Scope For Innovation Research Articles

The Drivers of Innovation at Universities: A Case of South African Universities

Purpose: The study is aimed to contribute to an understanding of the drivers of innovation that lead to practical solutions at South African Universities. Theoretical Framework: This article borrows from both Institutional Theory and organizational Theory’s perspectives on innovation. Those theories are crucial in exploring the views of employees and leaders on what they deemed to be drivers of innovation at their respective universities with the view to suggest a sustainable conceptual model for public universities’ innovativeness. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed method approach was adopted, entailing an online survey and semi-structured interviews, to explore innovation from both an employee's and senior leaders' perspective. The population for the study included employees from two Universities, and random sampling and purposive sampling were applied respectively, for the survey and semi-structured interviews. Survey data were analysed using SPSS and semi-structured interviews data were analysed using Nvivo 12. Results: Several drivers for innovation were found, including the need to respond to societal challenges, the drive for collaborative knowledge exchange, global rankings, individual employee drive, a nurturing environment, leadership, students, and government. Research, Practical & Social implications: Careful reflections must be entered into by all relevant internal and external stakeholders (see figure 1) so that Universities can define the scope of innovation they wish to pursue based on their resources and contexts since Universities differ. Originality/value: The original contribution to knowledge of this study lies in the suggested conceptual model for South African universities as they position themselves to innovatively address local and global socio-economic challenges.

Cultivating Agricultural Evolution: Revolutionizing Farming Through The Power of AI And Technology

Objective: The objective of this study is to explore the current and potential role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the agricultural sector. We aim to analyze the adoption and impact of AI solutions in farming, identify challenges, and discuss the prospects for its future integration.
 Method: We conducted a comprehensive review of existing literature and ongoing research projects related to AI applications in agriculture. We also examined case studies, technological developments, and AI pioneers in the field.
 Results: Our analysis reveals that while AI solutions are being researched and applied in agriculture, there is a gap in widespread industry adoption. Large-scale research projects are underway, and some AI applications are available in the market. However, the development of predictive solutions to address real farming challenges is in the early stages. AI's influence extends across various sectors, contributing to the advancement of technologies such as big data, robotics, and the Internet of Things.
 An illustrative example is the styrofoam container device, which utilizes machine learning and computer vision to detect and categorize "safety occurrences." Although not all-encompassing, this technology gathers significant data, such as driver behavior, speed, and surroundings. IFM's system promptly alerts supervisors to safety breaches, enhancing both safety and productivity.
 Conclusion: The future of AI in agriculture hinges on the widespread adoption of AI solutions. The agricultural industry remains underserved in terms of AI integration, and the development of predictive solutions is in its early stages. However, AI's impact across sectors underscores its importance. Pioneers like IFM and IBM's patent statistics demonstrate the expanding scope of AI innovation.

Mechatronics: A Study on Its Scientific Constitution and Association with Innovative Products

Mechatronics as a science is a synergic combination of mechanical engineering, electronic control, and software design in product development and manufacturing processes. To understand how the field of knowledge that incorporates mechatronics in innovative products, given that it is not in itself a basic engineering discipline but an integration of fields of knowledge, has advanced, it was developed a bibliometric and qualitative study through systematic review with an analytical framework for the establishment of variables to subsidize the construction of the selected theoretical body. The results and conclusions of the sampled publications show that mechatronics performs one of the principal roles in innovation due to the multidisciplinary integration that the scope of innovation in product engineering is propitiating. The study classified five global scenarios: practical approaches aimed at product development, research that studies curricula and education in engineering, studies involving components of a mechatronic system, use of artificial intelligence, and methodologies for designing mechatronic systems. In addition to underscoring that the use of the term innovation associated with mechatronics in a large proportion of the publications extrapolates the operational level, characterizing an attribution to the term that is always associated with the applications, ramifications, and perspectives that the respective product, design, robot, or system could offer to the market or future research. Similarly, it was found that the results of many publications associate the term innovation with a return on investments or operational costs and emphasize the advantages of using the technology for commercial ends.

