In this book, one of the most highly recognized entrepreneurship scholars shares in a personal and readable way his rich experience and ideas on how entrepreneurship can be researched. Entrepreneurship is a phenomenon of tremendous societal importance. It is also an elusive phenomenon, which makes researching it fun, fascinating-and frustrating at times. In this fully updated edition, numerous real examples accompany the treatment of problems and solutions concerning design, sampling, operationalization and analysis. Researching Entrepreneurship is targeted primarily at research students and academics who are relatively new to research or to entrepreneurship research. This said, basic knowledge of research methods is assumed, and when foundational issues are discussed they are typically approach from a non-standard angle and/or with an eye to illuminate entrepreneurship-specific problems and solutions. This makes large parts of the contents potentially valuable for entrepreneurship scholars at any level of research proficiency. The book is also of interest to sophisticated, non-academic users with a professional interest in collecting and analyzing data from emerging and young ventures, and to those who make use of published entrepreneurship research. For example, analysts in marketing research or consultancy firms, business associations, statistical agencies and other government offices may find this book to be a valuable tool. Moreover, while the examples are derived from entrepreneurship research, the book provides a unique "experienced empirical researcher" (rather than "textbook method expert") treatment of issues that are of equal relevance across the social sciences. This goes for topics like the role of theory; research design; validity assessment; statistical inference, and replication. Entrepreneurship research has developed rapidly in the decade that has passed since the first edition. Therefore, all chapters have been comprehensively updated and many have been extended; sometimes to twice the original length. Two of the original chapters have been excluded to make room for entirely new chapters on "the Dependent Variable" and "The Entrepreneurship Nexus." While retaining a unique, personal tone, the author uses examples and references that build on contributions from a large number of top entrepreneurship researchers.

Building on fundamental results in variational analysis, this monograph presents new and recent developments in the field as well as selected applications. Accessible to a broad spectrum of potential readers, the main material is presented in finite-dimensional spaces. Infinite-dimensional developments are discussed at the end of each chapter with comprehensive commentaries which emphasize the essence of major results, track the genesis of ideas, provide historical comments, and illuminate challenging open questions and directions for future research. The first half of the book (Chapters 1-6) gives a systematic exposition of key concepts and facts, containing basic material as well as some recent and new developments. These first chapters are particularly accessible to masters/doctoral students taking courses in modern optimization, variational analysis, applied analysis, variational inequalities, and variational methods. The reader's development of skills will be facilitated as they work through each, or a portion of, the multitude of exercises of varying levels. Additionally, the reader may find hints and references to more difficult exercises and are encouraged to receive further inspiration from the gems in chapter commentaries. Chapters 7-10 focus on recent results and applications of variational analysis to advanced problems in modern optimization theory, including its hierarchical and multiobjective aspects, as well as microeconomics, and related areas. It will be of great use to researchers and professionals in applied and behavioral sciences and engineering.

Transforming Climate Finance and Green Investment with Blockchains establishes and analyzes the connection between this revolutionary technology and global efforts to combat climate change. The benefits of blockchain come through various profound alterations, such as the adoption of smart contracts that are set to redefine governance and regulatory structures and transaction systems in coming decades. Each chapter contains a problem statement that describes the challenges blockchain technology can address. The book brings together original visions and insights from global members of the Blockchain Climate Institute, comprising thought leaders, financial professionals, international development practitioners, technology entrepreneurs, and more. This book will help readers understand blockchain technology and how it can facilitate the implementation of the Paris Agreement and accelerate the global transition to a green economy.

The chapters in this volume explore how various methods from game theory can be utilized to optimize security and risk-management strategies. Emphasizing the importance of connecting theory and practice, they detail the steps involved in selecting, adapting, and analyzing game-theoretic models in security engineering and provide case studies of successful implementations in different application domains. Practitioners who are not experts in game theory and are uncertain about incorporating it into their work will benefit from this resource, as well as researchers in applied mathematics and computer science interested in current developments and future directions. The first part of the book presents the theoretical basics, covering various different game-theoretic models related to and suitable for security engineering. The second part then shows how these models are adopted, implemented, and analyzed. Surveillance systems, interconnected networks, and power grids are among the different application areas discussed. Finally, in the third part, case studies from business and industry of successful applications of game-theoretic models are presented, and the range of applications discussed is expanded to include such areas as cloud computing, Internet of Things, and water utility networks.

