Emerging Business Environment Research Articles

Developing and Implementing a Value-Based Operations and Maintenance Performance Management in Nigeria Electric Power Industry

The Nigeria electric power industry is yet to recognize and adjust management practices, especially those concerned with operations and maintenance, to the changed and changing business conditions in electric power production. Hence, there is a need to review the organization’s operations and maintenance policies. This paper intends to develop a value-based operations and maintenance performance which could be implemented in Nigeria electric power stations. An attempt was made to develop a framework for effective management of operations and maintenance performance which will link results to performance drivers. Furthermore, balance scorecard concept was included. The paper emphasized on value-added and intellectual capital in operations and maintenance in the emerging business environment, and stressed that there is a need to move from corrective maintenance or time-based maintenance to a long-term business-oriented approach.

PFoods: selecting a segment for a sustainable product

Learning outcomes After working on the assignment questions, the learners can achieve the following learning outcomes: understand the buying behavior towards sustainable products in the context of mindful consumption and product characteristics, appraise the market segmentation and positioning strategy of a sustainable business, understand the application of 5C’s framework for a sustainable business and critically evaluate a new sustainable business’s challenges in the emerging business environment. Case overview/synopsis Dr Joe Fenn, founder and director of PFoods, with extensive experience in the pharma industry overseas, observed a decline in the consumption of traditional dairy foods. Alternative plant foods come as a savior to people who are lactose intolerant and offer a host of health benefits with low environmental impact. Riding on the waves of veganism and sustainable foods, he saw an opportunity in India. PFoods developed and launched two products, namely, Just Plants (plant-based milk alternative) and Plotein (plant-based protein alternative), in collaboration with scientists at the Indian Institute of Science, a premier scientific institution in India, and PMEDS (PreEmptive Meds), a US-based nutraceutical Company. PFoods launched and pilot-tested Just Plant, a dairy alternative substitute for milk in select reputed organizations in Bangalore. The upcoming challenges for Fenn would be to select the right segment, educate the market and position the product that would resonate well with the target customers. Complexity academic level The case study suits undergraduate and graduate courses such as marketing management, sustainable marketing and sustainable business. The case study can also be used in entrepreneurship management and entrepreneurial marketing courses to introduce the challenges of a sustainable startup. The case study highlights the marketing challenges faced by the disruptive and growing plant-based foods or alternative dairy industry in emerging markets. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 8: Marketing.

Dynamic Capabilities for Open Innovation: A Typology of Pathways toward Aligning Resources, Strategies and Capabilities

The purpose of this study is to analyze how dynamic capabilities are integrated into open innovation to support firms pursuing innovation. Dynamic capabilities enable firms to adjust to emerging changes through redesigning resource configuration. Nevertheless, how dynamic capabilities are integrated into open innovation for obtaining external knowledge and resources has not been observed in previous studies. Utilizing seven small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with various degrees of knowledge and technology intensity as subjects, this qualitative study identified a typology of pathways for integrating dynamic capabilities into open innovation. This study found that firms’ internal resources coupled with complementary assets obtained from open innovation determine what strategies to deploy and what capabilities are needed to execute the strategies. The fit among firms’ resources, strategies, capabilities and emerging business environment is not serendipitous, but rather it must be designed and supported by collective efforts from participants across organizations. In other words, the nature of knowledge and degree of technology adoption determine how sensing, seizing and performing are applied in each phase of open innovation. The main drawback of qualitative study is that it cannot cover a large number of subjects, although it can scrutinize an abundant number of detailed data. Future research can analyze the findings of this study using a survey method covering a large number of firms from various industries so that generalizability can be assured.

Business Students Expectations of Brazilian Corporate Governance: Insights for a Sustainable Path in an Emerging Business Environment

This paper aimed to better understand business students’ expectations of Brazilian corporate governance after recent scandals, focusing on capturing their perceptions after the Lava Jato (Car Wash) police investigation. Adapting a prior survey applied to business students, data were collected from three colleges in São Paulo, the largest city in Latin America, with a total of 328 responses. The data were initially submitted to confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), after which we employed a structural equation model (SEM). Our main finding indicates that students are skeptical of an increase in Brazilian corporate governance after this police operation. This result is supported by the prior literature and denotes student consciousness of the need for deep reforms in the business environment and compliance rules. Furthermore, strategic human resources management is the most prominent corporate governance tool today, and the survey revealed disbelief that the Board of Directors and internal audits will act as potential inhibitors of fraud and corruption. These findings are associated with a broad view related to sustainability which denotes that future firm leaders, who are currently business students, comprehend that an ethical business environment needs to be built by professionals who are able to understand the role of corporate governance mechanisms. This paper contributes to the literature by offering a holistic assessment of business student perceptions and encourages a discussion of current models and instruments of Brazilian corporate governance. The scarcity of studies involving education and governance can be considered a constraint to building sustainable companies from a long-term perspective. Comprehending business students’ perceptions about corporate governance mechanisms can be considered a path to increasing the number of business courses with topics aligned with practical effects on environmental, social, and governance subjects, mainly when these mechanisms are evaluated from an integrated perspective.

