A model of service-learning implementation: case of Ukrainian Catholic University

Service-learning (SL) is a relatively new approach for the Ukrainian education system. The Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) became the first in Ukraine to introduce it at the institutional level. The organization of this process requires a transparent methodology and algorithm for implementation. In this study, we consider the institutional performance of SL at UCU from the standpoint of innovation management in the educational process. The paper’s objective is to describe the SL model implementation at the UCU based on the analysis of the carried-out optimizing processes. The classic problem-based approach with interactive research and design-based research were applied to develop the model. Furthermore, the description of the results uses a process-oriented methodology as the most appropriate for the current and future research work. The success of the SL approach implementation is partly due to the technical part by which it is about the design of the work process and the internal culture of the HEI. The groups of stakeholders involved in designing and adopting the SL model and pedagogy are foundational in the applied case of the process-oriented methodology. The final goal was to identify the areas with the most significant opportunities for improvement when implementing SL in the HEI. The model of implementation of SL in the HEI, presented in this study, was created on the business process mapping principles and can be valuable for other educational institutions that want to implement this approach.

Entrepreneurial Leadership as a Driver of Innovation Success in Family SMEs in Colombia

This chapter aims to analyze if entrepreneurial leadership, regarded as a distinctive feature of entrepreneurial processes, represents an essential element for obtaining satisfactory innovation performance in an emerging context such as Colombia in Latin America. The relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and innovation management works differently in family firms (FF) compared with their non-family counterparts. Indeed, there is no consensus in the literature on the effects of entrepreneurial leadership on innovation success in family small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Exploratory research has been conducted considering a survey held on family SMEs in Colombia. Results highlight the importance of supporting entrepreneurial leadership in order to achieve the innovation goals in these types of organizations and show how these factors change between family SMEs with family CEOs and non-family CEOs. In this sense, although the focus in this chapter is on FF, the conclusions could be to some extent generalized to SMEs.

Adopting Complexity Leadership in University Research and Innovation Management

The aim of this chapter is to provide an alternative perspective to managing universities' capacities for change through the lens of complexity leadership, more specifically in the realm of research management. It does so by developing and proposing a leadership framework underpinned by three dimensions: complexity leadership principle statements applicable to the university setting; the attributes, roles, and leadership functions of university agents to best support the needs of a complex context and organization; and general guidelines on how to activate the change process towards more collaborative, responsible, and sustainable research actions. The chapter's intended contributions are two-fold: to contribute to the growing yet underexplored literature on complex leadership in managing change in the university setting and to propose an actionable framework that can boost the contributions and sustainability of higher education institutions.

Design Thinking as Meaning Creation: The Case of Descomplica

ABSTRACT Context: the design language was introduced to innovation management as a mechanism to increase creativity, given the predominance of an economic rationality in the innovation theory and practice. Among the design thinking discourse, meaning innovation gained relevance in post-industrial societies. Objective: explore the adherence of Descomplica strategy to the meaning innovation model. Method: an exploratory survey with a qualitative approach and a narrative method was carried out. Results: the data collected shows that the company does have a strategy to build and consolidate an emotional relationship with its users. This emotional connection can be perceived in students’ narratives, mainly when they came from public schools. Results also brought evidence that traditional education methods can be threatened by EdTech, mainly in environments where regulatory controls are weak. Conclusion: even though meaning innovation proved to be effective from the point of view of Descomplica’s strategy, it cannot be considered a radical innovation in the sense attributed by sustainability-oriented innovation theory. The results reinforce the urgency to discuss, from organizational and educational perspectives, the impacts of online platforms in Brazilian students’ perceptions, behaviors, and capabilities development.

Organizational Components That Explain the Strategic Direction of SMEs for a New World Economic Order

This chapter aims to show some concepts related to the importance of planning and strategic direction as a fundamental tool for the sustainability of Colombian SMEs for a new world economic order and present the proportionality relationship between this concept of strategic management and the organizational components. Keys that explain it and facilitate its development, considering the modernization model for managing organizations (MMOM), were developed by a group of researchers from the EAN University in Bogotá-Colombia. It was found that market management, organizational culture, organizational structure, and knowledge and innovation management are the components that a high percentage explain the strategic direction of this type of company on which priority improvement and innovation activities should be developed in such a way ways that allow strategies to develop more smoothly to achieve business objectives of effectiveness, efficiency, profitability, and sustainable development.