Eco‐Holonic 4.0 Circular Business Model to Conceptualize Sustainable Value Chain Towards Digital Transition

The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize a circular business model based on an Eco-Holonic Architecture, through the integration of circular economy and holonic principles. A conceptual model is developed to manage the complexity of integrating circular economy principles, digital transformation, and tools and frameworks for sustainability into business models. The proposed architecture is multilevel and multiscale in order to achieve the instantiation of the sustainable value chain in any territory. The architecture promotes the incorporation of circular economy and holonic principles into new circular business models. This integrated perspective of business model can support the design and upgrade of the manufacturing companies in their respective industrial sectors. The conceptual model proposed is based on activity theory that considers the interactions between technical and social systems and allows the mitigation of the metabolic rift that exists between natural and social metabolism. This study contributes to the existing literature on circular economy, circular business models and activity theory by considering holonic paradigm concerns, which have not been explored yet. This research also offers a unique holonic architecture of circular business model by considering different levels, relationships, dynamism and contextualization (territory) aspects

The transregional dimension of territorial knowledge management. An evolutionary perspective on the role of universities

During the last decades, research on regional innovation processes has turned its focus on the relevance of knowledge as a decisive factor to explain regional growth. New Economic Geography as well as new models of regional economics stressed the advan-tages of unique regional structures with locally bounded knowledge and systems to ex-change experiential knowledge via different forms of direct communication. Network effects lead to advantages of metropolitan regions within international competition. From an evolutionary institutional economics' perspective, the development and changes of formal and informal institutional arrangements have to be investigated, enabling regional actors to co-operate on a medium-to-long-term basis and overcoming free-rider incentives and cognitive barriers to identification of tacit knowledge. For uni-versities, two important functions within these knowledge networks occur. Firstly, universities serve as sources for new research experiences. Secondly, universities 'produce' highly skilled human capital, increasing directly the absorptive capacity of the region and making it easier for regional companies to get access to this mobile group. It is the first objective of the proposed paper to explain this role within an approach to deal with knowledge on a regional level called 'Territorial Knowledge Management'. This intraregional perspective, however, reflects only one side of the 'coin' of success-ful regional knowledge networks. Without interregional exchange of experiential knowledge, risks of functional lock-in-processes increase leading to policies of preventing necessary structural changes and incentives for companies and highly skilled persons to leave the regions. But learning by interregional exchange of knowledge can only be realised successfully if interpersonal face-to-face contacts and common communication structures and codes exist. Within regions, implicit institutions like trust and reciprocity help to overcome barriers to build up network structures but depend on a 'closeness' of networks. Therefore, interregional knowledge networks require new (and specific) institutional arrangements. Geographical proximity will be less important for interregional knowledge transfers than institutional and cultural proximity, which has a direct influence on cognitive structures within companies, R&D institutes and universities. What is the special role of universities in this context, and how can universities react to new challenges of interregional openness? These are the leading research questions of the proposed paper. As international competition increases in markets for education and research, universities have to strengthen their specific core competencies and look out for suitable strategies. The paper shall give hints how and why these strategies have to be coordinated with activities within regional knowledge networks. Four university-specific strategies to promote interregional transfer of knowledge are presented and analysed, representing different objectives, target groups and instruments: strategic ap-pointments of foreign professors, further international co-operation in the fields of research, courses and degrees, internationalisation of research and education by building up international franchise systems, and strengthening alumni networks. These strategies are investigated on the basis of a theoretical (evolutionary) model as well as by giving a survey on existing case studies. It is not the objective of the paper to evaluate the impact of these strategies for universities alone, but for regional processes of generating, applying, diffusing, and adapting knowledge, and for the emerging geographical pattern of interregional co-operation in the enlarging Europe. Finally, prerequisites are identified to secure positive impact of university's internationalisation strategies on regional absorptive capacities.

