Cycles of action and reflection as the basis of transformative innovation

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-154
Author(s):  
Mónica Ramos-Mejía ◽  
Juan Manuel Jauregui-Becker ◽  
Marlies Koers-Stuiver ◽  
María-Laura Franco-Garcia

Purpose This paper aims at explaining the design process of a learning model targeting potential entrepreneurs with no technical or business expertise aiming to develop sustainable business models in deprived areas. The case that the paper explores focuses on experiential learning and learning in adulthood to design a learning model that considers context and socio-demographic characteristics, makes clear the interconnections between sustainability principles, entrepreneurship rationale and design methodologies and includes actions and processes of reflection and contextual interaction. Design/methodology/approach Following a recursive argument, the paper applies design research methodology (DRM) to systematically design the “transformative innovation model” that Product Co Creation Centers (PC3) from the University of Twente (The Netherlands) has developed. Findings Building on Kolb’s cycle of experiential learning, the result of applying DRM is a learning cycle of confrontation, observation, practice and application. The proposed learning model is applied to a specific setting in Colombia, allowing to verify and validate whether the learning model leads to the expected outcomes. It is argued that an interdisciplinary approach, a focus on feedback loops and the consideration of the context are important elements for addressing and transforming complex problems related to sustainable development from the bottom-up. Originality/value This paper contributes to academic research in management emphasizing a solution-finding approach based on a prescription-driven research process, informed by design science research.

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-244
Author(s):  
João Serrado ◽  
Ruben Filipe Pereira ◽  
Miguel Mira da Silva ◽  
Isaías Scalabrin Bianchi

Purpose Data can nowadays be seen as the main asset of organizations and data leaks have a considerable impact on the organization’s image, revenues and possible consequences to the affected clients. One of the most critical industries is the bank. Information security frameworks (ISF) have been created to assist organizations and other frameworks evolved to update these domain practices. Recently, the European Union decided to create the general data protection regulation (GDPR), applicable to all organizations dealing with personal data of citizens residing in the European Union. Although considered a general regulation, GDPR implementation needs to align with some industries’ laws and policies. Especially in the Bank industry. How these ISF can assist the implementation of GDPR is not clear. Design/methodology/approach The design science research process was followed and semi-structured interviews performed. Findings A list of practices to assist the bank industry in GDPR implementation is provided. How each practice map with assessed ISF and GDPR requirements is also presented. Research limitations/implications As GDPR is a relatively recent subject, it is hard to find experts in the area. It is more difficult if the authors intend to find experienced people in the GDPR and bank industry. That is one of the main reasons this study does not include more interviews. Originality/value This research provides a novel artefact to the body of knowledge. The proposed artefact lists which ISF practices banks should implement to comply with GDPR. By doing it the artefact provides a centralized view about which ISF frameworks (or part of them) could be implemented to help banks comply with GDPR.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fuad Sameh Alshraiedeh ◽  
Norliza Katuk

Purpose Many REpresentational State Transfer (RESTful) Web services suffered from anti-patterns problem, which may diminish the sustainability of the services. The anti-patterns problem could happen in the code of the programme or the uniform resource identifiers (URIs) of RESTful Web services. This study aims to address the problem by proposing a technique and an algorithm for detecting anti-patterns in RESTful Web services. Specifically, the technique is designed based on URIs parsing process. Design/methodology/approach The study was conducted following the design science research process, which has six activities, namely, identifying problems, identifying solutions, design the solutions, demonstrate the solution, evaluation and communicate the solution. The proposed technique was embedded in an algorithm and evaluated in four phases covering the process of extracting the URIs, implementing the anti-pattern detection algorithm, detecting the anti-patterns and validating the results. Findings The results of the study suggested an acceptable level of accuracy for the anti-patterns detection with 82.30% of precision, 87.86% of recall and 84.93% of F-measure. Practical implications The technique and the algorithm can be used by developers of RESTful Web services to detect possible anti-pattern occurrences in the service-based systems. Originality/value The technique is personalised to detect amorphous URI and ambiguous name anti-patterns in which it scans the Web service URIs using specified rules and compares them with pre-determined syntax and corpus.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (21) ◽  
pp. 6018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Vorraber ◽  
Matthias Müller

New technological possibilities and paradigm shifts from product-centered to service-centered offerings are one of the main drivers of business models. Business ventures today are more and more networked. Often, various partners are needed to deliver a service or product to frequently cross-linked customers with sometimes bi- or even multi-variant roles. Furthermore, business models are embedded in socio-technical systems where different kinds of needs and values of all actors, including social, ecological, technical and economic values, have to be balanced. The resulting complex network of actors, needs and values requires continuous management in order to create and operate viable and sustainable business models. This paper proposes a multi-layer framework to analyze existing business models as well as to shape new business ventures in a networked and values-based way and to support the identification of tacit network effects within business ecosystems. Based on an existing multi-layered analysis toolkit, focusing on legal and business dynamics aspects, an enhanced visualization and analysis tool is proposed that focuses especially on ethical, social and environmental aspects to foster the creation of (strongly) sustainable business models. The research process to create the presented approach followed the Design Science Research paradigm by applying argumentative-deductive analysis (ADA) and first applications in real-world case studies. A practical case from an international Open Source Software (OSS) project serves as an example to illustrate this values-based visualization and analysis layer and its benefits for managers and decision makers in the area of business model and information system management.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Telmo Antonio Henriques ◽  
Henrique O’Neill

