Innovation Agenda Research Articles

Implementing regional blue economy research and innovation strategies: a case study for the Black Sea

The Black Sea is a vital resource with vast potential to boost the societal value of the Blue Economy for its surrounding countries. Improved knowledge and enhanced infrastructure together with better coordination and alignment of research and innovation efforts are critical for the better management of the deteriorated Black Sea ecosystem to help restore and maintain its resilience and enable sustainable use of natural resources. In 2019, the Black Sea Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (Black Sea SRIA), was developed by the Black Sea experts, in cooperation with European marine institutes and organizations, with the support of the European Commission. Black Sea SRIA presents the priorities and ecosystem-based management options needed for a healthy, sustainable, and resilient Black Sea. Since 2019, efforts focused on developing concrete actions under the Black Sea SRIA Implementation Plan (IP) to contribute to the national blue economy strategies, better structuring of the relevant funding mechanisms for solution-oriented implementation and the international and regional strategies, supporting the co-funding mechanisms. In this study, we present a transnational process that has led to the development of the IP which utilized a bottom-up, co-design and co-creation-based approach. The SRIA and its IP support better governance of the blue economy principles towards sustainable development and conservation of unique Black Sea ecosystems. The Black Sea SRIA and IP address the fundamental research challenges of the region, promote the blue economy, and also build vital support systems and innovative research infrastructure and capacity together with academia, funding organizations, industry, policy, civil society and local communities. The IP is a long-lasting guide to catalyze new ideas and innovations towards and with the Black Sea community with strong implications for other sea basins.

On-Farm Production of Renewable Energy in 2014–2022

The main purpose of this study is to present family farms as consumers and producers of renewable energies which provide them with an opportunity to reduce operating costs. The time scope of the study is 2014–2022, and the Farm Accountancy Data Network is used as the data source. The following research methods were employed: comparative and descriptive analysis, intensity indicators, ranking assignment and panel regression. Based on the values of energy output and energy costs, the rankings revealed a strong position of the Netherlands and Germany. As demonstrated by the study, energy production and consumption volumes depend on the farms’ economic size, but are not impacted by production type. Another finding is that energy production covers only one-third of its costs. Also, both production volumes and costs were on a growth path on a year-over-year basis, with similar growth ratios. The European Union’s leaders in energy consumption and production are the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Czech Republic, Hungary, Luxembourg, Slovakia and Sweden. The study included the structuring of panel models for energy output and costs and identified their determinants. Energy output depends on total inputs and grows as they grow. Energy costs, in turn, are related to utilized agricultural area, total output and family farm income. An important limitation of this study is that FADN is a provider of high-level data. Hence, it is impossible to tell what specific sources of renewable energy are used by farms, and how they are affected by such exogenous factors as climate, earmarked subsidies or energy policy. The findings from this study are discussed in the context of the European Commission’s recommendations laid down in the Bioeconomy Strategy of the EU (2013), the Seventh Environment Action Program, the New Innovation Agenda of the European Union, the Report “Transforming Our World: the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” and the Circular Economy Action Plan.

Proposed Study on the Existing Body of Literature on Innovation Performance in China’s High-Tech SMEs

This study investigates the intricate relationship between top management capability, relational capability, technological capability, learning capability, innovation strategy, and innovation performance within the context of high-technology Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in China. Through a synthesis of the Resource-Based View and Dynamic Capability Theory, this research delves into how these diverse capabilities intersect to shape innovation outcomes in a rapidly evolving market landscape. Drawing upon empirical data collected from a comprehensive sample of high-tech SMEs operating across various industries in China, this study examines how top management capability influences the firm's strategic direction and innovation agenda. Furthermore, the research explores the role of relational capability in fostering collaborative relationships with stakeholders, such as customers, suppliers, and partners, to access valuable resources and knowledge for innovation initiatives. Moreover, the study investigates how technological capability enables firms to harness advanced technologies and expertise to drive innovation, while learning capability facilitates the absorption, assimilation, and application of new knowledge and insights to fuel continuous innovation efforts. Through an analysis of innovation strategies adopted by high-tech SMEs and their alignment with dynamic capabilities, this research elucidates the mechanisms through which firms leverage their diverse capabilities to formulate and execute effective innovation strategies, ultimately impacting innovation performance. The findings contribute to both theoretical understanding and practical implications, providing insights for high-tech SMEs in China on how to develop and leverage dynamic capabilities across multiple dimensions to enhance innovation performance and achieve sustainable competitive advantage in today's dynamic business environment.

