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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

'National Systems of Innovation' presents a new perspective on the dynamics of the national and the global economy. Its starting point is that the international competitiveness of nations is founded on innovation. Which role do different parts of the national system play in determining the long-term dynamics of the economy? What is happening to the coherence of national systems of innovation in an era characterised by far-reaching internationalisation and globalisation? [NP] These and other issues are addressed in this volume. Available for the first time in paperback, the book is an invaluable resource for scholars and policy-makers.

'National Systems of Innovation' presents a new perspective on the dynamics of the national and the global economy. Its starting point is that the international competitiveness of nations is founded on innovation. Which role do different parts of the national system play in determining the long-term dynamics of the economy? What is happening to the coherence of national systems of innovation in an era characterised by far-reaching internationalisation and globalisation?
These and other issues are addressed in this volume, an invaluable resource for scholars and policy-makers.

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. "

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.

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.

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.

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.

Hardbound. State-of-the-art statements in technology-related issues of business policy are presented in this volume. All aspects of technology policy which managers have to cope with are covered, including: R&D management, technological developments as related to corporate strategy, procedures conducive to innovation, matching technological development trends and so on. In order to provide a global world perspective, contributions have been made by authors from Europe, the US and Japan. Each author presents an articulated framework of his/her topic, based on personal research, with due consideration of the analytical tools presently available to managers and strategists. The authors of each single chapter contribute comments to the others. The book will provide useful indications for scholars and professionals, students, R&D managers, strategists and planners, and all general managers who have to deal with technological decisions and issues.

What shapes the role of Information and Communication Technologies in our everyday life? Despite the speed with which information and communication technologies such as the PC, mobile telephone and internet have found their way into society, there remains a good deal of debate surrounding their adoption and use. Through empirical studies covering a broad range of everyday life and work settings, this volume provides grounded insights into the social dynamics influencing how ICTs are both shaped and experienced. Specifically, the book examines the contributions of diverse disciplines to our understanding of these processes, the symbolic nature of technologies, the influence of design on the experience of ICTs, the role of users in influencing that design, the social constraints affecting the use of those technologies, and strategies for evaluating the social consequences of ICT innovations.

How are businesses responding to global changes in markets driven by changes in technology? Whatever the industry, the trends are familiar: globalization and the rise of industrial conglomerates, mergers and acquisitions, the networking of businesses and markets, outsourcing and shifts in the distribution of resources and production, all reflected in the emergence of new players, new products and services and new forms of competition. As arguably the first knowledge-based business, book publishing provides an ideal setting for the study of challenge and opportunity. The industry is currently experiencing fierce levels of competition, extreme financial pressures, restructuring and the threat of technology-induced obsolescence. Added to these are the challenges posed by new and potential entrants to the market, the emergence of new products and services, new ways of doing business, including trading in virtual markets, and the vulnerability of traditional business models. The suitability of book publishing as a context for researching the emergence of knowledge-based business becomes all too apparent. Through combining primary research with secondary analysis drawn from the relevant literatures, Books, Bytes and Business is both a readable and informative account of business in the knowledge-based economy.

The modern consumer is no longer attracted by single-minded, predictable and one-benefit-focused brand promises. The old-fashioned FMCG communication strategies based on television, radio and print with constant repetition have become outdated. From Great to Gone shows that what's needed are 'Lego' strategies, whereby the marketing and communication strategies are built up by many key facets (like building blocks) and delivered to the consumer through a mix of various touch points. Most importantly, you need to leave consumers to put all of that together themselves. There are major internal and external hurdles to transforming FMCGs successfully into FICGs - Fast Innovating Consumer Goods. It requires new brand strategies and flatter, more top-down than bottom-up, decision-making organisations and a 21st-century model for advertising agencies. Externally these companies need a new route to market through transformation of their old retail dependencies. Changes are also required in all communication delivery, reflecting modern consumers' connectivity and unlimited access to information. In the book the authors showcase what the winners of the 21st century have in common that has enabled them to become FICGs. New, unimagined models continue emerge, to which, with the authors' guidance producers and retailers may develop their own sustainable responses.

Behind the steady stream of new products, technologies, systems and services in our modern societies there is prolonged and complicated battle around the role of users. How should designers get to know the users' interests and needs? Who should speak for the users? How may designers collaborate with users and in what ways may users take innovation into their own hands? The New Production of Users offers a rare overview of these issues. It traces the history of designer-user relations from the era of mass production to the present days. Its focus lies in elaborating the currently emerging strategies and approaches to user involvement in business and citizen contexts. It analyses the challenges in the practical collaborations between designers and users, and it investigates a number of cases, where groups of users collectively took charge of innovation. In addition to a number of new case studies, the book provides a thorough account of theories of user involvement as well as and offers further developments to these theories. As a part of this, the book relates to the wide spectrum of fields currently associated with user involvement, such as user-centered design, participatory design, user innovation, open source software, cocreation and peer production. Exploring the nexus between users and designers, between efforts to democratize innovation and to mobilize users for commercial purposes, this multi-disciplinary book will be of great interest to academics, policy makers and practitioners in fields such as Innovation Studies, Innovation Policy, Science and Technology Studies, Cultural Studies, Consumption studies, Marketing, e-commerce, Media Studies as well as Design research.