Smart Farming is a development that emphasizes the use of information and communication technology in the cyber-physical farm management cycle. New technologies such as the Internet of Things and ...Cloud Computing are expected to leverage this development and introduce more robots and artificial intelligence in farming. This is encompassed by the phenomenon of Big Data, massive volumes of data with a wide variety that can be captured, analysed and used for decision-making. This review aims to gain insight into the state-of-the-art of Big Data applications in Smart Farming and identify the related socio-economic challenges to be addressed. Following a structured approach, a conceptual framework for analysis was developed that can also be used for future studies on this topic. The review shows that the scope of Big Data applications in Smart Farming goes beyond primary production; it is influencing the entire food supply chain. Big data are being used to provide predictive insights in farming operations, drive real-time operational decisions, and redesign business processes for game-changing business models. Several authors therefore suggest that Big Data will cause major shifts in roles and power relations among different players in current food supply chain networks. The landscape of stakeholders exhibits an interesting game between powerful tech companies, venture capitalists and often small start-ups and new entrants. At the same time there are several public institutions that publish open data, under the condition that the privacy of persons must be guaranteed. The future of Smart Farming may unravel in a continuum of two extreme scenarios: 1) closed, proprietary systems in which the farmer is part of a highly integrated food supply chain or 2) open, collaborative systems in which the farmer and every other stakeholder in the chain network is flexible in choosing business partners as well for the technology as for the food production side. The further development of data and application infrastructures (platforms and standards) and their institutional embedment will play a crucial role in the battle between these scenarios. From a socio-economic perspective, the authors propose to give research priority to organizational issues concerning governance issues and suitable business models for data sharing in different supply chain scenarios.
•Big Data is expected to have a large impact on Smart Farming and involves the whole supply chain.•Smart sensors and devices produce big amounts of data that provide unprecedented decision-making capabilities.•Big Data is expected to cause major shifts in roles and power relations among traditional and non-traditional players.•Governance (incl. data ownership, privacy, security) and business models are key issues to be addressed in future research.
In the contemporary complex and fast-changing markets, there is persistent pressure for Small-and-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to engage in business model innovation to promptly meet customer ...expectations and successfully compete for survival. In the last decade, multiple approaches to business model development and innovation have been explored. However, they have been primarily designed for large-sized companies, while SMEs display distinctive organizational attributes. Thus, SMEs require a tailored approach to design, experiment and innovate their business models, in order to frame the specific complexity of their value creation processes. This paper aims to explore how a Dynamic Business Modelling approach complies with inherent SME characteristics and serves as a lean strategy design tool for innovating associated business models. A case-study of a real SME currently involved in innovating its business model illustrates and discusses the empirical evidence emerging from the use of this approach.
Digital maturity models are not widely adopted or implemented in business practice, despite the interest in these models. It is unclear which dimensions and parameters are most crucial in measuring ...the level of digitalization within small and medium-sized enterprises. In this paper, we present a systematic literature review of studies on digital maturity models published from 2011 to 2021. The guiding research question of this study is: Which dimensions are included in digital maturity models to measure the level of digitalization in business models of SMEs? Existing research on the dimensions and parameters included in digital maturity models was reviewed. The review identified nine dimensions: (a) strategy, (b) leadership, (c) culture, (d) organization, (e) people/employees, (f) technology, (g) processes, (h) products, and (i) customers. Additionally, 16 parameters were identified that measure these dimensions. This paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of this review for future research and practice.