An integrated core competence evaluation framework for portfolio management in the oil industry

Drawing upon resource-based theory, this paper presents a core competence evaluation framework for managing the competence portfolio of an oil company. It introduces a network typology to illustrate how to form different types of strategic alliance relations with partnering firms to manage and grow the competence portfolio. A framework is tested using a case study approach involving face-to-face structured interviews. We identified purchasing, refining and sales and marketing as strong candidates to be the core competencies. However, despite the company's core business of refining oil, the core competencies were identified to be their research and development and performance management (PM) capabilities. We further provide a procedure to determine different kinds of physical, intellectual and cultural resources making a dominant impact on company's competence portfolio. In addition, we provide a comprehensive set of guidelines on how to develop core competence further by forging a partnership alliance choosing an appropriate network topology

A Next Generation of Quality Assurance Models : On Phases, Levels and Circles in Policy Development

Quality assessment has been part of the feedback mechanisms of European higher education systems since around 1980. Due to internal dynamics, `erosion¿ of the effectiveness of firstgeneration quality assessment systems has led to loss of credibility (legitimacy) of these systems in the late 1990s. External dynamics also necessitate designing a next generation of quality assurance systems. They include notably a loss of transparency (hence, legitimacy) of the European higher education system through increased internationalisation (most notably through the Bologna process) which puts new, increased demands on institutional arrangements for quality assurance. In this paper, we first intend to schematise the developments of quality assurance in higher education by introducing a phase model of the effects of internal and external dynamics. Next, we will analyse this phase model from the perspective of argumentative policy inquiry. Finally, we will contrast policy developments in higher education with one other example, viz. environmental policy in the Netherlands. The conclusions of this comparison, as well as the new challenges set for quality assurance in higher education by the Bologna process, are the subject matter for the final section of our paper

The business of invention: considering project management in the arts and industry

Project management has well developed theoretical constructs and is becom- ing increasingly well established in core strategy beyond the industrial and corporate sec- tors from which it first emerged. With a concurrent increase in the significance of innova- tion, project managing for creativity is an area of research and enquiry of considerable sig- nificance. Notionally occupying polar opposite cultural positions in terms of perspectives and processes of creativity, project management in the arts is widely considered to vary significantly from corporate strategy and process. If business were to be more generally characterised by ‘organisation’ and discipline, the arts are more commonly celebrated for disorganisation, indiscipline, and the fundamental challenge to organisation itself. Consid- ering both the confluences and variations between established project management theory in business and practice in the arts, this text introduces theoretical constructs pertaining to creative processes and highlights areas for consideration in the understanding and further development of project management theory

THE INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL OF UNIVERSITIES

The purpose of this paper is to present some of our research results concerning the intellectual capital of universities. This is an important topic of the intellectual research area since universities are knowledge intensive organizations. They contain bintellectual capital, integrator, knowledge, learning organization.

SMEs; Virtual research and development (R&D) teams and new product development: A literature review

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are indeed the engines of global economic growth. Their continued growth is a major subject for the economy and employment of any country. Towards that end, virtual research and development (R&D) could be a viable option to sustain and ease the operations of SMEs. However, literature shows there has not been a great deal of research into the diverse characteristic of virtual R&D teams in SMEs. This article provides a comprehensive literature review on different aspects of virtual R&D teams collected from the reputed publications. The purpose of the literature review is to provide an outline on the structure and dynamics of R&D collaboration in SMEs. Specifying the rationale and relevance of virtual teams, the relationship between virtual R&D team for SMEs and new product development (NPD) has been examined. It concludes with identifying the gaps and feebleness in the existing literature and calls for future research in this area. It is argued to form of virtual R&D team deserves consideration at top level management for venturing into the new product development within SMEs

Virtual R&D teams in small and medium enterprises: a literature review

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the driving engine behind economic growth. While SMEs play a critical role in generating employment and supporting trade, they face numerous challenges, the prominent among them are the need to respond to fasting time-to-market, low-cost and rapid solutions to complex organizational problems. Towards that end, research and development (R & D) aspect deserves particular attention to promote and facilitate the operations of SMEs. Virtual R & D team could be a viable option. However, literature shows that virtual R & D teaming in SMEs is still at its infancy. This article provides a comprehensive literature review on different aspects of virtual R & D teams collected from the reputed publications. The purpose of the state-of-the-art literature review is to provide an overview on the structure and dynamics of R & D collaboration in SMEs. Specifying the foundation and importance of virtual teams, the relationship between virtual R & D team and SMEs has been examined. It concludes with the identification of the gaps in the existing literature's and calls for future research. It is argued that setting-up an infrastructure for virtual R & D team in SMEs still requires a large amount of engineering efforts and deserves consideration at top level management