Business Value Creation Research Articles

Building a business model for a new form of hospitality: the albergo diffuso

PurposeIn recent years, tourists have become more interested in discovery the authenticity of a destination. The albergo diffuso (AD) is a response to this new requirement of tourist experience. The AD indeed is based on an accommodation solution with rooms distributed in various buildings across a village. The purpose of this study is to analyze the AD business model supporting the development of this emerging business opportunity in the accommodation industry.Design/methodology/approachThe research is conducted with a multiple case study approach, collecting data from different sources such as semi-structured interviews and archival research. The cases are all located in Italy where the AD was applied for the first time.FindingsThe AD business model is based on business idea, value creation and innovation. The business idea is based on the aim to contribute to the renaissance of a village with an emotional link between the entrepreneur and the village. Regarding the value creation, the AD is a form of accommodation that offers more than a hotel experience. The tourist can live like a resident and experiencing local traditions and culture. The innovation is indeed related to the services that are totally different from a traditional hotel.Originality/valueConsidering the previous studies, this research tries to fill the gap concerning the necessity to define the characteristics of the AD business model and to understand the key elements at the base of this hospitality approach.

Small Business, Big Data: An Assessment Tool for (Big) Data Analytics Capabilities in SMEs

Though firms are investing a lot in big data analytics (BDA), it is not well-understood how this creates business value. Prior research identified important dimensions of BDA capabilities (BDACs) o...

Tensiones de la contabilidad de gestión en el marco del capitalismo cognitivo

La entrada en vigencia de una nueva etapa del capitalismo, que el postoperaismo italiano ha denominado capitalismo cognitivo, en el que tendencialmente el conocimiento se posiciona como hegemónico en la creación de valor empresarial, ha reconfigurado las relaciones productivas, las cuales se extienden más allá de la tradicional fábrica, colocando en tensión las prácticas de la contabilidad de gestión, toda vez que aún arrastran la materialidad y se circunscriben en los entes económicos desconociendo el ascenso de la inmaterialidad, como factor productivo y como característica de las nuevas mercancías, y la reconfiguración del valor a partir del signo fundamentado en la comunicación semiótica del marketing. El presente artículo pretende develar que existen nuevas formas y retos de entender la contabilidad de gestión y su necesidad de transdisciplinarse en su proceso gestionador de valor.

Chinese CSR standards and industrial policy in GPNs

PurposePublic policy to promote corporate social responsibility (CSR) can be a tool used by the state to promote the creation of social value by multinational enterprises (MNEs) and their global suppliers. Yet, this aspect has been little explored in the literature on social value creation in international business. While there is a substantial literature on the interactions of public and private regulation of firm behaviour in the global economy, little is known about the emergence of local institutional environments aimed at creating social value from MNE activities. This paper aims to address this gap in the literature.Design/methodology/approachConceptually, the paper draws on the literatures on global production networks (GPNs) and on institutional approaches to CSR to grasp the local institutional environment for social value creation in MNEs and their suppliers. Empirically, the case of China is examined based on a review of literature, policy documents and interviews. The key questions the paper seeks to address is as follows: How can the emergence of local Chinese CSR standards be explained? How does the emergence of such CSR standards fit into wider policy objectives in the context of Chinese export-oriented growth?FindingsThe paper argues that the emergence of CSR standards in China needs to be seen in the context of changing industrial policy objectives to enhance both the social and economic value of participation in GPNs. Specifically, the evolution of Chinese CSR standards corresponds to a shift from structural towards functional coupling in GPNs, associated with increased policy attention on enhancing local skills and technology. Taking the case of the textile and apparel sector as an example, the paper illustrates how the adoption of China’s first CSR management system has taken place in a context of shifting strategic coupling objectives.Research limitations/implicationsA lack of data does not allow any conclusions on the impact of the Chinese institutional environment on social value creation and economic upgrading at firm level. This question could be addressed in further research. In addition, the findings open new questions around possible synergies between local policies and MNE efforts on sustainability. Increasing cooperation between Chinese and international standard setters around CSR opens the question of whether this leads to a convergence of horizontal and vertical governance on sustainability in the apparel GPN.Practical implicationsFindings show that there may be a window of opportunity for international practitioners to seek further dialogue with Chinese actors around promoting socially and environmentally sustainable business in a global economy.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to a better understanding of changes in the institutional environment for social value creation for MNEs and their suppliers in a key emerging economy. It illustrates how institutional approaches to CSR and the GPN framework can be combined to grasp the institutional environment for social value creation in an international business context.

