Reframing agile organization: do big data analytics capabilities matter?

The Agile Manifesto has become the mantra for software developers seeking to create innovative software. However, recently, the principles of Agile Manifesto have also emerged as guidelines for organizations continuously seeking to develop and adopt innovations. Hence, the expression Agile Organization arose. Notwithstanding this interest, Agile Organizations' traits still have to be conceptualized. Yet, the role of Big Data Analytics capable information systems has been neglected. In this perspective, the research aims to develop a framework assessing why Big Data analytics capabilities are fundamental for organizations aiming to follow Agile Organization's principles. Implications of the potential role of such information systems on innovation development and adoption, performance and organizational flexibility are also presented

Feudal Graph Reinforcement Learning

We focus on learning composable policies to control a variety of physical agents with possibly different structures. Among state-of-the-art methods, prominent approaches exploit graph-based representations and weight-sharing modular policies based on the message-passing framework. However, as shown by recent literature, message passing can create bottlenecks in information propagation and hinder global coordination. This drawback can become even more problematic in tasks where high-level planning is crucial. In fact, in similar scenarios, each modular policy - e.g., controlling a joint of a robot - would request to coordinate not only for basic locomotion but also achieve high-level goals, such as navigating a maze. A classical solution to avoid similar pitfalls is to resort to hierarchical decision-making. In this work, we adopt the Feudal Reinforcement Learning paradigm to develop agents where control actions are the outcome of a hierarchical (pyramidal) message-passing process. In the proposed Feudal Graph Reinforcement Learning (FGRL) framework, high-level decisions at the top level of the hierarchy are propagated through a layered graph representing a hierarchy of policies. Lower layers mimic the morphology of the physical system and upper layers can capture more abstract sub-modules. The purpose of this preliminary work is to formalize the framework and provide proof-of-concept experiments on benchmark environments (MuJoCo locomotion tasks). Empirical evaluation shows promising results on both standard benchmarks and zero-shot transfer learning settings

Developing software beyond customer needs and plans: An exploratory study of its forms and individual-level drivers

Excessive software development is the tendency to develop new software above and beyond the requirements of the market and/or planned specifications. It is a widespread phenomenon involving both risks and flexibility advantages. As it represents a challenging dilemma for software developers, it is important to study its human origins. Drawing on the tripartite model of individual attitudes, this study investigates the influence of developers’s cognitive (intuitive and rational thinking styles), affective (emotional attachment) and behavioural (reliance on past experiences) traits on two forms of excess, beyond needs and beyond plans. Using survey data on 307 software developers, this study shows that different manifestations of excess are associated with distinct traits of software developers. Emotional attachment drives beyond needs excess. A positive (negative) association is found between relying on past experiences and beyond needs excess (beyond plans excess). An intuitive cognitive style fosters the inclusion of extra features in the new product scope, whereas a rational style might lead to developing one-size-fits-all software that targets the needs of a broad user base. These findings contribute to research on the development of digital new products and production technologies by offering a comprehensive yet fine-grained picture of excessive software development’s nature and drivers

Responsible Entrepreneurship Education: Emerging Research and Opportunities

Entrepreneurship is always evolving, and while some view entrepreneurship as something one is born to do, entrepreneurs should continue their education to improve themselves professionally. Entrepreneurship does not end with the creation of a start-up or in pursuing an already consolidated economic reality; it manifests itself in everyday life. Responsible Entrepreneurship Education: Emerging Research and Opportunities provides innovative insights into educational strategies for the continued preparation of entrepreneurs. The content within this publication examines economic theory, lifelong learning, opportunistic and positive thinking, business creativity, and operations management. It is designed for entrepreneurs, students, business educators, academicians, managers, and researchers

Achieving Strategic Flexibility in the Era of Big Data: The Importance of Knowledge Management and Ambidexterity

Purpose – This research unpacks the micro-mechanisms that exist between an organisation’s ability to conduct Big Data Analytics (BDA) and its achievement of strategic flexibility. Knowledge management capabilities and organisational ambidexterity have long been considered factors influencing the aforementioned relationship. In order to assess this, the authors build on dynamic capabilities as the main theoretical lens through which to examine. Design/methodology/approach – Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) is the main methodological approach used in this research. A structural model was developed and tested based on 215 survey responses collected from managers of organisations in continental Europe. Findings – The results indicate that BDA capabilities are a significant antecedent of an organisation’s strategic flexibility. This relationship, however, is influenced by knowledge management capabilities and ambidexterity. Practical implications – Managers wishing to properly exploit the potential of big data should invest in the elaboration of knowledge management processes across their organisation. This strategy can foster strategic flexibility. Originality/value – Previous research has explored the theoretical links between big data, knowledge management, and strategic flexibility. However, little attention has been paid to the quantitative investigation of the phenomenon

Sport Entrepreneurship: A Synthesis of Existing Literature and Future Perspectives