Innovation efforts in the supply of health services after the Health Transformation Program in Türkiye

Health innovation is defined as innovations and improvements in health policies, health system, health products and services, health technologies and service delivery methods in order to improve people’s health. The emphasis on innovation in healthcare has been increasing in recent years due to challenges such as rising costs and an aging population. Innovation, which is of vital importance for the health sector, becomes one of the main determinants of social welfare and quality of life with the innovations and advances it brings. Innovative products and services increase the possibilities of early diagnosis and treatment, thus preventing future costs. In this way, alternative solution options can be created for the benefit of the patient, with the increase efficiency of the health system in the long term. In addition, positive externalities can be provided to many health related sectors. With innovation, it is possible to produce cheap and accessible solutions by using advanced technologies in health services where resources are very limited.In this study, it is aimed to draw a conceptual framework on innovation and health innovation and to explain the innovations in health service supply within the framework of the Health Transformation Program put into practice in 2003. In recent years, significant changes have been made in the Turkish health system, especially in the financing, presentation and organization of the service within the scope of health innovation. Although significant progress has been made in the health system with the impact of these changes, there is still some work to be done. As a result of the study, what has been done has been evaluated and recommendations and suggestions have been made about what should be done.

Scope of Social Innovation in Tribal Development

The aim of this article is to study the various field of tribal areas where social entrepreneurs are working. the first introduction, includes social innovation and tribal peoples, the second review of literature includes a small summarization of literature on social innovation in the field of tribal development, the third research methodology, this article is based on secondary data and also includes some research questions which are covered in it, fourth analysis and finding section, we found over 20 enterprises in the various field for tribal development i.e. health, agro informatics, agriculture, financial inclusion, etc. fifth discussion and conclusion.

The effect of low-carbon pilot policy on low-carbon technological innovation in China: Reexamining the porter hypothesis using difference-in-difference-in-differences strategy

The Porter hypothesis predicts that the win-win goals of environmental improvement and economic performance can be achieved though technological innovation, but it remains to be tested in elaborated ways. Explicitly identifying the role of environmental regulation and finely clarifying the scope of technological innovation have become two important prerequisites for accurately testing the “Porter hypothesis”. Taking China's Low-carbon Pilot Policy as a quasi-natural experiment, this paper constructs a difference-in-difference-in-differences (DDD) strategy to identify the environmental regulation, and selects the low-carbon technological innovation which may be more dependent on Low-carbon Pilot Policy as the explanatory variable, to reexamine the “Porter hypothesis” in China. Based on the data of listed companies in China from 2007 to 2016, this paper conducts substantial empirical studies on effect estimation, robustness test and heterogeneity analysis. The results show that the Low-carbon Pilot Policy significantly promotes the low-carbon technological innovation of enterprises in high-carbon emission industries in pilot cities. The robustness test also verifies the reliability of those results which confirms the validity of “Porter hypothesis”. However, the heterogeneity analysis finds that the testing results of “Porter hypothesis” may vary depending on firms’ characteristics. The Low-carbon Pilot Policy has a positive and significant effect on the enterprises in eastern regions or in the cities with higher R&D investment, it can also promote non-state-owned enterprises’ innovation significantly. This paper may contribute to understand more about “Porter hypothesis” in China and offer strategies for more accurately testing on “Potter hypothesis”.

An intuitionistic fuzzy linear mathematical model to determine the hybrid manufacturing system’s optimal operation condition

The recycling of the used products collected by the manufacturing companies for recycling from their customers and their inclusion in the production system for remanufacturing has become an essential topic regarding sustainable production systems. Using parts and equipment in the remanufacturing system, especially in electronic products and products in the automotive sector, is preferred because of the opportunities to reduce costs and increase energy and workforce efficiency. In this article, we analyzed the management of a hybrid production system that processes new or returned materials in the manufacturing system. An intuitionistic fuzzy linear mathematical model is developed to demonstrate financial benefit and make decisions about using used parts in remanufacturing systems. Our study contributes to the literature by first adapting the magnitude function to the hybrid manufacturing and remanufacturing process optimization problem. Also, the innovative scope of the paper is expanded by applying IVITFN to the remanufacturing process optimization problem for the first time using comparative analysis. We consider relevant costs, the uncertainty about the number of returned products, demand, unit costs and unit production times, and capacity limitation in determining the optimal operation condition. The proposed model results show smaller cost values against other models in the literature.