Building Bridges: Developing a Research Agenda for Sustainability and Innovation

Building Bridges: Developing a Research Agenda for Sustainability and Innovation

A systematic literature review exploring the nexus between circular economy and communities

Circular Economy (CE) studies often focus primarily on technical and economic aspects of the transition process. Recently, some authors have started to enquire the social processes connected to of the CE, often referring to communities. This article provides a Systematic Literature Review on the nexus between CE and community to investigate its features according to the experiences reported in the collected documents. The retrieved corpus has been analyzed recurring to consolidated frameworks, as the R hierarchy, the societal areas challenges identified by the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda developed by the EU project CICERONE, and to the spectrum of participation provided by the International Association for Public Participation. The participative dynamics found in the corpus are analyzed also considering the type of communities, tools, methodologies and goals reported in the retrieved documents. Besides descriptive statistics about the mentioned aspects, the article includes a discussion on some CE social aspects, problematizing and questioning the retrieved stakeholders engagement practices, recurring to a qualitatively selected literature. Conclusions address the main findings related to the most commonly found R strategy, community type, societal challenge areas and type of participative dynamics according to the analytical components chosen in the methodology. Research implications are illustrated, suggesting possible directions for future research to widen the analysis on the nexus between CE and communities.

The European commitment to human-centered technology: the integral role of HCI in the EU AI Act’s success

Abstract The evolution of AI is set to profoundly reshape the future. The European Union, recognizing this impending prominence, has enacted the AI Act, regulating market access for AI-based systems. A salient feature of the Act is to guard democratic and humanistic values by focusing regulation on transparency, explainability, and the human ability to understand and control AI systems. Hereby, the EU AI Act does not merely specify technological requirements for AI systems. The EU issues a democratic call for human-centered AI systems and, in turn, an interdisciplinary research agenda for human-centered innovation in AI development. Without robust methods to assess AI systems and their effect on individuals and society, the EU AI Act may lead to repeating the mistakes of the General Data Protection Regulation of the EU and to rushed, chaotic, ad-hoc, and ambiguous implementation, causing more confusion than lending guidance. Moreover, determined research activities in Human-AI interaction will be pivotal for both regulatory compliance and the advancement of AI in a manner that is both ethical and effective. Such an approach will ensure that AI development aligns with human values and needs, fostering a technology landscape that is innovative, responsible, and an integral part of our society.

Global challenges and microbial biofilms: Identification of priority questions in biofilm research, innovation and policy

Priority question exercises are increasingly used to frame and set future research, innovation and development agendas. They can provide an important bridge between the discoveries, data and outputs generated by researchers, and the information required by policy makers and funders. Microbial biofilms present huge scientific, societal and economic opportunities and challenges. In order to identify key priorities that will help to advance the field, here we review questions from a pool submitted by the international biofilm research community and from practitioners working across industry, the environment and medicine. To avoid bias we used computational approaches to group questions and manage a voting and selection process. The outcome of the exercise is a set of 78 unique questions, categorized in six themes: (i) Biofilm control, disruption, prevention, management, treatment (13 questions); (ii) Resistance, persistence, tolerance, role of aggregation, immune interaction, relevance to infection (10 questions); (iii) Model systems, standards, regulatory, policy education, interdisciplinary approaches (15 questions); (iv) Polymicrobial, interactions, ecology, microbiome, phage (13 questions); (v) Clinical focus, chronic infection, detection, diagnostics (13 questions); and (vi) Matrix, lipids, capsule, metabolism, development, physiology, ecology, evolution environment, microbiome, community engineering (14 questions). The questions presented are intended to highlight opportunities, stimulate discussion and provide focus for researchers, funders and policy makers, informing future research, innovation and development strategy for biofilms and microbial communities.

