The expected benefits of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) include increased safety, reduced costs and increased earning potential due to operational efficiencies and reduction in vessel ...manning. However, autonomous shipping enabled by such ships bears a greater potential than just replacing humans with machines. Rather, MASS can play a role in transforming supply and logistics chains. The value creation potential of these ships depends on the degree to which they disrupt logistics. Our aim here is to clarify how MASS create value and for whom, as well as how different actors in the maritime logistics ecosystem are able to monetize or otherwise benefit from the innovation. Based on interviews with experts in maritime logistics and autonomous technology, and a desktop study of the opinions of the leaders in maritime innovation, we analyse the different facets of value creation by MASS. We distinguish between the two key sources of value – onboard crew reduction and increased ship intelligence and their effects (cost reductions, earning potential, increased safety and system value) – and explicate for which actors in the ecosystem the value is created. We identify the key changes in the maritime logistics ecosystem, which concern the changing roles of technology providers, shipowners and operators, and we highlight the need for developing complementary infrastructure and activities in the ecosystem.
PurposeVirtual and augmented reality solutions in medicine are generally applied in communication, training, simulation and therapy. However, like most new digital developments, these technologies ...face a large number of institutional barriers that are inherent to the medical sector.Design/methodology/approachFollowing Richard Scott's view on institutions and organizations, a multiple case study is used to analyze regulatory, normative and cultural-cognitive institutional pillars in the medical industry.FindingsThe results of the study demonstrate that (1) the regulatory pillar inhibits the advancement of new technologies in the approach to treatment, regulation of patient data, educational processes for medical staff, and information and financial flows; (2) the number of barriers increases based on the solution's level of disruption and the number of variable conventional procedures; (3) trust between participants in the medical industry plays an important role in introducing new technologies; (4) new participants need to address certain pillars depending on the area of application.Originality/valueThe authors discuss top-down and bottom-up approaches for overcoming institutional barriers when implementing augmented and virtual reality solutions for companies focusing on the medical market.
In the second part of The Konus-Wind Catalog of Gamma-Ray Bursts with Known Redshifts (the first part: Tsvetkova et al. 2017; T17), we present the results of a systematic study of gamma-ray bursts ...(GRBs) with reliable redshift estimates detected simultaneously by the Konus-Wind (KW) experiment (in the waiting mode) and by the Swift/BAT (BAT) telescope during the period from 2005 January to the end of 2018. By taking advantage of the high sensitivity of BAT and the wide spectral band of KW, we were able to constrain the peak spectral energies, the broadband energy fluences, and the peak fluxes for the joint KW-BAT sample of 167 weak, relatively soft GRBs (including four short bursts). Based on the GRB redshifts, which span the range 0.04 ≤ z ≤ 9.4, we estimate the rest frame, isotropic-equivalent energy, and peak luminosity. For 14 GRBs with reasonably constrained jet breaks, we provide the collimation-corrected values of the energetics. This work extends the sample of KW GRBs with known redshifts to 338 GRBs, the largest set of cosmological GRBs studied to date over a broad energy band. With the full KW sample, accounting for the instrumental bias, we explore GRB rest-frame properties, including hardness-intensity correlations, GRB luminosity evolution, luminosity and isotropic-energy functions, and the evolution of the GRB formation rate, which we find to be in general agreement with those reported in T17 and other previous studies.
To succeed business around renewables and sustainability often need new types of business models. Business models are typically considered from the viewpoint of a focal firm, whereas renewables and ...sustainability often require a broader, system perspective. We explore how firms together in the energy business ecosystems develop their business models to facilitate change in the logic of the industry. Earlier studies on ecosystems have looked at the role of technical interdependencies in ecosystems, whereas we use a business model lens to study collaboration between companies. We use three cases from the distributed energy ecosystems to illustrate how different kinds of mechanisms trigger closer collaboration, sustainability and increased overall value creation. Our findings pinpoint the importance of identifying the factors driving the business models of the collaborating firms to facilitate system transitions and change in the logic of an industry.
In the context of the ongoing green transition within the maritime sector, this study seeks to explore the interplay of factors influencing the development of clean propulsion technologies. We ...identify the drivers underpinning the shift towards cleaner propulsion in maritime operations and outline the implications for the future of such technologies. This research is a result of industry-academia effort to develop a collective vision and strategy for a consortium of companies within propulsion sector. The market drivers are identified as part of a technology roadmapping process following PESTLE framework. Additionally, we employ the MICMAC method to discern dependencies and influences among these drivers. The findings indicate that certain drivers, such as fuel pricing and economic incentives, wield considerable independent influence, whereas others, including green financing, political will, and emission targets, exhibit substantial influence but are interdependent with other variables. Overall, most of the 30 drivers identified in the study both influence and depend on other drivers, creating a complex and uncertain system. This research contributes empirically to a holistic understanding of the intricate interplay among diverse market drivers in the context of clean propulsion in the maritime sector. Theoretically, it unveils the interdependent structure of socio-technical regimes and its implications in terms of “windows of opportunity” for niche development.