Principles for internalising systems resilience into business management and value creation

Principles for internalising systems resilience into business management and value creation

The role of brand and brand management in creating business value case of Facebook Vietnam

The role of brand and brand management in creating business value case of Facebook Vietnam

The role of brand and brand manage-ment in creating business value case of coca-cola Vietnam

The role of brand and brand manage-ment in creating business value case of coca-cola Vietnam

Management of ICT Implementations in Enterprises in Poland

In order to develop and be competitive, modern enterprises, which function in an environment that is globalised, dynamic and subject to strong digitalisation pressure, need to implement information technologies in a way that will allow them, as they achieve further levels of virtualisation, to maintain, and even enhance, their ability to create value added. As business activity is moved to a space shaped by computers and IT networks and distance communication tools and forms are developed, the importance of establishing contacts and relations in the organisation and execution of value-creation business processes increases. Digitalisation of the economy and society is one of the most dynamic changes of our times, opening up new opportunities to create business models, while bringing uncertainty and various threats connected, among other things, with social consequences of the automation of production processes and security in a broad sense. The aim of the presentation is to indicate areas of activity in which information technologies are most often implemented in enterprises in Poland as well as managers' strategic approach to this problem in the face of digital transformation. The paper presents the level of Polish enterprises’ engagement in the process of digital transformation and shows how the progress in terms of implementation of modern ICT in the aspect of customer contacts, managing and executing contacts with suppliers and recipients and resource configuration, impacts the effectiveness of the enterprises surveyed.

Big Data and Business Analytics: Trends, Platforms, Success Factors and Applications

Big data and business analytics are trends that are positively impacting the business world. Past researches show that data generated in the modern world is huge and growing exponentially. These include structured and unstructured data that flood organizations daily. Unstructured data constitute the majority of the world’s digital data and these include text files, web, and social media posts, emails, images, audio, movies, etc. The unstructured data cannot be managed in the traditional relational database management system (RDBMS). Therefore, data proliferation requires a rethinking of techniques for capturing, storing, and processing the data. This is the role big data has come to play. This paper, therefore, is aimed at increasing the attention of organizations and researchers to various applications and benefits of big data technology. The paper reviews and discusses, the recent trends, opportunities and pitfalls of big data and how it has enabled organizations to create successful business strategies and remain competitive, based on available literature. Furthermore, the review presents the various applications of big data and business analytics, data sources generated in these applications and their key characteristics. Finally, the review not only outlines the challenges for successful implementation of big data projects but also highlights the current open research directions of big data analytics that require further consideration. The reviewed areas of big data suggest that good management and manipulation of the large data sets using the techniques and tools of big data can deliver actionable insights that create business values.

The Study on Developmental Factors Affecting the Value of Media Enterprises

Recently, the vigorous investment, merger and acquisition, expansion and other activities of media enterprises need to be assisted by accurate value assessment. Many experts and scholars have proposed that it’s important to focus on the business model and value creation logic when assessing the enterprise. Influenced by the overall reform and the new business forms of the media industry, the factors affecting the value of media enterprises also have changed. This paper mainly analyze the developmental factors, important changes and the causes that affecting the value of media enterprises.