Online Reputation Management Strategies in Hospitality Industry: A Cross-Sectional Study

In an era of digital advancement, hospitality business and its positive growth undoubtedly depends on the effective online reputation management skills and strategies implemented by these industries beyond the borders. Since people are connected and exposed to diverse knowledge as part of globalization and technological boom, any industry can survive only with proper communication with customers, which also plays major role in building trust as well as in creating a confident picture of the industry. The quantitative and qualitative analysis conducted over several hotels, resorts and various other hospitality industries reveal the significance of constant engagement with the customers in bringing success to these establishments. The data collected ensure that proactive communication, timely responses, proper feedbacks both to positive and negative reviews, constant customer engagement and transparency are the prerequisite functions in shaping online reputation management system. On the other hand, it is only through these strategies one can ensure maximum visibility to the customers as well as confirm positive growth of hospitality industry. This cross-sectional study examines various hospitality establishments, analyzing their online reputation strategies to provide valuable insights on how to further and develop the same, there by expanding the scope of innovativeness in adopting diverse ORM strategies and skills.

Hacking Directional Dependency in Research Design for EU Studies

AbstractEU studies extend into political science, political theory, public and foreign policy analysis, and international relations. The field's diversity speaks to different ontological, epistemological and methodological traditions and research practices. How the EU is conceived as a political reality and entity (ontology) tends to shape how researchers substantiate knowledge production about EU affairs (epistemology) and the way they uncover this knowledge (methodology), alongside choosing research methods and data. We argue that a ‘directional dependency’ exists between research ontology, epistemology, methodology and design. Using a meta‐analysis, we review EU politics research, mapping out directional dependencies in research design; how the paths operate; and deviations from those paths. We explore damaging effects of the research design process, evaluating how much this trap informs research in principle or in practice. We find that while in‐principle directional traps exist, research can be trapped to in‐practice dependencies, limiting the scope of innovation in the field.

Another pathway to complementarity: How users and intermediaries identify and create new combinations in innovation ecosystems

The value that users might derive from products and services increasingly depends on their complementarity with other products and services. Whereas prior work has emphasized how firms and complementors design for complementarity, we shift attention to how complementarity arises in use. This study is situated in the smart home market where digital products offer an unbridled range of conceivable combinations, and users may combine products in their system of use that are not initially designed for complementarity. Through a multi-method multiple case study, we distinguish a user pathway besides a producer pathway to establishing complementarity. Complementarity presupposes both the identification of complementary combinations as well as creating technical compatibility between products. In the producer pathway, firms focus mostly on creating technical compatibility while in the user pathway, users identify complementary combinations that go beyond those foreseen by firms. Intermediary toolkits can assist users in creating combinations, and we find that, ultimately, the user pathway also facilitates the producer pathway. Our findings offer insights into the important role of users and intermediaries in innovation ecosystems and extend the scope of user innovation.

The drivers of social procurement policy adoption in the construction industry: an Australian perspective

ABSTRACT The construction industry is the primary focus for social procurement policies in many countries. However, there has been little research into the drivers of social procurement policy adoption in this industry. To help address this gap in research, this paper reports the results of semi-structured interviews with fifteen social procurement professionals who are implementing social procurement into the Australian construction industry. Results reveal interesting historical parallels with the implementation of environmental sustainability initiatives. However, social procurement has yet to become normalized. There appears to be a high level of homogeneity in industry practice and while there is considerable scope for innovation, this is constrained by the prescriptive and ‘top-down' nature of social procurement policies in Australia which make it difficult for organizations to respond ‘bottom-up’ to actual community needs. It is concluded that the considerable untapped potential of social procurement policies to create social value currently depends on the intrapreneurial efforts of a small number of emerging social procurement professionals who are individually challenging the many institutional norms and practices which undermine the implementation of these policies into the construction industry.

AI-Enabled Secure Microservices in Edge Computing: Opportunities and Challenges

The paradigm of edge computing has formed an innovative scope within the domain of the Internet of Things (IoT) through expanding the services of the cloud to the network edge to design distributed architectures and securely enhance decision-making applications. Due to the heterogeneous, distributed and resource-constrained essence of edge Computing, edge applications are required to be developed as a set of lightweight and interdependent modules. As this concept aligns with the objectives of microservice architecture, effective implementation of microservices-based edge applications within IoT networks has the prospective of fully leveraging edge nodes capabilities. Deploying microservices at IoT edge faces plenty of challenges associated with security and privacy. Advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) (especially Machine Learning), and the easy access to resources with powerful computing providing opportunities for deriving precise models and developing different intelligent applications at the edge of network. In this study, an extensive survey is presented for securing edge computing-based AI Microservices to elucidate the challenges of IoT management and enable secure decision-making systems at the edge. We present recent research studies on edge AI and microservices orchestration and highlight key requirements as well as challenges of securing Microservices at IoT edge. We also propose a Microservices-based edge computing framework that provides secure edge AI algorithms as Microservices utilizing the containerization technology to offer automated and secure AI-based applications at the network edge.

