The emergence of new platform business models, notably the sharing economy, is impacting the economy in various ways, altering the structure of many industries, and raising a number of economic and political issues. This book investigates the widespread influence of the sharing economy on businesses and society, as well as examining its underpinning economic principles and development. This volume presents an exhaustive review of the existing knowledge on the sharing economy and addresses several major areas of concern for incumbent businesses. It also explains the business models for those who are interested in embarking on their own ventures and provides an excellent source for further research. It takes an in-depth look at controversial labour policies, such as using labour as self-employed contractors or using regulatory grey areas to expand in markets. It is highly multidisciplinary, establishing links between economics, finance, marketing and consumer behaviour. This contribution on the sharing economy will enable researchers and graduate and doctoral students to expand and improve their understanding of this topic and identify new research problems in all of these areas. The book will also appeal to policy makers, regional and local government decision makers, and those interested in labour markets transformation.

This book provides a historical inquiry into the quantification of needs in humanitarian assistance. Needs are increasingly seen as the lowest common denominator of humanity. Standard definitions of basic needs, however, set a minimalist version of humanity - both in the sense that they are narrow in what they compare, and that they set a low bar for satisfaction. The book argues that we cannot understand humanitarian governance if we do not understand how humanitarian agencies made human suffering commensurable across borders in the first place. The book identifies four basic elements of needs: As a concept, as a system of classification and triage, as a material apparatus, and as a set of standards. Drawing on a range of archival sources, including the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF), and the Sphere Project, the book traces the concept of needs from its emergence in the 1960s right through to the present day, and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's call for "evidence-based humanitarianism." Finally, the book assesses how the international governmentality of needs has played out in a recent humanitarian crisis, drawing on field research on Central African refugees in the Cameroonian borderland in 2014-2016. This important historical inquiry into the universal nature of human suffering will be an important read for humanitarian researchers and practitioners, as well as readers with an interest in international history and development.

Crowdfunding is emerging as a new source of financing for creativity and innovation. It promotes the launching and scaling of new projects for different types of creators by providing networked platforms and handy digital tools. This book provides insight into crowdfunding and how crowdfunding contributes to our communities and society. The book includes an overview of existing discussions across different disciplines, i.e. entrepreneurship, information systems, marketing, and correlates the literature to the best crowdfunding practices. The book begins with origins, basic notions, and antecedents of crowdfunding. In the main parts, it demonstrates the five distinguished facets of crowdfunding: Creativity, diversity, balance, connection, and change. It also addresses the drawbacks of crowdfunding and subsequent outcomes of crowdfunding success. Finally, it provides a perspective on the future of crowdfunding.

ECMI, the European Consortium for Mathematics in Industry, is the European brand associated with applied mathematics for industry and organizes highly successful biannual conferences. In this series, the ECMI 2010, the 16th European Conference on Mathematics for Industry, was held in the historic city hall of Wuppertal in Germany. It covered the mathematics of a wide range of applications and methods, from circuit and electromagnetic device simulation to model order reduction for chip design, uncertainties and stochastics, production, fluids, life and environmental sciences, and dedicated and versatile methods.

These proceedings of ECMI 2010 emphasize mathematics as an innovation enabler for industry and business, and as an absolutely essential pre-requiste for Europe on its way to becoming the leading knowledge-based economy in the world.

Interest in generally expanding the understanding of small and medium-sized enterprises, especially understanding their strategies and operations to enter international markets, is growing rapidly among researchers and academics globally. Government officials, regional and economic specialists, and international trade advisers are directly involved in assisting small and medium-sized enterprises in developing their international marketing expertise. Motivating SMEs to Cooperate and Internationalize consists of research studies, cases, and experiences obtained by researchers and academics from managers of small and medium-sized enterprises in Northern Europe as they worked closely with managers on issues and problems leading to internationalization of enterprises. This book will map not only the attempts of small and medium-sized enterprises in Northern Europe to enter foreign markets, but also to understand how researchers and academics can help small and medium-sized Northern European enterprisers achieve their objectives. This compilation of approaches, perspectives, and experiences will serve as a resource tool for researchers and academics active in international management training programs worldwide and help illustrate how to close the gap between publishing results of their findings and efforts to disseminate their findings among managers of small and medium-sized enterprises in their domains. This book is the first attempt to integrate results of research studies and practices as an illustration of how knowledge of small and medium-sized enterprises has evolved since the 1980s with the contributions of individual researchers and academics in Northern Europe. It will be of relevance to academics and researchers interested in working closely with small and medium-sized enterprises to meet their goals in entering international markets.

