How has Japan become a major economic power, a world leader in the automotive and electronics industries? What is the secret of their success? The consensus has been that, though the Japanese are not particularly innovative, they are exceptionally skilful at imitation, at improving products that already exist. But now two leading Japanese business experts, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hiro Takeuchi, turn this conventional wisdom on its head: Japanese firms are successful, they contend, precisely because they are innovative, because they create new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies. Examining case studies drawn from such firms as Honda, Canon, Matsushita, NEC, 3M, GE, and the U.S. Marines, this book reveals how Japanese companies translate tacit to explicit knowledge and use it to produce new processes, products, and services.

The knowledge-creating company : how Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation

Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity

In many developed economies, changing demographics and economic conditions have given rise to increasingly competitive labour markets, where competition for good employees is strong. Consequently, strategic investments
in attracting suitably qualified and skilled employees are recommended. One such strategy is employer branding. Employer branding in the context of recruitment is the package of psychological, economic, and functional benefits
that potential employees associate with employment with a particular company. Knowledge of these perceptions can help organisations to create an attractive and competitive employer brand. Utilising information economics and signalling theory, we examine the nature and consequences of employer branding. Depth interviews reveal that job seekers evaluate: the attractiveness of employers based on any previous direct work experiences with the employer or in the sector; the clarity, credibility, and consistency of the potential employers’ brand signals; perceptions of the employers’ brand investments; and perceptions of the employers’ product or service brand portfolio.

Employer branding : strategic implications for staffrecruitment

Marketing AI recruitment: The next phase in job application and selection

Performance measures and metrics (PMM) is identified to be an essential aspect of managing diverse supply chains. The PMM improves the firm’s performance by providing open and transparent communica...

Big data-driven supply chain performance measurement system: a review and framework for implementation

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of the Digital Divide (DD) and digital alphabetization (DA) on the Big Data (BD) generation process, to gain insight into how BD could become a useful tool in the decision-making process of supply chain management (SCM). Similarly, the paper aims to recognize and understand, from a value-creation perspective, the correlation between DD and BD generation and between DD and SCM.,The approach utilized in the present study consists of two steps: first, a systematic literature review was conducted aiming at finding out to determine the existing relationship between “Big Data Analytics” (BDA), “SCM” and the “DD”. A total of 595 articles were considered, and analysis showed a clear relationship among BDA, SCM, and DD. Next, the Vector autoregressive (VAR) approach was applied in a case study to prove the correlation between DD (as part of internet usage) and internet acquisitions, and in general terms the relationship between DD and Trade. Internet usage and internet acquisition in imports and exports at the European level were considered as variables in an empirical study of European trade. The novelty of this two-tiered approach consists in its application of a systematic literature review, the first of its kind, to generate inputs for the longitudinal case study of imports and exports at the EU level. In turn, the case study tested the accuracy of the theorized relationship among the main variables.,By analyzing the connection between DD and internet acquisitions, a positive and long-lasting impulse response function was revealed, followed by an ascending trend. This suggests that a self-multiplying effect is being generated, and it is reasonable to assume that the more individuals use the internet, the more electronic acquisitions occur. We can thus reasonably conclude that the improvement of the BD and SCM process is strongly dependent on the quality of the human factor. Tackling DA is the new reading key in the decision-making process: quantifying the added value of the human factor in SCM is challenging and is an ongoing process, based on the opportunity cost between automation in decision-making or relying on the complexity of human factors.,One of the biggest limits in our research is the lack of the time series available on consumer orientations and preferences. Data on the typology of customer preferences, and how they are shaped, modified, or altered, were non-accessible, though big companies may have access to this data. The present longitudinal study on European trade helps clarify how and to what extent BDA, SCM, and DD are inter-related. The modeling of the theoretical framework likewise highlights several identifiable benefits for companies of adopting BDA in their business processes.,Understanding the obstacles to DD in trade companies and states, and identifying their influence on firm performance, serves to orient the decision-making process in SCM toward reducing DD to generate important economic benefits. Enhancing internet usage may accelerate longer-term investments in human resources, offering developing countries unprecedented opportunities to enhance their educational systems and to improve their economic policies, widening the range of opportunities for businesses and poor states.,BD generation will undeniably influence microeconomic decisions: they will become evaluation tools of more efficient economic progress in small and/or large economies. However, an economically efficient society will be achievable only in those countries in which qualified human resources can generate and manage BD, to unlock its potential. This twofold effect will surely affect the socio-economic and geopolitical situation. The economic progress of conventional countries may vacillate if it is not adequately flanked by qualified human resources able to progress the information and communication technology (ICT) prevalent in contemporary economies. Consequently, the social impact of investments in ICT capacity building will necessarily affect future socio-economic scenarios. New indicators will become necessary to measure the conventional progress, and one of them will surely be DD.,The novelty of the present study is twofold: first, it is the first meticulous meta-analysis developed using a very wide analysis of the published literature to highlight a previously hidden relationship among DD, BD, and SCM. This comparative approach made it possible to build a theoretical framework for the real evaluation of the impact of BDA on different organizational elements, including SCM. Second, the research emphasizes the need to reform and reshape the studies on BDA, convincing companies that it is necessary to understand that the obstacles (DD and DA, i.e. internet usage) must be addressed with conscious decision-making processes, strategically and resolutely, to transform points of weakness into opportunities.