PurposeThe purpose of this research paper is to present a pragmatic and systematic approach to conduct and document Design Science Research (DSR) activities with Focus Groups (FGs), exploring its continuous usage and providing traceability between problem, requirements, solutions and artefacts.Design/methodology/approachThe approach is to conduct the research and produce the meta-model for DSR with FG, a DSR approach was adopted using a conceptual model for Action Design Research already available. The artefact is the result from a specific literature review to define requirements, a careful design and a refinement stage where it was widely used and tested in real IS implementation projects.FindingsRigorous and committed stakeholder engagement is a critical success factor in complex projects. The main outcome of this research is a specific meta-model for DSR with FG that delivers new insights and practical guidelines for academics and professionals conducting and documenting real-world research and development initiatives deep-rooted in stakeholders' participation.Research limitations/implicationsThe meta-model has been endorsed as a practical and useful artefact by the stakeholders participating in the IS projects where it was adopted. However, to fully demonstrate its capabilities and to become more robust, the model has to be further used and tested in other application situations and environments.Originality/valueThe usage of FGs in DSR has already been proposed as an effective way, either to study artefacts, to propose improvements in its design or to acknowledge the utility of those artefacts in field use. The paper provides a sound contribution to this line of research by presenting a meta-model that integrates process and data, as well as a set of practical templates and forms that may be used by researchers and practitioners to conduct their projects.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Larissa Ane Hora de Souza ◽  
Victor Diogho Heuer de Carvalho ◽  
Roberio José Rogério dos Santos ◽  
Jonhatan Magno Norte da Silva

PurposeThis article aims to present a methodology applied to the transition between the “as-is” and “to-be” stages of the Business Process Management (BPM) life cycle, supporting its implementation and maintenance for the organizational stability, using techniques from Operations Research and Information and Decision Theories, applied by a gamified system.Design/methodology/approachThe study used Design Science Research, considering the following methodological elements: (1) artifact model, after initial analysis of the organization; (2) problem relevance, incorporating components to the Markov transition matrix and the integer programming model for resource optimization; (3) model evaluation, establishing mechanisms to validate the methodology created; (4) research contributions, showing benefits found; (5) systematic approach, detailing methods used; (6) model's research process, revealing the means for execution; and (7) final presentation of results.FindingsAfter planning three scenarios for the company, containing zero, one or two implemented processes, the matrix of states in the Markov chain effectively identified the states of greater and lesser transition uncertainty. At the same time, the optimization model guided the organization toward a stable change in its operational and financial areas.Practical implicationsThe company's planning capacity has increased, as its managers now have a methodology to promote rational decisions about the development of plans. Before, managers believed that the methodology used was only for large companies. However, this view changed with the results, showing a structured view of the ability to absorb new customers, relocate established ones, increase the comfort level for employees and increase profitability for the company's business.Originality/valueThe study showed that the combination of techniques opens a new perspective to the incorporation of BPM in organizations, allows a smooth change between the current and future state, making it possible to predict the evolution of transition scenarios.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 569-586
Author(s):  
Rita Lavikka ◽  
Olli Seppänen ◽  
Antti Peltokorpi ◽  
Joonas Lehtovaara

Purpose University research efforts have not been effective in developing lasting impacts on operations management in construction because of inadequate coordination between academia and industry. This study aims to describe the development of an industry–university (IU) relationship which has enabled the conduct of practically and scientifically relevant research. Design/methodology/approach Design science research was carried out between 2016 and 2019 to build a consortium between a university and 17 design, construction, technology and logistics companies for enabling process innovations in construction. The consortium conducted industry-funded research on various topics, such as takt production, lean design management, prefabrication, measurement of waste and business models supported by digitalisation. The academic and practical impacts of the consortium’s research projects were investigated through a survey and in-depth company interviews. Findings The paper presents a conceptual model for creating an IU relationship to support scientifically and practically relevant research. The model includes network architects who mobilised consortium development and a joint governance body that developed a shared long-term vision and selected research topics based on this vision. The results show that using the model’s approach, the consortium selected research topics that have led to both academic publications and process innovations in construction. Originality/value Using empirical data, this study describes how to create a win-win IU innovation relationship that enables the implementation of process innovations into the construction sector and, at the same time, the conduct of scientific research in construction management.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mogens Frank Mikkelsen ◽  
John Venable ◽  
Kirsi Aaltonen