Corporate social responsibility perceptions and employee engagement: role of psychological meaningfulness, safety and availability

PurposeThe primary research question addressed through this paper is whether and how corporate social responsibility (CSR) can create business value for organizations as measured through employee attitudes and behaviours. Specifically, this study aims to examine the impact of CSR on employee engagement through its influence on psychological meaningfulness, safety and availability.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 187 business professionals working for a wide variety of organizations in India constituted the study sample. Regression analysis was used to test the proposed hypotheses.FindingsCSR positively predicted employee engagement. Psychological conditions of meaningfulness, safety and availability fully mediated the relationship of CSR with employee engagement.Practical implicationsThe study establishes CSR as an important talent management tool in the hands of management to cultivate an engaged workforce. The results provide corporate managers with the necessary evidence to justify their investment in CSR initiatives.Originality/valueThe study by establishing CSR as a determinant of employee engagement addresses the need for micro-level CSR research, and, hence, bridges the macro-micro gap in the CSR literature. In addition, the application of micro-level theories helped to establish the psychological processes defining CSR and employee engagement relationship. In doing so, the study empirically tests Khan’s theory of engagement and the underlying mechanisms of engagement.

Cruise brand experience: functional and wellness value creation in tourism business

Purpose Experience and value creation have become integral themes for tourism service providers. This study aims to understand the role of different types of experiences in formulating customers’ perceived value. Studies on this area are scarce, especially in the cruise industry. Design/methodology/approach A research model that includes two value variables, namely, functional and wellness values, and four cruise brand experience variables, namely, sensory, affective, behavioral and intellectual factors, was tested through partial least-squares (PLS) structural equation modeling approach. A total of 389 usable cruise customer responses were obtained and analyzed using SmartPLS software. Findings Results revealed the relative effects of sensory, affective, behavioral and intellectual factors on perceived functional and wellness values. The positive impact of perceived value on customer satisfaction and behavioral intention and the moderating role of service expertise in the relationship between cruise experience and perceived value were examined. Research limitations/implications Future research can examine how types of leisure facilities (e.g. casinos, restaurants, bars and shows), cultural differences (e.g. Eastern and Western) and customers’ travel characteristics (e.g. visiting purpose and companions) may influence the relationships between cruise brand experience and perceived value. Practical implications From a practical point, the relationships among multidimensional cruise brand experience, functional and wellness values, customer satisfaction, revisit intention and service expertise provide a clue on how cruise brands can enhance customers’ perceived value to retain current customers. Originality/value This study contributes to literature by providing a theoretical framework and empirical evidence for predicting and explaining cruise customers’ behavior. From a managerial perspective, this study identified critical factors that are essential to value creation and discussed the implications of predictive factors on developing marketing strategies that enhance customers’ positive attitude and behavior toward the cruise brand.

Organization Improvisational Capability

This study develops and validates an instrument for assessing organization improvisational capability (OIC) for potential use in future empirical studies. A definition of OIC and its dimensions are proposed based on an intensive literature review. An initial three-dimension, nine-item OIC scale derived from the literature is validated iteratively and then refined through a rigorous process into a two-factor, eight-item scale. The final scale demonstrates adequate psychometric properties, including reliability and convergent and discriminant validity. As such, this study contributes to a deeper theoretical understanding of the OIC construct and the appropriate application of such scales in future empirical studies. Future research on organization performance, agility, and strategy could utilize the proposed scale to study how OIC creates business value.

Impact of the usage of social media in the workplace on team and employee performance

How does the usage of social media in the workplace affect team and employee performance? To address this cutting edge and up-to-date research question, we ran a quasinatural field experiment, collecting data of two matched-sample groups within a large financial service firm in China. We find that work-oriented social media (DingTalk) and socialization-oriented social media (WeChat) are complementary resources that generate synergies to improve team and employee performance. The instrumental value provided by work-oriented social media is reinforced by the expressive value provided by socialization-oriented social media, which help firms to create business value from information technology investments.

