Industry 4.0 & Servitization: Role and impact of digital servitization strategies in international industrial markets

Il presente progetto di ricerca riguarda l'indagine di due fenomeni principali, la digitalizzazione e la servitizzazione, e la risultante ‘servitizzazione digitale’, all’interno dei mercati industriali. L'obiettivo principale di questo studio è contribuire alla generazione di nuova conoscenza circa i fenomeni indagati e fornire a manager e professionisti validi suggerimenti su come affrontarli con successo. La digitalizzazione e la servitizzazione digitale sono ambiti di ricerca recenti ma in forte crescita, attorno ai quali sta convergendo l'attenzione di numerose figure accademiche e professionali. Nonostante il grande dinamismo che caratterizza tali fenomeni, le imprese industriali si trovano ad affrontare ancora oggi diverse sfide nel tentativo di implementarli. In effetti, le aziende manifatturiere dimostrano di percepire barriere elevate all'investimento in strategie digitali. Adottando un approccio alla problematizzazione, è possibile notare come sia necessario sviluppare ulteriori conoscenze circa i processi di digitalizzazione e servitizzazione al fine di comprendere al meglio i vantaggi e le sfide ad essi connessi. Partendo dall’identificazione di una serie di nuove aree di ricerca ancora poco studiate, questa tesi analizza empiricamente i fenomeni di digitalizzazione e servitizzazione. A tal fine, il presente lavoro di ricerca è strutturato in cinque capitoli principali. Il Capitolo I – Fondamenti teorici e note metodologiche – passa in rassegna la letteratura disponibile su digitalizzazione e servitizzazione digitale e fornisce chiarimenti sulle note metodologiche adottate in questa tesi. Lo scopo del capitolo è fornire un'analisi teorica preliminare sulla digitalizzazione e la servitizzazione. Il Capitolo II – I meccanismi di diffusione della conoscenza di Industria 4.0 nei distretti industriali tradizionali: evidenze dall'Italia – indaga empiricamente la digitalizzazione a livello di analisi contestuale. Il capitolo esamina il contesto e i meccanismi attraverso i quali si stanno diffondendo le tecnologie di Industria 4.0. Il Capitolo III – Verso una prospettiva multilivello sulla servitizzazione digitale – studia empiricamente i percorsi di servitizzazione digitale di due aziende manifatturiere a livello intersettoriale. Il Capitolo IV – Tensioni intra e interorganizzative di una strategia di servitizzazione digitale: evidenze dal settore meccatronico in Italia – è uno studio empirico circa le tensioni emergenti legate alla servitizzazione digitale. In particolare, il capitolo implementa un'indagine approfondita su un'azienda industriale esplorando longitudinalmente le fasi del suo percorso di servitizzazione digitale al fine di districarne la complessità. Il Capitolo V – Osservazioni conclusive e percorsi di ricerca futuri – traccia le conclusioni della ricerca e fornisce linee di ricerca future. I principali contributi di questo lavoro di ricerca possono essere riassunti come segue. Questa tesi evidenzia la stretta connessione tra i fenomeni di digitalizzazione e servitizzazione e prova che la digitalizzazione può essere ‘un’arma a doppio taglio’. I risultati empirici raccolti descrivono la servitizzazione digitale attraverso la sua natura multilivello, che si manifesta su tre livelli: micro (individuale), organizzativo e di network. Inoltre, sottolinea l'impatto del networking nei processi di digitalizzazione e servitizzazione; nuovi attori entrano a far parte della catena del valore e possono influenzare l’andamento dei due fenomeni. Infine, la complessità dei processi di digitalizzazione e servitizzazione è provata empiricamente e si propone evidenza delle difficoltà incontrate dalle aziende manifatturiere nel tentativo di realizzarli

Collaboration and Identity Formation in Strategic Interorganizational Partnerships: An Exploration of Swift Identity Processes

We investigate how collective identity formation processes interplay with collaboration practices in an inter-organizational partnership promoting regional innovation. We found that initial collaboration challenges are dealt with by setting up an early “swift identity” which is associated with material artifacts to increase its strength and stability (“swift identity reification”). However, as the partnership evolves, the reified identity becomes misaligned with partners’ underdeveloped collaboration practices. To ensure realignment, new attempts at reification are performed, as partners buy time for learning how to collaborate. Our findings contribute to extant identity research by proposing alternative (i.e. “swift” and “reified”) mechanisms of identity formation in contexts characterized by both heterogeneity challenges and integration imperatives. They also integrate the debate about the role of identity formation in the evolution of interorganizational partnerships. For both literatures, we highlight the important role of materiality

Interorganizational social capital of firms in developing economies and Industry 4.0 readiness: the role of innovative capability and absorptive capacity.

The globalization of markets provides opportunities for firms to collaborate on various activities. These collaborations are the resource of social capital for firms to achieve sustainable competitiveness. This study aims to investigate how social capital (i.e., structural, relational, and cognitive social capital) between firms in a developing economy and developed economy strengthens their innovation capability and enhance their industry 4.0 readiness. Using Smart PLS-SEM to analyse the data collected from 320 managers representing 81 manufacturing firms in Pakistan, we found that social capital is positively associated with industry 4.0 readiness, and innovative capability mediates this relationship. The study contributes to the existing knowledge of understanding industry 4.0 readiness and provides useful insights for firms in developing economy to improves their innovation capability during the industry 4.0 era. This study likewise reveals the significance of three dimensions of social capital, which can facilitate to bring in digital knowledge from developed economies to developed economies to get ready for the fourth industrial revolution

Inter-organizational social capital of firms in developing economies and industry 4.0 readiness: the role of innovative capability and absorptive capacity Author-1

