Over last few decades, the world has witnessed, the process of rapid diffusion of new information and communication technologies (ICT) that enforced remarkable changes and structural shifts going far beyond economic sphere of life. ICT become fast available widespread and rapidly growing access to and use of ICT, additionally enhances the process of technological substitution, which consists in switching from the 'old' to 'new' technological solutions. The on-going digital revolution, undeniably, pervasively impacts and reshapes societies and economies, hence deserves special attention and interest. This book provides extensive evidence on information and communication technologies development diffusion patterns, unveils specific 'network effects' that enhance rapid spread of ICT, and detect major macroeconomic determinants of this process, across 36 Asian economies over the period 1980-2015. Moreover, this research traces country-specific patterns of the unique process. We consider two types of technological substitution, namely: 'fixed-to-mobile' type technological substitution process encompasses switching from fixed telephony ('old technology') to mobile telephony ('new technology'); while the 'fixed-to-wireless' type technological substitution - switching from fixed (narrowband and/or broadband) fixed Internet networks ('old technologies') to wireless (mainly broadband) Internet networks ('new technologies'). Moreover, this study empirically identifies the potential effect of selected macroeconomic factors, which may potentially enhance dynamic spread of ICT.

While innovation can be defined in many ways, the author sees it as a process. It is not the sudden eureka moment in the middle of the night, nor is it a clear and linear path towards a final destination. Instead, it involves a strong sense of creativity and curiosity. An innovative mind has a natural inclination towards out-of-the-box thinking. It involves a willingness to try something new, without fear or judgment, to develop something no one else has ever articulated. While the mindset comes naturally, it requires fuel to keep it running. Innovators are voracious readers and researchers. They feed their mindset all of the fuel it needs to stay informed and relevant in their field. Many of the same things can be said for the Lean mindset. Lean management doesn't happen overnight, and it is very rarely a clear and linear path to true Lean thinking. Some might consider Lean a subset of innovative thinking, while others see it in reverse. Regardless of the relationship's directionality, one thing is certain: You cannot have one without the other. This book follows John Riley, the CEO of a medium-sized valve company just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who will stop at nothing to create an innovative work environment. Through the ups and downs of his journey, he learns a number of Lean and innovative skills, strategies, and mindsets to help him build the business he's always envisioned for himself. Throughout the book, you see examples of both strong and poor innovative leadership skills demonstrated by each of the main characters. The key messages are ones that help leaders build and access a mindset insistent on continuous improvement. Leadership techniques and abilities that bolster creative thought and problem-solving are the most successful throughout this book. To be truly innovative, you can never stop driving the learning process. For this to happen, leaders need to recognize when there is a need for a change or improvement. This is the beauty of the marriage between Lean and innovation: They both require continuous learning and growth. The desire to improve is only one piece of this equation, however. The other is the willingness to act. Without both of these factors, true innovation will always be out of reach.

Over the last few decades universities in Australia and overseas have been criticized for not meeting the needs and expectations of the societies in which they operate. At the heart of this problem is their strategy. This book reviews the organizational-level strategies of some of Australia's prominent universities. It is based on their public documents that boldly report how they see their role in society and how they intend to navigate the future. These strategic statements are written to proclaim relevance, showcase achievements, attract students, and help to gain the support of the communities in which they operate. Using a strategy framework taught in their business schools, this book suggests that most such statements are deficient. Grand aspirations substitute for realistic operations and outcomes. The analysis also suggests that many of Australia's universities are poorly governed and have become too complex and bureaucratic. A greater focus on their core responsibilities would help alleviate their current funding predicament.

The Development of International Monetary Policy traces the development of international monetary policy from mercantilism to quantitative easing. It has been structured to present some of the pressing issues in international monetary relations involving currency valuation, inflation, exchange rates, and regional monetary policy. Additionally, it presents international monetary law as a basis for understanding the concept of monetary sovereignty and the limits of state autonomy in an interdependent world of legal arrangements. The book revisits some controversial arguments about stagflation and expansionary monetary policy, and it uses current time series data and empirical evidence to show why theories about the trade-off between inflation and unemployment are not extinct. Part of the concluding argument indicates that it is imperative for the international community to have a structure for monetary dispute resolutions involving autonomous states. Notably, the author further concludes that fiat money will continue to be a dominant unit of account, more so than crypto-currencies, into the distant future. An accessible and practical read, this is book is a valuable resource for postgraduates, academics and researchers of international trade, finance and economics.