CEO characteristics and R&D expenditure of IPOs in China

In the rapidly evolving landscape of Mainland China's stock market, there is a substantial correlation between the research and development (R&D) spending of companies that are going through initial public offerings (IPOs) and the characteristics of the CEO. This study aims to investigate how CEO traits influence the allocation of resources towards R&D activities within the context of IPOs in Mainland China. The CEO plays a pivotal role in shaping the strategic direction and innovation agenda of companies, especially during the IPO process where firms seek to raise capital and expand their operations. Policymakers must comprehend the influence of CEO attributes on research and development spending, investors, and managers seeking to foster innovation and sustainable growth in Mainland Chinese firms. This research will focus on analyzing CEO traits such as educational background, prior experience, age, tenure, risk aversion, and management style, and their influence on the decision-making process regarding R&D investment. This study intends to determine significant links between R&D expenditure and characteristics of CEOs by looking at a sample of IPOs in the stock market of Mainland China. The analysis takes into account many factors like industry competition, market dynamics, regulatory environment, and firm-specific traits. Data on CEO traits, company finances, and R&D spending will be analysed using quantitative techniques like regression analysis and event research procedures. Furthermore, qualitative research techniques like case studies and interviews will offer deeper understandings of the contextual elements influencing the IPO market in Mainland China as well as the mechanisms underpinning these linkages. All things considered, this study will advance knowledge of how CEO traits affect R&D spending in the particular setting of initial public offerings (IPOs) on the stock market of Mainland China. The findings will offer valuable insights for policymakers, investors, and managers navigating the complexities of fostering innovation and sustainable growth in Mainland Chinese firms undergoing IPOs.

FAMILY FIRM NARCISSISM: CONCEPTUALISATION, MEASUREMENT, AND RELATIONSHIP TO INNOVATION

Family firm behaviour can be a potential root of innovation in family firms. Building on the theoretical perspectives of socioemotional wealth and narcissistic organisational identification, we introduce a novel concept and new measure for family firm narcissism (FFN). We suggest that FFN influences family firms’ innovation orientation (i.e., strategic innovativeness) and realised innovation outcome (i.e., digital inventiveness). Additionally, we assume that industry IT intensity, as an indicator of environmental pressure regarding digital transformation, moderates these relationships. To test the hypotheses, we investigated a longitudinal cross-industry sample, comprising 1,302 firm-year observations of S&P 500 family firms and analysed it with regression models. The results indicate that FFN is positively related to strategic innovativeness and negatively related to digital inventiveness. We further find that industry IT spending intensity amplifies both linkages. Our study contributes to the discussion on the family innovation agenda by (1) introducing the new concept and measure for FFN and (2) underlining its controversial impact and effectiveness on two central manifestations of innovation under the boundary conditions of digital transformation.

Harnessing Blockchain to Transform Healthcare Data Management: A Comprehensive Research Agenda.

Properly managing healthcare data is a complex endeavor that must balance the requirements and interests of many stakeholders. In this paper, we present the findings from a panel discussion with healthcare professionals and academics, who elaborate on the current situation in healthcare data management as well as the future role that blockchain could play in this sector. Based on the findings of this panel, we structure the research field of healthcare data management and provide numerous avenues for future research. The outcome is a framework that highlights the important role of healthcare data and puts them into context. From a patient's perspective, we specifically elaborate on trust and privacy as well as the expected benefits. Additionally, four important data aspects are identified: integrity, security, interoperability, and, finally, sharing and transfer. We also outline the importance of current problems and derive several relevant and timely research questions that build the foundation of a research agenda for blockchain-driven innovation in healthcare data management. In summary, the framework will inform practitioners of blockchain's potential in healthcare and structure the area for researchers, who are called upon to investigate the respective topics in greater detail.