Enhancing Business Schools’ Pedagogy on Sustainable Business Practices and Ethical Decision-Making

Business school curriculums are designed to improve business skills and a student’s eventual workplace performance. In addition to these business skill sets the emerging business environment demands softer skills associated with ethical decision-making and sustainable business practices. The objective of the study is to identify the key influencers of ethical orientation and attitudes towards the environment as a first critical step for curriculum planning designed to develop both ethical decision-making and environmental sensibilities of students in business schools. Using a bivariate regression analysis (OLS) that compared the established New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale and the newly introduced Ethical Orientation Scale (EOS), this study assesses environmental eco-consciousness and ethical orientation over time and across varying socio-demographic variables. The study shows first, that in addition to socio-cultural variables, situational factors influence ethical decision-making. Secondly, it illuminates that ethical orientations as measured by the EOS predicts beliefs about the environment as measured by the NEP scale. It further provides evidence of the ethical underpinnings of the New Ecological Paradigm as well as provides initial validation for the new EOS. These outcomes provide additional levers to assist business educators in the creation of high impact teaching strategies to measure and encourage ethical decision-making and sustainable business practices that protect the environment.

Exploring potentials of digital nudging for business processes

PurposeBusiness process improvement is vital for organizations as business environments are becoming ever more volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. Process improvement methods help organizations sustain competitiveness. Many existing methods, however, do not fit emerging business environments as they entail initiatives with long implementation times, high investments and limited involvement of process participants. What is needed are agile process improvement approaches. The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of digital nudging – a concept offering tools that lead individuals to better decisions – to improve business processes.Design/methodology/approachUsing process deviance as theoretical lens, an online experiment with 473 participants is conducted. Within the experiment, business processes and digital nudges are implemented to examine whether digital nudging can mitigate the weaknesses of existing process improvement methods.FindingsDigital nudging can influence the decisions of process participants and entail positive process deviance that leads to process improvement opportunities. Further, the research gives a first hint on the effectiveness of different digital nudges and lays the foundation for future research.Research limitations/implicationsSince exploring a completely new field of research and conducting the experiment in a synthetic environment, the paper serves as a first step toward the combination of digital nudging, business process improvements and positive process deviance.Originality/valueThe major achievement reported in this paper is the exploration of a new field of research. Thus, digital nudging shapes up as a promising foundation for agile process improvement, a discovery calling for future research at the intersection of digital nudging and business process management.

Preduzetništvo, nacionalna kultura i Republika Srbija

In the emerging business environment and with the rapidly growing contemporary business trends, the concepts of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs tend to adapt to the new circumstances of business practice. According to the entrepreneurship theory, entrepreneurs possess universal characteristics, but some characteristics of entrepreneurs are conditioned by the specificities of their own national culture. Also, entrepreneurship concepts vary from one country to another. The link between entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial behavior and cultural values has been defined by a framework of dimensions of national cultures first introduced by a scientist - Geert Hofstede. Numerous studies on the subject point to a strong link between entrepreneurship and national culture. The aim of this paper is to provide a theoretical overview of the most important facts regarding the connection between entrepreneurship and national culture in general, with an emphasis on the national culture of the Republic of Serbia and its entrepreneurial environment.

Competitiveness of Slovak enterprises in Central and Eastern European region

Many changes occurred in the management of the economy in Slovakia caused by the transition from a centrally planned economy to a market economy at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s. The process of globalization into Slovak economic conditions was limited due to initial alertness. While the governments of Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic presented themselves as pro-reform, the Slovak government preferred Slovak privatizers (Kosir, 2016). Nevertheless, the retail chain Billa entered Slovak market in 1990, followed by automobile giant Volkswagen in 1991, American retail chain Kmart in 1992, which took over the department stores Prior. Because of the reforms implemented, Slovakia gains confidence from foreign investors. Significant foreign capital inflows into the emerging business environment of the Slovak economy, such as Heineken, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and others. A courtesy of Slovak government has also become reprivatisation of VSŽ Kosice, which became part of the U.S. Steel, based in Pittsburgh in the USA.