Pricing has a substantial and immediate impact on profitability. Most companies, however, still use costs or competition as their main basis for setting prices. Product or business model innovation has a high priority for many companies, yet innovation in pricing received scant attention until the first edition of this groundbreaking book. This new edition of Innovation in Pricing builds on the success of the first, examining the ways in which pricing innovation can drive profits through cutting-edge academic research and best practice case studies from leading academics, business practitioners and consultants in pricing. The second edition has been fully revised and updated according to the latest developments in pricing, with: revisions to all chapters new chapters, including a chapter on business model and pricing model innovation a new introduction that makes explicit just what strategic pricing can do for your organization. This book is the only book dedicated to innovation in pricing and is an essential read for business executives, innovation managers and pricing managers wishing to treat innovation in pricing as seriously as they treat product, service or business model innovation. It is also valuable supplementary reading for advanced students of marketing and sales.

The emerging present is a fast-changing context for incumbent organizations, especially in market segments where online behavior is replacing physical proximity, and users engage with digital platforms for the acquisition of products and services. These are platforms that allow users to behave, to leave a mark, and to participate in the community of others, which are the values people now seek. Transforming Organizations for the Subscription Economy: Starting from Scratch aims to prepare executives for a world in which everything is social, augmented and autonomous; objects and spaces will have multiple purposes, capabilities and meanings. This is a new territory full of opportunity which is generally discussed only at the level of technology involved instead of the intellectual level, where the real understanding of the need for transformation resides. The book reveals ideas about what is possible if we transform the present. The narrative is organized around what is actual and what is potential; what is the probable future that we can arrive at through change, and what is the possible future that we can build through transformation. When engaging in transformation, the following strategic question develops: if you were designing your organization today, how would you design it? In other words, how would you go about it starting from scratch? This book provides the intellectual framework that empowers organizations to understand and navigate the emerging present, and to develop and deliver products and services of intrinsic value to users.

This monograph study of Japan's industrial development focuses on the role of entrepreneurship first in adopting more advanced Western technology and then in innovating new technologies and developing human resources according to its changing organizational needs. Unlike previous studies in English, it covers the whole of the period since the Meiji restoration, refusing to divide up the credit for Japanese growth between technological improvements and investments in human and physical capital. The book investigates the interaction between private entrepreneurial activities and public policy, through a general examination of economic and industrial development, a study of the evolution of management systems, and six industrial case studies.

Identities can potentially serve as powerful elements that both drive, and are shaped by, entrepreneurial actions. Entrepreneurial identity is a complex construct with multidisciplinary roots, and therefore there is scope to more fully enrich our theoretical understanding of identity and identity formation, at both individual and organizational levels, and their relationship to entrepreneurial processes, practices and activities. This book highlights two key features of contemporary research on entrepreneurial identity. First, to see it as a dynamic rather than a (relatively) fixed and unchanging feature, shaped by different life episodes. It is increasingly fluid, multilevel and multidimensional, comprising multiple subidentities rather than a univocal (and unchanging) self. As such, it has a profound effect not only on the way we feel, think and behave, but also on what we aim to achieve. Accordingly, it is vital that its dynamics are better understood, particularly in determining how actors behave in an entrepreneurial context. The book's second focus is on identity work as the process through which entrepreneurial identities are formed and shaped, and the contributors demonstrate how the dynamics of identity formation relate to entrepreneurial outcomes in a range of individual and organizational contexts. This book was originally published as a special issue of Entrepreneurship & Regional Development.

How can you be sure you are buying the company you think you are? Are you sure it is as good as the seller says? How can you be certain unexpected costs and obligations will not suddenly appear once you are the owner and responsible for them? How best can you arm yourself for the negotiations? Have you worked out precisely what you are going to do with it once it is yours? How do you set the priorities for change to recoup the premium you have paid for it? The answer to all these questions, and many more, lies within a series of three comprehensive yet concise volumes by Peter Howson. The Essentials of M&A Due Diligence, the first in the series, is a must for anyone who needs to master the essentials of due diligence with the minimum effort and in the minimum amount of time. Straightforward and unbiased, it sets out the fundamentals of pre-acquisition investigations, showing which are appropriate and why.

The book not only gives leaders the tools to ask the right questions, but it also enables companies to innovate at pace by virtue of the types of questions they ask. The third book in the trilogy that looks at how to make sense and communicate around data and to surface the key issues that can impact performance. Unlike most other books that focus in questioning techniques, this book looks at the complex issues that can arise in business and particularly making sense of and the communication of detailed information.