Role of green innovation in promoting sustainable economic development in Gweru, Zimbabwe

Purpose: In developing countries, such as Zimbabwe, the nexus between green innovation and sustainable economic development has not been thoroughly investigated. To fill this gap, this study examined the role of green innovation in promoting sustainable economic development in Gweru and Zimbabwe. Research Methodology: Interpretivist philosophy underpinned qualitative data collection through a multi-case study method and thematic analysis approaches. Fifteen purposively and conveniently sampled participants participated in face-to-face interviews and focus-group discussions. Results: The study’s findings revealed that green innovation was a precursor to sustainable economic development through the reduction of carbon emissions and climate change, supply of clean energy, and increasing agricultural production, all of which enable employment generation and improved standards of living. Limitations: This study was limited to only green solar entrepreneurs in Gweru City, and other cities were not covered. The study was qualitative; hence, the results cannot be generalized to other cities in the country. Contributions: This study contributes by expanding the body of knowledge on the green innovation agenda for Small to Medium Enterprises in the solar power systems of Zimbabwe; in addition, the use of protection policies can stimulate friendly environmental businesses in all sectors of the economy.

Role of green innovation in promoting sustainable economic development in Gweru, Zimbabwe

Purpose: In developing countries, such as Zimbabwe, the nexus between green innovation and sustainable economic development has not been thoroughly investigated. To fill this gap, this study examined the role of green innovation in promoting sustainable economic development in Gweru and Zimbabwe. Research Methodology: Interpretivist philosophy underpinned qualitative data collection through a multi-case study method and thematic analysis approaches. Fifteen purposively and conveniently sampled participants participated in face-to-face interviews and focus-group discussions. Results: The study’s findings revealed that green innovation was a precursor to sustainable economic development through the reduction of carbon emissions and climate change, supply of clean energy, and increasing agricultural production, all of which enable employment generation and improved standards of living. Limitations: This study was limited to only green solar entrepreneurs in Gweru City, and other cities were not covered. The study was qualitative; hence, the results cannot be generalized to other cities in the country. Contributions: This study contributes by expanding the body of knowledge on the green innovation agenda for Small to Medium Enterprises in the solar power systems of Zimbabwe; in addition, the use of protection policies can stimulate friendly environmental businesses in all sectors of the economy.

Role of green innovation in promoting sustainable economic development in Gweru, Zimbabwe

Purpose: In developing countries, such as Zimbabwe, the nexus between green innovation and sustainable economic development has not been thoroughly investigated. To fill this gap, this study examined the role of green innovation in promoting sustainable economic development in Gweru and Zimbabwe. Research Methodology: Interpretivist philosophy underpinned qualitative data collection through a multi-case study method and thematic analysis approaches. Fifteen purposively and conveniently sampled participants participated in face-to-face interviews and focus-group discussions. Results: The study’s findings revealed that green innovation was a precursor to sustainable economic development through the reduction of carbon emissions and climate change, supply of clean energy, and increasing agricultural production, all of which enable employment generation and improved standards of living. Limitations: This study was limited to only green solar entrepreneurs in Gweru City, and other cities were not covered. The study was qualitative; hence, the results cannot be generalized to other cities in the country. Contributions: This study contributes by expanding the body of knowledge on the green innovation agenda for Small to Medium Enterprises in the solar power systems of Zimbabwe; in addition, the use of protection policies can stimulate friendly environmental businesses in all sectors of the economy.

