Nascent Industry Research Articles

Evaluating omni channel retailing in the emergence of industry 5.0: A perspective of South Asian generation Z

This study investigates the influence of Omnichannel-Retailing (OCR) on customer-retention (CR) for Generation Z (Gen Z) in the nascent Industry 5.0 era. Employing a survey with South Asian respondents, the research explores their experiences with retailer-provided omnichannel services. A novel model examines the relationships between OCR, customer-satisfaction (CS), CR, and customer-engagement (CE). Additionally, the model investigates the moderating role of Man-Machine-Collaboration (MMC) on the OCR-CR association. Process macro analysis is employed to assess mediation and moderation effects. The findings reveal positive associations between OCR and both CR and CE. Interestingly, CS does not mediate the OCR-CR relationship, suggesting a more nuanced effect of OCR on retention. However, CE emerges as a significant mediator. Furthermore, the moderating role of MMC is confirmed. This research holds novelty by examining the early stages of Industry 5.0 and its potential disruption of marketing practices, particularly for CR strategies targeting Gen Z in South Asia.

The Philosophical Playing Field of the Book, “The Prospect of a Humanitarian AI”, by Carlos Montemayor

The Prospect of Humanitarian Artificial Intelligence (The Prospect of HAI) encapsulates the vast and intricate landscape of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) with both theoretical and practical nuances. Carlos Montemayor (Carlos) artfully paints a complex picture, presenting a realm of profound philosophical interest. While abstract, the book navigates the terrain crucial for AGI development, successfully capturing its multifaceted nature. This review focuses on the alignment problem, probing its epistemic and moral dimensions. Imperfect as we are, aligning AGI presents challenges: discerning viable solutions remains uncertain. The epistemic aspect of alignment of the AGI seems to be impossible for the goals Carlos is proposing for the nascent industry of AI. The moral, political, and legal aspects of alignment offer a challenging panorama, mirroring parallels between the Philosophy of AI and theological discourse. Drawing parallels with our experience in moral alignment, especially in guiding children, underscores the idea that this problem is older and more widespread. The Prospect of HAI serves as an inaugural exploration in this realm. Future endeavors should delve deeper into technical intricacies while maintaining a broad philosophical scope. It stands as a compelling precursor to the burgeoning field of philosophy of AI. Carlos should go for the 2nd edition.

The Emerging Hemp Industry: A Review of Industrial Hemp Materials and Product Manufacturing

There is a growing need for resilient and renewable materials to aid society in global sustainability. It is incumbent upon the agricultural and manufacturing industries to work together to achieve this vision. In particular, the hemp plant has been identified as an emerging industrial crop that will be pivotal in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. However, this nascent industry has received an influx of research and development activity, resulting in various methods and practices globally, challenging the repeatability of results, research advancement, standards development, and sustainability assessment. A systematic literature review is conducted to identify and document (1) the various practices for harvesting and converting industrial hemp into materials and products and (2) existing hemp-derived products and those under development. Using the PRISMA methodology, 5295 articles were identified, and 109 articles were included for review. Unlike prior reviews focusing on specific hemp plant components, materials, or products, this study systematically evaluates the utilization pathways of the whole plant (stalk, flower, leaf, and seed) to traditional, industrial, and emerging products. Further, myriad opportunities for hemp material and product applications, sustainability performance assessment, and future research are discussed. This review will benefit future hemp research, advancing process technologies, developing novel products, establishing policies and standards, and assessing sustainability performance.

Barriers to scale: the effect of regulations on entrepreneurial strategies in a nascent industry

PurposeThis paper aims to discuss the effect of Canada’s regulatory framework on the strategies of entrepreneurial businesses during the first phase of legalization of the recreational cannabis industry. Decriminalization of cannabis required a host of regulatory changes at the federal, provincial and municipal levels. Each province developed legal markets independently, differentially impacting entrepreneurial strategies. This paper describes the value chain that emerged in the first phase of the nascent industry, focusing on the actions of the businesses.Design/methodology/approachThe authors develop a qualitative narrative analysis using government publications, press articles (especially from the business press) and personal communications of industry insiders speaking in public settings. The paper includes four short case studies to illustrate the emerging value chain of the nascent industry.FindingsThe study’s findings highlight the effect of regulatory frameworks on entrepreneurial strategies. We find that public policies had a significant impact on entrepreneurs and startup strategies. Inter-jurisdictional differences limited expansion into different provinces, with implications for regional economic development. Achieving public policy goals was delayed as a result of regulatory challenges that impacted industry development.Practical implicationsThe authors’ findings show enterprises may develop growth strategies that comply with regulations when participating in nascent industries, but they must cope with extra risks, capital costs and uncertainty. The analysis also illustrates the value of engaging in government-industry collaboration to improve emerging regulatory frameworks.Originality/valueThe originality of this research consists of the detailed description of the first phase of Canada’s legalized recreational cannabis industry and the insight gained into the dynamics of nascent industries.