Sustainability is a phenomenon that must be pursued in a complex system of interrelated elements of business, society, and ecology. It is important to gain an understanding of these elements, the interplay between them, and the behavior of the system. This book explores the business-societal-and-ecological system in which sustainable innovation has to be envisioned, conceptualized, realized, and improved. Author Bart Bossink offers insight into the systematic coherence of drivers of eco-innovation and sustainability utilizing a three-part approach: (1) eco- and sustainable innovation in business is based on ideas and people who cooperatively develop these ideas; (2) groups of people, organized in commercial firms, must realize these ideas cooperatively and create the innovations that can conquer the market; and (3) that people from governmental, non-governmental, not-for-profit, research, and commercial organizations can build institutional arrangements that stimulate these sustainable innovations, changing both industry and society. Adopting a managerial perspective and discussing concepts and methods to manage eco-innovation in business, this book highlights the interrelated roles of the individual, the firm, partnerships, and business environments. Researchers and practitioners who want to combine a commercial and economical approach with an ethical and social ambition to create an ecologically sustainable firm stand to learn much from these pages.

Compiling best practices and original research, this book examines the factors that influence the sustainability of creativity and innovation in organisations and proposes a toolkit to assess gaps within existing strategy. Focusing particularly on the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the author offers practical suggestions for improving and enhancing innovation, and ultimately achieving results. Both creativity and innovation have become pillars for leveraging competitive advantage in recent years, and therefore this book is a vital read for anyone engaged in ensuring sustainable development in organisations, particularly those within the Middle East.

Product Stewardship in Action describes how and why leading companies are taking responsibility for the environmental impact of their products and packaging. Product stewardship, often referred to as "extended producer responsibility" or EPR, is the idea that everyone that benefits commercially from a product, including manufacturers, distributors and retailers, has a shared responsibility to minimize its environmental impacts. Written primarily for a business audience, it draws on the knowledge and experience of industry practitioners and other experts to provide a structured approach to product responsibility within firms. This will help those new to the field, as well as more experienced practitioners, to develop an effective response to stakeholder concerns about the environmental impacts of their products and packaging. Unlike other resources on product stewardship and EPR, which tend to focus on the design or evaluation of public policy, this book highlights the business case for action. It argues that companies can achieve "shared value" - both public and commercial value - when they take a proactive and knowledge-based approach to the life-cycle management of their products. Product Stewardship in Action focuses on product stewardship as an effective business strategy rather than a philanthropic exercise. To be effective it needs to be based on a good understanding of product impacts and stakeholder concerns, and the risks and opportunities that these present to the business. The most effective responses will be those that address material issues in the product life-cycle while supporting the achievement of other corporate goals and priorities.

In 2019 the world was struck with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) infecting major portions of the world's population. There were no vaccines or treatments available to help mitigate the disease or offer a cure. The world's health systems were inundated with massive numbers of patients with varying ranges of symptoms, acuity, and levels of criticality. The world's healthcare organizations soon found themselves in an unmanageable situation, directly impacting the ability to manage patients across the entire healthcare environment. Most healthcare institutions had plans for emergency preparedness and procedures to deal with temporary crises, none of which were effective against the impact of COVID-19. COVID-19 was a highly contagious disease, resulting in high volumes of admissions with long lengths of stay. The virus quickly overwhelmed institutions with large patient volumes, resulting in shortages of patient beds, medical equipment, personal protective devices, cleaning agents, and other critical supplies. Hospital operations were further impacted by staff shortages due to exposure, resulting contagion, the shutdown of transit systems, and responsibilities at home due to school and business closures. This timely and important book describes the impact on the hospital ability to provide patient care and how healthcare institutions leveraged diverse technology solutions to combat the impact of COVID-19 on providing patient care. The authors also discuss implementation of these technology solutions and the many lessons learned of how healthcare institutions can enhance their emergency preparedness in the future from the COVID experience. The authors would like to acknowledge, thank, and dedicate this book to the hundreds of thousands of healthcare workers around the world who spent countless hours and put their own lives and families lives at risk to help patients though this pandemic.

