To hoard or to share? Strategic management of knowledge and ICTs in complex economic systems

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to achieve a better understanding of the effects of strategic decisions related to the management of knowledge taken by organizations in complex economic systems. These effects are seen in the long term performance of organizations in the system choosing different strategic paths. As knowledge-related processes make intensive use of ICTs, the influence of the degree of development of these technologies is taken into account.Design/methodology/approach: An agent-based simulation model, ImbySim, based in the I-Space conceptual framework, is used to represent the evolution of a group of knowledge-intensive organizations located in a given geographic space. Those organizations engage, among others, in processes of creation and transfer of knowledge assets. Organizations show different levels of performance, which may be related to their knowledge-related strategic choices. The main knowledge-related strategies available for the agents are, on one side, sharing or hoarding knowledge and, on the other side, structuring or de-structuring knowledge.Findings: The results of the simulation suggest that it is not adequate to adopt an 'always sharing' or 'always hoarding' strategy. The hoarding or sharing of knolwedge assets need to be applied in a discriminating way depending on the specific asset or the situation of the organization. Also, different levels of development of ICTs favour different strategic choices concerning the adequate structuring of knowledge assets and the degree of knowledge sharing. In general terms, ICT development calls for more sharing and more structuring of knowledge.Originality/value: From the simulations, a number of empirically testable hypotheses have been extracted. Should these hypotheses get empirically corroborated, they would challenge a certain body of theorising—associated with organizational ecology and organizational demography—thus demonstrating the fruitfulness of the simulation approach to complex knowledge-based problems in the field of strategy.Practical implications: The hypotheses developed from this research may be very useful, once empirically tested, for strategic planning. Policy makers in charge of complex economic systems and firms and institutions present in them may benefit from the insights obtained and define their strategic moves according to them.

Strategic paths for development of contemporary cultural policies and their educational implications

Active, value-based cultural policy leads to development of culture and forms of cultural expression of individuals, groups or societies; also, it has direct influence on activities of creative industries combining artistic activity and entrepreneurship, operating in the free market and growing globalisation conditions.

Framing Corporate Social Responsibility to Achieve Sustainability in Urban Industrialization: Case of Bangladesh Ready-Made Garments (RMG)

According to both scholars and society, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) plays a controversial role in terms of corporate management towards sustainability. The business has presently become an integrated with the society and takes in a complex form of global demand for sustainability management. Due to the globalization of business, it is difficult to form a common sustainability model for CSR while its approach could be an opportunity for achieving sustainability. Evidently, a strong connection is found between the CSR approach and achieving urban sustainability since a smart urbanization requires a well-planned industrialization process that could be accelerated by the proper application of CSR. However, the CSR concept has already been initiated and developed in Western developed countries. Nowadays, it is being widely practiced by the developing countries as well. The developing country Bangladesh takes CSR issues seriously. Therefore, the study seeks the sustainability prospects of CSR by considering sustainability challenges in the rapid development of the “Ready-made Garments (RMG)” industry and corporate sector in Bangladesh. Finally, this paper explores some strategic paths to initiate sustainable development by framing the conditions and challenges of CSR.

Sensing Technologies, Roles and Technology Adoption Strategies for Digital Transformation of Grape Harvesting in SME Wineries

The article improves understanding on leveraging new technology for DT (digital transformation) of grape harvest in SME wineries. It provides evidence on technologies used and workplace types deployed in grape harvesting, as well as strategic paths in deploying new technology, thereby contributing to the literature on networked sensing and seizing capabilities in the wine industry 4.0. The research approach is explorative and qualitative drawing on 31 interviews with wine industry 4.0 experts and managers, mostly owners of SMEs: wineries, wine software and wine machinery enterprises. Resulting findings serve as a roadmap for digital transformation of grape harvest process in SME wineries explaining technologies and work roles necessary for DWT (digital workplace transformation), as well as strategic paths of deployment of novel grape harvest technology. Previous research on the wine industry 4.0 has focused on BMI, while this research expands the focus to include a wider concept of technology adoption strategy as well as DWT. The research identifies two types of factors impacting the strategic deployment of grape harvest technology: pull factors, also termed servitization factors, as well as push factors, termed also digital transformation factors.

Strategizing Societal Transformation: Knowledge, Technologies, Noonomy

This publication reflects the co-authors' assessments and perspectives on the global trends transforming society in the modern era, on strategic priorities and public development goals driven by these trends, and the strategic paths achieving national interests.

Toward new strategies of Islamic financial products development

Purpose This paper aims to propose a conceptual framework for the assessment of Islamic financial products’ development. Design/methodology/approach A coordinate grid with two perpendicular axes (profitability and compliance to Shari’ah) is developed and used to produce a nine-zone matrix. The research design is further developed by using a linear, composite index to assess product development feasibility and specifications. Subsequently, three strategic paths are identified: profitability-led strategic path, compliance-led strategic path and intermediate strategic path. Findings The findings indicate that the ideal strategic behavior the Islamic financial institutions have to borrow corresponds to the intermediate strategic path because it optimizes the trade-off between the two attributes under consideration. A proper development strategy of Islamic financial products should not ignore the compliance to the substance of Shari’ah and combine it simultaneously with profitability. Originality/value The paper’s originality consists in the identification of the portfolio of Islamic financial products’ strategic positioning in the nine-zone matrix and the determination of the most suitable product development strategy.

Digital transformation: setting the pace

Purpose This paper aims to identify the paths of digital transformation followed by companies facing disruption and offer recommendations for executives for choosing the appropriate path. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper. Findings This paper identifies two paths of digital transformation. The offensive path is aggressive and involves the rapid acquisition of digital resources through portfolio investment and merger and acquisition tactics. The defensive path is relatively slow and relies on the organic growth of the digital capabilities of the incumbent companies over time. Research limitations/implications This paper identifies a number of potential factors affecting the choice of the transformation path taken by companies. Further studies can be conducted to investigate these contingent factors. Practical implications This study describes the strategic paths available in a digital transformation and identifies the conditions that might justify a particular approach. Originality/value This paper identifies two types of paths that are generally followed by companies aiming digital transformation – offensive and defensive. This aspect has not been studied in any other research work.

New Urbanization and Coordinated Regional Development

Since the 1990s, China has gradually put forward the theories featuring new urbanization and coordinated regional development, and put them into practice. In the Report on the Work of the Government 2019, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang proposed that “We will promote coordinated development across regions and improve the quality of new urbanization”, drawing the public’s attention to new urbanization and coordinated regional development again. This paper first sorts out China’s research on new urbanization and coordinated regional development, mainly concentrating on the connotations, dynamic mechanism, strategic paths and models, and policy tools. Then it summarizes the major research results, including (1) the strategic theory and policy for spatial integration; (2) the theory and policy of main functional zones; (3) the urbanization theory and policy with city clusters as the major form; (4) the agglomeration theory and policy in the context of integration. And finally it proposes the major directions for further research: (1) innovation-driven cities and coordinated regional development; (2) compact cities with green, low-carbon, smart and humane features; (3) difficulties in the innovation of new urbanization system and mechanism; (4) leading research on the agglomeration theory and policy in the context of inter-connectivity.