The globalization of markets provides opportunities for firms to collaborate on various activities. These collaborations are the resource of social capital for firms to achieve sustainable competitiveness. This study aims to investigate how social capital (i.e., structural, relational, and cognitive social capital) between firms in a developing economy and developed economy strengthens their innovation capability and enhance their industry 4.0 readiness. Using Smart PLS-SEM to analyse the data collected from 320 managers representing 81 manufacturing firms in Pakistan, we found that social capital is positively associated with industry 4.0 readiness, and innovative capability mediates this relationship. The study contributes to the existing knowledge of understanding industry 4.0 readiness and provides useful insights for firms in developing economy to improves their innovation capability during the industry 4.0 era. This study likewise reveals the significance of three dimensions of social capital, which can facilitate to bring in digital knowledge from developed economies to developed economies to get ready for the fourth industrial revolution.IGA/FaME/2021/006, IGA/FaME/2022/005, IGA/FaME/2022/008; Univerzita Tomáše Bati ve ZlíněInternal Grant Agency of Faculty of Management and Economics through Tomas Bata University in Zln. Czech Republic [IGA/FaME/2021/006, IGA/FaME/2022/005, IGA/FaME/2022/008

Understanding Sustainability-Oriented Innovation (SOI) using network perspective in Asia Pacific and ASEAN: a systematic review

Sustainability-oriented innovation (SOI) is particular type of innovation that is not only economically oriented, but also environmental- and social benefits-oriented. SOI is now being widely discussed due to the increasing environmental and social problems that accompany various innovations around the world. In this paper we conducted a systematic review of empirical literature regarding SOI in the Asia Pacific region, which were discussed through network perspectives. For network perspectives, researchers focused on process view to explain how SOI is mobilised and practised throughout different social, institutional, and political contexts. We chose the Asia Pacific as the context because the region is the most dynamic part of the global economy, with ASEAN being the prominent parts of it. In conducting the review, we used the Tranfield, Denyer & Smart's protocol (2003) to ensure its rigorousness. The search focused on the academic database of Scopus with specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. The results show that SOI has been rapidly developing into practices in countries in the Asia Pacific, not only in profit sectors, but also in non-profit sectors such as government and community. Our review emphasised that actor-network theory (ANT) emerged as the currently most adopted framework to explain the dynamics process of SOI mobilisations and practices in the Asia Pacific region. ANT frameworks contribute to defining the structure of SOI networks as well as identifying social, institutional, and political challenges of SOI implementation. Regionally, the focus of the study so far is in North America (US and Canada), while studies in ASEAN are still very limited

Does Form follow Function? Connecting Function Modelling and Geometry Modelling for Design Space Exploration

The aerospace industry, representative of industries developing complex products, faces challenges from changes in user behaviour, legislation, environmental policy. Meeting these challenges will require the development of radically new products. Radically new technologies and solutions need to be explored, investigated, and integrated into existing aerospace component architectures. The currently available design space exploration (DSE) methods, mainly based around computer-aided design (CAD) modelling, do not provide sufficient support for this exploration. These methods often lack a representation of the product’s architecture in relation to its design rationale (DR)—they do not illustrate how form follows function. Hence, relations between different functions and solutions, as well as how novel ideas relate to the legacy design, are not captured. In particular, the connection between a product’s function and the embodiment of its solution is not captured in the applied product modelling approaches, and can therefore not be used in the product development process.To alleviate this situation, this thesis presents a combined function and geometry-modelling approach with automated generation of CAD models for variant concepts. The approach builds on enhanced function means (EF-M) modelling for representation of the design space and the legacy design’s position in it. EF-M is also used to capture novel design solutions and reference them to the legacy design’s architecture. A design automation (DA) approach based on modularisation of the CAD model, which in turn is based on the functional decomposition of the product concepts, is used to capture geometric product information. A combined function-geometry object model captures the relations between functions, solutions, and geometry. This allows for CAD models of concepts based on alternative solutions to be generated.The function- and geometry-exploration (FGE) approach has been developed and tested in collaboration with an aerospace manufacturing company. A proof-of-concept tool implementing the approach has been realised. The approach has been validated for decomposition, innovation, and embodiment of new concepts in multiple studies involving three different aerospace suppliers. Application of FGE provides knowledge capture and representation, connecting the teleological and geometric aspects of the product. Furthermore, it supports the exploration of increasingly novel solutions, enabling the coverage of a wider area of the design space.The connection between the modelling domains addresses a research gap for the “integration of function architectures with CAD models”.While the FGE approach has been tested in laboratory environments as well as in applied product development projects, further development is needed to refine CAD integration and user experience and integrate additional modelling domains

Power, policy and conflict: the politics of regional system of innovation in Gyeonggi province, South Korea

Academic literature has examined how change in a regional system of innovation involves interactions between various actors that participate in regional economic development. This thesis examines similar processes, but also explores the ways in which various factors characterize change in regional systems of innovation. Without making assumptions about the political nature of the interactions among actors and the contexts surrounding them, the thesis advances the idea of a non-economic approach to the processes of regional development and industrial policy. In this thesis, a strategic relational perspective to regional systems of innovation comprises the conceptual framework that provides an in-depth explanation of the analysis of experiences. The single case study is employed for the operationalization of the strategic-relational perspective in the context of Gyeonggi province, South Korea, as a highly industrialized region in a post catching-up economy. The fieldwork is based on the collection and analysis of interviews and participant observation. The interpretation of empirical evidence through the strategic relational perspective reveals tension in the governance context, which has not met the interests of regional policy makers concerning regional development and industrial policy in Gyeonggi province. Thus, the thesis portrays the parts played by the provincial government in the innovation system affecting innovative capacity and performance, and identifies the political tensions that emerged and that seemed to be important in these processes