The biorefinery transition in the European pulp and paper industry – A three-phase Delphi study including a SWOT-AHP analysis

Because it is a mature industry, the European pulp and paper industry (PPI) possesses strengths due to its infrastructure, technological know-how, and the availability of biomass. However, the declining trend in the wood-based products sales, coupled with an increasing amount of global attention focused on a bio-based and circular economy, sends a clear signal to the industry, indicating that it needs to transform its business model to increase its profitability while contributing to climate change mitigation. Integrating the biorefinery concept as a value creation business model seems to be the pathway that will reach these objectives. This study was carried out to empirically assess and prioritize factors that affect the diffusion and implementation of the biorefinery concept in the European PPI. For this purpose, a three-phase Delphi study, including a SWOT-Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), was conducted. During the course of this study, the opinions of experts from industry and academia were gathered using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The findings reveal that the political dimension has a significant influence on the ability of individuals to tackle the economic barriers while reinforcing the environmental and social benefits in the macro-environment. At the industry level, the availability of biomass appears to be a strength of the PPI, while the knowledge gap regarding technology and the market represents a crucial barrier for the biorefinery development. The human resources issue is indicated as an important premise behind the identified barriers on a strategic level. Finally, five potential strategies for the biorefinery development in the PPI were derived by logically combining the results of the SWOT-AHP decision-making.

Nurturing natural capital

Nurturing natural capital

You have not been archiving emails for no reason! Using big data analytics to cluster B2B interest in products and services and link clusters to financial performance

The potential of big data analytics when it comes to gaining business insights, such as market trends and consumer preferences, has captured the interest of both scholars and business practitioners. However, the extant literature has so far provided limited empirical evidence to demonstrate how big data analytics can create business value. To address this research gap, this paper followed a novel big data analytical approach that involved analysing email archives about product/services demand clusters in a B2B setting. We analysed 621 k emails exchanged between 2009 and 2018. We identified a number of discussion clusters that were considered proxies for the interest buyers expressed in the products/services on offer. These clusters and associated discussion trends were linked to the company's revenues and financial performance, showing good predictive power. In doing this, we have demonstrated how widely available data, such as emails, which all companies have, can be used to underpin new methods for the early identification and monitoring of product demand trends, informing marketing strategies.

Valuation perspectives of family-owned real-estate companies in Saudi Arabia

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the effect of capital restructuring for a family-owned real-estate development company in Saudi Arabia. The paper expands the understanding of value creation in a family business with a multiple projects portfolio. The study is approached as a single-case study research design. The main sources of evidence are financial statements, a small and medium sized enterprise (SME) interview, and a ten-year financial analysis. The data was analysed and compared to national competitors to show the various valuation outcomes, including the effect of SPV creation. The theoretical methodologies for valuation used, are book value, relative measures, earning capitalisation and value creation. The paper provides qualitative insight about how the valuation of real-estate development companies in Saudi Arabia can increase. It suggests that for family businesses especially in real-estate development, the adaptation of an appropriate capital structure is vital to give a fair valuation of the company. One finding of this study is that family businesses in Saudi Arabia have less desire for financial restructuring. Moreover, the paper discloses that SPV creation has increased the valuation due to the elimination of other projects' liabilities.

Performance 21 Handbook of Business Performance and Value Creation in the 21st Century

Performance 21 Handbook of Business Performance and Value Creation in the 21st Century

Sustained business competitive advantage with data analytics

In today's highly networked and digital business, data is the only gold element with extensive capability to create business value which we have never seen in the traditionally executed business. This new business world is stimulated by analytics and its ability to make the most of data for sustained competitive advantage. The organisations need to adapt new technologies to prevent the wearing out of the existing knowledge and sustain competitively for a long period according to the increasing customer demands. Analytics has the power to forecast future happenings based on some data which is available to the organisation, so making use of the data with analytics. However, new technology, here data analytics, alone will be of little use if the strategic managers lack to understand the business context in which the forecasted knowledge is useful and help in sustained competitive advantage. A strong framework needs to be in place to integrate analytics with the knowledge base of the organisation along with skilled managers. This research paper is an attempt to provide a theoretical framework and its empirical analysis to apply analytics effectively so as to remove uncertainties in business for its sustainability.