Although co-design has been practised in new service and product development for some years, it has only recently begun to appear in the burgeoning field of social innovation. It appears to be well-attuned to this new context, offering as it does an open-ended relational process to generate novel solutions to problems whose very definition seems to escape more conventional approaches. However, even less research attention has been paid to co-design than to social innovation. This book explores the potential of co-design as a social innovation process. It reviews the diverse theoretical and disciplinary foundations on which co-design is based. It proposes a framework for understanding co-design as a cohesive practice across the extremely broad scope of its potential applications. It explores appropriate approaches to governance and evaluation of co-design initiatives and outlines the key issues and limitations on its use. Although it is intended to provide a robust theoretical basis for researching co-design initiatives, it will also be of interest to anyone who is contemplating putting co-design into practice.

All organizations who are looking to improve performance through embracing new ideas, work in new ways, create new products and services, challenge the status quo or redefine their existing business environment have much to gain from this book. 'Innovating at the Edge' not only provides readers with an informed understanding of the latest developments in innovation practice but also presents them with the bigger picture. This enables them to determine how to build these advances into overall development of their own innovation capabilities and how to capitalize on the benefits available to them. Today as the new economy is brought into line with the old, increasing fragmentation of a global economy drives change across multiple sectors. Organizations operating at the leading edge of the innovation paradigm are adopting a whole new set of approaches to help them redefine the present and build the future. Learn how companies such as Egg, Dyson and Smint are redefining their markets, how organizations such as ARM and Qualcomm are deriving their soaring revenues wholly from licensing, and how firms such as Nokia and Nike are constantly evolving their product portfolios and associated value propositions. These real-life examples provide key lessons for all involved in creating and delivering new businesses, products and services. Readers will understand where all these strands fit within an overall context of innovation evolution, and recognise that the inter-relationships between strategy, process and organization are the key enablers for achieving innovation improvements. Firms can then grasp and appreciate what they need to do in order to emulate these innovation leaders operating at the edge of contemporary practice.

In a world where entrepreneurial success often seems deceptively accessible, it is not always clear what makes a person entrepreneurial. In this book, Dimo Dimov offers a reflective insight into the entrepreneurial journey, striking up a conversation about entrepreneurship in order to challenge and untangle existing preconceptions. A discussion of challenges and tensions such as idea versus opportunity, genius versus lunatic, and skill versus luck forms the foundation of the book, while the second part offers actions and considerations which can help the reader to seek opportunities in a fractious environment. The final part of the text focuses on the collective spirit in entrepreneurship, arising from the interplay between participation and outcomes. The author brings a succinct diversity to the field, making this book essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students on entrepreneurship courses, as well as scholars, researchers, and practitioners looking for a new perspective on entrepreneurship.

China is trying to turn its labor, capital and resources intensive, lower added-value and export dependent growth into a sustainable innovative economy. This is changing the world's power balance and has sparked a race between East and West in knowledge-based, high added-value economic innovation. Inspired by their extensive experience in doing business with China, the authors show how the US, the EU and China have reached a crossroad where ten battle fields decide about their future earning capacity and prosperity. Whether China will be a threat or an opportunity depends on the main players in government, public and private organizations rethinking their innovation policies and paths of business development. This books offers a new view on innovation which can be applied by corporate leaders and policy makers to get ready for the future. "

This book provides a framework for evaluating big data and cloud computing based on how they evolve to fit users' needs in developing countries in key areas, such as agriculture and education. The authors discuss how this framework can be utilized by businesses, governments, and consumers to accelerate economic growth and overcome information and communication barriers. By examining the ways in which cloud computing can drive social, economic, and environmental transformation, readers gain a nuanced understanding of the opportunities and challenges these technologies offer. The authors also provide an authoritative and up-to-date account of big data's diffusion into a wide range of developing economies, such as Brazil and China, illustrating key concepts through in-depth case studies. Special attention is paid to economic development in the context of the new Sustainable Development Goals formulated by the United Nations, introducing readers to the most modern standard of economic evaluation. Students of information management, entrepreneurship, and development, as well as policy makers, researchers, and practitioners, will find Big Data and Cloud Computing for Development an interesting read and a useful reference source.

Creativity and Strategic Innovation Management was the first book to integrate innovation management with both change management and creativity to form an innovative guide to survival in rapidly changing market conditions. Treating creativity as the process, and innovation the result, Goodman and Dingli emphasise the importance of a strategic approach to management through fostering creative processes. Revised and updated for a second edition, this ground-breaking book now includes: A new section on contemporary themes in innovation management, such as the use of social media and sustainability. More coverage of entrepreneurship, ethics, diversity issues and the legal aspects of technology and innovation management. More international cases and real life examples. The book is also supported by a range of new tutor support materials. This textbook is an ideal accompaniment to postgraduate courses on innovation management and creativity management. The focused approach by Goodman and Dingli also makes it useful as supplementary reading on a range of courses from management of technology to strategic management.

