Ecosystem Framework Research Articles

University Branding and Measuring Brand Equity: Conceptual Framework and Empirical Studies

In highly competitive marketplace, branding and brand management have become increasingly important as organizations seek competitive advantage. As colleges and universities have faced an increased competition, university administrators have realized that relying only on external marketing and branding efforts are not sufficient strategies for building strong university brands and brand equity. Based on review of literature, this paper presents a summary of a brand ecosystem as conceptual and the results of empirical studies that utilize CBBE and brand ecosystem framework to understand university branding and measuring university brand equity. The results of the empirical studies indicate that universities are complex systems of various sub-brands that require brand management by considering all relevant dimensions in a holistic perspective in a brand ecosystem framework with their direct and indirect relationships in creating a strong university brand and brand equity. These findings offer important insights that could have strategic implications for developing successful university branding strategies.

How can practical wisdom manifest itself in five fundamental management and leadership practices?

Purpose Practical wisdom (PW; phronesis), as one of the human virtues, is experiencing a renewal in the contemporary management literature. The aim of this conceptual paper is first, to explore the core practices of managers and leaders in the literature and second, to demonstrate how PW can manifest itself in these practices. Design/methodology/approach The research follows the interpretivist research philosophy, inductive approach, qualitative method and the theory-building research strategy. The data collection method is a literature review. The practice ecosystem framework is applied to demonstrate the presence of PW in the core practices of managers and leaders. Findings The paper proposes a practice-based paradigm of management and leadership. From the literature study, envisioning, enabling, energizing, engaging and executing as five fundamental practices are identified. Research limitations/implications The most significant literature was selected based on decisions of the author. Therefore, it might be that important sources were overlooked. The paper proposes future research questions, and it calls for an empirical validation of the proposed conceptual model in management and leadership practices context. Practical implications The practical implications for managers and leaders are in applying the framework developed in this paper as a tool or guidelines to cultivate PW in their practices. The paper offers implications for management education, traditional educational institutions and educational practitioners because they are the key influencers of wise thinking and actions of future managers and leaders. Originality/value The novelty of this paper is in making explicit how the eight features of PW can manifest themselves in the everyday actions of managers and leaders. Applying the practice ecosystem framework for this purpose is an original contribution.

Digital policy to disability employment? An ecosystem perspective on China and Australia

AbstractGlobally, labour markets are encountering profound changes because of the digital revolution. Middle‐income countries such as China are leapfrogging high‐income countries to take advantage of the digital economy. The growing use of digital technologies is also reshaping the labour market in high‐income countries such as Australia. Potentially, new technologies may facilitate both employers and employees to overcome some of the barriers to disability employment. However, it seems that the opportunities and hopes have not yet translated into improved employment rate for people with disability. This paper uses an ecosystem framework to examine the state's role in improving the critical elements of disability employment: developing a national strategy, creating employment opportunities, building capacity and enhancing accessibility. This paper compares the historical development of disability employment and the policies introduced to take advantage of digital technologies across China and Australia. It studies the national policies, funded activities and the governing structure in China and Australia. The findings revealed distinctive approaches that have played to the strengths of each country. However, both countries need to address the weaker links to deliver a real paradigm shift.

IN SEARCH FOR GENDER EQUALITY IN RURAL MADRASAS OF MALANG RAYA

While gender awareness in the country increasingly arises and is widely debated, few studies have examined the level of gender sensitivity of awareness in Islamic schools. Using case study, this article examines the construction of gender equity in nine rural madrasas in South Malang, Indonesia, by building the framework of social ecosystem of education in madrasas in order to construct the gender equity in rural madrasas. The findings show that in general, the educators in the madrasas already have a gender awareness because they have been familiar with feminism and gender equity in education; however, traditional and conservative gender perspective are still at large. It finds that there are still various gender differences, stereotypes, and an uncomfortable school climate which all challenge the formation of gender equality. Therefore, the social ecosystem of education in rural madrasas deserves enforcement for the embodiment of gender equality.