•Drivers for the development of clean propulsion technologies are interdependent.•There is an overall inclination towards preferring zero tailpipe technologies.•Uncertain prevalence of particular alternative fuels obstructs investment decision-making.
Introducing product-service-software systems (PSSS) to the market requires forming an enabling ecosystem, which can be largely based on incumbent business ecosystems. Creating value through PSSS with ...autonomous capabilities will likely encounter numerous challenges related to the lock-ins in current ecosystem structure. We use institutional theory as a lens and autonomous ships as the case to shed some light on types and impacts of these barriers. We identify a set of institutional barriers pertinent to regulatory, normative and cultural-cognitive pillars of institutions. We further analyze how institutional barriers affect creating, delivering, and capturing value of autonomous ships, ultimately shaping the ecosystem formation around PSSS. The main contribution of the paper is the depiction of early ecosystem dynamics as the mutual adaptation of the PSSS value proposition and the structure of the incumbent ecosystem.
•Autonomous capability on ships brings new value creation potential.•Value creation by autonomous ships is constrained by institutional barriers.•Value creation that stems from unmanning faces stronger barriers.•We demonstrate two-way dynamic between PSSS evolvement and ecosystem formation.
Abstract
The emission region of
γ
-ray bursts (GRBs) is poorly constrained. The uncertainty on the size of the dissipation site spans over 4 orders of magnitude (10
12
–10
17
cm) depending on the ...unknown energy composition of the GRB jets. The joint multiband analysis from soft X-rays to high energies (up to ∼1 GeV) of one of the most energetic and distant GRBs, GRB 220101A (
z
= 4.618), allows us to make an accurate distinction between prompt and early afterglow emissions. The enormous amount of energy released by GRB 220101A (
E
iso
≈ 3 × 10
54
erg) and the spectral cutoff at
E
cutoff
=
85
−
26
+
16
MeV observed in the prompt emission spectrum constrain the parameter space of the GRB dissipation site. We put stringent constraints on the prompt emission site, requiring 700 < Γ
0
< 1160 and
R
γ
∼ 4.5 × 10
13
cm. Our findings further highlight the difficulty of finding a simple self-consistent picture in the electron–synchrotron scenario, favoring instead a proton–synchrotron model, which is also consistent with the observed spectral shape. Deeper measurements of the time variability of GRBs, together with accurate high-energy observations (MeV–GeV), would unveil the nature of the prompt emission.
In order to successfully transfer research results of business studies to practical application, there is a need to produce knowledge that has practical relevance and is transferrable to new ...contexts. This, naturally, creates requirements for the research process and methodology. In
this paper, the methodology for conducting transformative business studies is presented, which is based on a combination of the design science research paradigm, participative research, and controversy mapping inspired by actor-network theory. The combination of these research methodologies
and paradigms forms a methodological basis for producing transferrable research results that concern larger organizational and social change. It allows approaching ill-defined research problems through design thinking and systematically validating and verifying research results with practitioners
in order to ensure the applicability of results in practice. To illustrate the methodology, we utilize an example of a method for designing business ecosystems that was developed in a collaboration between Åbo Akademi University and the research-based consultancy PBI Research Institute.
This method was created during a series of projects devoted to the biogas-for-traffic business and concerned the development of enabling business ecosystems for innovations. Due to the way the knowledge was recorded, it was possible to transfer this knowledge to new contexts, such as logistics
and energy business.
The cruise shipping industry has existed for centuries. However, sustainability is a relatively new trend that could make a big difference and someday impact the industry. A growing body of research ...on sustainable cruise tourism includes studying changes among industry stakeholders, internal and external processes, and more. However, until now, there have been no comprehensive and systematic reviews of the academic literature on this topic and proposals for future research areas. The sample for our research consists of 56 articles structured into the following themes and subthemes: (1) corporate social responsibility (public interaction and emissions management); (2) territory management (collaboration with stakeholders and infrastructure development); (3) training in sustainable behavior (passengers, ship personnel, and other stakeholders). These themes fully explore the various use cases for sustainable cruises, forming a conceptual framework for understanding trends for the industry’s sustainable development. We direct the attention of other researchers to the following areas for further research: GHG emissions of cruising; biodiversity impacts; quantitative understanding of the target audience and their participation in sustainability financing; in-depth understanding of the reasons for cooperation between stakeholders; identifying the true motivation for participation in sustainable development; the long-term trends; and how the shipping industry is adapting to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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