Customers are increasingly seeking "low-cost, high-quality" or what is known as frugal products that meet the buyer's needs while reducing the associated cost of ownership. This book examines the developing principles and theories of frugal innovations across the globe. The authors identify frugal innovation (FI) using a multi-method approach to data analysis. They argue that the concept of frugality as a societal/ethical value has undergone several changes and propose a differentiated model of frugal innovations. They address frugal innovations that have never been accessible to the public. Hands-on case studies across various industry sectors and countries, supported by theory, provide multiple learning opportunities. The authors explore the relationship between FI and digitalisation and technology, and discuss how FI can be applied in the context of contemporary issues such as food security. Further, they articulate the mechanisms by which FI beliefs and values can be incorporated into organisational culture. The final chapters address both ethical and controversial views of frugal innovation. The book is a valuable resource for students in business courses, for industry professionals wanting to improve their triple bottom line, and for educators wanting to influence and change the mindsets of the younger generations to effectively deal with today's and tomorrow's challenges.

European venture capital (VC) funds have historically underperformed their US counterparts. This has resulted in reduced investment into European VC by the traditional institutional investors. This book investigates the factors that give rise to the performance difference. It is based on the author's research at the Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow which involved a qualitative study of some 64 VC firms in the UK, continental Europe and the US, supplemented by 40 interviews with other stakeholders, including limited partner investors, corporate venturers, entrepreneurs and advisors. Readers will gain an in-depth understanding of the various structural, operational and wider environmental factors that impact on the performance difference between UK/European and US VC funds. The study is unique in that it provides, for the first time, a holistic and extensive analysis of the entire investment process from sourcing deals to exiting deals specifically contrasting Europe and the US in terms of the variables pertaining to the investment process and the impact on the fund performance. Factors impacting on the performance differential are structural, resulting from characteristics of the funds themselves, operational such as the investment practices of the VC firms which manage the funds and environmental such as culture and attitude to risk and the wider ecosystem in which the funds operate. These factors are set out clearly for the reader. The characteristics of the better performing funds in Europe and the US are also investigated. The book is aimed at academics who are researching venture capital fund performance and investment practices and also at practitioners, advisors and policymakers who want to learn about best VC investment practices. Whilst the book is focused on European and US VC investing, the best practices are also pertinent for VC firms and funds setting up in other geographies, particularly in emerging markets. To this end, best practice guidelines based on the research are included.

The digital business world is undergoing phenomenal and sometimes turbulent changes. The digital economy has also seen the rise of entirely new businesses. Traditional 'bricks and mortar' businesses are scrambling to become e-commerce businesses simply to survive in this new era. Whether in original economy or digital, IT investment is important in all businesses. Managing Information Communication Technology Investments in Successful Enterprises reports accounting and other information about business processes to assess performance. Managing Information Communication Technology Investments in Successful Enterprises discusses the impact of the IT revolution on the accounting function, and indicates the process of IT investment and its advantages and limitations. This publication is a revolutionary explanation of the purpose of IT investment and its role in organizations.

This volume explores from a legal perspective, how blockchain works. Perhaps more than ever before, this new technology requires us to take a multidisciplinary approach. The contributing authors, which include distinguished academics, public officials from important national authorities, and market operators, discuss and demonstrate how this technology can be a driver of innovation and yield positive effects in our societies, legal systems and economic/financial system. In particular, they present critical analyses of the potential benefits and legal risks of distributed ledger technology, while also assessing the opportunities offered by blockchain, and possible modes of regulating it. Accordingly, the discussions chiefly focus on the law and governance of blockchain, and thus on the paradigm shift that this technology can bring about.

In this monograph, a new process modelling approach for the public sector is described: the PICTURE method. The approach takes into account the specific characteristics of public administrations. Hence several advantages are derived: increased modelling speed, improved user acceptance and enhanced analysis capabilities.

The modern dependence upon information technology and the corresponding information security regulations and requirements force companies to evaluate the security of their core business processes, mission critical data, and supporting IT environment. Combine this with a slowdown in IT spending resulting in justifications of every purchase, and security professionals are forced to scramble to find comprehensive and effective ways to assess their environment in order to discover and prioritize vulnerabilities, and to develop cost-effective solutions that show benefit to the business. A Practical Guide to Security Assessments is a process-focused approach that presents a structured methodology for conducting assessments. The key element of the methodology is an understanding of business goals and processes, and how security measures are aligned with business risks. The guide also emphasizes that resulting security recommendations should be cost-effective and commensurate with the security risk. The methodology described serves as a foundation for building and maintaining an information security program. In addition to the methodology, the book includes an Appendix that contains questionnaires that can be modified and used to conduct security assessments. This guide is for security professionals who can immediately apply the methodology on the job, and also benefits management who can use the methodology to better understand information security and identify areas for improvement.