Business model for developing strategies of forest cooperatives. Evidence from an emerging business environment in Greece

ABSTRACTForest cooperatives are essentially a form of entrepreneurship. However, they are confronted by various problems and they cannot pay enough attention to value creation. The aim of this paper is twofold: (a) the identification of the structural factors supporting the function of Greek forest cooperatives and the exploration of the possibilities of applying business model innovation to them; (b) the investigation of how the development of an integrated business model can help cooperatives stay ahead in the innovation game, while securing sustainability. By applying business modeling procedures to the forest cooperatives of the Region of Thessaly (Greece) this paper presents, the implementation of innovative development strategy, within the current legislative framework. Results show that the business model approach gives them the ability to develop a shared vision for value creation and delivering through the establishment of a framework related to sustainable forest management based on creation of bonds for achieving a win-win strategy, satisfying the increasing needs for innovative forest-based products, which constitutes a challenge for the sustainable management of forests. We argue that this is the first time this approach has been made regarding forest cooperatives in Greece in relation to the emerging parameters of the general business environment.

PRODUCT PRICING WITH MARKETING DATA UNDER RISK USING BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE

Since product pricing is a significant decision for producers and is known as a challenging problem in today’s marketing operations, the aim of this study is to design an integrated decision support system for pricing. The emerging business environment is highly dynamic in which only companies being higher in terms of competitiveness can succeed in achieving a sustainable market. Nowadays, most companies often use complicated information systems such as business intelligence systems for effective decision making and analytics. Here, by using pricing methods the prices of products are determined on the basis of marketing data under the terms of risk so that to maximize revenue along with fulfilling customers’ demands. A case study is reported to show the effectiveness of the approach. There, we analyzed different effects of our proposed pricing models and studied the influences on the purchase behavior of the customers.

Third Party Logistics Outsourcing: An Exploratory Study of the Oil and Gas Industry in Nigeria

Not much has been researched in logistics outsourcing in the emerging countries, particularly in the oil and gas industry. This article investigates the feasibility of logistics outsourcing by the international oil and gas companies in the emerging business environment of Nigeria. An exploratory, multicase, qualitative approach was applied, involving 40 interviewees in three international oil companies and three of their logistics service providers. Findings reveal that vendors’ capabilities, host community issues, joint venture influence, and employees’ reactions challenge international oil companies’ logistics outsourcing implementation while relationship management, contract management, and change management skills enable them handle these challenges. The results also show that surveyed organizations implement logistics outsourcing piecemeal and need to scale up their current capabilities to effectively integrate logistics outsourcing. The research confirms logistics outsourcing is achievable in Nigeria, but requires synergies and symbiosis between the oil companies and their local vendors.

Demand articulation in the open-innovation paradigm

In the marketing literatures, “articulation of demand” is quoted as an important competency of market-driving firms. In this paper, therefore, I will demonstrate how the concept of “demand articulation” was effective in formulating corporate policies for technology and market development, and also in government policies for accelerating the commercialization process of emerging technologies. In order to comprehend empirically what really means “demand articulation”, i.e., how “market-driving” is different from “market-driven,” we conducted a quantitative analysis of market growth paths in three different kinds of product categories. We came to the arguments of “business model” creation, which will bring the concept of “demand articulation” into a reality under an emerging business environment of open innovation. In order for the concept of “open innovation” to be effective, the accumulation and advanced utilization of big-data is an absolute necessity. In other words, the combination of business model creation, accompanied by the accumulation of big data and its advanced utilization, can make the arguments of market-driving more plausible, and make the accuracy of demand articulation more enhanced. As far as business model itself is concerned, the experimentation and simulation of alternative business models becomes possible with the sheer existence of big-data. These are necessary conditions for IoT (Internet of Things) to be brought into a reality.

The management of diversity and inclusion in an emerging tech environment

Claims advanced by the business case and resource-based perspectives suggest that extensive human resource diversity offers the scope to enhance organizational performance. However, relatively little is known about the management of diversity and inclusion outside firms in developed economies and so it is unclear whether these claims hold up for firms operating in an emerging business environment. This paper examines the diversity challenges faced by a set of tech firms in India. The findings cast light on tensions between policy, practice and behavior that undermine the potential benefits espoused by the business- and resource-based perspectives as well as the successful integration of business and HR strategy.