The organizational ecology of the global space industry

The global space industry is booming. While governmental agencies used to dominate outer space activities, private space organizations (PSOs) now launch rockets, operate strategic satellites, and even take tourists on space expeditions. How can we explain this emergence of PSOs? Building on organizational ecology theory and drawing on a novel dataset of 1751 space organizations and 52 semi-structured interviews, this paper finds that mutualistic relations between governmental space agencies and PSOs have been instrumental in the rise of PSOs. This emphasis on mutualism challenges the prevailing belief that a few visionary private entrepreneurs create the space industry from the ground up. It also refutes the notion that PSOs simply out-compete a stagnant public sector. PSOs have not superseded governmental space agencies; they are nurtured by and developed with them. This paper is one of the first to explain how private actors can emerge in a field historically dominated by governmental actors. In so doing, it contributes to studies on public-private interactions by showing how mutualism can structure a nascent industry. It also opens up new avenues for research on the political economy of outer space by making available a rich dataset of space actors.

Algal food safety: Possible contaminations, challenges of harmonized quality assessments, and suggested recommendations for the nascent industry of microalgae-based products

Microalgae are valuable sources of human nutritional products, leading to growing interest in algae-based dietary supplements. Research is still ongoing for high-value commodities from microalgae to cover the food demands of the ever-increasing human population. Thus far, there is a dearth of comprehensive information available on the safety of microalgae-based products (MP) for the food sector. Algal food safety (AFS) is a nascent field, and consequently, quality analysis has not been adequately explored; the lack of hygienic requisites is a matter of concern for scientists, producers, policymakers, and consumers. In this review, we aim to provide the available knowledge on the potential hazards, critical insights into the necessity of AFS, as well as quality control (QC) and regulations. This paper briefly reviews bottlenecks at each step of the production process, from the pre-cultivation to the storage stage. Plus, quality assessment criteria are discussed, including toxicological and microbiological standards. Additionally, it describes the role of all stakeholders in the algal food industry. Finally, we discuss a few suggested solutions to address the gaps in AFS.

Case—Budding with ERP: Information and Operations Management Challenges in a Nascent Industry

Case—Budding with ERP: Information and Operations Management Challenges in a Nascent Industry

Case Article—Budding with ERP: Information and Operations Management Challenges in a Nascent Industry

The role of analytics in operations and supply chain management (OSCM) has gained significant importance due to the decision-making complexities in the current business environment. The effectiveness of most analytical approaches, in turn, relies on access to timely and accurate data and information. Hence, it is essential for OSCM students to understand the underlying processes and dynamics of information management, for which enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have become a standard. This case study can be a useful resource for introducing the critical interface between OSCM and information systems. The case study aims to facilitate learning on (1) the limitations of a rudimentary and disconnected information system, (2) the benefits and challenges of ERP implementation, and (3) the important steps to ensure a successful implementation of an ERP system. It provides an interesting context of a fast-growing agribusiness producing regulated products in Canada. The case study has been used in OSCM and management information systems (MIS) courses in two Canadian public Universities. Funding: This work was supported by Mitacs [Grants IT28747 and IT32722]. Supplemental Material: The Teaching Note and data files are available at https://www.informs.org/Publications/Subscribe/Access-Restricted-Materials .

The impact of product portfolio specialty and activeness on firm survival: evidence from the nascent drone industry

We examine the impact of product portfolio strategy on the likelihood of firm survival within the nascent unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) or the drone industry. Using novel and representative global data on firms that operate within the domain of air platforms in the drone industry, our study captures a period of ferment in the industry as it went through significant change and began to acquire some level of stability. The results show that both portfolio specialty and activeness have a positive impact on firm survival. Specialist firms with narrow product usage or higher portfolio specialty are in an advantageous position compared to generalists with wide product usage or low portfolio specialty. They also have a higher likelihood of survival, overall. Similarly, a firm with a more active set of drones within its product portfolio also survives better. The results are consistent even after accounting for firm‐level controls and are robust to other model specifications. Our findings have important implications for firm strategy, positioning, and interaction with technology in nascent industries, especially relating to the development and deployment of new technologies and products.