This seventh edition of 'Business Mathematics and Statistics' provides a thorough grounding in basic mathematical and statistical techniques, helping students to learn how to make decisions when presented with incomplete information. Comprehensive coverage of statistical methods, management mathematics and probability and extensive examples and questions make this essential reading for students on business and accounting courses and also students studying economics.

Performance Assurance for IT Systems emphasizes the importance of addressing performance and technology-related issues from the beginning of the planning process, at the feasibility and bid stages. It promotes the concept of Performance Assurance throughout the entire system lifecycle, covering technology, relevant processes, and people-related topics. This accessible, jargon-free book shows how to meet the increasing pressure to deliver proposals and systems in shorter timescales, emphasizing pragmatic, cost-effective, and well-designed systems. The book consists of two major parts: Part I covers the processes deployed throughout the system lifecycle, including the choice of technologies, client requirements, sizing, stress testing, and capacity management; Part II provides a technology foundation made up of brief primers on hardware and software technologies, discussing key factors that influence performance and helping management make informed decisions on technical risk. The author includes references to problems encountered on "real life" projects, and provides insight valuable to a variety of IT professionals, from technical architects and developers to IT management.

This book examines central aspects of the new technologies and the legal questions raised by them from both an international and an inter-disciplinary perspective. The technology revolution and the global networking of IT systems pose enormous challenges for the law. Current areas of discussion relate to autonomous systems, big data and issues surrounding legal tech. Ensuring data protection and IT security as well as the creation of a legal framework for the new technology as a whole can only be achieved through international and inter-disciplinary co-operation. The team of authors is made up of experienced, internationally renowned experts as well as young researchers and professionals who give valuable insights from numerous different jurisdictions. This book is written for jurists and those responsible for technology in public authorities and companies as well as practising lawyers and researchers.

The increasing penetration of IT in organizations calls for an integrative perspective on enterprises and their supporting information systems. MERODE offers an intuitive and practical approach to enterprise modelling and using these models as core for building enterprise information systems. From a business analyst perspective, benefits of the approach are its simplicity and the possibility to evaluate the consequences of modeling choices through fast prototyping, without requiring any technical experience. The focus on domain modelling ensures the development of a common language for talking about essential business concepts and of a shared understanding of business rules. On the construction side, experienced benefits of the approach are a clear separation between specification and implementation, more generic and future-proof systems, and an improved insight in the cost of changes. A first distinguishing feature is the method's grounding in process algebra provides clear criteria and practical support for model quality. Second, the use of the concept of business events provides a deep integration between structural and behavioral aspects. The clear and intuitive semantics easily extend to application integration (COTS software and Web Services). Students and practitioners are the book's main target audience, as both groups will benefit from its practical advice on how to create complete models which combine structural and behavioral views of a system-to-be and which can readily be transformed into code, and on how to evaluate the quality of those models. In addition, researchers in the area of conceptual or enterprise modelling will find a concise overview of the main findings related to the MERODE project. The work is complemented by a wealth of extra material on the author's web page at KU Leuven, including a free CASE tool with code generator, a collection of cases with solutions, and a set of domain modelling patterns that have been developed on the basis of the method's use in industry and government.

This book explores the possibility of using social media data for detecting socio-economic recovery activities. In the last decade, there have been intensive research activities focusing on social media during and after disasters. This approach, which views people's communication on social media as a sensor for real-time situations, has been widely adopted as the "people as sensor" approach. Furthermore, to improve recovery efforts after large-scale disasters, detecting communities' real-time recovery situations is essential, since conventional socio-economic recovery indicators, such as governmental statistics, are not published in real time. Thanks to its timeliness, using social media data can fill the gap. Motivated by this possibility, this book especially focuses on the relationships between people's communication on Twitter and Facebook pages, and socio-economic recovery activities as reflected in the used-car market data and the housing market data in the case of two major disasters: the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The book pursues an interdisciplinary approach, combining e.g. disaster recovery studies, crisis informatics, and economics. In terms of its contributions, firstly, the book sheds light on the "people as sensors" approach for detecting socio-economic recovery activities, which has not been thoroughly studied to date but has the potential to improve situation awareness during the recovery phase. Secondly, the book proposes new socio-economic recovery indicators: used-car market data and housing market data. Thirdly, in the context of using social media during the recovery phase, the results demonstrate the importance of distinguishing between social media data posted both by people who are at or near disaster-stricken areas and by those who are farther away.