The influence of the Digital Divide on Big data generation within supply chain management

The aim of this paper is to analyze and measure the effects of intellectual capital (IC), i.e. human capital (HC), relational capital (RC) and structural capital (SC), on healthcare industry organizational performance and understanding the role of data analytics and big data (BD) in healthcare value creation (Wang et al., 2018). Through the assessment of determined variables specific for each component of IC, the paper identifies the guidelines and suggests propositions for a more efficient response in terms of services provided to citizens and, specifically, patients, as well as predicting effective strategies to improve the care management efficiency in terms of cost reduction.,The study has a twofold approach: in the first part, the authors operated a systematic review of the academic literature aiming to enquire the relationship between IC, big data analytics (BDA) and healthcare system, which were also the descriptors employed. In the second part, the authors built an econometric model analyzed through panel data analysis, studying the relationship between IC, namely human, relational and structural capital indicators, and the performance of healthcare system in terms of performance. The study has been conducted on a sample of 28 European countries, notwithstanding the belonging to specific international or supranational bodies, between 2011 and 2016.,The paper proposes a data-driven model that presents new approach to IC assessment, extendable to other economic sectors beyond healthcare. It shows the existence of a positive impact (turning into a mathematical inverse relationship) of the human, relational and structural capital on the performance indicator, while the physical assets (i.e. the available beds in hospitals on total population) positively mediates the relationship, turning into a negative impact of non-IC related inputs on healthcare performance. The result is relevant in terms of managerial implications, enhancing the opportunity to highlight the crucial role of IC in the healthcare sector.,The relationship between IC indicators and performance could be employed in other sectors, disseminating new approaches in academic research. Through the establishment of a relationship between IC factors and performance, the authors implemented an approach in which healthcare organizations are active participants in their economic and social value creation. This challenges the views of knowledge sharing deeply held inside organizations by creating “new value” developed through a more collaborative and permeated approach in terms of knowledge spillovers. A limitation is given by a fragmented policymaking process which carries out different results in each country.,The analysis provides interesting implications on multiple perspectives. The novelty of the study provides interesting implications for managers, practitioners and governmental bodies. A more efficient healthcare system could provide better results in terms of cost minimization and reduction of hospitalization period. Moreover, dissemination of new scientific knowledge and drivers of specialization enhances best practices sharing in the healthcare sector. On the other hand, an improvement in preventive medicine practices could help in reducing the overload of demand for curative treatments, on the perspective of sharply decreasing the avoidable deaths rate and improving societal standards.,The authors provide a new holistic framework on the relationship between IC, BDA and organizational performance in healthcare organizations through a systematic review approach and an empirical panel analysis at a multinational level, which is quite a novelty regarding the healthcare. There is little research focussed on healthcare industries' organizational performance, and, specifically, most of the research on IC in healthcare delivered results in terms of theoretical contribution and qualitative analyzes. The authors even contributed to analyze the healthcare industry in the light of the possible existence of synergies and networks among countries.

Value that matters: intellectual capital and big data to assess performance in healthcare. An empirical analysis on the European context

The aim of this paper is to analyze the real impact of ICT (Information and Communications Technology) skills mismatch on SME’s (small and medium enterprises) sustainable competitiveness in the presence of a guaranteed minimum wage. As part of public policies—the minimum wage needs to maintain a balance between increasing employment and not being a burden for the companies, leading them to bankruptcies, especially in times of disruptive change, in which economies have to be more resilient. The rapid progress in information and communication technologies has dramatically redefined rising unemployment as a result of skills mismatch. This paper aims to understand, on the one hand, whether there is a match between the supply demand of ICT skills, and how increasingly powerful digital technologies affect the skills, jobs, and demand for human labor. On the other hand, it aims to understand whether increasing productivity and a fair minimum wage could be an integrated approach for stimulating SME’s in increasing sustainable competitiveness.

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/10/2918/pdf

Assuring SME’s Sustainable Competitiveness in the Digital Era: A Labor Policy between Guaranteed Minimum Wage and ICT Skill Mismatch

The theme of the relationship between social media and sustainability has prompted many scholars to analyze the impact that “virtual information” has on the environment. This study empirically tests two models that examine the effects of cultural values and social media on environmental performance by considering different variables such as Social Media penetration, Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions and Environmental Performance Index. Two multiple linear regression models were employed to test the hypotheses on a sample of 30 European Countries.Empirical results, extensible to all of Europe, conclude that the cultural dimensions analyzed, as well as social media penetration, significantly influence environmental performance of European Countries when we execute a combined model.Social media are arguably an integral part of sustainability strategy and future research on IT and sustainability needs to take a more integrated approach. If we consider that social media have a positive effect on the environment it is easy to intuit that if governance implements effective policies to ensure social media access for everyone, real sustainable development could be achieved.

/pdf/social-media-and-environmental-sustainability-an-overview-of-1h7ohgsahr.pdf

Social Media and Environmental Sustainability: An Overview of European Countries

This paper aims to understand if knowledge sharing through social media is suitable for all types of cultures and if cultural dimensions can interfere or facilitate the diffusion of information. Keywords-Knowledge sharing; Social media communication; Hofstede’s cultural dimension

/pdf/sharing-knowledge-through-social-media-the-influence-of-1mo4jd7vxz.pdf

Ginevra Gravili

Papers

The influence of the Digital Divide on Big data generation within supply chain management

Value that matters: intellectual capital and big data to assess performance in healthcare. An empirical analysis on the European context

Assuring SME’s Sustainable Competitiveness in the Digital Era: A Labor Policy between Guaranteed Minimum Wage and ICT Skill Mismatch

Social Media and Environmental Sustainability: An Overview of European Countries

Sharing Knowledge through Social Media: The Influence of National Cultures