A number of dramatic changes are currently reshaping infrastructure, a sector that investors and asset managers have traditionally considered to be a safe harbor in the field of alternative investments. Understanding the future of infrastructure is indispensable to guaranteeing a sustainable future for our planet and the welfare of the world's population, and enhancing our knowledge of this asset class is one important step we can take toward reaching this crucial goal. This book collects a series of contributions by a group of Bocconi University researchers under the Antin IP Associate Professorship in Infrastructure Finance, which cover the key megatrends that are expected to reshape the way we think about infrastructure, and the implications for infrastructure investors and asset managers. Its goal is to improve and disseminate the culture of infrastructure among academics, professionals and policymakers. The main focus is on Europe and the European Union, and specifically on three key sectors: power and energy, transportation infrastructure, and telecoms / ICT.

This book describes the 60-year history of the AO Foundation and its impact on the treatment of bone trauma. Originally founded by a group of Swiss surgeons, the AO has since established its osteosynthesis treatment approach to trauma, using surgery and implants, as the global standard. The AO successfully convinced the medical community that surgery of bone trauma was superior to the standard conservative treatment using plaster casts. This new technique meant that patients no longer had to spend long weeks at the hospital in traction, and prevented many disabilities. This book describes the struggle with the medical community, explains how the AO surgeons enlisted the support of an entire industry for their advanced tools and their research and teaching efforts, and details the AO's evolution into a non-profit foundation that now trains more than 50,000 surgeons, on all continents, every year. The efforts of the AO's affiliated surgeons, undertaken largely on a volunteer basis and with their own financial resources, serve as a stellar example of social entrepreneurship. Today the AO Foundation numbers over 20,000 surgeon members worldwide, and the industry that emerged to produce related implants and tools employs thousands of skilled staff. Professionals in consulting as well as in healthcare can use this book as a source of successful strategies, and as a blueprint for active social entrepreneurship.

This book provides a consistent and holistic managerial approach to product management and presents a practical and comprehensive methodology (roles, processes, tasks, and deliverables) that covers all aspects of product management. It helps students of product management, product management practitioners, product management organizations, and corporations understand the value, theory, and implementation of product management. It outlines a practical approach to clarify role definitions, identify responsibilities, define processes and deliverables, and improve the ability to communicate with stakeholders. The book details the fundamentals of the Blackblot Product Manager's Toolkit (R) (PMTK) product management methodology, a globally adopted best practice.

This book looks back at the starting point of engineering to show the importance of motivation in dealing with the passive-to-active consumer change, and explains how engineering can be holistic. It presents a variety of research on emotion, discussing topics such as neuroscience, philosophy and physiology. In addition to providing similar research being carried out from different perspectives in other fields, it demonstrates to readers how they can work with researchers in other fields to explore the new frontiers and their applications together. With engineering quickly moving from product development to experience development, and the role of emotion in engineering becoming increasingly important, Emotional Engineering, Vol. 6 is a valuable resource for engineers and researchers.

Extensive research conducted by the Hasso Plattner Design Thinking Research Program at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, USA, and the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Germany, has yielded valuable insights on why and how design thinking works. Researchers have identified metrics, developed models, and conducted studies, which are featured in this book, and in the previous volumes of this series. Offering readers a closer look at design thinking, and its innovation processes and methods, this volume covers topics ranging from understanding success factors of design thinking to exploring the potential that lies in the use of digital technologies. Furthermore, readers learn how special-purpose design thinking can be used to solve thorny problems in complex fields, such as the health sector or software development. Thinking and devising innovations are inherently human activities - so is design thinking. Accordingly, design thinking is not merely the result of special courses or of being gifted or trained: it is a way of dealing with our environment and improving techniques, technologies and life. As such, the research outcomes compiled in this book should increase knowledge and provide inspiration to all seeking to drive innovation - be they experienced design thinkers or newcomers.

This book provides comprehensive information on all aspects of consumer affective testing, including principles, application and implementation of consumer affective tests, data collection, statistical analysis, and interpretation of results. New approaches not previously covered in the literature include: 1) methodologies for testing of young children and the elderly and issues related to testing with individuals in these age groups, 2) an in-depth discussion of the development and maintenance of a consumer database, 3) qualitative consumer research methods, 4) simulated supermarket setting tests, and 5) use of mobile laboratory in consumer tests.

