This book explores the positive and the negative effects of the increasing and massive use of smart working and distance learning. It examines a new phenomenon, which emerged recently due to global pandemic. This book will present the various technologies that have emerged at the forefront of this movement and will explore not only the benefits but challenges to smart working. Through an international perspective, a holistic view of the current working culture and the digital shift will be presented with a specific focus on both innovation and entrepreneurial opportunities within this context. This book can be used by both scholars and practitioners to make informed decisions or to write ground-breaking research. It will also be of use to students, professors, academicians, stakeholders, and researchers interested in the latest technologies and practices in smart working and distance learning.

Cross-cultural knowledge management, an elusive yet consequential phenomenon, is becoming an increasingly essential factor in organizational practice and policy in the era of globalization. In order to overcome culturally shaped blind spots in conducting research in different settings, this volume highlights how the structuring of roles, interests, and power among different organizational elements, such as teams, departments, and management hierarchies (each comprised of members from different intellectual and professional backgrounds), generates various paradoxes and tensions that bring into play a set of dynamics that have an impact on learning processes. In this context, such questions often arise: How is knowledge shared in the multicultural organization? What problems and issues emerge? How do different mentalities affect people's responses to new knowledge and new ideas? How can knowledge-sharing processes be improved? Under which conditions do ideas generated by units or groups of different cultural traditions have a chance of being heard and implemented? Such questions translate into an investigation of potential managerial dilemmas that occur when different but equally valid choices create tensions in decision making. The authors draw from experiences working with a wide variety of organizations, and insights from such fields as sociology and psychology, to shed new light on the dynamics of knowledge management in the multicultural enterprise. In so doing, they help to identify both obstacles to successful communication and opportunities to inspire creativity and foster collaboration. The authors note that in order to enable organizations to transfer knowledge effectively, mechanisms for dispute settlement, mediation of cultural conflict, and enforcing agreements need to be in place.

Traditionally, the study of entrepreneurial behavior focuses on such factors as (i) the personality characteristics that distinguish the entrepreneur from non-entrepreneur and (ii) demographic characteristics such gender, age, familiar antecedents and education. With particular respect to investigating the development, acquisition, and dissemination of entrepreneurial skills and behaviors, the authors focus on the university environment, as a locus of research and innovation, where students are exposed to a wide variety of influences that are enhanced by a high degree of connectivity.

The underlying theme of this volume is to develop our understanding of the sociology of student entrepreneurial behavior and in doing so attempt to synthesize literature investigating individual talent with the literature on concurrent knowledge sourcing in the pursuit of entrepreneurial activities. Specifically, the authors investigate the degree to which access to diverse knowledge (in addition to such psychological characteristics and tolerance of ambiguity and risk taking) influences the nature and probability of entrepreneurial success. Moreover, they explore the role of social media and social networking in facilitating access to distributed and disparate information and knowledge.

Their research addresses such timely questions as: Where do entrepreneurial opportunities come from? How can higher education best stimulate the creation of firms emanating from young and smart minds in colleges and universities? What is the value of MOOCs for frequent, early, and thick communication among the various specialties needed to accomplish entrepreneurial projects? How do we know whether social media affect students responses to new knowledge and new ideas?To what extent do educational practices affect racial and ethnic differences in student entrepreneurship? What is the role of the indigenous minority student entrepreneur in establishing high-technology firms?

The result is a multi-dimensional approach that sheds light on the dynamics of education, knowledge creation, social networking, innovation and new business development."

Based on papers from the 4th Business Systems Laboratory International Symposium (BSLAB) in 2016, this volume contributes to the business management, organizational and innovation literature by providing insights on the antecedents of systems thinking in the business systems domain. The Business Systems Laboratory International Symposium addresses current global economic and social challenges from a systemic perspective, drawing from the domains of management, economics, engineering and sociology. In particular, the 2016 Symposium focuses on the epistemological, theoretical, methodological, technical and practical contributions that represent advancements in the theory and practice of governing business systems to address present and future challenges in the global economy. The contributions explore the application of systems thinking to governance, involving the introduction of new administrative organizational and managerial activities aimed toward organizational innovation and control.