Metaheuristics exhibit desirable properties like simplicity, easy parallelizability, and ready applicability to different types of optimization problems. After a comprehensive introduction to the field, the contributed chapters in this book include explanations of the main metaheuristics techniques, including simulated annealing, tabu search, evolutionary algorithms, artificial ants, and particle swarms, followed by chapters that demonstrate their applications to problems such as multiobjective optimization, logistics, vehicle routing, and air traffic management. The authors are leading researchers in this domain, with considerable teaching and applications experience, and the book will be of value to industrial practitioners, graduate students, and research academics.

As time and distance become conquerable in a global economy, understanding the future of supply chain management is the process of understanding how the world interacts. Innovations in Logistics and Supply Chain Management Technologies for Dynamic Economies disseminates supply chain management and applied logistic theories, technology development, innovation, and transformation in various economic sectors upon current, advancing technological opportunities and market imperatives. In a world where efficiency is crucial, applied research and developments in logistics and supply chain management included in this volume is paramount.

This book provides basic tools for learning how to model in mathematical programming, from models without much complexity to complex system models. It presents a unique methodology for the building of an integral mathematical model, as well as new techniques that help build under own criteria. It allows readers to structure models from the elements and variables to the constraints, a basic modelling guide for any system with a new scheme of variables, a classification of constraints and also a set of rules to model specifications stated as logical propositions, helping to better understand models already existing in the literature. It also presents the modelling of all possible objectives that may arise in optimization problems regarding the variables values. The book is structured to guide the reader in an orderly manner, learning of the components that the methodology establishes in an optimization problem. The system includes the elements, which are all the actors that participate in the system, decision activities that occur in the system, calculations based on the decision activities, specifications such as regulations, impositions or actions of defined value and objective criterion, which guides the resolution of the system.

The volume highlights the state-of-the-art knowledge (including data analysis) of productivity, inequality and efficiency analysis. It showcases a selection of the best papers from the 9th North American Productivity Workshop. These papers are relevant to academia, but also to public and private sectors in terms of the challenges that firms, financial institutions, governments, and individuals may face when dealing with economic and education related activities that lead to increase or decrease of productivity. The volume also aims to bring together ideas from different parts of the world about the challenges those local economies and institutions may face when changes in productivity are observed. These contributions focus on theoretical and empirical research in areas including productivity, production theory and efficiency measurement in economics, management science, operation research, public administration, and education. The North American Productivity Workshop (NAPW) brings together academic scholars and practitioners in the field of productivity and efficiency analysis from all over the world, and this proceedings volume is a reflection of this mission. The papers in this volume also address general topics as education, health, energy, finance, agriculture, transport, utilities, and economic development, among others. The editors are comprised of the 2016 local organizers, program committee members, and celebrated guest conference speakers.

The Logistics, Supply Chain and Operations Management Case Study Collection contains real-life scenarios from leading companies including Volvo, Vortex, Honda of America, Green Cargo and Swedish Transport Administration. It includes a foreword by Martin Christopher. Comprehensive in scope and scrupulous in detail, this collection includes actual events experienced by businesses of every size, from SMB's to some of the most successful corporations in manufacturing, transportation, hospitality and other industries. Readers will discover proven tactics and innovative solutions for handling uncertainties, solving problems and circumventing risk, plus a wealth of information to guide strategy and decision making. Readers involved in logistics and supply chain management will find the Logistics, Supply Chain and Operations Management Case Study Collection full of: immediate application of strategies and tactics to situations and challenges; valuable tools for testing management proficiency in crisis mitigation and resolution; independent learning modules and professional training programmes; expanded question-and-answer sections designed to measure knowledge transfer and lessons learned; engaging, topical situations highly relevant to the fields of logistics, supply chain management and operations. Students and prospective managers will learn crucial skills to meet current challenges, qualify for professional advancement and achieve success.

This book offers an in-depth and systematic introduction to improved failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) methods for proactive healthcare risk analysis. Healthcare risk management has become an increasingly important issue for hospitals and managers. As a prospective reliability analysis technique, FMEA has been widely used for identifying and eliminating known and potential failures in systems, designs, products or services. However, the traditional FMEA has a number of weaknesses when applied to healthcare risk management. This book provides valuable insights into useful FMEA methods and practical examples that can be considered when applying FMEA to enhance the reliability and safety of the healthcare system. This book is very interesting for practitioners and academics working in the fields of healthcare risk management, quality management, operational research, and management science and engineerin. It can be considered as the guiding document for how a healthcare organization proactively identifies, manages and mitigates the risk of patient harm. This book also serves as a valuable reference for postgraduate and senior undergraduate students.