Artificial Intelligence for Digital Heritage Innovation: Setting up a R&D Agenda for Europe

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a game changer in many fields, including cultural heritage. It supports the planning and preservation of heritage sites and cities, enables the creation of virtual experiences to enrich cultural tourism and engagement, supports research, and increases access and understanding of heritage objects. Despite some impressive examples, the full potential of AI for economic, social, and cultural change is not yet fully visible. Against this background, this article aims to (a) highlight the scope of AI in the field of cultural heritage and innovation, (b) highlight the state of the art of AI technologies for cultural heritage, (c) highlight challenges and opportunities, and (d) outline an agenda for AI, cultural heritage, and innovation.

Innovation in humanitarian assistance—a systematic literature review

The promise of innovation in humanitarian contexts has generated an expanding literature, from academics as well as practitioners. However, the field has become characterised by conceptual ambiguity and insular approaches, inhibiting the integration of findings and best practices. Therefore, this paper aims to identify the key concepts, definitions, and themes in humanitarian innovation (HI) research by applying a systematic literature review and content analysis. Based on data from 301 publications, we analyse scholarly and practitioner articles addressing the topic of humanitarian innovation. Our analysis suggests that efforts to reform the humanitarian system by leveraging innovation have been primarily ad hoc, fragmented, and serving miscellaneous separate objectives. This results in the implementation of incremental improvements, rather than transformative change throughout the sector. To bridge the gap between the various conceptualisations of HI, we propose a conceptual framework that provides a system perspective on HI, which includes the institutions, actors, contextual factors, and outputs of the system. The implications of our finding for further research and policy are discussed as well.Points for practitioners• Ensure active participation and inclusion of affected populations in innovation agendas and processes.• Strengthen collaborative efforts among actors (donors, practitioners, private sector, intermediaries, NGOs) in humanitarian sector to increase coordination, knowledge exchange, and bundling of resources for innovation.• Facilitate evidence-based approaches and data-driven decision-making, for the operationalisation of appropriate innovations.• Increase the quality and quantity of funding going to innovation actors, and steer funding towards innovations explicitly catering to the needs of affected populations.Graphical

Doing “more with less”: the entrepreneurialization of Finnish higher education and innovation policy discourses in 2015–2019

ABSTRACT In the past decades, the development of higher education institutions (HEIs) in industrialized countries has become intertwined with innovation policy and the goal of national competitiveness. Focusing on the discourses on innovation by the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC), this article illustrates the transformation of Finnish higher education policy ideas in the late 2010s following the demise of the previous policy consensus built around the notion of the National Innovation System. Through a critical policy discourse analysis of 35 publications by the MEC, we demonstrate that its recent policy discourses are dominated by an increasingly market-centric strategy of entrepreneurialism in conditions of major cuts to the public funding of universities and R&D. This strategy has serious limitations and contradictions, which have generated institutional conflicts and hinder the development of a more sustainable and balanced innovation agenda for the Finnish higher education field.

Sparring with Femininity

This ethnography explores how a group of adolescents—predominantly girls—negotiated a sport-for-development program centred on the traditionally masculine pastime of mixed martial arts (MMA). The ethnographic setting was a youth centre in central Montréal that provides free after-school programming for youths aged 11 to 18 years. Our analysis yielded three prominent themes: 1) ‘girls don’t do MMA,’ in which we discovered how young female pugilists actively challenged residual stereotypes that cast them as ‘too soft’ to play violent sports such as MMA; 2) ‘a mixed bag of martial artists,’ in which we learned how local youths conceived MMA as a vehicle for supporting innovative agendas that extended well-beyond the sport of MMA; and 3) the ‘racialization of self-defence,’ in which we witnessed how self-defence against complex social realities (profiling and marginalization) experienced by many non-white youths in the area were integrated into the teachings of the MMA program. Collectively, these themes raise important questions about the socially significant role(s) that MMA plays in the lives of local youths with respect to their race, class, and gendered identities.