Family businesses-the predominant form of business organization around the world-can make numerous, critical contributions to the economy and family well-being in both financial and qualitative terms. But dysfunctional family businesses can be difficult to manage, painful experiences at best, and they can destroy family wealth and personal relationships. This book explores the dynamics of family business management, in the context of constantly changing market conditions and the role that knowledge management plays in strategic planning and adaptation. Integrating the literature from family business, entrepreneurship, industrial psychology, and knowledge management, and with illustrative examples from a variety of enterprises, the authors address such topics as: *How family businesses can compete in the new knowledge economy *How to manage a family business when knowledge is its main asset *How to transfer knowledge (and how to keep it alive) through family generations Within this framework, the authors argue that effective resource management-especially intangible resources-is central to enabling a family-run organization to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage over time. They note that families often develop systemic, intuitive, or tacit knowledge that transcends rational decision making and needs to be recognized and nurtured as a distinctive asset. The authors demonstrate that trans-generational value is achieved when the family firm innovates and adapts itself to changing external and internal conditions. This kind of entrepreneurial performance requires dynamic capabilities and processes designed to acquire, exchange, combine and even shed knowledge and practices; and, in turn, dynamic capabilities result from mechanisms of knowledge sharing, collective learning, experience accumulation, and transfer.

Disintegrated or distributed innovation, collaborative innovation, collective invention, collegial innovation, free innovation, open knowledge disclosure, free knowledge disclosure: are these all the same thing? This shows us there is some confusion regarding open innovation, or at least there is a need to cast a wider net around what open innovation is all about. The prevailing thought is that open innovation allows organizations to simultaneously expand their breadth of ideas, opportunities, and know-how while minimizing the technical and market risks associated with innovation. As a result, open innovation appears to come with little down side. Del Giudice, Della Peruta, and Carayannis fill the gap in our understanding of this emerging research field of open innovation. Their work depicts the major tendencies of publications through identifying the main themes in literature and investigating the research frontier. It also discusses potentially important fields of investigation that are still left rather unexplored.

This book analyzes the impact of the digital economy on customer satisfaction, shopping experience, resistance to change, script theory, and loyalty. The model introduced assumes that online markets have led to a redefinition of the concepts of loyalty and shopping scripts as a way to reduce customers' cognitive effort, by optimizing purchase time and increasing the speed and satisfaction of the shopping experience. It describes the utility function of the script by retaining customer loyalty and making the customer more reluctant to abandon his regular supplier. It also explores the difficulty faced by the higher churn rate on the Internet and the minimization of search costs, by integrating more functionality to achieve the ultimate goal of behavioral and cognitive loyalty. The authors provide an analysis in a "digital" view of the economic theory of switching costs and the resulting lock-in mechanisms which, in a classical economy, are often a barrier to disloyalty. It is a useful and effective tool for online businesses, their main managerial and strategic implications, and the adaptability to existing contexts.

This book addresses the increasing prominence of family-owned business groups and their potential to influence growth and development in the global economy. Family businesses are not necessarily converging towards unitary models of corporate governance or organizational designs, but remain heterogeneous in a global economy. Empirical evidence on the developmental effects of family-owned business groups is fragmented and inconclusive: are there tangible differences between family-owned business groups in emerging economies and developed countries? Are there important variations across and between industries? How have geopolitical circumstances shaped their activities? In this book, the author seeks alternative, pluralistic, and cross-disciplinary approaches through economic, management, and organizational perspectives. This book provides readers with a core understanding of how both corporate governance and business strategy are shaped by the institutional frameworks of markets, as well as knowledge into how institutional context shapes the governance and strategies of family business groups. It is an invaluable reference tool for scholars and students in the social sciences, as well as professionals involved in strategic management issues within a knowledge management context.