Beginning in the mid-2010s, the Fourth Industrial Revolution has seen remarkable changes in information technology which have blurred the boundaries between the physical, digital, and biological worlds. Industry 4.0 has enabled so-called "smart factories" in which computer systems equipped with machine learning algorithms can learn and control robotics with minimal need for human input. While smart technology has enabled many manufacturing businesses to increase efficiency and cut costs, many others are still struggling with implementing it. This book aims to help students, practitioners and industry leaders to become change agents and take their first steps on the path of transformation. Smart Business and Digital Transformation addresses the challenge of becoming "smart" from three different perspectives: smart factory, smart industry, and smart environment. Covering technologies including the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud, artificial intelligence (AI), mobility, 5G, Big Data analytics, the book shows how enterprises can take advantage of them and ultimately beat the competition. The book considers the importance of operational processes, business models, and organizational culture. The contributing authors and editors, based at Corvinus University, present a multi-dimensional picture of industry 4.0 which is both diverse in its voices and unified in its vision. Smart Business and Digital Transformation meets the growing demand for a textbook that not only presents the latest concepts and theories but is also practical for planning, managing, and implementing digital transformation in practice. The chapters include case studies to demonstrate the practical applications, and each chapter ends with review and discussion questions to develop students' skills and competencies. Students of business and digital transformation on advanced undergraduate and MBA courses will find it an indispensable guide to a vibrant and challenging topic.

Beginning in the mid-2010s, the Fourth Industrial Revolution has seen remarkable changes in information technology which have blurred the boundaries between the physical, digital, and biological worlds. Industry 4.0 has enabled so-called "smart factories" in which computer systems equipped with machine learning algorithms can learn and control robotics with minimal need for human input. While smart technology has enabled many manufacturing businesses to increase efficiency and cut costs, many others are still struggling with implementing it. This book aims to help students, practitioners and industry leaders to become change agents and take their first steps on the path of transformation. Smart Business and Digital Transformation addresses the challenge of becoming "smart" from three different perspectives: smart factory, smart industry, and smart environment. Covering technologies including the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud, artificial intelligence (AI), mobility, 5G, Big Data analytics, the book shows how enterprises can take advantage of them and ultimately beat the competition. The book considers the importance of operational processes, business models, and organizational culture. The contributing authors and editors, based at Corvinus University, present a multi-dimensional picture of industry 4.0 which is both diverse in its voices and unified in its vision. Smart Business and Digital Transformation meets the growing demand for a textbook that not only presents the latest concepts and theories but is also practical for planning, managing, and implementing digital transformation in practice. The chapters include case studies to demonstrate the practical applications, and each chapter ends with review and discussion questions to develop students' skills and competencies. Students of business and digital transformation on advanced undergraduate and MBA courses will find it an indispensable guide to a vibrant and challenging topic.

This book gathers selected papers presented at the International Conference on Advances in Applied Probability and Stochastic Processes, held at CMS College, Kerala, India, on 7-10 January 2019. It showcases high-quality research conducted in the field of applied probability and stochastic processes by focusing on techniques for the modelling and analysis of systems evolving with time. Further, it discusses the applications of stochastic modelling in queuing theory, reliability, inventory, financial mathematics, operations research, and more. This book is intended for a broad audience, ranging from researchers interested in applied probability, stochastic modelling with reference to queuing theory, inventory, and reliability, to those working in industries such as communication and computer networks, distributed information systems, next-generation communication systems, intelligent transportation networks, and financial markets.

This edited book discusses creative and recent developments of fuzzy systems and its real-life applications of multiple criteria decision making. Keeping on the existing fuzzy sets and recent developed fuzzy sets, viz., intuitionistic fuzzy, Pythagorean fuzzy, Fermatean fuzzy, Hesitant fuzzy and multiple criteria decision approaches, this book is committed to probing the soft computing techniques and fuzzy multiple criteria decision making in favour of fuzzy intelligent system and business analytics. It also addresses novel development of fuzzy set theory as well as real-life applications of fuzzy systems. It presents challenging and useful real-world applications based on problems of decision making in various fields. The modelling and solution procedures of such real-world problems will be provided concisely although all topics start with a more developed resolution. The contributory chapters will be based on the vast research experiences of the authors in real-world decision-making problems. This book provides readers with a valuable conspectus of several decision-making problems as a reference for researchers and industrial practitioners in this field. This book will broadly cover recent development of fuzzy systems and its applications of multiple criteria decision making in the areas of management and production, manufacturing management, selections problems, group decision making, transportation and logistics, inventory control systems and interval technique/fuzzy technique (uncertainty) of the above mentioned areas.