Psychedelics in PERIL: The Commercial Determinants of Health, Financial Entanglements and Population Health Ethics.

The nascent for-profit psychedelic industry has begun to engage in corporate practices like funding scientific research and research programs. There is substantial evidence that such practices from other industries like tobacco, alcohol, pharmaceuticals and food create conflicts of interest and can negatively influence population health. However, in a context of funding pressures, low publicly funded success rates and precarious academic labor, there is limited ethics guidance for researchers working at the intersection of clinical practice and population health as to how they should approach potential financial sponsorship from for-profit entities, such as the psychedelic industry. This article reports on a reflective exercise among a group of clinician scientists working in psychedelic science, where we applied Adams' (2016) PERIL (Purpose, Extent, Relevant harm, Identifiers, Link) ethical decision-making framework to a fictionalized case of corporate psychedelic financial sponsorship. Our analysis suggests financial relationships with the corporate psychedelic sector may create varying degrees of risk to a research program's purpose, autonomy and integrity. We argue that the commercial determinants of health provide a useful framework for understanding the ethics of industry-healthcare entanglements and can provide an important population health ethics lens to examine nascent industries such as psychedelics, and work toward potential solutions.

On support from National Development Banks for the internationalisation of public Brazilian companies: it’s hard to say goodbye (to good companies)

ABSTRACT This article examines the relevance of National Development Banks (NDBs), taking as a reference the activity of Brazil’s BNDES (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social) and its role in the internationalisation of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). NDBs cover market failures in access to financing for companies, and they promote the development of nascent industries. Within the business cycle, the key determination to be made is at what point NDBs should withdraw their support and reallocate resources to other developing industries and companies. Using operations databases from BNDES, this process is analysed by considering the different strategies followed by flagship Brazilian companies, including Vale, Embraer, and Petrobras.

Knowledge diffusion in nascent industries: Asymmetries between startups and established firms in spurring inventions by other firms

AbstractResearch SummaryResearch on industry evolution highlights the role of knowledge‐building activities of startups and established firms in shaping knowledge evolution in a nascent industry. Yet, research thus far has overlooked the possibility that differences between startups and established firms might also shape the diffusion of the knowledge that they build. This study abductively explores this conjecture in the context of solar energy by examining the extent to which the photovoltaic cell inventions that firms create spur subsequent inventions by other firms. In contrast with existing literature highlighting differences across firms in the types of inventions they create, this study reveals asymmetries between startups and established firms in the diffusion of the knowledge underlying their inventions, even when they create inventions with similar attributes.Managerial SummaryThis study examines differences between startups and established firms in shaping knowledge diffusion in a nascent industry. Using data from photovoltaic cell patents, it shows that startups' inventions spur more subsequent inventions by other firms, even when compared to established firms' inventions with similar attributes. Findings indicate that such asymmetry is not driven by knowledge transfer mechanisms but rather by factors associated with knowledge spillovers. Specifically, findings reveal that university citations of a startup's patents draw other firms' attention to those patents, and that startups are less able to preempt rivals through cumulative inventions and less able to rely on litigiousness to deter rivals from building on their patents. These findings underscore the asymmetric influence startups have in shaping the knowledge underlying a nascent industry.

A synthesis review of nature positive approaches and coexistence in the offshore wind industry

Abstract Offshore wind is one of the major fast-growing renewable energy industries, and sustainable implementation of offshore wind farms (OWF) is desired. Nature positive approaches have been proposed to promote biodiversity gain and improve ecosystem resilience. At the same time, coexistence has been considered a way to mitigate the race for ocean space and better integrate the development of the OWF industry. Here, we provide a systematic narrative synthesis review on nature positive approaches and coexistence in OWFs. We observed an increased interest in the topics over the last 5 years, with most of the documents coming from the northern hemisphere, in particular Europe and the North Sea. Literature is mostly related to bottom-fixed turbines, with relatively fewer documents available regarding floating offshore wind, which is a nascent industry. There is a lack of long-term in situ assessments of the impact of nature positive approaches. Whilst there are various biodiversity impacts of OWFs, the literature highlights the artificial reef effect and biodiversity protection and gain (diversity and abundance) for ecological and economically relevant groups. Coexistence strategies with OWF, such as fisheries, aquaculture, and marine-protected areas, bring positive and negative outcomes for the environment, and further investigation on their integration should be explored.