This is the first book to present field studies on the application of subject-oriented business process management (S-BPM). Each case presents a specific story and focuses on an essential modeling or implementation issue, and most end with implications or suggestions for further studies. Significant variables and success factors are identified that were discovered during the respective study and lead to suggesting S-BPM novelties. For each case, the authors explain step-by-step how the story develops, and provide readers guidance by detailing the respective rationale. The studies covered are clustered according to three main S-BPM themes: Part I "Business Operation Support" documents approaches to the practical development of S-BPM solutions in various application domains and organizational settings, while Part II "Consultancy and Education Support" highlights cases that can help to train readers in S-BPM modeling and knowledge acquisition for S-BPM lifecycle iterations. It also refers to architecting S-BPM solutions for application cases based on hands-on experience. Part III "Technical Execution Support" focuses on concepts for utilizing specific theories and technologies to execute S-BPM models. It also addresses how to create reference models for certain settings in the field. Lastly, the appendix covers all relevant aspects needed to grasp S-BPM modeling and apply it based on fundamental examples. Its format reconciles semantic precision with syntactic rigor.>Addressing the needs of developers, educators and practitioners, this book will help companies to learn from the experiences of first-time users and to develop systems that fit their business processes, explaining the latest key methodological and technological S-BPM developments in the fields of training, research and application.

Many industrial applications built today are increasingly using emerging behavior engineering technologies: this book looks at various research and practical issues for researchers and students working in computer science and engineering, and for industry technology providers interested in behavior engineering and applications. Behavior Engineering and Applications encompasses intelligent and efficient computational solutions, including models, architectures, algorithms and specific applications, focused on processing, discovering, understanding and analyzing the behavior captured by the above data. Focusing on applying any engineering paradigm to systemically process, discover, understand and analyze these data, this book also addresses problems in a variety of areas and applications that related to behavior engineering. This book includes chapters derived from selected papers from The 2016 International Conference on Behavior Engineering (ICBE), as well as separate contributions the editors selected cutting-edge research related to behavior engineering.

The recent surge of technology outsourcing has intensified the cross-cultural effects of information systems designs and constructions, as well as the potential shortage of suitable information specialists at strategic locations. Millions of dollars of investments in information systems are at risk of being underutilized or rejected by users for cultural reasons. ""Information Resources Management: Global Challenges"" addresses challenges in managing information resources in dynamic social environments across cultures, including research on key factors for social acceptance of information technology, and user adoption of information management methods. ""Information Resources Management: Global Challenges"" explores new paradigms under which information resources will generate original meanings for a contemporary generator of users, with increasing interest toward user-centered and culturecentric information systems.

NOTE: Before purchasing, check with your instructor to ensure you select the correct ISBN. Several versions of Pearson's MyLab & Mastering products exist for each title, and registrations are not transferable. To register for and use Pearson's MyLab & Mastering products, you may also need a Course ID, which your instructor will provide. Haeussler, Paul, and Wood establish a strong algebraic foundation that sets this text apart from other applied mathematics texts, paving the way for students to solve real-world problems that use calculus. Emphasis on developing algebraic skills is extended to the exercises-including both drill problems and applications. The authors work through examples and explanations with a blend of rigor and accessibility. In addition, they have refined the flow, transitions, organization, and portioning of the content over many editions to optimize manageability for teachers and learning for students. The table of contents covers a wide range of topics efficiently, enabling instructors to tailor their courses to meet student needs.

The Early Development of the Aviation Industry: Entrepreneurs of the Sky provides an introduction to the world of the early aviation industry and the business endeavours of the original aviators. Many of the first pioneers who flew heavier-than-air planes went on to develop considerable industrial concerns. In doing so they exhibited a number of entrepreneurial qualities, which provide useful case studies for those interested in studying how successful entrepreneurs create or develop opportunities at the inception and emergence of high-tech industries. This book looks at the careers of pioneer aviators in the United States, Britain and France such as A.V. Roe, Thomas Sopwith, Glenn Curtiss and William Boeing. It examines this group of entrepreneurs during the start-up and early development stages of an emerging industry undergoing considerable technological change, and relates this experience to contemporary studies and experiences of entrepreneurship. The book explores what made these men successful in their entrepreneurial endeavours to help promote a better understanding of what makes an entrepreneur and what business and economic conditions are needed to allow such men to be successful. This book makes a major contribution to our knowledge of the development of the twentieth century economy and is essential reading for students and academics who are interested in the development of aviation and the nature of entrepreneurial behaviour.