This book provides a handy, unified introduction to the theory of compact extended formulations of exponential-size integer linear programming (ILP) models. Compact extended formulations are equally powerful, but polynomial-sized, models whose solutions do not require the implementation of separation and pricing procedures. The book is written in a general, didactic form, first developing the background theoretical concepts (polyhedra, projections, linear and integer programming) and then delving into the various techniques for compact extended reformulations. The techniques are illustrated through a wealth of examples touching on many application areas, such as classical combinatorial optimization, network design, timetabling, scheduling, routing, computational biology and bioinformatics. The book is intended for graduate or PhD students - either as an advanced course on selected topics or within a more general course on ILP and mathematical programming - as well as for practitioners and software engineers in industry exploring techniques for developing optimization models for their specific problems.

The papers presented in this open access book address diverse challenges in decarbonizing energy systems, ranging from operational to investment planning problems, from market economics to technical and environmental considerations, from distribution grids to transmission grids, and from theoretical considerations to data provision concerns and applied case studies. While most papers have a clear methodological focus, they address policy-relevant questions at the same time. The target audience therefore includes academics and experts in industry as well as policy makers, who are interested in state-of-the-art quantitative modelling of policy relevant problems in energy systems. The 2nd International Symposium on Energy System Optimization (ISESO 2018) was held at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) under the symposium theme "Bridging the Gap Between Mathematical Modelling and Policy Support" on October 10th and 11th 2018. ISESO 2018 was organized by the KIT, the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS), the Heidelberg University, the German Aerospace Center and the University of Stuttgart.

Optimization problems were and still are the focus of mathematics from antiquity to the present. Since the beginning of our civilization, the human race has had to confront numerous technological challenges, such as finding the optimal solution of various problems including control technologies, power sources construction, applications in economy, mechanical engineering and energy distribution amongst others. These examples encompass both ancient as well as modern technologies like the first electrical energy distribution network in USA etc. Some of the key principles formulated in the middle ages were done by Johannes Kepler (Problem of the wine barrels), Johan Bernoulli (brachystochrone problem), Leonhard Euler (Calculus of Variations), Lagrange (Principle multipliers), that were formulated primarily in the ancient world and are of a geometric nature. In the beginning of the modern era, works of L.V. Kantorovich and G.B. Dantzig (so-called linear programming) can be considered amongst others. This book discusses a wide spectrum of optimization methods from classical to modern, alike heuristics. Novel as well as classical techniques is also discussed in this book, including its mutual intersection. Together with many interesting chapters, a reader will also encounter various methods used for proposed optimization approaches, such as game theory and evolutionary algorithms or modelling of evolutionary algorithm dynamics like complex networks.

The book presents the proceedings of the 5th EAI International Conference on Management of Manufacturing Systems (MMS 2020), which took place online on October 27-29, 2020. The conference covers the management of manufacturing systems with support for Industry 4.0, logistics and intelligent manufacturing systems and applications, cooperation management, and its effective applications. Topics include RFID applications, economic impacts in logistics, ICT support for Industry 4.0, industrial and smart Logistics, intelligent manufacturing systems and applications, and much more. The topic is of interest to researchers, practitioners, students, and academics in manufacturing and communications engineering.

This book presents a panorama about the recent progress of industrial mathematics from the point of view of both industrials and researchers. The chapters correspond to a selection of the contributions presented in the "Industry Day" and in the Minisymposium "EU - MATHS - IN: Success Stories of Applications of Mathematics to Industry" organized in the framework of the International Conference ICIAM 2019 held in Valencia (Spain) on July 15-19, 2019. In the Industry Day, included for the first time in this series of Conferences, representatives of companies from different countries and several sectors presented their view about the benefits regarding the usage of mathematical tools and/or collaboration with mathematicians. The contributions of this special session were addressed to industry people. Minisymposium contributions detailed some collaborations between mathematicians and industrials that led to real benefits in several European companies. All the speakers were affiliated in some of the European National Networks that constitute the European Service Network of Mathematics for Industry and Innovation (EU-MATHS-IN).

This book proposes novel methods for solving different types of non-cooperative games with interval/fuzzy/intuitionistic fuzzy payoffs. It starts by discussing several existing methods and shows that some mathematically incorrect assumptions have been considered in all these methods. It then proposes solutions to adapt those methods and validate the new proposed methods, such as Gaurika method Ambika-I-IV, Mehar method and others, by using them for solving existing numerical problems. The book offers a comprehensive guide on non-cooperative games with fuzzy payoffs to both students and researchers. It provides them with the all the necessary tools to understand the methods and the theory behind them.