Implementing managed loosely-coupled distributed business processes: a new approach using DIME networks

The coordination and choreography of independently-developed and locally-managed distributed processes is a key requirement of the emerging business environment in which organisations form, and break, relationships with other organisations on the fly to meet business goals, for example, provide customer and stakeholder value. The current set of Business Process Management Systems do not support this dynamicity of relationships and processes – or process mobility – creating new channels, reassigning channels, in particular, to processes whose existence becomes known only at run-time and may differ by instance. This dynamic nature of the relationships and processes is founded on π-calculus mobility. This paper presents a new approach to implement π-calculus mobility using Distributed Intelligent Managed Element (DIME) network architecture; it is shown how process mobility is an inherent capability of DIMEs. This paper also proposes the use of DIME FCAPS capabilities to support Business Services Management (...

State of the art literature review on performance measurement

The performance measurement revolution started in the late 1970s with the dissatisfaction of traditional backward looking accounting systems. Since then the literature in this field is emerging. Most of the focus was on designing performance measurement system (PMS), with few studies illustrating the issues in implementing and using PMS. Although Management Information Systems (MIS) and change management are important enablers of PMS, their role is not very well understood. Hence the objective of this paper is to review literature on the role of MIS and change management throughout the lifecycle of performance measurement, i.e. design, implementation and use stages. This paper not only discusses the role of MIS and change management throughout PMS lifecycle but also discusses PMS in the context of emerging business environment such as globalization, servitization, and networking in the context of multi-cultural environment. Finally it identifies research challenges for PMS in the emerging business environment.

Future leadership competencies: from foresight to current practice

PurposeWith tectonic plate shifting change and continuous uncertainty, a reliance on leadership competencies rooted in the past will no longer be successful. Instead, it is argued that the emerging business environment now demands a new set of leadership skills that are aligned to the requirements of the future. This paper aims to address these issues.Design/methodology/approachA foresight orientation was taken to identify leadership skills necessary for success in the near future. Based on in‐depth analysis of key business, societal, organisational and leadership trends, nine key leadership competencies were identified. An exploratory study was then conducted to assess the current level of future leadership capability in a diverse sample included of current and emerging leaders from a variety of organisations across Europe and Asia Pacific.FindingsResults suggest that both current and emerging organisational leaders are significantly under prepared for the challenges ahead.Research limitations/implicationsThe present study provides a starting‐point for further research exploring the leadership capabilities needed for success in the emerging business environment.Practical implicationsIt is argued that unless organisations begin to cultivate requisite skills for the future, they will inevitably forfeit their potential for future success.Originality/valueThe paper adds clear value to the field of study due to its unique futures perspective and orientation, in addition to its practical applications.

Entrepreneurial strategies in a transitional economy: Chinese state and non-state enterprises compared and contrasted

This study compares and contrasts certain characteristics of entrepreneurial orientations in response to China's emerging business environment among state owned enterprises (SOEs) and township/village enterprises (TVEs). A survey of SOE and TVE managers shows that, in comparison to SOEs, TVEs tend to be more innovative, adaptive and proactive in response to the dynamism and munificence of the business environment. SOE-TVE differences are less pronounced, however, with regard to environmental complexity. Implications for entrepreneurship research and practice as well as for the future performance of SOEs and TVEs are delineated.

Identifying the adoption of e‐business and knowledge management within SMEs

This paper presents results on the extent to which e‐business and knowledge management approaches are being used by SMEs in the UK. The questionnaire survey and interview results identify the main issues that should concern SMEs if they want to prevail in the emerging business environment and knowledge economy. The main finding is that SMEs have increasingly applied e‐business for B2B and B2C activities, but SMEs are not generally aware of how knowledge can be created through the use of e‐business applications and daily operations. It is envisaged that the findings from this study will provide the main step forward in developing a reference framework and a management model for SMEs to assess, manage and make use of the existing and new e‐business tools and knowledge reflecting the e‐business and knowledge management era.

Towards a value‐based view on operations and maintenance performance management

Most of the North Sea oil companies have recognized the need to adjust their management processes, including those concerned with operations and maintenance, to the changed and changing business conditions in industry at large, particularly due to the volatile oil price. This has been a rationale to review organizational operations and maintenance policies by many. This paper describes findings from a research study on operations and maintenance performance conducted in the emerging operating environment with close cooperation of leading oil and gas organizations in the Norwegian continental shelf. An attempt has been made to develop an architecture for effective management of operations and maintenance performance linking results to performance drivers. This has further been extended to apply the balanced scorecard concept. The papers emphasize on the value rather than the cost of operations and maintenance in the emerging business environment, and stresses that there is a need to move from a plant‐based policy to a more or less long‐term business‐oriented approach.

Strategic implications of “get serious” online technologies

Illuminates a selection of technologies that will enhance the interactions between companies and consumers, revealing some strategic ramifications of these developments across a range of sectors. Concludes that strategists should exploit the emerging business environment driven by technologies that enhance the online experience for customers and other stakeholders.