Cyber risk is the second highest perceived business risk according to U.S. risk managers and corporate insurance experts. Digital assets now represent over 85% of an organization's value. In a survey of Fortune 1000 organizations, 83% surveyed described cyber risk as an organizationally complex topic, with most using only qualitative metrics that provide little, if any insight into an effective cyber strategy. Written by one of the foremost cyber risk experts in the world and with contributions from other senior professionals in the field, Managing Cyber Risk provides corporate cyber stakeholders - managers, executives, and directors - with context and tools to accomplish several strategic objectives. These include enabling managers to understand and have proper governance oversight of this crucial area and ensuring improved cyber resilience. Managing Cyber Risk helps businesses to understand cyber risk quantification in business terms that lead risk owners to determine how much cyber insurance they should buy based on the size and the scope of policy, the cyber budget required, and how to prioritize risk remediation based on reputational, operational, legal, and financial impacts. Directors are held to standards of fiduciary duty, loyalty, and care. These insights provide the ability to demonstrate that directors have appropriately discharged their duties, which often dictates the ability to successfully rebut claims made against such individuals. Cyber is a strategic business issue that requires quantitative metrics to ensure cyber resiliency. This handbook acts as a roadmap for executives to understand how to increase cyber resiliency and is unique since it quantifies exposures at the digital asset level.

This book captures a range of important developments that have occurred in Information Systems over the last forty years, with a particular focus on India and the developing world. Over this time, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Information Systems (IS) have come to play a critical role in supporting, complementing and automating managerial decisions, shaping and transforming industries, and contributing to deep societal and economic change. This volume examines a range of topics for those interested in the adoption and use of these technologies across varied situations. It combines empirical studies on the application and impact of IS with commentaries, debates and insights on the transformative role that IT and the IT industry have played, and continue to play, within India as well as globally. The book draws attention to issues and challenges that organizations grapple with in tech-enabled environments, and provides insights on the role of automation and computational techniques. It explores the global impact of the technology revolution on economic growth and development, electronic globalization, and the wider opportunities and challenges of a hi-tech world. The chapters cover various themes such as e-government in India, internet-based distribution systems, internet banking, and use of collaborative IT tools and functions to support virtual teams in the software industry and the business process outsourcing industry. Other chapters focus on methodological advances, such as systems thinking which finds applications in organizational decision-making, and the use of fuzzy logic. This volume will interest professionals and scholars of information technology and information systems, computer studies, IT systems, economics, and business and management studies.

This volume shows that in today's globalized world, clusters are an important factor in explaining the different growth rates of firms, cities and regions. Drawing on the expertise of an international contributor team, it covers topics such as clusters and small and medium-sized enterprise competitiveness, innovation and science parks, clusters and multinationals, and information and communication technology clusters. It reveals great diversity in terms of the origin of clusters, the organizational relationships at play, and the characteristics of the firms involved. Taking lessons from a rich variety of literature and empirical cases, the book provides valuable insights for regional development and industrial policy. Economic Clusters and Globalization will be of interest to scholars and policymakers in economic geography, regional studies, entrepreneurship and international business.

More than ever, organisations are facing a data avalanche from various sources, be they in electronic or hard copy format. How an organisation manages this ever-increasingly important resource - data - can benefit or hinder its ability to achieve its objectives. Creating and Managing a CRM Platform for Your Organisation not only covers how the principles of data management, including data quality and data security, can be applied to an organisation's customer relationship management (CRM) platform, but also highlights how aspects of data management, marketing and technology are needed to operate, develop and manage a CRM platform in order to carry out tasks such as reporting and analysis, developing data plans, undertaking data audits, data migrations and campaign mailings which will result in an organisation using data effectively in order to achieve its goals and objectives. The issues and topics covered apply to all organisations that use a CRM platform and the data it contains as part of their business activities, regardless of the industry sector or size of the organisation. A comprehensive overview of the practices that can be effectively implemented when managing a CRM platform, this book is essential reading for professionals involved in the administration of the CRM platform within their organisation and data management.