This book explores the ways in which education impacts labor markets. Specifically, the contributions in this book indicate that the future of labor is creative, socially aware and inter-disciplinary while identifying the changes and innovations needed in our educational systems to meet this demand. Due to an increasing automatization (robotic manufacturing), the character of labor and work in general will change dramatically in the near future. This will be the case not only in the western countries, but also in the larger emerging economies in Asia, for example China and India. While societal environments, economy and the character of labor are increasingly in a process of dramatic changes, the educational systems and the leading principles of research about labor and employment are not changing adequately. Cross-disciplinary (inter-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary) thinking and learning is not the main focus of our educational systems. Consequently, the systems of academic research follow and apply disciplinary or even sub-disciplinary strategies, avoiding cross-disciplinary research approaches, and not supporting inter-disciplinary academic career models. This book introduces such strategic models to better prepare the next generation of workers for the new knowledge economy, and the future of democratic societies.

This edited collection captures current thinking about and future practices and strategies for human resource development (HRD). It brings together contributions from a number of leading academics, practitioners and consultants who are active in the debate about the future of HRD. As the world of work grows ever more complex, diverse and ambiguous, there is growing interest in how technology, globalisation, changing workforce demographics and talent development can play a greater role in developing organisations for the future. In this context, HRD is a critical tool to address current complexity and offer solutions to organisational learning needs. Split into two volumes covering technology and innovation as well as the role of HRD in disrupting management and organisational thinking, these books provide analyses of the role of HRD in addressing the needs of the digital revolution. Volume II offers a practical assessment of how HRD can drive change at an individual and organisational level through the adoption of various best practices. It provides the reader key insights into the HRD response to current issues and whether modern organisations should change their approach to learning and development. Together the two volumes offer a highly reflective, critical and insightful assessment on the foundations of HRD in the workplace.

This book argues that large corporations need to implement governance practices and processes that make them better innovators and that the challenge is to identify organizational principles and practices that provide the best chance of delivering innovative products to create a meaningful consumer experience. In this context, it is important to recognize that when we address organizational forms, we are not thinking of corporate governance in the sense of managing agency costs and ensuring regulatory compliance, but the more pressing business task of putting in place organizational systems and processes that facilitate value creation through continued and sustained innovation. The book examines how the contemporary concept and discourse of corporate governance may be obsolete or, at least, is increasingly disconnected from the needs and realities of the most innovative firms today. The concept of organizing for innovation-identifying process and practices that deliver the best opportunities for innovation-needs to take centre stage. This book aims to contribute to the nascent debate in this area by bringing together a series of chapters that examine various issues related to organizing for innovation.

This book provides a broad overview of a number of game-changing paradigms that are anticipated to reshape 21st century product development. Topics including cloud computing-based design, cloud manufacturing, crowd-sourcing and mass collaboration, open source and social product development will be discussed in the context of advanced distributed and collaborative product creation. The purpose of the book is threefold: (1) to provide decision makers in industry with a solid base for strategic design and manufacturing-related process re-organization; (2) to provide researchers and scientist with the state-of-the-art from an academic perspective as well as a research agenda aimed at advancing the theoretical foundations of the field and (3) to serve as supplementary reading in design and manufacturing-related courses at universities and technical colleges.

The monograph The Paradigm of Social Interaction presents a paradigmatic synthesis in sociology. This is a reaction to the growing paradigmatic divisions in the discipline and an attempt at fostering the cumulative development of sociological knowledge. The suggested conceptual fusion includes micro-sociological interaction theories, recent theories of organizational interactions and the experience from the study on global trends. The intention is to support the building and explanatory application of middle-range theories in all action spheres and at all micro-, mezzo- and macro-social structural levels. The paradigmatic synthesis is developed around five analytical concepts of the determinants of social interactions: environmental, technological, economic, political and cultural complexes. Another conceptual framework fostering explanations consists of social actors, relations and processes as key parameters of the social interaction paradigm. The book also examines the COVID pandemic as a multidimensional crisis, applying the synthetic paradigm as a heuristic tool and knowledge-organizing framework. It is used in the studies on social innovations, societal transformations and global social trends as well. The book will be of interest to researchers, university teachers and doctoral and master's students in the fields of sociology, social theory, critical sociology, philosophy of social sciences, innovation and societal transformation studies.

This edited collection presents state-of-the-art reviews of the latest developments in multisensory packaging design. Bringing together leading researchers and practitioners working in the field, the contributions consider how our growing understanding of the human senses, as well as new technologies, will transform the way in which we design, interact with, and experience food and beverage, home and personal care, and fast-moving consumer products packaging. Spanning all of the senses from colour meaning, imagery and font, touch and sonic packaging, a new framework for multisensory packaging analysis is outlined. Including a number of case studies and examples, this book provides both practical application and theoretical discussion to appeal to students, researchers, and practitioners alike.