Understanding disruptive technology transitions in the global logistics industry: the role of ecosystems

Purpose Disruptive technologies in the global logistics industry are often regarded as a threat to the existing business models of incumbents’ companies. Existing research, however, focuses mainly on whether technologies have disruptive potential, thereby neglecting when such disruptive transitions occur. To understand the timing of potential disruptive technological change, this paper aims to investigate the elements of the underlying ecosystem shaping these transitions. Design/methodology/approach Building on the established ecosystem framework from Adner and Kapoor (2016a), this paper constructs four categories of technology substitution to assess how quickly disruptive change may occur in the global logistics industry and defines key technology substitution determinants in logistics to emphasize the role of ecosystems for further consideration into disruptive innovation theory. Findings Based on the key determinants, this paper proposes first definitions of distinctive ecosystems elements linked to the three types of innovations, namely, sustaining innovations, low-end disruptions and new-market disruptions, thereby integrating ecosystems into Christensen’s (1997) disruptive innovation theory. Originality/value By developing a framework that conceptualizes the pace of technology substitution, this paper contributes to a more nuanced understanding of how logistics managers and academics can better predict disruptive transitions and develop strategies to allocate resources.

Built Environment Ecosystems Framework towards Sustainable Urban Housing Infrastructure

As the rates of urbanization increase to unprecedented levels, the urgent need for sustainable housing and infrastructure has become a widespread global challenge with social, economic and ecological implications. The housing sector directly impacts the majority of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs). However, striving to achieve these goals in a compartmentalized or siloed manner has impeded the implementation of transformational solutions that increase the security and wellbeing of urban populations. Here, we introduce the Built Environment Ecosystems (BEE) framework, alongside a case study from the Ecological Living Module (ELM) UNEP Program, through an integrated systems approach with synergistic impact. We demonstrate how the multifunctional interlinking of building systems that harness local bioclimatic resources (ie. solar, wind, water, food, agricultural waste, biomaterials) can more viably address a broad spectrum of sustainable development challenges, while increasing local stakeholder agency. We outline how the BEE framework enables the association of SDGs as an integrated package, with an ELM performing as a scalable but Self-reliant Ecosystem of Systems, that could enable systemic change, suggesting the need for further research towards a scale up in the density of such housing systems across multiple climatic and cultural contexts towards ubiquitous sustainable urban housing.

Imigração e cidades: uma cartografia da arena pública de apoio aos imigrantes e refugiados em Florianópolis

A imigração humana é um processo mundial e histórico e que vem se intensificando nos últimos anos, especialmente com o fenômeno global dos refugiados. Inserindo-se nessa temática mais ampla, este artigo busca discutir como a ação pública diante da imigração vem ocorrendo no âmbito das cidades brasileiras, a partir de um estudo conduzido na cidade de Florianópolis. Tendo por fundamento a sociologia contemporânea dos problemas públicos, de base pragmatista, busca-se compreender como se configura a arena pública que se mobiliza em torno desse problema público no quadro do Ecossistema de Inovação Social da cidade. Como resultado, foi possível, a partir da consideração da historicidade do problema público (escala macro), cartografar as iniciativas de inovação social que atuam junto aos imigrantes/refugiados na cidade (escala meso) e observar as atividades de duas iniciativas que atuam nessa arena pública, buscando levantar seus alcances e limites em termos de influência na ação pública da cidade.

The entrepreneurial ecosystem of cultural and creative industries in Porto: A sub‐ecosystem approach

AbstractIt is still a matter of dispute whether entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) frameworks can be confined to a single industry in isolation, let alone whether such a sub‐ecosystem approach can be employed in a domain that is distinct from the high‐growth industries usually scrutinised in the literature. This article seeks to apply a systemic and dynamic EE perspective to the development of cultural and creative industries (CCIs) within an urban context, with a particular focus on how urban development interacts with the sub‐ecosystem of this sector over time. An in‐depth case study in the city of Porto (Portugal) revealed that existing EE frameworks are well‐suited to research on creative sub‐ecosystems. It also enabled us to flesh out associations with other entrepreneurial activities and policy domains within the city. We highlight the prominent roles of local culture and policies when the context is resource‐constrained: policy led to an upward, positive spiral that moved Porto’s EE in relation to CCIs into a growth stage, during which it began to interact with, and faced resource competition from, high‐tech entrepreneurship. We argue that having an integrated view of the dynamics of entrepreneurial sub‐ecosystems and urban affairs can improve what is understood of productivity and causality in entrepreneurship.