This book is the eighth volume in a series entitled "Contemporary Logistics in China," authored by researchers from the Logistics Research Center at Nankai University. In the spirit of the seven preceding annual volumes, this book carries on the ideal of providing a systematic exposition on the logistics development in China for the English-speaking community at large. Specially, this volume captures China's logistics development at a crucial turning point. This present report consists of ten chapters, organized into three sections. The introductory section, consisting of three chapters, depicts the current development status of the logistics market, the logistics facilities and technology, and the regional logistics market. The second section addresses the logistics characteristics of four rapidly expanding industries in China-the third-party logistics, the highway logistics, the express logistics, and the multimodal transport. The final section, consisting of three chapters, discusses some hot logistics topics in China. Chapter 8 studies the capital operation in China's logistics industry. The next chapter deals with the development of intelligent logistics in China. The last chapter of this section presents the development of regional logistics along the Belt and Road routes. As with the previous volumes, the ultimate aim of this book is to present a timely portrait of the rapid growth of China's logistics market and the status quo of its logistics industry. In so doing, the book offers an in-depth analysis of critical issues involved in the ongoing dynamic and multi-faceted development, and provides a valuable reference resource for interested readers in the academic and professional fields.

Financial economics is a fascinating topic where ideas from economics, mathematics and, most recently, psychology are combined to understand financial markets. This book gives a concise introduction into this field and includes for the first time recent results from behavioral finance that help to understand many puzzles in traditional finance. The book is tailor made for master and PhD students and includes tests and exercises that enable the students to keep track of their progress. Parts of the book can also be used on a bachelor level. Researchers will find it particularly useful as a source for recent results in behavioral finance and decision theory.

When it comes to the field of organization and management theory, a philosophical perspective enables us to conduct organizational research imbued with the attitude of 'wonder'; it helps researchers question dominant images of thought underlying mainstream thinking, and provides fresh distinctions that enable the development of new theory. In bringing together a collection of key essays by Haridimos Tsoukas, this volume explores fundamental concepts, such as organizational routine, that have gained currency in the field, as well as revisiting traditional concepts such as change, strategy, and organization. It discusses organizational knowledge, judgment, and reflection-in-action, and, at the meta-theoretical level, suggests complex forms of theorizing that do justice to the complexity of organizations. The conceptual attention throughout is on process and practice, underlain by performative phenomenology and an emphasis on agents' lived experience. This provides us with the language to appreciate the dynamic character of organizational behaviour, the embeddedness of action, and the complexity of organizational life. The theoretical claims presented in this volume have important implications for practice, insofar as they help retrain our attention; from seeing structures and individuals, we can now appreciate processes, experiences, and practices. A phenomenological attitude makes organization theory more open, more creative, and more reflexive, and this book will be essential reading for researchers and students in the field of organization studies.

This book gives a thorough and systematic introduction to the latest research results about fuzzy decision-making method based on prospect theory. It includes eight chapters: Introduction, Intuitionistic fuzzy MADM based on prospect theory, QUALIFLEX based on prospect theory with probabilistic linguistic information, Group PROMETHEE based on prospect theory with hesitant fuzzy linguistic information, Prospect consensus with probabilistic hesitant fuzzy preference information, Improved TODIM based on prospect theory and the improved TODIM with probabilistic hesitant fuzzy information, etc. This book is suitable for the researchers in the fields of fuzzy mathematics, operations research, behavioral science, management science and engineering, etc. It is also useful as a textbook for postgraduate and senior-year undergraduate students of the relevant professional institutions of higher learning.

Health threats pose significant dangers to humankind and form a major source of human suffering and sorrow. Responsible leadership and reasoned decision making can significantly improve the arenas that are affected by health threats, through establishing a better allocation of very scarce resources for building health capabilities and for increasing health preparedness, responsiveness and resilience. This book examines how public health leaders can use the cutting-edge research from Decision Sciences to better manage emerging and re-emerging health threats, with a focus on enhancing health security. While these decisions must be informed by the best available evidence, they must also address competing priorities and key uncertainties and must mitigate critical risks, albeit in a cost-effective manner which seeks to maximize societal value. This is a book about how decisions on health security can be improved, both in terms of the content that is utilized in a health decision analysis and the decision processes that are employed in reaching a decision. This decision-focused perspective can help public health leaders and public health experts to increase the health preparedness of health systems, the task of which involves improving health capabilities, increasing the robustness of health systems against health threats, as well as strengthening health resilience and the responsiveness of these systems against disease outbreaks.