Microbiota-Derived Postbiotics Enhance the Proliferative Effects of Growth Factors on Satellite Cells in Cultivated Meat Applications

To satisfy the increasing demand for the protein supply of the growing global population, cultivated meat is being garnered significant attention that can meet consumer needs with a reduced impact on the planet nowadays. Due to being a nascent industry, there are still many hurdles to overcome such as cost reduction. This study aims to investigate the effect of microbiota-derived postbiotics to reduce the need for growth factors (GFs) or fetal bovine serum (FBS), as the main cost drivers of this technology. For this purpose, postbiotic Biftek-1 (B-1) was extracted from Enterococcus hirae, an isolate from cow milk microbiota, and bovine satellite cells (bSCs) were isolated from muscle biopsies, then identified by flow cytometry and immunofluorescence assay. The effects of different doses of GFs and B-1 on cell viability and myogenic profile of bSCs were evaluated. According to the results, low concentrations of GFs (40 ng/mL IGF1 and 20 ng/mL FGF2) combined with our growth medium supplement B-1 significantly increased bSCs proliferation, similar to FBS, but did not lead to any significant changes on their myogenic profiles. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first attempt to use the postbiotics on cultivated meat technology.

A central facility concept for nuclear microreactor maintenance and fuel cycle management

Commercial deployment of nuclear microreactors presents an opportunity for the industry to rethink its approach to manufacturing, siting, operation and maintenance, and fuel cycle management as certain principles used in grid-scale nuclear projects are not applicable to a decentralized microreactor economy. The success of this nascent industry is dependent on its ability to reduce infrastructure, logistical, regulatory and lifecycle costs. A utility-like ‘Central Facility’ that consolidates the services required and responsibilities borne by vendors into one or a few centralized locations will be necessary to support the deployment of a fleet of microreactors. This paper discusses the requirements for a Central Facility, its implications on the cost structures of owners and suppliers of microreactors, and the impact of the facility for the broader microreactor industry. In addition, this paper discusses the pre-requisites for eligibility as well as the opportunities for a Central Facility host site. While there are many suitable locations for such a capability across the U.S., this paper considers a facility co-located with the Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant and Savannah River Sites to illustrate how a Central Facility can leverage the existing infrastructure and stimulate a local ecosystem.

The Political Economy of Nigeria’s Oil Dependency and Its Implication on Economic Diversification

Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa, but it suffers from resource curse or Dutch disease where she is unable to leverage on her resource endowments to diversify into many other sectors of the economy. Her industrial capacity is very low due to infrastructure shortage. But the foregoing are motivated by rent-seeking and vested political power holders who rather will support implementing import-dependent policies. Consequently, it is difficult to adopt the latest technology and liberalize the economy for inclusive participation of the citizenry. Utilizing the New Institutional Economic (NIE) perspective, secondary sources of information and content analysis, the paper ascertained that protectionist policies of protecting nascent industries have not worked for Nigeria. For instance, closing the borders to protect local rice producers rather caused rice price volatility and inflation among others. Hence recommends a radical revolutionary change in the political economy will necessitate the needed reforms. All emerging economies in Asia passed through this stage of development.

Ocular rigidity and choroidal thickness changes in response to microgravity: A case study

PurposeTo evaluate ocular rigidity and choroidal thickness changes in response to microgravity and the Valsalva maneuver in a private astronaut. MethodsOphthalmological examination and Optical Coherence Tomography were performed before, during, and after space flight. Choroidal thickness was measured at all time points at rest and during the Valsalva maneuver. Ocular rigidity was obtained before and after flight using a non-invasive method enhanced with deep learning-based choroid segmentation. ResultsOcular rigidity decreased after space flight compared to baseline. There was an increase in average choroidal thickness during the Valsalva maneuver compared to the resting condition before, during, and after space flight, and such increase was greater when the Valsalva maneuver was performed during space flight. Conclusions and importanceThe data indicates biomechanical changes to ocular tissues because of space flight and greater choroidal thickness increase. The findings could lead to a better understanding of space flight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome and may have repercussions for short duration missions in a nascent industry.

