The past decade has seen increased interest in entrepreneurship education outside business schools, driven both by changes in market demand and governmental policies. This has led to an expansion of ...embedded entrepreneurship education, where entrepreneurship is included as part of existing, non-business courses. Using the context-intervention-outcome-mechanism framework, we systematically review 33 cases of embedded entrepreneurship education programs to understand where, how, and with what outcomes such initiatives were implemented. Our analysis identifies four mechanisms, which explain how embedded entrepreneurship education functions: individual, team-based, organizational, and multi-organizational. Our analysis points to three key recommendations for embedded entrepreneurship education practice and three related avenues for future research: considering program scalability, intended outcomes and misaligned pedagogical models, and contextual diversity.
The present study explores the phenomenon of remixing in product design for additive manufacturing (AM). In contrast to other manufacturing techniques, AM offers unprecedented flexibility in adapting ...existing product designs to changing requirements. However, in order to benefit from this potential, structured design procedures and tools are indispensable. As a possible solution, online platforms for collaborative 3D model creation are increasingly implementing features for remixing, a concept describing the creation of new models on the foundation of existing design elements. Against this backdrop, the objective of this research is to provide evidence for the value of remixing as an organizational intervention for improving product design processes. To this end, we present a mixed methods approach using data from Thingiverse, the world's largest AM‐related online community. In a first step, we investigate qualitative data from 81 individual remix‐based designs to identify the underlying mechanisms of remixing. We identify six such mechanisms that can further be grouped by the intended outcome of the respective process (creativity‐oriented: inspiration, play, learning; productivity‐oriented: speed, improvement, empowerment). In a second step, we turn to a quantitative analysis of platform data, which indicates that remixing may lead to better design process outcomes in terms of quantity and diversity of designs. Furthermore, we find that designs created by remixing designers are significantly more often printed by community members suggesting that remixing helps ensure manufacturing compatibility akin to continuous process improvement. Our research has several implications for individual designers and organizations engaging with product design for AM.
Innovation is crucial to ensure firms’ competitiveness in constantly changing environments. Innovation processes help organize and systematize innovation in firms, thus facilitating the adaptation of ...new technologies and input sources. However, firms encounter many challenges during different phases of the innovation process, which can prevent them from implementing innovations successfully. Based on a systematic literature review, this paper aims to analyze the ability of gamification to serve as an effective and efficient tool for overcoming the various challenges encountered during different phases of the innovation process. First, we synthesize the intrinsic, extrinsic, cognitive and emotional mechanisms that are activated by gamification interventions as well as the business outcomes achieved during each of the innovation phases into a framework based on context-intervention-mechanism-outcome (CIMO) logic. Then, we critically evaluate the efficiency and efficacy of current gamification interventions with respect to innovation to provide recommendations for improving the integration of these methods in the future. Following our analysis, we explore avenues for future research, and we suggest future implementation opportunities for organizations.
•Review the literature on gamification and innovation following the CIMO framework.•Identify possible opportunities for introducing gamification in the innovation process.•Provide guidelines that ensure the efficiency and efficacy of gamification interventions.•Describe future research opportunities.
Sustainability-oriented innovation (SOI) involves changing products, processes, organizations and wider systems to deliver environmental, social and economic value. Nonprofit organizations can ...contribute the external knowledge required for SOI; however, businesses can find it difficult to engage with nonprofits due to their contrasting institutional logics. This article explores what works in these partnerships. Findings from five case studies of SOI projects involving business-nonprofit engagement are synthesized into a context-intervention-mechanism-outcome (CIMO)-logic framework. Value outcomes occur through three mechanisms where partners: 1) secure value by enforcing their own interests (agent control); 2) recombine their assets and capabilities to create value for partners, society and the environment (resource integration); and 3) navigate differences between institutional logics to enhance shared value (value empathy). The salience of contextual factors, including compatibility of what the authors term engagement logics as well as institutional logics, influences the interventions deployed, the mechanisms through which interventions operate, and outcomes. The framework offers practitioners a tool for selecting interventions in their own context.
PurposeThis paper aims to explore the potential of blockchain technology (BT) to support the operational excellence in perishable food supply chain (PFSC) during outbreaks, by doing use-case ...analysis.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review is performed to determine the dimensions of operational excellence in the food supply chain (FSC), then a single use-case analysis is conducted to explore the potential of blockchain in order to achieve operational excellence for PFSC during the pandemics by applying context, interventions, mechanism and outcomes (CIMO) logic.FindingsThe findings of this study reveal that blockchain capabilities such as immutability and transparency, visibility, traceability, integration and interoperability, disintermediation and decentralisation, smart contracts and consensus mechanism provide better sustainable operational excellence outcomes for PFSCs to be more responsive, flexible, efficient and collaborative to cope with the impacts of COVID-19.Research limitations/implicationsThis research employs only one real case with multiple PFSC participants. Statistical generalisation is not possible at this stage of the research. However, the findings are not restricted to this single use-case.Practical implicationsThis study provides a research direction to explore the potential of BT to achieve operational excellence in the PFSC during outbreaks and generates prescriptive knowledge for better managerial decision-making across the PFSC during outbreaks.Originality/valueThis research conducts semi-structured interviews with different participants in one blockchain ecosystem to understand multiple participants' perspectives of operational excellence within PFSC.