Designing the framework of technological entrepreneurship ecosystem: A grounded theory approach in the context of Iran

The ecosystem approach, as a comprehensive way of understanding multi-aspect environments, has recently gained so much attention in entrepreneurship and innovation studies. The application of this approach has led to the introduction of the currently available ecosystem frameworks that are dealing with some issues such as infirm structure and heterogeneity of components. In this research, by adopting the grounded theory approach in the context of Iran, we defined a novel and comprehensive framework for the technological entrepreneurship ecosystem (TEE). Twenty-six in-depth and semi-structured interviews have been conducted and analysed through a modified grounded theory procedure. Seventy-four secondary sources were added to the study to expand the breadth of our analysis and reach a stronger saturation. The concluded framework comprised of four interconnected layers representing environmental conditions, entity domains, functional realms, and tech-entrepreneurial agents. In addition, we identified some general principles and rules as important underlying aspects of this framework. The inferred components and structure of this novel framework not only could enable us to design the relations between the ecosystem components, but also prompt and support further research on each dimension of the ecosystem.

The concept of ecosystem in economic and management studies

The concept of ecosystem enjoys growing popularity among academics and practitioners around the globe. However, due to the inconsistent use and the vagueness of definitions, the application of the concept in economic and management studies is impeded. The paper systematizes the prerequisites, theoretical foundations and conceptual framework of ecosystems as a concept for describing a new structure of social relations. The methodological basis of the research is organizational ecology theory, dynamic capabilities theory and neo-institutional theory. Structural-logical, bibliographic and criterion analysis are the main research methods. The article substantiates the expediency of using the prefix “eco-” when describing the interaction between a company and its environment, and indentifies the primary provisions of organizational ecology affecting the emergence of the ecosystem concept. The author examines the intermediate position of the ecosystem in the neo-institutional dichotomy of market– hierarchy. The study discusses the extent to which the ecosystem influences dynamic capabilities of a firm, and demonstrates inconsistencies in using the term “ecosystem” in academic texts. As a result of bibliographic analysis, we distinguish between four central research discourses of the ecosystem concept (business, innovation, entrepreneurial and platform-based ecosystems), as well as establish their terminological peculiarities and main research avenues. The results obtained can be used to develop the theory of ecosystems and describe ecosystems of real business.

Modeling of disk sowing apparatus operation process

As foreign and domestic experience in livestock breeding shows, cultivated pastures are highly efficient and are considered to be a reliable source of consistent provision of animals with green feed during the pasture period. Free feeding of animals on pastures is a natural way of feeding them, which is created by nature within the framework of a single ecosystem in which natural grassland vegetation grows. One of the most expensive items in animal breeding is feed production. To exemplify this, when keeping animals on cultural pastures, there is a decrease in the relevant share of expenses for feed production in the structure of aggregate expenses compared to their management in livestock buildings by 2 times (from 60 … 65% to 30%), and the expenses on purchasing fuels and lubricants by 6 … 7 times. It has been established that in the North Caucasus region three methods of creating cultural pastures are used: based on existing natural and artificial grasses through their surface improvement (by carrying out cultural work, regulating the water-air regime of the soil, combating weed and poisonous vegetation, sowing grass, fertilizing); radical improvement of natural fodder farmland, i.e. the creation of artificial cultural pastures; using pasture crops of perennial grasses cultivated on strongly eroded slope lands to reduce or eliminate erosion processes. As can be seen from the above, the problem of creating cultural pastures on sloping lands is of great current interest.

An empirical study of the dynamic relationships between the core and supporting brand equity dimensions in higher education

PurposeThis study aims to use a holistic approach to empirically examine the direct and indirect relationships of both core and supporting consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) dimensions from students’ perspectives and the underlying impact they have on building a robust university brand equity. It also tests whether student perceptions of the importance of the brand equity constructs significantly differ based on demographics.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopts the core and supporting university brand equity dimensions that have been tested for reliability and validity in prior research. Data were collected at a major university in the USA. The study used judgment sampling to carefully select a targeted sample of various colleges and class levels. A total of 439 useable surveys were collected.FindingsThe results of partial least squares–structural equation modeling reveal significant relationships between both core and supporting brand equity dimensions. The core brand equity dimensions include brand awareness, perceived quality, brand association, brand trust, learning environment, emotional environment, university reputation and brand loyalty. The supporting brand equity dimensions include library services, dining services, residence hall and physical facilities. Significant direct and/or indirect relationships were found between the core and supporting CBBE dimensions. The demographic variables of gender, semester standing and living arrangement also influence the importance of some of the core and supporting dimensions.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that females, freshman and students living on-campus require specific attention in higher education. For a better representation and understanding of the university student population, we recommend that future studies use probability sampling and multiple universities for cross-validation.Originality/valueUsing the brand ecosystem framework, this is the first comprehensive study testing the relationships between both core and supporting CBBE dimensions in higher education. The study offers valuable insights to university stakeholders for building a strong university brand. It also confirms that the measures of the CBBE brand equity dimensions are valid and are applicable to other higher education institutions.