PurposeProject complexity is becoming increasingly challenging for project managers. Much valuable research has been done on the concept of project complexity. The research reported in this paper aims to provide a new means (the “Complexity Navigation Window”) and guiding principles for the navigation of project complexity in practice.Design/methodology/approachThis paper applied action design research (a methodology for design science research) to design and evaluate the Complexity Navigation Window (CNW), which will serve as a representation of project complexity as a key component of the user interface for a decision support system (DSS) for managing project complexity.FindingsFormative evaluations of the CNW by 16 project management practitioners indicated that the artefact is relevant, comprehensible and heading in a promising direction to guide decision-making. The evaluation also highlighted project managers' difficulty in using the (conceptual) representation by itself to assess a project's current situation accurately, which in turn limits their ability to understand a project's current complexity and decide an appropriate course of strategy. A conceptual framework by itself is insufficient. This finding motivates further research to develop and evaluate a DSS that would partially automate the assessment process (by surveying stakeholders and automatically assessing and representing project complexity according to the CNW), which should aid in increasing the accuracy (and timeliness) of project complexity assessments and contribute to appropriate strategy formulation and timely revision.Practical implicationsThe formative evaluation of the CNW indicates relevance for practitioners and the further features of the DSS may still yield even higher perceived utility from the full artefact.Originality/valueThe paper provides improved understanding of practitioners' perceptions of project complexity and ability to assess it for a given project. The paper describes the design of a new visualisation for navigating and managing complexity. The paper further presents four strategies for managing project complexity. Finally, the paper also provides a methodological discussion on the potential of ADR in advancing project management research.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shong-lee Ivan Su ◽  
Xuemei Fan ◽  
Yongyi Shou

PurposeThe study aims to explore and develop a smart route planning system for the cross-docking delivery operations of a large supermarket chain using an action research (AR) approach and assessing through a design science research (DSR) lens.Design/methodology/approachThis study took a problem-solving AR (PAR) approach toward the delivery operational issue of the case firm. The research process has accorded with the solution incubation and the refinement phases defined by a DSR framework. An intervention-based research framework for DSR is developed to assess the validity of this study as a DSR research and derive mid-range theories.FindingsDramatic operational and financial improvements were achieved for the case firm. Significant and unintended environmental and social benefits were also found. A design proposition (DP) and several mid-range theories are proposed as an extension of AR research to DSR research.Research limitations/implicationsA problem-solving DSR research can be better assessed by the intervention-based DSR framework developed in this study. DSR studies should be encouraged for both practical and theoretical advancement purposes.Practical implicationsA challenging business problem-solving study can be tackled effectively through an industry/academic collaboration taking a PAR approach to deliver substantial values and organization transformational results.Social implicationsDrivers and store associates are safer with smart delivery operations in the case firm.Originality/valueThere are still limited PAR design science case studies in the supply chain/logistics research literature. The research experience and findings gained from this study provide more insights toward how this type of research can be conducted and assessed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 477-495 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Zrenner ◽  
Frederik Oliver Möller ◽  
Christian Jung ◽  
Andreas Eitel ◽  
Boris Otto

Purpose Current business challenges force companies to exchange critical and sensitive data. The data provider pays great attention to the usage of their data and wants to control it by policies. The purpose of this paper is to develop usage control architecture options to enable data sovereignty in business ecosystems. Design/methodology/approach The architecture options are developed following the design science research process. Based on requirements from an automotive use case, the authors develop architecture options. The different architecture options are demonstrated and evaluated based on the case study with practitioners from the automotive industry. Findings This paper introduces different architecture options for implementing usage control (UC). The proposed architecture options represent solutions for UC in business ecosystems. The comparison of the architecture options shows the respective advantages and disadvantages for data provider and data consumer. Research limitations/implications In this work, the authors address only one case stemming from the German automotive sector. Practical implications Technical enforcement of data providers policies instead of relying on trust to support collaborative data exchange between companies. Originality/value This research is among the first to introduce architecture options that provide a technical concept for the implementation of data sovereignty in business ecosystems using UC. Consequently, it supports the decision process for the technical implementation of data sovereignty.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 577-592 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Grenha Teixeira ◽  
Lia Patrício ◽  
Tuure Tuunanen

Purpose Service design is a multidisciplinary approach that is key to service innovation, as it brings new service ideas to life. In this context, the development of new service design methods and models for creating new service futures is an important stream of service design research. Such developments can benefit from a systematized research methodology that builds on existing knowledge and robustly evaluates the suitability of research contributions. To address this challenge, the purpose of this paper is to present design science research (DSR), an established methodology from the information systems field, and examine how it can be useful for service design research by supporting the development of new artifacts, such as service design constructs, methods and models. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents DSR and related literature and shows how DSR can support service design research through a step-by-step approach. A methodology to develop prescriptive-driven solutions for classes of problems, DSR can support service design research in developing rigorous and relevant research. One illustrative example of a service design research effort using the DSR approach is presented. Findings Building on DSR’s robust methodological background, this paper discusses how DSR can support service design research, namely, through the development of new methods and models, and how DSR can be adapted to leverage service design research participatory, iterative, human-centric and creative approach. Originality/value This paper provides an overview of DSR and proposes it as a methodology to conduct service design research, offering step-by-step guidance on the application of DSR in service design research and discussing how it can be adapted according to the specific characteristics of service design research and drive future research.


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