Sport entrepreneurship is progressively emerging as an extremely significant stream of research. Accordingly, scholars are progressively assessing how sportspeople tend to have higher entrepreneurial orientation and intentions than the average. In a similar fashion, scholars have also observed how sport-related entrepreneurial ventures can have a positive effect on community development. This notwithstanding, this literature stream is still fragmented, lacks a proper systematization, and needs an identification of its intellectual structure and research themes. Hereby, we performed a bibliometric analysis on 86 papers and a systematic literature review on the most influential papers belonging to the pertinent literature. Results show that a 4-cluster structure exists for sport entrepreneurship: its theoretical definitions and internal factors fostering it (cluster 1), environmental factors which may foster it (cluster 2), pedagogical approaches and education (cluster 3), and finally its impacts, especially in terms of community development and social benefits (cluster 4). From these findings, a framework to help both scholars and practitioners approaching the topic was developed

Rhabdovirus-based vaccine platforms against henipaviruses.

UNLABELLED: The emerging zoonotic pathogens Hendra virus (HeV) and Nipah virus (NiV) are in the genus Henipavirus in the family Paramyxoviridae. HeV and NiV infections can be highly fatal to humans and livestock. The goal of this study was to develop candidate vaccines against henipaviruses utilizing two well-established rhabdoviral vaccine vector platforms, recombinant rabies virus (RABV) and recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), expressing either the codon-optimized or the wild-type (wt) HeV glycoprotein (G) gene. The RABV vector expressing the codon-optimized HeV G showed a 2- to 3-fold increase in incorporation compared to the RABV vector expressing wt HeV G. There was no significant difference in HeV G incorporation in the VSV vectors expressing either wt or codon-optimized HeV G. Mice inoculated intranasally with any of these live recombinant viruses showed no signs of disease, including weight loss, indicating that HeV G expression and incorporation did not increase the neurotropism of the vaccine vectors. To test the immunogenicity of the vaccine candidates, we immunized mice intramuscularly with either one dose of the live vaccines or 3 doses of 10 μg chemically inactivated viral particles. Increased codon-optimized HeV G incorporation into RABV virions resulted in higher antibody titers against HeV G compared to inactivated RABV virions expressing wt HeV G. The live VSV vectors induced more HeV G-specific antibodies as well as higher levels of HeV neutralizing antibodies than the RABV vectors. In the case of killed particles, HeV neutralizing serum titers were very similar between the two platforms. These results indicated that killed RABV with codon-optimized HeV G should be the vector of choice as a dual vaccine in areas where rabies is endemic. IMPORTANCE: Scientists have been tracking two new viruses carried by the Pteropid fruit bats: Hendra virus (HeV) and Nipah virus (NiV). Both viruses can be fatal to humans and also pose a serious risk to domestic animals. A recent escalation in the frequency of outbreaks has increased the need for a vaccine that prevents HeV and NiV infections. In this study, we performed an extensive comparison of live and killed particles of two recombinant rhabdoviral vectors, rabies virus and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), expressing wild-type or codon-optimized HeV glycoprotein, with the goal of developing a candidate vaccine against HeV. Based on our data from the presented mouse immunogenicity studies, we conclude that a killed RABV vaccine would be highly effective against HeV infections and would make an excellent vaccine candidate in areas where both RABV and henipaviruses pose a threat to human health

Managing Generational Tensions Toward Digital Transformation: A Microfoundational Perspective

The rise of digital technologies poses new organizational challenges, redesigning organizational structures, paving the way for new opportunities. Despite the growing body of research on digital transformation, there has been relatively little research on the microfoundational mechanisms that contribute to the successful digital transformation of workplaces. Drawing from the microfoundational perspective, this study examines managers' cognition regarding the digital transformation of the workplace, with a particular focus on how generational differences among managers influence such cognitions. To explore this topic, a case study was conducted using 25 semistructured interviews and field observations at a Dutch multinational enterprise. The findings identify key mechanisms related to digital transformation processes, highlighting how generational differences between managers belonging to Generation X and Generation Y necessitate efficient coordination to cope with organizational tensions and successfully pursue the digital transformation of workplaces. This coordination can be supported by orchestrating managers, a shared vision, and the development of a flexible paradigm. The study concludes with a discussion of the implications, limitations, and avenues for future research

Managing Generational Tensions Toward Digital Transformation: A Microfoundational Perspective

The rise of digital technologies poses new organizational challenges, redesigning organizational structures, paving the way for new opportunities. Despite the growing body of research on digital transformation, there has been relatively little research on the microfoundational mechanisms that contribute to the successful digital transformation of workplaces. Drawing from the microfoundational perspective, this study examines managers’ cognition regarding the digital transformation of theworkplace, with a particular focus on how generational differences among managers influence such cognitions. To explore this topic, a case study was conducted using 25 semistructured interviews and field observations at a Dutch multinational enterprise. The findings identify key mechanisms related to digital transformation processes, highlighting how generational differences between managers belonging to Generation X and Generation Y necessitate efficient coordination to cope with organizational tensions and successfully pursue the digital transformation of workplaces. This coordination can be supported by orchestrating managers, a shared vision, and the development of a flexible paradigm. The study concludes with a discussion of the implications, limitations, and avenues for future research