation into the engineering phase, are part of the focused approach goals. This generic approach has been instantiated according to the specific needs of early innovation phases in the field of automotive microelectronic integration considering the whole value creation network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today it is very important to determine the key positions of industrial enterprises in these areas to form strategic trajectories of business development, successful innovation activities of which determine economic growth and prosperity of the global economy. It is strategic management that allows modern enterprises and organizations not only to ensure the desired result with the digitalization of all business processes, but also to lay the foundation for innovative development, ensuring a high level of competitiveness of the global economy. Digitalization is one of the main factors of economic growth and business competitiveness. The use of digital technology enables companies in all sectors of the economy to grow faster, better and more efficiently. This is of great interest within the concept of digital economy and digitalization. The purpose of this study was to identify ways to overcome the obstacles and problems caused by digitalization in the activities of enterprises. The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of digitalization on enterprises and scientifically justify strategies to overcome the challenges and obstacles to development. This goal necessitated a number of tasks: to analyze the documents issued by international professional organizations; to identify the advantages and disadvantages of digitalization from the perspective of enterprises; to substantiate strategic directions to overcome obstacles to the digitalization of the enterprise. The methodology of the study is based on the use of such methods and techniques of scientific knowledge as analysis, synthesis, description and comparison. The application of the methods made it possible to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of the impact of digitalization on the activities of enterprises. At the same time, the article identifies the main strategic trajectories of enterprise development in the digitalization of the economy. It is proved that the digitalization of the economy leads to the transformation of traditional production processes and is interconnected with technological innovations and organizational changes, modifies the corporate culture of any industrial enterprise. Digital transformation affects not only the production sphere of companies, but also the entire system of business organization and operation. All processes related to the production of a company's products are changing: some of them are being algorithmized, reducing the transaction costs of the company.

Medical innovation is crucial to advancing our field, and physicians have the potential to play a leading role due to their daily patient care experiences. The objective of this study was to evaluate the interest in, and barriers to participating in innovation. Two surveys were conducted; the first cross-sectional survey was conducted among attendees of the Advancing Innovation in Dermatology Forum in Feburary 2019. The second survey was conducted among trainees (resident/fellows) and faculty dermatologists at Brown, Emory, Iowa, Stanford, and Vanderbilt Universities between June and November 2019. Demographic data were collected, as well as factors involved with identifying problems, developing solutions, training in innovation, and perceived barriers to innovation. In the first survey, the greatest perceived benefits include bringing joy to one's work and increasing professional fulfillment with work. Innovation was also perceived to decrease burnout. In the second survey of academic centers, faculty more commonly expressed interest in identifying problems (p = 0.04), and was also more confident in their ability to generate solutions to these problems as compared to trainees (p < 0.01). Major barriers to participating in innovation processes included lack of time and lack of training or education in innovation. Both trainees and faculty groups noted a lack of knowledge in creating prototypes, understanding regulatory approval for medical products, and inexperience with pitching to investors or obtaining funding. These cross-sectional needs assessment surveys found a strong interest in innovation coupled with a lack of education in innovation processes. These findings suggest an urgent need and opportunity for providing formal training to empower dermatologists with the tools to lead innovation within our field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Processes of innovation and scientific breakthroughs are not linear, and their outcomes are notoriously difficult to predefine. This paper contributes with an inductive longitudinal case study of how industrial R&D and innovation activities in a multinational telecom firm contributed to tracking the spread of Covid-19, a societal challenge unrelated to the starting point of the firm's relevant R&D. After twenty years, insights and methods from network analysis using call detail records of mobile phone users eventually ending up in the pandemic response toolbox. We find that the process was dependent upon prolonged activities of key individuals in the firm, serendipitous meetings between people with common interests, and space and support in the organisation for activities with an uncertain effect for the company. The shift from commercial to public health goals was a process of exaptation, and later scaling up was tied to the emergence and perception of Covid-19 as a major societal challenge, which also helped deal with complex issues like privacy to generalise the use of mobile phone data for handling pandemics. This played out over three distinct phases of experimentation, exaptation and scaling up. • Innovation process theories are used to analyse how call detail records from a multinational firm became used in Covid-19 models. • A longitudinal case design is used to set up a timeline with three phases over 20 years. • Exaptation is a key process through which new and unforeseen uses for the algorithms entered the activities of the firm. • The work was vulnerable due to the reliance on individuals and their personal networks. • Scaling up and diffusing was greatly facilitated by the emergence and perception of Covid-19 as a grand societal challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]