Exploring the Evidence-Based Driving Factors of Innovation in Arts and Cultural Organizations

Innovation in arts and cultural sectors is an emerging study. Exploring and identifying driving factors of innovation by arts and cultural organizations can help to understand the implications for innovation management and thus, strengthening the competitiveness of arts and cultural sectors. But the existing literature on this topic usually is subject to some limitations due to the shortage of empirical evidence and overemphasis on technological innovation. To overcome it, this article explored evidence-based determinants of innovation in museums organizations, based on survey data and statistical approach; furthermore, it also extended the scope of innovation from technological to cultural and organizational dimensions. Our findings provide empirical evidence for existing theoretical propositions—some propositions are supported and the others are not. Based on these conclusions, some implications are developed for innovation management in museum organizations.

Distributed innovation, knowledge re-orchestration, and digital product innovation performance: the moderated mediation roles of intellectual property protection and knowledge exchange activities

PurposeDespite the support of digital technology, there is a high degree of ambiguity and fluidity in the boundaries of digital products. This is because the addition of distributed innovation entities has an impact on the scope and scale of digital product innovation. Building upon the knowledge orchestration perspective, this study aims to construct a theoretical model, comprising distributed innovation, knowledge reorchestration and digital product innovation performance, and discuss the moderating roles of intellectual property protection and knowledge exchange activities.Design/methodology/approachUsing a sample of 362 Chinese science and technology enterprises, the scholarship’s framework and hypotheses were tested using regression and bootstrap analysis.FindingsThe results confirm that distributed innovation positively enhances enterprises’ digital product innovation performance; knowledge reorchestration plays a partial mediating role in the linkage amongst distributed innovation and digital product innovation performance; and intellectual property protection and knowledge exchange activities negatively and positively moderate the mediating role of knowledge reorchestration amongst distributed innovation and digital product innovation performance, respectively.Originality/valueThis empirical scholarship explores the effect mechanism of intellectual property protection, knowledge exchange activities and knowledge reorchestration on the linkage amongst distributed innovation and digital product innovation performance. This paper expands the theoretical application of distributed innovation, knowledge orchestration and other related theories in the context of the digital economy and further provides a policymaking reference for the improvement of enterprises’ digital product innovations.

Widening the scope of responsible innovation: food waste and the role of consumers

ABSTRACT Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) scholars often emphasise the distributed nature of innovation, but RRI generally targets researchers or innovators (or their organisations). Can we, within an RRI approach, expect consumers to be more active innovation agents and to be held more responsible for driving innovation in the right direction? To explore this question, we studied the societal challenge of food waste. We designed a study consisting of three world cafés to explore consumer perceptions of their own responsibility to engage with the food value chain to innovate to reduce food waste and complemented this with questionnaires. We found that the consumers in this study conceptualise their responsibilities in a passive way, not using current possibilities for communication with food companies. More open and interactive industry-led engagement processes are needed. This requires building competence and capacity to increase such engagement.

Application of technological innovations in the tourism industry

In the conditions of digitization and ecological transformation of industry and society, studying the opportunities to apply technological innovations and their impact on the tourism sector has become a research topic. The directions of tourism business innovations are explored and the role of technological innovations in adapting the tourism sector to the processes of transformation and digitalization of society is outlined by conducting a systematic analysis. The aim of this study is to identify the different approaches to tourism product innovation, clarify the scope of technological innovation and to present the possibilities of their application in the tourism sector. As a result of the study the scope of technological innovations in the tourism sector is outlined and guidelines for their application are proposed in order to diversify the tourist product and optimize tourism business activities.