This major practical handbook bridges the gap between strategy and design, presenting a step-by-step design process with a strategic approach and extensive methods for innovation, strategy development, design methodology and problem solving. It is an effective guide to planning and implementing design projects to ensure strategic anchoring of the process and outcome. Built around a six-part phase structure that represents the design process, covering initial preparations and project briefing, research and analysis, targets and strategy, concept development, prototyping and modelling, production and delivery, it is a must-have resource for professionals and students. Readers can easily dip in and out of sections, using the phase structure as a navigation tool. Unlike other books on the market, Design and Strategy addresses the design process from the perspective of both the company and the designer. For businesses, it highlights the value of design as a strategic tool for positioning, competition and innovation. For the designer, it teaches how to create solutions that are strategically anchored and deliver successful outcomes for businesses, resulting in appreciative clients. It includes over 250 illustrations and diagrams, tables, and text boxes showing how to move through each stage with clear visualisation and explanation. This book encourages all designers in product design and manufacturing, service design, communication design, branding, and advertising, to think beyond shape and colour to see design through the lens of strategy, process and problem solving, and all business managers, innovators and developers, to see the value in strategic design outcomes.

Creativity and Strategic Innovation Management was the first book to integrate innovation management with both change management and creativity to form an innovative guide to survival in rapidly changing market conditions. Treating creativity as the process, and innovation the result, Goodman and Dingli emphasise the importance of a strategic approach to management through fostering creative processes. Revised and updated for a second edition, this ground-breaking book now includes: A new section on contemporary themes in innovation management, such as the use of social media and sustainability. More coverage of entrepreneurship, ethics, diversity issues and the legal aspects of technology and innovation management. More international cases and real life examples. The book is also supported by a range of new tutor support materials. This textbook is an ideal accompaniment to postgraduate courses on innovation management and creativity management. The focused approach by Goodman and Dingli also makes it useful as supplementary reading on a range of courses from management of technology to strategic management.

Voluntary distributed computing projects divide large computational tasks into small pieces of data or work that are sent out over the Internet to be processed by individual users, who participate voluntarily in order to provide solutions that would ordinarily require investments of millions of dollars. This approach is contributing to the transformation of computationally heavy scientific research, opening up participation in science to interested lay people and greatly reducing the cost-barriers to computation for financially challenged researchers. Drawing on face-to-face and online ethnographic, survey and interview data with participants in distributed computing projects around the world, this book sheds light on the organizational and social structures of voluntary distributed computing projects, communities and teams, with close attention to questions of motivation in projects that offer little or no traditional forms of reward, either financially or in terms of participants' careers. With its focus on non-market, non-hierarchical cooperation, this book is a case study of networked individuals around the world who are part of a new social production of information. A rich study of the transformative potential inherent in globalization and connectedness, Community, Competition and Citizen Science will appeal to sociologists and political scientists with interests in globalization, networks and science and technology studies, together with scholars and students of media and communication and those working in relevant fields of computing, information systems and scientific collaboration.

The twenty-first century will be the age of global interaction and organized patterns of networks. This important book addresses the strategic dimensions of networks, especially in transportation and information communication technology in Europe. The authors examine the challenges brought about by European unification and accession, through which a coherent and efficient European network system will need to be implemented. The topics addressed include the emergence of new network structures and strategies, the implications of European integration policies for network operations and developments, and the assessment of network synergy effects.

Geocomputation has come of age. The whirlwind of change experienced in Geographical Information Science (GIS) - developments in IT, and new data gathering and earth observing technologies - has taken GIS beyond mere data and towards its analysis, modeling, and use in problem solving. Geocomputation is now at the dynamic edge of this revolution. Bringing together the leading researchers in geocomputation, this volume provides an up-to-date overview of the development of new artificial intelligence principles and technologies (NN, CA, Multi-agent Systems and Evolutionary Algorithms) used for the analysis, development and evaluation of urban planning policies and programmes. Charting the new approaches to data-processing, the book provides pointers on how to harness these technologies, advancing the knowledge level of planning by multiplying the information capacity of GIS, and offering a new approach to territorial modeling and micro-scale descriptions of socio-economic, behavioural and micro-spatial theories of urban processes and land use change.