Agenda de inovação na cadeia produtiva de flores, gramas e plantas ornamentais

Abstract Sectoral and Thematic Chambers are forums for dialogue created by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA), through which greater interaction with productive chains is sought, as well as the identification of opportunities and the definition of priority actions for developing Brazilian agriculture. The Thematic Chambers can contribute to the development of agriculture by identifying demands from the productive sector and linking them to proposals for research, development, and innovation by creating innovation agendas. For that, the analysis of productive chains and their practices allows a better understanding of agribusiness, which consequently enables the development of effective strategies to promote the growth and development of a sector. The objective of the agenda in Flower, Turfgrass, and Ornamental Plant is to present an analysis of the main problems and opportunities for innovation in the productive chains. A diagnosis of the current situation focusing on a vision for the future was required to prepare this Innovation Agenda. The methodological approach was divided and conducted through different analyses: a) Analysis of the evolution of the Flower and Ornamental Plant Market; b) Analysis of contributions, impact, and expectations of the links in the production chain; c) Mapping of human capital in Brazilian science with the potential to contribute to technological innovations for the market of flowers, grasses, and ornamental plants. The Innovation Agenda prioritizes the most relevant obstacles, establishes their level of importance, and identifies ten significant Innovation Challenges to be addressed by the public and private sectors of the country. Through the agenda, strategic actions are suggested for research, technology transfer, and public policies, which are essential for the technological development of the sector, without neglecting its socioeconomic and environmental sustainability. For each Innovation Challenge, Strategic Actions were suggested to be pursued, and Brazil has the technical competence distributed across the country, in nationally recognized universities and research institutes and enterprises.

A GLOBAL AGETECH AGENDA

Abstract AgeTech is increasingly seen as a way to support and enhance the health and independence of older people. However, AgeTech research and innovation agendas overwhelmingly focus on the needs of older people in developed countries and have so far failed to recognise that population aging is a global-level trend that intersects with other “megatrends”, such as climate change, urbanisation and international migration. Drawing on an environmental scan of the current and emerging AgeTech sector, this paper argues that technology research, development and innovation needs a global agenda that engages with initiatives such as the UN’s Strategic Development Goals and Decade for Healthy Ageing. It is also important to situate AgeTech in the wider debate on global disparities. The ongoing impact of colonial legacy (afterlife colonization) continues to reduce life chances, leads to poor health, and is present in everyday relationships between people and institutions at global and local levels. This is particularly apparent in the unequal impact of climate change on people and places, but as yet, the discussion of these issues is notably absent in the narratives surrounding AgeTech. This misses significant opportunities for global reciprocity in health, co-development of useful and appropriate technologies, and more sustainable approaches to innovation (e.g opportunities for frugal innovation), The paper highlights the potential role of older people as active participants in technological change, for example for mitigating climate change and its unequal impact on the Global South

The application of artificial intelligence in health policy: a scoping review

BackgroundPolicymakers require precise and in-time information to make informed decisions in complex environments such as health systems. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a novel approach that makes collecting and analyzing data in complex systems more accessible. This study highlights recent research on AI’s application and capabilities in health policymaking.MethodsWe searched PubMed, Scopus, and the Web of Science databases to find relevant studies from 2000 to 2023, using the keywords “artificial intelligence” and “policymaking.” We used Walt and Gilson’s policy triangle framework for charting the data.ResultsThe results revealed that using AI in health policy paved the way for novel analyses and innovative solutions for intelligent decision-making and data collection, potentially enhancing policymaking capacities, particularly in the evaluation phase. It can also be employed to create innovative agendas with fewer political constraints and greater rationality, resulting in evidence-based policies. By creating new platforms and toolkits, AI also offers the chance to make judgments based on solid facts. The majority of the proposed AI solutions for health policy aim to improve decision-making rather than replace experts.ConclusionNumerous approaches exist for AI to influence the health policymaking process. Health systems can benefit from AI’s potential to foster the meaningful use of evidence-based policymaking.