Agricultural commodity supply chains are characterised by the involvement of multiple intermediaries, lack of access to finance and poor financial conditions of farmers. Additionally, there exist ...numerous inefficiencies and a lack of transparency in the trading processes. Blockchain-enabled supply chain finance (SCF) solutions can potentially help to overcome these problems. However, there is limited research on the process of developing and implementing such solutions and the potential consequences of their implementation. In this paper, we apply the Context-Intervention-Mechanism-Outcome (CIMO) framework to systematically analyse case studies of four firms that have developed blockchain-enabled SCF solutions in agricultural commodity supply chains. The findings show that blockchain-enabled SCF solutions can reduce different types of transaction costs such as costs associated with information search, negotiation and contracting costs, and costs of accessing finance. The solutions designed with the core objective of improving the financial conditions of farmers will differ from those with the core objective of reducing process inefficiencies. The findings of the study will benefit companies planning to develop and implement blockchain-enabled SCF solutions, by highlighting operational challenges and offering concrete solutions on how they can be overcome.
•SMEs have limited information management capability that hinder their internationalisation strategies.•Business associations could support the information management and collaboration of SMEs with ...digital platforms.•The current literature on digital platforms shows the need for developing more direct design knowledge.•A design science research approach is adopted to develop design propositions following the CIMO-logic.•The design propositions are for digital platforms to support different types of generative mechanisms of social interaction.
This paper aims to contribute to the lack of design knowledge on digital platforms (DPs), by studying the new and specific context of DPs managed by industrial business associations (IBAs) to improve the internationalisation of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). A specific objective is to elicit detailed digital platform’s requirements and features for this particular organisational context. A design science research (DSR) approach is adopted to develop design propositions (the artifact), following the context-intervention-mechanism-outcome logic (CIMO-logic). The design propositions are derived for DPs that can support different types of generative mechanisms of social interaction: information sharing, collaboration, and collective action. The design propositions are obtained by balancing empirical knowledge based on interviews performed with IBAs and SMEs in Portugal and in the UK, with theoretical knowledge from the literature of information systems, DPs and collaborative networks (CNs). The utility of the design propositions is further evaluated by experts and IBAs. The findings are proved to be relevant for practice, mainly for IBAs, SMEs, and digital platform designers to develop more effective collaborative DPs and sociotechnical systems, supporting CNs and the internationalisation needs of SMEs. The knowledge generated in this study brings new design knowledge on DPs, contributing with design propositions translated into tangible and concrete requirements and capabilities, situated in a specific context and empirical setting.
There is a widely held view that the performance of firms depends not only on the ability of managers to exploit economic markets but also on their ability to succeed in political markets. To test ...the value of political activism, recent scholarship has probed the impact of corporate political activity (CPA) on firm performance. However, mixed findings and the fragmented nature of the field raise more questions than answers as to the nature of this relationship. This systematic review examines scholarly articles for evidence of the impact of CPA on firm value. The findings suggest that CPA is more valuable in emerging countries and that relational CPA strategies are more common in emerging (versus developed) countries where social capital underlies political and economic exchange. We also document the paucity of research on informational CPA strategies and policy outcomes in the emerging country context. We consider the implications of these findings and others for local and multinational enterprises, and offer suggestions for further research.
Circular economy (CE) has emerged as a sustainable alternative to the current “take, make, waste” linear approach. Although prior studies have highlighted the salience of collaborative efforts ...between start‐ups and incumbents, little is known about the mechanisms behind collaboration in a CE context. This study enhances our understanding of the topic by drawing on six cases of circular start‐ups (CSUs) operating in the United Kingdom's business‐to‐business market and investigating the mechanisms by which start‐ups collaborate with incumbents. Using the Context, Intervention, Mechanism, Outcome framework, the paper's findings demonstrate that CE does not necessitate high‐risk and expensive changes and show that CSUs can collaborate with incumbents in low‐risk ways by outsourcing and developing service contracts.
Supply chain visibility (SCV) has been gaining recognition in recent years as a key factor for achieving analytical capabilities and improving supply chain performance. However, levels of SCV ...implementation lag behind current technological advances. This research was motivated by the lack of visibility in inbound logistics, which limits the possibility of managing deviation, in particular concerning changes in arrival time of incoming goods, in large industrial firms. We addressed this problem by adopting a design science approach. In particular, we followed context-intervention-mechanism-outcome (CIMO) logic to map and analyse material and information flows. The problems areas were successively translated via business and functional requirements into technological solutions. We evaluated alternative technologies using controlled experiments that mimicked real-life situations. This study provides guidance for manufacturing companies aiming to enhance deviation management and predictive capabilities by improving visibility in their inbound logistics and potentially extending visibility to other areas, such as internal and outbound flows.
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