PurposeDespite the gains that have been made by adopting contemporary theories of practice in entrepreneurship studies, the field still lacks a comprehensive practice theory of entrepreneurial ...learning. In this article, we develop a practice theory of entrepreneurial learning by elaborating on the relations between practicing, knowing and learning.Design/methodology/approachUsing a video ethnography of a two-day “Startup Weekend for Refugees” event in Amsterdam, our aim is to further theorise the relational, material and embodied nature of entrepreneurial learning through analysing video fragments of naturally occurring practices.FindingsOur findings demonstrate that entrepreneurial learning transpires through, and is emergent from, practices and their relations. On the one hand, practitioners learn to competently participate in various practices by sensing, observing and experimenting with the meaning of others' gestures and utterances. On the other, the learning of new opportunities for value creation emerges as practitioners connect various practices to one another through translation.Originality/valueThis article contributes by illustrating and explaining real-time instances of learning to develop a practice theory of entrepreneurial learning. This contributes to the literature by detailing the relations between learning, knowing and practising entrepreneurship, which leads to a novel alternative to existing individual- and organisational-level learning theories.
Scaling the social impact of inclusive business models that provide solutions to basic needs of Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) communities through firm-centric approaches has proven challenging. ...Researchers have proposed that scaling strategies at the BoP should go beyond firm-centric approaches by inclusive businesses and involve coordinated synergistic action of their entire ecosystem to overcome systemic challenges and create value for all ecosystem actors. However, current research on this topic remains abstract and difficult to implement. This paper presents an empirically validated scaling framework designed to overcome this weakness and documents its design process. The framework takes account of the fact that inclusive businesses must work out scaling strategies together with key ecosystem actors, and that implementing a scaling strategy will almost always require mutual adaptation of business models. The framework design process entailed an extensive literature review and practitioner interviews as a first step, followed by testing, evaluation and iterative improvement through a series of validation workshops with actors of four inclusive business initiatives in Africa and Asia. The results indicate that the framework helps workshop participants to expand their mental frame, encouraging them to adopt a broader ecosystems perspective on scaling. This leads to identification and exploration of valuable business model adaptations for scaling that can be achieved through collaboration and assessment of the practical feasibility of different scaling strategies.
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•Inclusive businesses at the Base of the Pyramid need ecosystem scaling for impact.•Scaling strategies need to be developed collaboratively with key ecosystem actors.•Strategies should entail mutual beneficial business model adaptations.•Collaborative sustainable business modelling can inspire scaling strategy development.•Framework application facilitates a business model ecosystem perspective on scaling.
Industry is currently undergoing a revolution (called Revolution 4.0) related to the far-reaching integration of all production areas through the digitization and the creation of new communication ...channels. The Polish economy generated a GDP of USD 524.5 billion in 2017, of which small and medium enterprises generated about 50% of revenue and in which microenterprises accounted for the largest share in generating GDP; i.e., around 30.2%. The aim of the research is to determine the adaptation possibilities of the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) sector to Industry 4.0 solutions. Pilot research was carried out in the Czestochowa Industrial District. Enterprises from the SME sector were asked to provide an information about the used technologies and to determine the level of their organization’s readiness for sustainable development through technological transformation. Financial resources as well as a lack of specialized support in obtaining new technologies were defined as problems as far as transformation is concerned. The solution of the diagnosed problem is the development of a platform aimed at integrating the potential of enterprises from the SME sector in order to undertake joint actions for sustainable development.
As companies and other organizations increasingly recognize society’s demand for greater social and environmental sustainability, university and college business schools have responded with new ...pedagogic approaches. Business schools have begun to offer courses in business models and business model innovation that focus not only on profit-normative goals but also on social and environmental goals. This paper describes an Experiential Workshop for university undergraduates in which the Service-Learning pedagogic approach is taken and Flourishing Business Canvas is applied as a tool for collaborative visual business modelling. In the Workshop, the students work with business model innovation for a biogas production cooperative of farmer-members in southern Sweden. The students take the role of problem-owners and problem-solvers as they co-create new business models ideas for the cooperative. The paper presents the students’ achievement of three Learning Objectives as they engage in meaningful, “real-world” simulations with a high degree of autonomy that allows them to combine their theoretical knowledge with practice. Implications for educators who wish to test the Experiential Workshop in their classrooms are proposed. The paper concludes with the suggestion that Education for Flourishing is a useful expansion of Education for Sustainable Development.