This is the first book that comprehensively describes the history of the game software industry in Japan. A major objective here is to identify the key determinants of the emergence of the business, the maturing of the market, and the changes brought about by innovations, based on the history of the Japanese industry. To date, similar books have focused only on particular topics of the game software industry, such as the success of Nintendo and Sony and the uniqueness of the Japanese industry. There are no books that interpret the development process of this industry from the point of view of innovation. To fully understand the business and derive insightful lessons from it, however, requires a careful and thorough examination of its development process. Currently, many companies aim to improve efficiency by using information and communications technology (ICT), but it is difficult to maintain a balance between the pursuit of efficiency and the encouragement of creativity. In the case of Japan's game software industry, firms have pursued higher efficiency in product development to build competitive advantage, resulting in a low rate of radical innovation and causing the slow growth of the industry. In certain situations, the development activities that target the creation of new products may, in themselves, hinder the creation of truly new products. This book conceptualizes this phenomenon as a "development productivity dilemma" and clarifies the mechanisms behind it. The dilemma, like the productivity dilemma in the manufacturing industry, evokes a certain innovation pattern and prevents potential growth. Understanding the lessons from the game software business presented in this book, managers, researchers, and policymakers can gain insight into the mechanisms leading to industrial maturity and clues to avoid the development productivity dilemma.

This book gathers papers presented at the 11th international scientific conference "Transbaltica: Transportation Science and Technology", held on May 2-3, 2019 at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Lithuania. It covers cutting-edge issues concerning research and development of modern transport systems. The chapters, written by an international group of experts, discuss novel and smart solutions in the area of vehicle engineering, including environmentally friendly technologies, topics relating to traffic safety, modeling and control, and solutions and challenges in modern logistics. Further topics include multimodal transport and vehicle automation. Providing comprehensive information and ideas concerning innovative transportation technologies and challenges, this book offers a valuable resource for transportation researchers and practitioners, including engineers, managers and decision-makers in the field.

This book discusses and exchanges information on principles, strategies, models, techniques, methodologies and applications of technological challenges in a digital era. It helps the reader to develop the skills required in the digital age and to acquire the knowledge and know-how necessary to drive their organizations to success. This book presents contributions that are exceptional in terms of theory and/or practice in the area of human resources management, technological management, digital age, creativity, technological innovation, organizational innovation, business analytics and flexibility.

This book was partly born of frustration - personal frustration with how complicated the simple act of trying to watch TV can be, and the professional frustration of being around almost twenty years of television-, advertising-, and technology-industry floundering with how to better reach TV audiences.The internet, we argue, is finally ready to change all that. Not in the way most people think and experts talk about incessantly - Jetsons-like visions of TV everywhere anytime. While it can do that, the internet can also do something much more powerful for viewers, programmers, and advertisers alike: allow viewers to discover and organize what they really want to watch.Solving that problem is worth billions. Not only because it will extend the lifecycle of so-called linear TV, but it can extend and improve television's economic returns while simultaneously seizing the strategic high ground for the transition to the day when television and the internet become one.That's what this book is about- why it's a problem worth solving, how to go about solving it, and how today's television industry will benefit from stepping in where cable companies, phone companies, and their technology suppliers are failing miserably.Aimed primarily at Hollywood, this book is for studio, network, and channel executives, producers, show runners, ad agency strategists ("digital" or otherwise), media buyers, and executives at ratings/measurement companies. We describe how Hollywood can both extend the life of so-called linear television and control the transition to internet-delivered TV, while building upon existing "starter" digital assets such as Hulu, or channel- and program-specific web properties and applications.Finally, this book is also a wake-up call to internet content and technology companies to take a fresh look at an old problem, using a comparatively new, low-cost set of approaches produced by the "Web 2.0" and cloud computing waves which emerged over the last several years.

The transition to Industry 4.0, and the subsequent ubiquitous digitalization and integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into the economic system, has set the stage for a fundamental change - one towards forming a cyber economy: a type of economy in which humans are economic subjects who interact with or are confronted with AI. This book examines these interactions and specifically analyzes the overall effects of digitalization on the workplace, and on the economic system of the future. Scholars from a diverse range of fields address both the challenges and opportunities of using AI in business sectors, as well as the role of people dealing with digital channels. In closing, the book discusses the need to, and options for, training and educating the labor force in the digital age.

This book explores the basic traits of inter-organizational networks, examining the interplay between structure, dynamics, and performance from a governance perspective. The book assumes a novel theoretical angle based on the interpretation of networks as multiple systems, and advances the theory in the realm of network effectiveness and failure. Composed of two parts, theoretical and empirical, The Network Organization clarifies the literature on networks, offering a systematic review, and provides a new perspective on their integration with other streams of research focusing on under-studied issues such as agency, micro-dynamics, and network effectiveness. The second part proposes the analysis of the tourism destination of Venice, with a specific focus on the network between the Venice Film Festival, the hospitality system, and the local institutions. By exploring the pervasion of networks in modern social and economic life, this book will be valuable to students, researchers, practitioners and policy-makers.

