The effect of organizational support for creativity on innovation and market performance: the moderating role of market dynamism

PurposeRecent technological and social changes have challenged manufacturing firms to remain competitive in increasingly dynamic markets. A way of facing these challenges is to foster organizational structures that encourage creativity. Although the general importance of organizational creativity for market success is undeniable, few studies on manufacturing firms have provided a nuanced view of how this relationship is affected by firm-external factors (e.g. different levels of market dynamism) and whether and how this leads to greater market success.Design/methodology/approachThis research uses survey data from 255 chief executive officers (CEOs) and top managers of manufacturing firms in Germany. The authors performed different regression analyses to test for direct, mediation, moderation and moderated mediation effects.FindingsThe findings show that, in highly dynamic markets, organizational support for creativity indeed helps manufacturing firms to remain competitive by positively influencing firms' innovation performance, which subsequently results in improved market performance. By contrast, in markets with low dynamism, organizational support for creativity has no impact on firms' innovation and market performance.Research limitations/implicationsFrom a theoretical perspective, this study introduces market dynamism as a novel, so-far underexplored firm-external factor that moderates the relationship between organizational support for creativity and innovation and market performance. This research thus enhances the understanding of the dynamics of organizational creativity and its effects on innovation and market performance in an organizational context of manufacturing firms.Practical implicationsIn general, this research emphasizes the importance of establishing a creativity-supporting environment to enhance innovation and market performance. Most importantly, this relationship depends on whether firms are active in highly dynamic or stable markets. Managers should thus consider the level of (future) market dynamism when making decisions about creativity-supporting work environments.Originality/valueThis research provides novel insights into how organizational support for creativity influences innovation and market performance in the manufacturing industry and introduces market dynamism as an important moderating factor.

Early Robust Design—Its Effect on Parameter and Tolerance Optimization

The development of complex products with high quality in dynamic markets requires appropriate robust design and tolerancing workflows supporting the entire product development process. Despite the large number of methods and tools available for designers and tolerance engineers, there are hardly any consistent approaches that are applicable throughout all development stages. This is mainly due to the break between the primarily qualitative approaches for the concept stage and the quantitative parameter and tolerance design activities in subsequent stages. Motivated by this, this paper bridges the gap between these two different views by contrasting the used terminology and methods. Moreover, it studies the effects of early robust design decisions with a focus on Suh’s Axiomatic Design axioms on later parameter and tolerance optimization. Since most robust design activities in concept design can be ascribed to these axioms, this allows reliable statements about the specific benefits of early robust design decisions on the entire process considering variation in product development for the first time. The presented effects on the optimization of nominal design parameters and their tolerance values are shown by means of a case study based on ski bindings.

Business Intelligence: Business Evolution after Industry 4.0

Industry 4.0 is a set of technologies that companies require to promote innovation strategies and obtain a rapid response in dynamic markets. It focuses mainly on interconnectivity, digital technology, predictive analytics and machine learning to revolutionize the way companies operate and develop. Therefore, this article proposes and motivates the implementation of Industry 4.0 in organizations. Studying the state of the art and reviewing the current situation of business intelligence (BI) technology, the way it has positively impacted organizations at the economic and business level in terms of decision-making and some success stories implemented in different business, academic, social and governmental environments. Moreover, it addresses the future expected for Industry 4.0 primarily in BI and how companies should face this revolution. This article provides knowledge contribution about the current state and positive consequences of Industry 4.0, and high development in technology when implemented in the organization and the harmonization between production and intelligent digital technology.

Effective Customer Relationship Management: A Key to Success for Banks

Generally, consumers do not change their banks unless serious problems occur. The philosophy, culture and organization of financial institutions were grounded in this assumption and reflected in their marketing policies, which were product and transaction-oriented, reactionary, focused on discrete rather than continuous activities. With the advent of new technologies in the business of bank, such as Internet Banking and ATMs, now customers can freely choose any bank for their transactions. The pressures of competitive and dynamic markets have contributed to the growth of CRM in the Financial Services Sector. Also, before the Internet revolution, consumers largely selected their banks based on how convenient the location of bank's branches was to their homes or offices. With the advent of new technologies in the business of bank, such as Internet banking and ATMs, now customers can freely choose any bank for their transactions. Thus, the customer base of banks has increased, and so has the choices of customers for selecting the banks.