•A pedagogic approach for increasing awareness, reflection, and learning about flourishing business modelling is described.•The use of practical visual collaborative tools (Flourishing Business Canvas) in learning and action is evaluated.•The Flourishing Business Canvas is a trans-disciplinary tool that requires a new pedagogic approach.•A business model Experiential Workshop is designed, conducted, and evaluated.•Experiential service learning can increase awareness about flourishing in Education for Sustainable Development.
Towards a systemic entrepreneurship activity model Dahle, Yngve; Reuther, Kevin; Steinert, Martin ...
International entrepreneurship and management journal,
12/2023, Letnik:
19, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Entrepreneurship research would benefit from a mechanism gathering activity data from a large number of entrepreneurial initiatives. This paper starts by building on Zott and Amit’s activity system ...perspective to introduce a holistic activity model of entrepreneurship containing seven steps and 29 elements. This model has been used by 13,927 entrepreneurial projects between the years of 2015 to 2022. By applying a digital, non-participant observation method, this led to the development of a dataset containing information on 935,745 activities. We use three concrete research cases to exemplify how this model, method and dataset can be utilized for bringing research on entrepreneurial activities forward.
Business systems are a subclass of dynamic, complex systems; the plurality of multifarious and interwoven factors affecting a business system makes prediction, modeling, and decision-making ...challenging for the players in such systems. This study conceptualises dynamic business modeling from a sustainability viewpoint by investigating the basic principles, requirements, and methodological limitations, as well as gaps in the business model design literature. This conceptual model combines an adapted business model canvas and system dynamics modeling using an up-to-date review. The studies used in this systematic review were retrieved from the Scopus and Web of Science databases between 2010 and 2021. The total number of publications in all databases was 422. However, following an in-depth investigation of these publications, 164 papers were selected for further review. Based on the business model canvas, the interactions between different business dimensions and the impact on environmental stakeholders were examined. Finally, a dynamic, sustainable business model canvas is conceptualised and developed. The findings suggest that the proposed system dynamics business modeling approach can frame the environmental, social, and economic drivers of value creation in a causal feedback structure and overcome the gaps and criticisms of existing business model design tools.
Sustainability-oriented start-ups are fundamental to developing solutions for, and to fostering, a societal transition towards a low carbon society. In this context, social impact accelerators (SIAs) ...are organizations specializing in accelerating the progress of sustainability-oriented start-ups. In order to design their accelerator elements (e.g., training, coaching, and funding) effectively, SIAs must be aware of the knowledge needs of start-ups to support them in developing a sustainable business model (SBM). Using a case study approach, we present one of the largest cleantech accelerator programs in Europe, the EIT Climate-KIC RIS Accelerator. Based on the program’s curriculum and manual in 2019, we analyze from the perspective of the program how cleantech start-ups could be supported in the development of their SBMs by presenting accelerator elements that are intended to support start-ups in reducing their knowledge needs by (1) providing new knowledge to start-ups (e.g., trainings, workshops, and e-learning), (2) supporting start-ups’ assimilation of new knowledge (e.g., coaching), and (3) supporting start-ups’ application of new knowledge (e.g., documentation of planning and reporting as part of the program’s contract design). Further, we discuss the knowledge needs of 63 European start-ups before and their progress as a result of accelerator participation in developing a SBM based on qualitative and quantitative data. All 63 start-ups participated in the same batch of the accelerator in 2019. Regarding the development of a SBM, knowledge needs are described considering the triple bottom line including the economic, ecological, and social layer of a business model. Based on the start-ups’ evaluation, we reflect—with a focus on the environmental layer—about the most promising content and support elements of our SIA case to address the different layers, discuss their combination, and present improvement potentials to reduce start-ups’ knowledge needs. With our findings, we claim to contribute to theory development in the emerging literature on SIAs and give practitioners working with sustainability-oriented start-ups insights into the usefulness of start-up support programs and different accelerator elements for developing a SBM.
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