SMS: A Secure Healthcare Model for Smart Cities

Technological innovations have enabled the realization of a utopian world where all objects of everyday life, as well as humans, are interconnected to form an “Internet of Things (IoT).” These connected technologies and IoT solutions have led to the emergence of smart cities where all components are converted into a connected smart ecosystem. IoT has envisioned several areas of smart cities including the modern healthcare environment like real-time monitoring, patient information management, ambient-assisted living, ambient-intelligence, anomaly detection, and accelerated sensing. IoT has also brought a breakthrough in the medical domain by integrating stake holders, medical components, and hospitals to bring about holistic healthcare management. The healthcare domain is already witnessing promising IoT-based solutions ranging from embedded mobile applications to wearable devices and implantable gadgets. However, with all these exemplary benefits, there is a need to ensure the safety and privacy of the patient’s personal and medical data communicated to and from the connected devices and systems. For a smart city, it is pertinent to have an accessible, effective, and secure healthcare system for its inhabitants. This paper discusses the various elements of technology-enabled healthcare and presents a privacy-preserved and secure “Smart Medical System (SMS)” framework for the smart city ecosystem. For providing real-time analysis and responses, this paper proposes to use the concept of secured Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) for performing critical time-bound computations on the edge itself. In order to protect the medical and personal data of the patients and to make the data tamper-proof, the concept of blockchain has been used. Finally, this paper highlights the ways to capture and store the medical big data generated from IoT devices and sensors.

The consensus equilibria of mining gap games related to the stability of Blockchain Ecosystems

The equity and currency tokens are typically two kinds of initial coin offerings (ICOs) like Bitcoin or Ethereum based on the platform of Blockchains to provide a particular product or service, it is very important to study the mechanism of Blockchain Ecosystems. The goal of this paper is to explain the stable in the sense for the existence of consensus equilibria for mining gap games by using one new concept called ‘consensus games (CG)’ under the framework of Blockchain Ecosystems which mainly mean the economic activities by taking into the account of three types of different factors which are expenses, reward mechanism and mining power for the work on blockschain by applying consensuses including the ‘Proof of Work’ due to Nakamoto in 2008 as a special case.

A response to the persistent digital divide: Critical components of a community network ecosystem

The recent COVID-19 pandemic, and associated mitigation strategies of social distancing and self-isolation, has elevated the importance of telecommunications networks. In the current era there is little dispute amongst governments and at the highest levels of the United Nations in respect of the right of all citizens, regardless of their station in life, to have unfettered access to the Internet. However, despite substantive investments in telecommunications infrastructure development, a plethora of policy interventions and three world summits on the Information Society, more than half of the world’s population remain unconnected. Over recent years, an emerging solution to the problem has been a bottom-up model of telecommunications ownership, referred to as community networks. There are varying approaches to community networks and different modes of implementation are observed across the globe. However, there is little evidence and consensus on what are all of the necessary elements of the system that comprise a successful community network. In light of this, this paper takes a first step towards the development of a comprehensive framework of the community network ecosystem. Based on the extant literature, a four-pronged People, Technology, Organization and Environment (PTOE) framework is derived. This is then subjected to qualitative analysis against descriptive reports of 11 existing community networks. The final framework and its sub-components provides a holistic and comprehensive perspective of the community network ecosystem. It serves as a basis for further analysis and research of community networks models and also as a means of informing practical implementation of both current and future community networks.