Society 5.0 points toward a human-centred approach by the use of modern, advanced technologies and artificial intelligence. This book explores and offers an overview of knowledge management embraced in the current scenario of Society 5.0, shedding light on its importance in a society that is increasingly digital and interconnected. The book enhances current managerial and economic research by offering the "human" side of knowledge management (KM) intertwined with the use of artificial intelligences (AIs). Each chapter explores KM from different perspectives, including entrepreneurship, innovation, marketing, and strategy, in a theoretical and practical way. They include insights from both practitioners and scholars, enriched by practical tools that can be used during laboratories, workshops and tutorials. The book presents evidence on how to manage KM and develop new knowledge in different subjects, with the aim of overcoming conventional KM strategy and show how business and society are connected with "power of subjective human knowledge creation". Offering both new insights, research and practical guidance, this book will appeal to academics and students of knowledge management as well as digital transformation practitioners looking for ways to transition their organizations from knowledge economy to digital economy.

This book analyzes the impact of the digital economy on customer satisfaction, shopping experience, resistance to change, script theory, and loyalty. The model introduced assumes that online markets have led to a redefinition of the concepts of loyalty and shopping scripts as a way to reduce customers' cognitive effort, by optimizing purchase time and increasing the speed and satisfaction of the shopping experience. It describes the utility function of the script by retaining customer loyalty and making the customer more reluctant to abandon his regular supplier. It also explores the difficulty faced by the higher churn rate on the Internet and the minimization of search costs, by integrating more functionality to achieve the ultimate goal of behavioral and cognitive loyalty. The authors provide an analysis in a "digital" view of the economic theory of switching costs and the resulting lock-in mechanisms which, in a classical economy, are often a barrier to disloyalty. It is a useful and effective tool for online businesses, their main managerial and strategic implications, and the adaptability to existing contexts.

This book addresses the increasing prominence of family-owned business groups and their potential to influence growth and development in the global economy. Family businesses are not necessarily converging towards unitary models of corporate governance or organizational designs, but remain heterogeneous in a global economy. Empirical evidence on the developmental effects of family-owned business groups is fragmented and inconclusive: are there tangible differences between family-owned business groups in emerging economies and developed countries? Are there important variations across and between industries? How have geopolitical circumstances shaped their activities? In this book, the author seeks alternative, pluralistic, and cross-disciplinary approaches through economic, management, and organizational perspectives. This book provides readers with a core understanding of how both corporate governance and business strategy are shaped by the institutional frameworks of markets, as well as knowledge into how institutional context shapes the governance and strategies of family business groups. It is an invaluable reference tool for scholars and students in the social sciences, as well as professionals involved in strategic management issues within a knowledge management context.

Traditionally, the study of entrepreneurial behavior focuses on such factors as (i) the personality characteristics that distinguish the entrepreneur from non-entrepreneur and (ii) demographic characteristics such gender, age, familiar antecedents and education. With particular respect to investigating the development, acquisition, and dissemination of entrepreneurial skills and behaviors, the authors focus on the university environment, as a locus of research and innovation, where students are exposed to a wide variety of influences that are enhanced by a high degree of connectivity. The underlying theme of this volume is to develop our understanding of the sociology of student entrepreneurial behavior and in doing so attempt to synthesize literature investigating individual talent with the literature on concurrent knowledge sourcing in the pursuit of entrepreneurial activities. Specifically, the authors investigate the degree to which access to diverse knowledge (in addition to such psychological characteristics and tolerance of ambiguity and risk taking) influences the nature and probability of entrepreneurial success. Moreover, they explore the role of social media and social networking in facilitating access to distributed and disparate information and knowledge.   Their research addresses such timely questions as: Where do entrepreneurial opportunities come from? How can higher education best stimulate the creation of firms emanating from young and smart minds in colleges and universities? What is the value of MOOCs for frequent, early, and “thick� communication among the various specialties needed to accomplish entrepreneurial projects? How do we know whether social media affect students’ responses to new knowledge and new ideas? To what extent do educational practices affect racial and ethnic differences in student entrepreneurship? What is the role of the indigenous minority student entrepreneur in establishing high-technology firms? The result is a multi-dimensional approach that sheds light on the dynamics of education, knowledge creation, social networking, innovation and new business development.

