Servitization 2.0: The significance of product and service dominant logics for public service organisations

This conceptual paper explores servitization as significant to public service organisations (PSOs) within which there is a requirement to administer lean and sustainable provision. It specifically appreciates that the digital transformation of services has embraced customer processing machine technologies that facilitate volume growth alongside information sharing; thus, fostering co-operation within collaborative network systems whilst pro-actively operating as elements of the product-service system (PSS). It demonstrates the significance of good-dominant logic (GDL) and service-dominant logic (SDL) perspectives when considering servitization within specific PSOs, and therefore seeks to better understand the strategic and operational realities for the era of Servitization 2.0

Designing and Delivering Pluralistic Management Learning for the Digital Era

The aim of this work is to consider the idea of pluralism as applied within curriculum design of a given case in order to be able to determine the usefulness that this has within management learning in the digital era. The work explores what is meant by pluralism within the context of management practice and it seeks to determine how pluralistic curriculum design defines the scope of content within a particular management module. It also seeks to understand how pluralistic management education might enable both theoretical and practical opportunities for learning and the enhancement of capabilities. An action research approach is adopted during the development of a management module that considers and attempts to define the characteristics of a pluralistic framework of management capability as a critical element in the curriculum design process. Additionally, as the module being designed will be delivered to 600+ students it seeks to determine the opportunities for the utilisation of digital technology in the delivery of this module and its efficiency benefits

Roles of Business Schools for New Generations of Innovative Business Leaders: A collaborative stakeholders as agents of change perspective

In the post economic crisis, the ability of a society to (re)create sustainable social, organisational and business structures is paramount. This need is clearly seen in our global economy where competitive economic realities result in a steady stream of economic activities being outsourced to offshore manufacturing facilities and service centres. The ability to replace this flow with new offerings is largely dependent on a society’s innovative capacity. This research project seeks to understand the roles of business schools in building innovative capacity within young graduates. Interviews and focus groups will be held with UK universities, leading graduate recruiters, entrepreneurs and students to understand the challenge of developing creative capacity from the perspectives of these key stakeholders. It is anticipated that a richer understanding of the context, ‘real world’ requirements and innovative pedagogical approaches will illuminate opportunities narrowing the skill gap as well as identifying the possibility of developing collaborative relationships between these stakeholders. The findings of this study will be pertinent to universities, national and international policy makers, educational institutions and ultimately future generations of students

Industry 4.0: Exploring Collaborative Supply Networks from the Pespective of Servitization of a Mature Public Transport System

Digital transformation in the era of Industry 4.0, with its revised, prescribed frameworks of practice, include those which are redefining the contextual characteristics that strongly advocate collaboration within the supply chain; and in doing so, see this element of the operations function as being an increasingly critical contributor to operational performance. We deepen the understanding of the concept and operationalization of the collaborative supply network in terms of it being a value ecosystem wherein value is captured and exploited within servitization practices (Baines & Lightfoot, 2013), as present within a mature public transport system

A model of service design elements to understand innovative service processes

This paper aims to provide an understanding of innovative service design processes by comparing service design logic with the entrepreneurial logics of causation, effectuation and bricolage (CEB). The paper draws upon empirical data to show how both service design logic and entrepreneurship logics may help us to create more innovative service design outcomes. In this process, we hope to understand how the creation of value enters into the service innovation process through co-creation between customers, organisations, ecosystem members and society. Data used within this paper includes deep qualitative interviews with key stakeholders, written documents and participative observation. From our analysis, we develop a model of service innovation design that shows how design logics and entrepreneurial logics influence the development of new and innovative services

FIRST GENOMIC RESOURCE FOR AN ENDANGERED NEOTROPICAL MEGA-HERBIVORE: THE COMPLETE MITOCHONDRIAL GENOME OF THE FOREST-DWELLER (BAIRD\u27S) TAPIR (\u3ci\u3eTAPIRUS BAIRDII\u3c/i\u3e)

Baird\u27s tapir, or the Central American Tapir Tapirus bairdii (family Tapiridae), is one of the largest mammals native to the forests and wetlands of southern North America and Central America and is categorized as `endangered\u27 on the 2014 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This study reports, for the first time, the complete mitochondrial genome of T. bairdii and examines the phylogenetic position of T. bairdii amongst closely related species in the same family and order to which it belongs using mitochondrial protein-coding genes (PCG\u27s). The circular, double-stranded, A-T rich mitochondrial genome of T. bairdii is 16,697 bp in length consisting of 13 protein coding genes (PCG\u27s), two ribosomal RNA genes (rrnS (12s ribosomal RNA and rrnL (16s ribosomal RNA)), and 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes. A 33 bp long region was identified to be the origin of replication for the light strand (OL), and a 1,247 bp long control region (CR) contains the origin of replication for the heavy strand (OH). A majority of the PCG\u27s and tRNA genes are encoded on the positive, or heavy, strand. The gene order in T. bairdii is identical to that of T. indicus and T. terrestris, the only two other species of extant tapirs with assembled mitochondrial genomes. An analysis of Ka/Ks ratios for all the PCG\u27s show valuesT. bairdiiwill contribute to a better understanding of the population genomic diversity and structure of this species, and it will assist in the conservation and protection of its dwindling populations

Bricolage - a mindset of resourcefulness: stories as a vehicle for mediating means into resources

This study builds on the notion of viewing bricolage as a mindset of resourcefulness rather than seeing it only as a resource integration or resource scarcity. Particularly, we study service innovation processes to shed light on how entrepreneurs use stories of their experience and interactions as a vehicle for mediating means into resources. In order to understand how particular stories contribute to service innovation processes we adopt a process-based methodology (Langley, 1999; Van de Ven & Huber, 1990). Our study shows how a certain knowledge base and a worldview enabled the entrepreneur to understand the power of his own experiences, turn them into opportunities and utilise them as a source for stories of entrepreneurial outcomes. These stories then in turn mediated the available means into resources in various ways

Examining the Effects of a Virtual Character on Learning and Engagement in Serious Games

Virtual characters have been employed for many purposes including interacting with players of serious games, with a purpose to increase engagement. These characters are often embodied conversational agents playing diverse roles, such as demonstrators, guides, teachers or interviewers. Recently, much research has been conducted into properties that affect the realism and plausibility of virtual characters, but it is less clear whether the inclusion of interactive agents in serious applications can enhance a user’s engagement with the application, or indeed increase efficacy. In a first step towards answering these questions, we conducted a study where a Virtual Learning Environment was used to examine the effect of employing a virtual character to deliver a lesso