Search

Moments of crisis such as pandemics, hyperinflation, or natural disasters cause societies, governments, companies, and individuals to reflect on their priorities and essential needs. However, there is no concept or theory that links human needs to the consumption of goods and services. With this in mind, we introduce the product essentiality concept and a method to measure the essentiality level of a group of products. We used a survey questionnaire and quantitative methodology to illustrate the concept and propose that it can be reasonably approximated by a measure of perceived essentiality. Our analysis examined the influence of location, gender, and family income on the perceived essentiality of general goods and services. For this, a sample of Business and Management students in Brazil and the UK classified 81 products as 'essential' or 'superfluous'. Our findings and analyses show that applying the essentiality concept and its measurement can be consistent and useful for reflecting on what is essential and what is not. This study provides preliminary insights on product portfolio essentiality measurements suggesting it is significantly affected by location rather than gender and income. The results can help organisations to rethink their product portfolios, designs, and assist sustainable development policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incompatibility between diverse responsible principles of science and technology (S&T) and multi‐stakeholders' heterogeneous value assessments underscores the importance of coordinating normative principles of responsible research and innovation (RRI). In this context, this study adopts an ambidexterity lens to address this issue, conceptualizing two constructs—"generalized responsibility" and "specialized responsibility" of S&T (GRST and SRST)—to illustrate the trade‐offs. It explores the antecedents of GRST and SRST from an agency perspective. Drawing from a dataset of 19,707 poll responses, the study employs a fractional logit regression model to examine the relationships between three types of agency (iterational agency, strategic agency, and ethical agency) and GRST and SRST. The results reveal a positive relationship between iterational agency and SRST, and between strategic agency and GRST, as well as U‐shaped effects of iterational agency on GRST, strategic agency on SRST, and ethical agency on both GRST and SRST. Moreover, ethical agency is found to be more important for SRST than for GRST. The study offers theoretical and policy implications for a critical discussion about responsible innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, sharing economy business models (BMs) have gained substantial research attention. This stream has led to several important insights, but due to its practical nature and diversity, it has provided limited conceptual integration. This introductory article conceptualizes the research field of sharing economy BMs and their implications for market dynamics, digital technology, and sustainability. Furthermore, we summarize the six articles published in the special issue of sharing economy BMs and discuss how each of them pushes the boundaries of empirical and conceptual insights in the field. Overall, this special issue contributes to a deeper understanding of research in the intersection of the sharing economy and business models and develops a call for future research across the three dimensions of market dynamics, technology, and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OVERVIEW: The artificial intelligence (AI) revolution in new product development (NPD) has reached a critical juncture, demanding decisive action from business leaders. Our comprehensive study of key AI applications in NPD reveals a startling lack of adoption across industries, particularly in the United States. Despite the potential benefits, businesses also demonstrate weak intentions to adopt AI and low readiness regarding AI integration into NPD processes. Despite the low adoption rate, the study's results offer a compelling picture of AI's potential, including substantial positive impacts of AI use in key areas like product design, prototyping, testing, digital twin simulations, market analysis, and new product ideation. Benefits include accelerated development and markedly improved decision-making. PRACTITIONER TAKEAWAYS: The current adoption rate of AI for NPD is low, as is the intent to adopt, especially in the United States. Primary reasons for hesitancy include lack of management commitment, low demonstrated value, and lack of trust. Strong positive impact is evident between specific AI applications in the development and testing stages of the NPD process and critical NPD performance metrics. Firms should make a concerted effort to accelerate their AI adoption for NPD. The initiative must be led by strong commitment from senior leadership and focus on value creation. Firms must use a proven technology adoption process to guide AI implementation efforts and avoid common pitfalls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In two studies, one in Mexico and another one in Germany, we examined the indirect influence of self-reported multicultural experience on creative potential, through its influence on creative self-efficacy, and its direct influence on creative personal identity. In both studies, business students from Mexico and Germany completed a battery of questionnaires assessing creative self-efficacy (with two different operationalizations), creative personal identity, multicultural experiences, and a divergent thinking task designed to generate ideas to solve two different business problems. Structural equation modeling was used to test our hypotheses. Results from both studies found a positive relationship between self-reported multicultural experiences and creative personal identity. Similarly, multicultural experiences had an indirect, positive relationship with originality scores from a divergent thinking task, through its influence on creative self-efficacy. Hence, the positive influence of multicultural experience on creative potential, through creative self-efficacy, was established in two countries and with different operationalizations, trait like versus state like, of creative self-efficacy. The implications of the results were discussed.