Freeform Illuminator for Computational Microscopy

Programmable illumination control is essential for many computational microscopy techniques. Conventional light source array is often arranged on a fixed grid of a planar surface for providing programmable sample illumination. Here, we report the development of a freeform illuminator that can be arranged at arbitrary 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional (3D) surface structures for computational microscopy. The freeform illuminator can be designed in a small form factor with a dense light source arrangement in 3D. It can be placed closer to the sample for providing angle-varied illumination with higher optical flux and smaller angular increment. With the freeform illuminators, we develop a calibration process using a low-cost Raspberry-Pi image sensor coated with a monolayer of blood cells. By tracking the positional shift of the blood-cell diffraction patterns at 2 distinct regions of the coded sensor, we can infer the 3D positions of the light source elements in a way similar to the stereo vision reconstruction approach. To demonstrate the applications for computational microscopy, we validate the freeform illuminators for Fourier ptychographic microscopy, 3D tomographic imaging, and on-chip microscopy. We also present a longitudinal study by tracking the growth of live bacterial cultures over a large field of view. The reported freeform illuminators and the related calibration process offer flexibilities and extended scope for imaging innovations in computational microscopy.

Scaling up sustainability through new product categories and certification: Two cases from India

IntroductionThe Indian food system faces a nexus of challenges in supply, demand and market linkages in the face of environmental and human development needs. The current agri-food system demands large-scale sustainable innovations, facilitated by an action-oriented approach by the rising number of actors in the agricultural space. These actors include public, private, non-profit and research institutions. They increase the scope for innovations to emerge and scale up through refocused investments and novel collaborations. Such successes in India, furthermore, can provide models of promising innovation pathways for many other countries in the Global South. Yet few case studies are available on successful innovations that have gone beyond the longstanding technology-led approach.Methods (case study methods)This article presents two cases of other pathways. The first is an example of a differentiated new product category: the “pesticide-free” food product category and dedicated value chain established by Safe Harvest Private Limited. The second is an example of self-regulation through a certification standard: the Trustea code created within the Indian domestic tea industry.ResultsBoth are driving sustainability at scale in Indian agri-food systems in two very different contexts, with the private sector leading the way.DiscussionThey offer insights on the roles of end users, trust, informal and formal links and actions, government endorsement, innovation bundling, and partnership.

What, why and when to go virtual: An international analysis of early adopters of virtual building energy codes inspections

To meet greenhouse gas reduction targets, several countries are pursuing more ambitious policies in their buildings and construction sectors, such as introducing zero net energy/carbon building codes. Countries often report not having enough qualified staff for performing building energy code inspections and many are exploring faster, easier, and more reliable methods to check the compliance of buildings with their codes. Building inspections are a critical element for ensuring code compliance and they have traditionally been performed in person. However, in-person inspections can be labor and travel intensive, costly, and prone to human error. In this paper, the authors explore how virtual inspections, particularly in light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, have impacted processes for building code compliance checks in jurisdictions and communities around the world. The authors collected data on four key parameters (time and financial savings, scope of inspections, changing practices and technological innovation, and benefits to consumers) from six jurisdictions and communities in five countries (Australia, Canada, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, and the United States) to analyze the impacts of virtual inspections on code compliance checks. The analysis found the greatest value from virtual inspections in geographically dispersed regions and for cities experiencing rapid building construction. The study also explored emerging technologies that are being piloted for virtual inspections. Although many of these technologies hold promise, more resources and capacity are needed to make them viable for use in building energy code inspections.

Coal, green growth and crises: Exploring three European Union policy responses to regional energy transitions

Despite increasing interest in energy transitions in the European Union, little attention has been paid conceptually to regional energy transitions in terms of development nor to the potential regional impacts of cumulative policies. A contextual understanding of regional energy transitions in Europe is therefore lacking. To address this gap, this paper considers regional energy transitions from a political economy perspective, using an institutional lens and critical varieties of capitalism approach to examine European Union policy responses within the scope of innovation driven and growth based regional development. Policy responses for regional energy transitions are first structured using crises as turning points and then explored in three themes: an energy transition with roots in coal regions; an energy transition that harnesses the green growth agenda; and an energy transition intensified by multiple crises. Going beyond the traditional economic aspects of regional policy and acknowledging the contradictions of green growth, critical reflection on these themes calls into question the extent of policy responses to address the potentially diverse regional futures enabled through the energy transition. Considering the aim of territorial cohesion, renewable energy resources and green innovation capacities can be seen as either sources of prosperity or aggravators of existing inequalities. Further attention is therefore needed toward current understandings of regional development in light of policy objectives and the sustainability ambitions of regional transitions. While limiting this analysis to the green growth logic, the arguments acknowledge critical perspectives that can potentially be brought into European policy perspectives for sustainable regional development.