This book makes a valuable contribution to innovation management in the form of an interdisciplinary analysis of contemporary international approaches. By introducing the concept of a 'techno-corporate gap,' it also highlights the crucial role that companies play in creating and managing innovation in order to increase (or decrease) the technological gap between countries, and in their economic development. The originality of the book lies in its systems thinking oriented approach to the techno-corporate gap and technological gap, and their relation to corporate governance. These aspects are analyzed in detail, and not merely from an economic standpoint, but also with regard to innovativeness and regional social development.

This book presents emerging technology management approaches and applied cases from leading infrastructure sectors such as energy, healthcare, transportation and education. Featuring timely topics such as fracking technology, electric cars, Google's eco-friendly mobile technology and Amazon Prime Air, the volume's contributions explore the current management challenges that have resulted from the development of new technologies, and present tools, applications and frameworks that can be utilized to overcome these challenges. Emerging technologies make us rethink how our infrastructure will look in the future. Solar and wind generation, for example, have already changed the dynamics of the power sector. While they have helped to reduce the use of fossil fuels, they have created management complications due to their intermittent natures. Meanwhile, information technologies have changed how we manage healthcare, making it safer and more accessible, but not without implications for cost and administration. Autonomous cars are around the corner. On-line education is no longer a myth but still a largely unfulfilled opportunity. Digitization of car ownership is achievable thanks to emerging business models leveraging new communication technologies. The major challenge is how to evaluate the relative costs and benefits of these technologies. This book offers insights from both researchers and industry practitioners to address this challenge and anticipate the impact of new technologies on infrastructure now and in the future.

Exploring the competitiveness and profitability of the agricultural sector in Central Europe, this book argues that the successful management of agricultural enterprises is inconceivable without the knowledge and application of modern forms of management and technology. Organised in an analytical framework and offering comprehensive empirical data, this book focusses on the countries of Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. The contributors identify good practices, unresolved problems, and factors influencing profitability. Topics explored include the challenges of increasing sales potential, competitiveness, partnerships and cooperation, human resources issues, and risk management. By constituting a valuable source of knowledge, Managing Agricultural Enterprises is important to those researching the agricultural industry and management, but also to policy-makers and managers of agricultural enterprises.

European shipyards face a rising competition in the global market. Christopher Sauerhoff investigates such aspects as a shipyard s market expertise, its practical experiences and its cooperative activities. He analyzes whether there is a relationship between each of these aspects and those resources and capabilities constituting the basis for a shipyard s competence in the field of services. The author conducts focused interviews with 26 experts from the shipbuilding industry. Based on the findings of the interviews, he subsequently carries out an international survey addressed to shipyards management representatives. The results indicate that there is the chance for European shipyards to improve their position in the global shipbuilding industry by offering not only customized high-tech ships of best quality, but also technical service packages and therewith adding further value for their customers."

At the end of the Cold War, the global economic system encountered a new phenomenon in the field of knowledge creation and technological innovation--the birth of mad technologies. This book analyzes major changes in the national innovation systems (NIS) due to the introduction of mad technologies in East Asia. The authors find that mad technologies were the cause of stock market crashes and economic uncertainties in the region and conclude that successful corporations use various measures to neutralize mad technologies and/or incorporate them into the NIS.

This book helps readers understand how universities position themselves in the innovation landscape and the implications for national policies. It provides a scholarly discussion and best practice-based insights to help answer questions like: To what extent do funding and governance policies support activities within the knowledge triangle? How should policies for universities be designed in countries with different industrial and higher education structures? Are there ways to effectively link universities with regional enterprises and social actors? And finally, what are the new institutional models and best practices for overcoming obstacles to interaction, collaboration, and co-creation?

This book clarifies the direction of business innovation using new ICT such as the Internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), smartphones, and cloud computing through a series of case studies on successful trials and advanced businesses in the Asia-Pacific where many industry sectors have been growing successfully in the 21st century. ICT has been playing an important role in value creation for customers and in profit generation for providers, contributing to various service innovation and business innovation. Now, digitalization using IoT and AI provides solutions to address various issues in the human society, which is transforming services and businesses in the 21st century. "What is the direction of the business innovation using new ICT?" is a highly concerned question for business researchers and practitioners. Aiming to answer the question, this book conducts a number of cases studies in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, as well as Australia. Among the studies, there are 4 cases from ICT providers, 4 cases from traditional and services, and 6 cases from new ICT applications and businesses. Each case analyzes social needs and human desires, new value created, roles of new technologies, processes and difficulties in developing new businesses, the relationship among customers, providers, and stakeholders, value chain co-creation and optimization, factors of success, and business models. Finally, the direction of business innovation with new ICT in the Asia-Pacific is suggested by summarizing the findings from the case studies through the lens of the theoretical analysis in service science.