The Arrosto, from the Rare “Farmacopea Messinese” (1815) to the Unindicted Manuscript of the Pharmacy (1899-1965)

Historical excursion of the natural sciences in Messina (strict and district) between the two earthquakes (1783-1908); four revolutions (1820-1837-1848- 1860); two major cholera epidemics (1837-1887) through the studies of a family of pharmacists that contributed to the cultural and scientific growth of the city. The Arrosto were exemplary representatives of Sicilian pharmaceutical art, they practiced their profession, from the end of the eighteenth century until the middle of the last century, during the age d’or of the pharmacy understood as a place of research, preparation and dispensing of the drug. Illuminists, chemists, botanists, doctors but above all pharmacists, the Arrosto kept track, in a systemic way, of all their activities. The documents covered by this research cover a period of time ranging from 1815, the year of printing of the very rare Messina Pharmacopoeia to the first half of the twentieth century when, following the sale of the pharmacy, the compilation of the unpublished Manuscript Book of the Arrosto Pharmacy was completed. This report is structured in two sections, one historical part and one comparative between the Pharmacopoeia and the Recipe. This study allowed us to ascertain that the actual publication date of the volume Messinese Pharmacopoeia (1815), in its entirety and as it appears to be bound and guarded, is subsequent to 1826 but no later than 1834. Relative to the unpublished Manuscript, given the time interval in which it was written (about sixty years) and the number of compilers (at least three), the change of the pharmacy workshop could be observed. The master preparations are limited to some historical formulations of the pharmacy and the new medicinal formulations are predominantly cosmetic and of non- pharmaceutical preparations not yet produced by the nascent industries, moreover, often, industrial seed compounds are used to complete the recipe. The parable of the Arrosto is the paradigm of the Italian pharmacy workshop that lives throughout the nineteenth century an important expansionary phase of research and production and then decays at the same time as the beginning of the marketing of industrial ethical drugs and disappear completely with the establishment of the National Health Service.

Policy design for transition from imitation to innovation in emerging photovoltaic sectors using a system dynamics model

Technological innovation, as a main driver of companies' competitive advantage, is typically initialized by imitating existing technologies in nascent industries. However, many companies cannot actually succeed in developing new technologies through innovation. Policy intervention plays a crucial role in a successful transition from imitation to innovation in emerging sectors. This study presents a system dynamics model to capture the dynamics of such a transition in a national photovoltaic (PV) industry and help policymakers design effective policy interventions. The model is calibrated using real data collected from Iran's PV sector. Exploiting the underlying causal feedback structure, this study provides two policy recommendations to foster innovation in the PV sector. The first policy stimulates knowledge transfer from Iranian public research centers to the industry by designing a reward-based mechanism that encourages academicians to collaborate with the industry. The second policy develops national PV market so that financial resources required for joint innovation projects with the research partners are provided for the domestic firms. Accordingly, both solar feed-in tariffs and electricity prices in Iran should increase in a goal-seeking manner by 2050. The simulation results confirm that our proposed policy mechanisms would foster technological innovation in Iran's PV sector.

On tidal array layout sensitivity to regional and device model representation

In-stream tidal devices are ready to be deployed, yet the largest operational commercial array is limited to 6MW. Upcoming government support should see the size of such arrays increase by orders of magnitude, and thus the optimal placement of turbines within tidal arrays is an emerging challenge for successful commercial integration. Hydrodynamic models are required to predict the power produced by an array and the impact on the surrounding environment. The influence of common model inputs to layout optimisation are investigated herein. This is achieved using a shallow water equation based tidal array modelling framework, Thetis, coupled with a low cost analytical wake model (FLORIS) that allows for rapid assessment of the impact of small changes in hydrodynamic results on array micro-siting. The sensitivity of array optimisation at an intermediate development point (43 turbines) is interrogated through both artificial flow field manipulation and the variation of model input pertinent to the optimisation. A small margin exists in which an optimised array layout will perform efficiently for a deviation in flow prediction accuracy. However, incorrect flow predictions by a range sensitive to model inputs had a reduction of almost 8% on array efficiency relative to a control case. The sensitivity of flow field variance by model input changes, on extractable energy and array layout are substantial. Comparing arrays sited on flow fields using different bathymetry resolution leads to a discrepancy on average of over 2% to average array power. Arrays sited for different mesh resolution and friction representation also see average changes up to and exceeding 0.75%. For array developers and the future of this nascent industry, re-calibration of the model at every stage of data collection coupled with early acquisition of bathymetry data is critical not just for accurate power quantification, but also array efficiency. At a regional scale, quantification of the potential tidal resource must consider the consequences of uncertainty in model input data and site constraints that cannot yet be accounted for.