Emerging Trends and Opportunities for Industry Development at the Sub-National Level in Russia

The authors believe that the transition to Industry 4.0 will have a strong impact on the level of urbanization in Russia. The level of urbanization is influenced by many factors, which include the level of economic development of the country, migration of the population, natural and climatic conditions. The highest level of urbanization is typical for industrialized regions. This suggests that it is necessary to develop industry and move to Industry 4.0. The purpose of this chapter is to show the relationship between urbanization and Industry 4.0, as well as to increase the level of knowledge about digital production, the internet of things, the Industry 4.0, and urbanization. The chapter explains the role of Industry 4.0 in the current changing environment. The chapter deals with the most important problems and opportunities of the fourth industrial revolution.

An Institutional Entrepreneurship Analysis of Biodiesel Companies in Mexico

The objective of this chapter is to analyze the role of the institutions in the biodiesel industry in order to know if there is a relationship with the quality and maturity of the same with the ventures. Starting from a literary review, the framework of the current situation is identified, covering aspects related to formal institutions, laws, rules, regulatory bodies, and the theory that supports the relationship between institutions and entrepreneurship. The chapter concludes that the institutions in Mexico have increased their maturity and incentive to increase the number of producers and distributors of biodiesel, thus taking advantage of the growing market.

Green and Blue City-Regions

Water security has been defined as the capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of acceptable quality water. Growing populations and the increasing trend of human migration from rural to urban environments is leading to an expansion of the metropolitan/urban landscape, which threatens water security. Mexican cities are following this worldwide trend. Hence, this chapter will seek to develop theoretical understanding of the smart cities (SCs) model to meet global challenges such as water security. Seemingly, SCs are expected to deploy adaptation strategies resilient enough to secure future water quotas. Hence, the core scope of the chapter is to link water resources and social resilience strategies to social learning and governance in cities, which in some cases are featured as green and blue cities in the smart city paradigm. This linkage will explore potentials and opportunities of urban spaces and strengthen the efficacy of water networks in smart cities in Mexico, Latin America, and other developing spaces around the world.

Smart Cities in Sub-Saharan Africa

The aim of this chapter is to interrogate and diagnose the concept of smart cities as it has been applied to Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in a bid to decrypt the opportunities and challenges characterizing its manifestation in space and actuality. The chapter is a product of the critical engagement of scholarly work that compares the best practices in the development and promotion of the smart city concept against those practices that are antithetical and retrogressive in light of this good cause. To crystallize the realities, the chapter makes use of case studies that speak to these contrasting experiences. Case studies in SSA reveal differential practices with South Africa emerging as a country doing very well relative to others in the region. Some cities, especially the small and intermediate ones, fail to break even in terms of the revenue collections. This is partly because they have failed to attract investment in the form of industries or retain them because of politically induced instabilities.

“Smart City”

The chapter proposes the correction of the concept of “smart city.” It is substantiated that the specificity of the redistribution of the population and economic resources to the major cities of Russia, mainly to regional centers, requires the modification of the concept of “smart city.” In accordance with this concept, a number of principles are proposed, among which the most important are the principles: integration, metabolism, architectural quality of the urban environment. The most important functional goals are defined: the creation of a new production structure, formation of a modern transport and logistics infrastructure, modernization of the road-street network, development and modernization of the rolling stock of urban transport, development and modernization of communal infrastructure, provision of safe and comfortable living conditions for citizens, improvement of the ecological condition of the urban district, improvement of the state of objects of cultural heritage and improvement of the urban district. Three levels are singled out, each of which requires solutions.

Avatar-Based Management as Help System to Entrepreneurs in Using Emerging Tools

The chapter deals with issues related to the construction and development of the digital economy in one particular region: Republic of Armenia. This country is considered the digital sector of which may become the largest in the country in the next five years. The digital revolution affects all areas of the Armenian economy. Prior to this, the Armenian economy was known as the mining industry, a food producer, and a food. Today, according to statistics, Armenia's leading mining and energy companies are already one step ahead of their colleagues in the economically successful implementation of digital technology. Naturally, in such successes of digital transformations, there are key components. The authors hope that the examples of development and thought about the driving springs of these transformations, chosen in consideration of the interests of the development of the Russian digital economy, can be interesting and useful for Russian enterprises that have started their digital transformations.

The Cross-Cultural Analysis of Australia and Russia

The chapter examines the comparison of the cross-cultural analysis of the green country, Australia (NSW), and the northern country, Russia (Republic of Karelia). Based on the results of the analysis, it shows how a small business from Russia, Green Roofs, overcomes barriers in Australia through the application of blockchain technology. The authors hope that examples of development and thoughts about the driving sources of these transformations, chosen by taking into account the interests of the development of the Russian digital economy, can be interesting and useful for Russian enterprises, small businesses that have begun their digital transformations.

The Integration of Urban Growth and Industrial Policies in Africa

Africa is the last of the major global regions to urbanize and to economically benefit therefrom largely due to centuries of the fragmented spatial system by geographic, trading zone, colonial experiences, and logistics barriers. Recently, however, the integration of African urban spatial structure was spearheaded by the private sector under the guidance of the public sector. This chapter analyzes the goals driving integration, the tools used by private and the public sectors in setting the stage for integrative urban growth through industrialization, and then identifies the future opportunities and challenges in sustaining the momentum. The chapter comprises of an introduction, a conceptual framework, the gluing elements, the review of the development guidance system, opportunities and challenges ahead, future research direction, and conclusion.

A New Colorful Pathway Chosen

In response to the rapid population growth and rapid urbanization, governments and entrepreneurs worldwide are spinning off many types of green, blue, and silver policies to generate urban growth or to reduce the effects of grey, brown, and black economies that have negative growth activities. Central to the emergence of these economies is digital technology that is contributing virtual and white economy to the list. This chapter explores the motives underpinning the emergence of these economies; the key policy actors and their main activities, policy tools, and strategies and growth outcomes at various levels. The chapter starts with a short introduction and develops a conceptual framework with which to analyze the trends policy-goals that shape the growth activities and the emerging growth patterns and consequences at the subnational, national, and supranational levels.

Emergence of Industry 4.0 Technologies

Innovations in the modern world are not simply connected with the opportunities of digital technologies but also largely based on them. This is exactly why the full-fledged successive industrial sector's digitization will become a platform for qualitative changes of the economy and long-term opportunities. Thus, the transition to digital technologies is inevitable, but from another perspective, this very transition cannot be the absolute goal. In this chapter, the authors aimed at providing a better understanding for Industry 4.0 concept and its application benefits for Russia. The main problem is how the Russian Federation acts against the economically developed countries, which are the creators of Industry 4.0. This chapter mainly focuses on presenting the authors' views on how to sustain and increase competitive advantage of the Russian Federation by catching and implementing Industry 4.0. With Industry 4.0, Russian Federation gets a bigger share of the world manufacturing value chain.