Disintegrated or distributed innovation, collaborative innovation, collective invention, collegial innovation, free innovation, open knowledge disclosure, free knowledge disclosure: are these all the same thing? This shows us there is some confusion regarding open innovation, or at least there is a need to cast a wider net around what open innovation is all about. The prevailing thought is that open innovation allows organizations to simultaneously expand their breadth of ideas, opportunities, and know-how while minimizing the technical and market risks associated with innovation. As a result, open innovation appears to come with little down side. Del Giudice, Della Peruta, and Carayannis fill the gap in our understanding of this emerging research field of open innovation. Their work depicts the major tendencies of publications through identifying the main themes in literature and investigating the research frontier. It also discusses potentially important fields of investigation that are still left rather unexplored.

Cross-cultural knowledge management, an elusive yet consequential phenomenon, is becoming an increasingly essential factor in organizational practice and policy in the era of globalization. In order to overcome culturally shaped blind spots in conducting research in different settings, this volume highlights how the structuring of roles, interests, and power among different organizational elements, such as teams, departments, and management hierarchies (each comprised of members from different intellectual and professional backgrounds), generates various paradoxes and tensions that bring into play a set of dynamics that have an impact on learning processes. In this context, such questions often arise: How is knowledge shared in the multicultural organization? What problems and issues emerge? How do different mentalities affect people's responses to new knowledge and new ideas? How can knowledge-sharing processes be improved? Under which conditions do ideas generated by units or groups of different cultural traditions have a chance of being heard and implemented? Such questions translate into an investigation of potential managerial dilemmas that occur when different but equally valid choices create tensions in decision making. The authors draw from experiences working with a wide variety of organizations, and insights from such fields as sociology and psychology, to shed new light on the dynamics of knowledge management in the multicultural enterprise. In so doing, they help to identify both obstacles to successful communication and opportunities to inspire creativity and foster collaboration. The authors note that in order to enable organizations to transfer knowledge effectively, mechanisms for dispute settlement, mediation of cultural conflict, and enforcing agreements need to be in place.

How have social media in emerging economies evolved differently from the rest of the world? According to studies and anecdotal evidence, innovations in the use of social media tools occur more frequently in emerging economies than they do in developed markets.The aim of this volume is to show that in emerging regions (such as China, India, and South America) where the participation of stakeholders in the circuit of social media is more active (i.e., greater frequency of contacts and creativity in the elaboration of contents), organizations not only are involved in a set of exchange relations with other social actors but are also embedded in a network of dynamic relationships. The authors utilize social network analysis to determine how entrepreneurs in emerging economies identify their most beneficial social contacts and use those contacts to leverage the resources needed for their enterprises, revealing new insights on the process of business creation and economic development in the networked age."

Family businesses-the predominant form of business organization around the world-can make numerous, critical contributions to the economy and family well-being in both financial and qualitative terms. But dysfunctional family businesses can be difficult to manage, painful experiences at best, and they can destroy family wealth and personal relationships. This book explores the dynamics of family business management, in the context of constantly changing market conditions and the role that knowledge management plays in strategic planning and adaptation. Integrating the literature from family business, entrepreneurship, industrial psychology, and knowledge management, and with illustrative examples from a variety of enterprises, the authors address such topics as: *How family businesses can compete in the new knowledge economy *How to manage a family business when knowledge is its main asset *How to transfer knowledge (and how to keep it alive) through family generations Within this framework, the authors argue that effective resource management-especially intangible resources-is central to enabling a family-run organization to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage over time. They note that families often develop systemic, intuitive, or tacit knowledge that transcends rational decision making and needs to be recognized and nurtured as a distinctive asset. The authors demonstrate that trans-generational value is achieved when the family firm innovates and adapts itself to changing external and internal conditions. This kind of entrepreneurial performance requires dynamic capabilities and processes designed to acquire, exchange, combine and even shed knowledge and practices; and, in turn, dynamic capabilities result from mechanisms of knowledge sharing, collective learning, experience accumulation, and transfer.