The transformation and upgrade of China's manufacturing industry in Industry 4.0 era

AbstractCurrently, many countries are striving to transform and upgrade their manufacturing industries. Manufacturing development strategies such as Industry 4.0 have attracted a lot of attention from both industry and academia. To provide a fundamental basis and reference for the development of China's manufacturing industry, this study reviews the key concept and implementation mechanism of Industry 4.0. After analysing main problems existing in China's manufacturing industry, this study provides a key strategy for the transformation and upgrade of China's manufacturing industry. A digital manufacturing ecosystem framework is also proposed to explore theoretical and practical significance of this strategy.

Towards a Blockchain-based Identity and Trust Management Framework for the IoV Ecosystem

Towards a Blockchain-based Identity and Trust Management Framework for the IoV Ecosystem

Robots responding to care needs? A multitasking care robot pursued for 25\xa0years, available products offer simple entertainment and instrumental assistance

Twenty-five years ago, robotics guru Joseph Engelberger had a mission to motivate research teams all over the world to design the ‘Elderly Care Giver’, a multitasking personal robot assistant for everyday care needs in old age. In this article, we discuss how this vision of omnipotent care robots has influenced the design strategies of care robotics, the development of R&D initiatives and ethics research on use of care robots. Despite the expectations of robots revolutionizing care of older people, the role of robots in human care has remained marginal. The value of world trade in service robots, including care robots, is rather small. We argue that the implementation of robots in care is not primarily due to negative user attitudes or ethical problems, but to problems in R&D and manufacturing. The care robots currently available on the market are capable of simple, repetitive tasks or colloquial interaction. Thus far, also research on care robots is mostly conducted using imaginary scenarios or small-scale tests built up for research purposes. To develop useful and affordable robot solutions that are ethically, socially and ecologically sustainable, we suggest that robot initiatives should be evaluated within the framework of care ecosystems. This implies that attention has to be paid to the social, emotional and practical contexts in which care is given and received. Also, the political, economic and ecological realities of organizing care and producing technological commodities have to be acknowledged. It is time to openly discuss the drivers behind care robot initiatives to outline the bigger picture of organizing care under conditions of limited resources.

The components of an innovation ecosystem framework for Botswana's mobile applications

AbstractThe literature on information and communication technology comprises numerous studies on the role of mobile technologies in developing communities, including examples of innovative mobile applications which improve literacy and access to healthcare, banking and agricultural services. There is a growing understanding that sustainable development requires more than rational, scientific and technological means – it also requires a web of support from both social networks and business infrastructure. Innovation ecosystems consist of economic agents and relations, as well as non‐economic components such as technology, institutions, sociological interactions and culture, which facilitate idea‐making, innovation and the diffusion of such innovations. There is, as yet, no evidence‐based innovation ecosystem conceptualisation to describe the situation in Botswana. This study aims to identify and present the essential components of a mobile application innovation ecosystem, by using Design Science Research methodology and adopting a pragmatic research approach which draws on two theoretical streams: the Computing, Connectivity, Content and Capacity (4Cs) framework for information and communications technology, and a systems theory‐based Triple Helix Model of Innovation. In addition to making a theoretical contribution towards understanding information and communications technology for development innovation frameworks, the study provides practical recommendations in respect of supporting mobile application innovations in Botswana.

A Fuzzy ANP-QFD Methodology for Determining Stakeholders in Product-Service Systems Development from Ecosystem Perspective

Recently the competition between firms is transforming from “firm vs. firm” to “ecosystem vs. ecosystem”. To fulfil the personalized customer requirements for a high-quality product-service in the age of servitization and sustainability, it is difficult for an individual actor to realize it. The product-service system (PSS) is naturally an integration of product and service. The final product-service of PSS that depends on a tangible product and intangible service, calls for value co-creation of multi-stakeholders. However, most existing related works have investigated PSS from the perspective of a supply chain or network, PSS in the view of an ecosystem of multi-stakeholders lacks sufficient exploration, especially the topic on the relationship between product-service and stakeholders. To fill the gap, this paper proposed a framework for the PSS ecosystem with quality function deployment (QFD) and fuzzy analytic network process (fuzzy ANP) to determine the stakeholders by clarifying the relationship between the final integrated product-service and stakeholders. Firstly, the PSS ecosystem structure was presented, including the stakeholders. Secondly, a model with the three-stage fuzzy ANP-QFD approach to determine stakeholders was employed. Thirdly, the specific process of the three-stage approach was presented. An illustrative case study of the automobile aftermarket was presented to verify the proposed model and approach. Discussions and future directions concluded this paper.