Gleaning Insight from Antitrust Cases Using Machine Learning

The application of AI and Machine Learning (ML) techniques is becoming a primary issue of investigation in the legal and regulatory domains. Antitrust agencies are in the spotlight because they represent the first arm of government regulation in that they reach new markets before Congress has had time to draft a more specific regulatory scheme. A question the antitrust community is asking is whether antitrust agencies are equipped with the appropriate tools and powers to face today’s increasingly dynamic markets. Our study aims to tackle this question by building and testing an antitrust machine learning (AML) application based on an unsupervised approach, devoid of any human intervention. It shows how a relatively simple algorithm can, in an autonomous manner, discover underlying patterns from past antitrust cases by computing the similarity between these cases based on their measurable characteristics. Our results, achieved with simple algorithms, show much promise from the use of AI for antitrust applications. AI, in its current form, cannot replace antitrust agencies such as the FTC. Instead, it is a valuable tool that antitrust agencies can exploit for efficiency, with the potential to aid in preliminary screening, analysis of cases, or ultimate decision-making. Our contribution aims to pave the way for future AI applications in market regulation, starting with antitrust regulation. Government adoption of emerging technologies, such as AI, appears to be key for ensuring consumer welfare and market efficiency in the age of AI and big data.

An Overview of the Cruise Industry and Its Economic Impacts

The cruise industry is one of the dynamic markets with high investment in port facilities worldwide and in building luxury cruise ships as well. It incorporates elements of the product market, educational activities, and has developed into a spectacular destination. Cruising includes a great part in the tourism chain, including transport, catering, tourism, leisure, and travel. The aim of the chapter is to examine the economic and statistical data of the cruise industry and cruise tourism through a European approach, based on secondary data and research. It further explores the economic impact of the European cruise industry on the European economies. Moreover, the chapter tries to compare the economic impact of the European cruise among the previous years and to ascertain whether these impacts benefit the European economies or not. The evolution of the direct economic impacts are captured and a discussion about the total economic impacts of the European cruise sector is given. This study would offer facilitation in directing future research relevant to cruise tourism.

EOQ inventory model for perishable products under uncertainty

Perishable products require accurate inventory control models as their effect on operations management can be critical. This assumption is particularly relevant in highly uncertain and dynamic markets, as for the ones generated by the pandemic era. This paper presents an inventory control model for perishable items with a demand rate variable over time, and dependent on the inventory rate. The model also considers the potential for backlogging and lost sales. Imperfect product quality is included, and deterioration is modelled as a time-dependent variable. The framework envisages the possibility to define variables affected by uncertainty in terms of probability distribution functions, which are then jointly managed via a Monte Carlo simulation. This paper is intended to provide an analytical formulation to deal with uncertainty and time-dependent inventory functions to be used for a variety of perishable products. The formulation is designed to support decision-making for the identification of the optimal order quantity. A numerical example exemplifies the outcomes of the paper and provides a cost-based sensitivity analysis to understand the role of main parameters.

Developing a transformational digital strategy in an SME: The role of responsible management

Based on the case study of an SME company in the United Kingdom (which we will call SweetStar Cloud), this paper examines the attempts of the company to achieve significant strategic change. The company is attempting to move from being a tradition managed service provider of Information Services towards becoming a significant influencer in the market for digital services in the UK. As part of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), a local UK University has been closely involved in developing this new strategic direction and it is well poised to present and analyse the story. From the use of tried and tested strategic tools, including Porter’s Generic Strategies and segmentation and targeting, the company has also embraced digital-specific approaches for developing partnerships with clients, developing pilot projects and experimenting with its use of social media. At the heart of this research is an analysis of the move from push marketing towards models of attraction. This paper aims to explore how traditional strategic tools are still applicable in the digital era alongside new tactical approaches in the digital sector. This aim has led to an approach to business that is responsible, in terms of moving away from a traditional push-selling model to one of partnership with customers at a strategic level. Strategy in dynamic markets often highlights responsiveness as a key success factor. The ability to respond (a response-ability) requires more agile companies. As SweetStar Cloud has developed its strategy, it has focused in achieving this more effective ability to respond through a more collaborative approach. In this sense, agile response-ability converges with business responsibility, as new abilities in communication, cooperation and trust development become key.