91 research outputs found
E-BUSINESS MODEL: A CONTENT BASED TAXONOMY OF LITERATURE
The rapid worldwide growth of e-commerce and the resulting great interest on the digital
business, caused a proliferation of contributes by academics and practitioners, that identified by different points of view, the fundamental concepts, codes and functions of e-business models.
The quantity and the variety of approaches adopted made the concept of e-business model
fuzzy and vague, with little consensus about its ontology and definition. The relevance of the topic asserts a claim for the classification of contributions as a first step to a general definition of the concept of e-business model. This paper provides an integrated literature review of contemporary academic writings to ascertain and classify the various approaches to the study of e-business models. The literature examined is classified in a content based taxonomy which highlights the relevant characteristics of e-business model, emerging from the analysis of literature. The framework proposed points out some significant implications that are a first step for further research leading to a research agenda for further investigation on this topic
Book Review: Viable Systems Approach (VSA): Governing Business Dynamics
This book introduces for the first time in English (and thus for an international readership) the Viable Systems Approach (VSA). The VSA is a novel systemic approach developed in Italy over a period of about thirty years by Italian systemic scholars under the guidance of Gaetano Golinelli.A strictly holistic view of systemic thinking puts the focus on the whole, as opposed to the parts. Accepting this view means directing all research efforts towards the understanding of the whole, without resorting to an analysis of the parts (Barile & Saviano, 2011). This perspective emerges in juxtaposition to the traditional analyticalâreductionist approach, aiming to overcome its limits by moving towards an approach that is capable of grasping the entirety of the object (system) to be understood, while also considering its belonging in a greater whole. Among these two extremes of reductionism and holism, we can find action research based systemic theories like the Viable Systems Approach (VSA), the subject of this boo
The holonic approach for flexible production: a theoretical framework
This paper discusses the body of knowledge about Holonic Approach to theoretically demonstrate how Holonic Production System (HPS) can be a convincing choice to overcome the problems of traditional production systems? architectures. Today, enterprises are trying to find ways to manage the growing environmental complexity that is well described by Complex Systems Theory (CST). After the focus on the main problem regarding environmental complexity, the Holonic system and the Holonic Production System will be analyzed. The paper will focus the potential of HPS to adapt and react to changes in the business environment whilst being able to maintain systemic synergies and coordination through the holonic structure where functional production units are simultaneously autonomous and cooperative
Limits and Criticalities of Predictions and Forecasting in Complex Social and Economic Scenarios: A Cybernetics Key
Predictions play a key role in assuring the status of ârationalityâ in
decisions. Nevertheless, in the ïŹeld of social sciences and economics, predictions
fail to correctly depict the oncoming scenarios. Why is it so difïŹcult to achieve
quantitative prediction of social and economic systems? Can science provide reliable
predictions of social and economic paths that can be used to implement
effective interventions? As in the notorious âEl Farol bar problemâ depicted by
Brian Arthur (Am Econ Rev 84:406â411, 1994), the validity of predictive models is
more a social issue than a matter of good mathematics. Predictability in social
systems is due to limited knowledge of society and human behavior. We do not yet
have worldwide, quantitative knowledge of human social behavior; for instance, the
perception of certain issues or the predisposition to adopt certain behaviors. Though
tremendous progress has been made in recent years in data gathering thanks to the
development of new technologies and the consequent increase in computational
power, social and economic models still rely on assumptions of rationality that
undermine their predictive effectiveness. Through some theoretical and epistemological
reïŹections, we propose a way in which the cybernetic paradigm of complexity
management can be used for better decision-making in complex scenarios
with a comprising, dynamic, and evolving approach. We will show how a cybernetic
approach can help to overcome the fear of uncertainty and serve as an
effective tool for improving decisions and actions
University Incubator as Catalyst of Resources for Academic Spin-Offs. The Case of ARCA Consortium
Today we can observe an increasing proliferation of new academic spin-off initiatives aimed to transfer knowledge from the university to the market. Due to their strategic role in enhancing the development of technological innovation, academic spin-offs can attain high levels of social performance and consonance with their environment. At the same time, they must overcome many difficulties if they are to achieve a high level of financial performance and growth. They are often considered to be mere vehicles for the transmission
of knowledge, implying that their entrepreneurial potential is not fully exploited. According to the Resource
Based View (RBV) the competitive disadvantage of an academic spin-off is due to a lack of resources. This
paper will join this stream of research in order to analyze the financial performance of academic spin-offs. We
examine the case of Arca Consortiumâs incubator, established by the University of Palermo, and of the academic spin-offs it has supported and continues to assist. The empirical analysis, based on two linear regression models, is performed based on 19 case studies of spin-offs created between 2007 and 2009 by academicians of the University of Palerm
Understanding the price drivers of successful apps in the mobile app market
In this paper, we take the perspective of app developers. Specifically, based on a sample of top paid apps from three major app stores, i.e., App Store, Google Play, and Blackberry World, we construct a hedonic price model to examine the role of relevant factors in price formation in the app market. Our results suggest a strong evidence of two-sided market effects. In fact, the lower price charged for apps operating as two-sided markets reflect the strategy of subsidising users, due to the positive cross-side externalities they exert on valuable third parties. Surprisingly, the effects of trialability, in-app purchase and mechanisms to build reputation are not significant in the context of successful apps. Finally, we find weak evidence that developers of top paid apps prefer price skimming to penetration price strategies
Reframing the systemic approach to complex organizations as intangible portfolios
The aim of this paper is to pave the
way towards the inclusion of mainstream sociological approaches (based on Luhmannâs approach) for the studies of firms-organizations. In social sciences we can observe that the theoretic consequences of a paradigm shift is signiicantly represented by the evolution of systemic thinking from Parsons to Luhmann. This shift implies the change from the vision of systemic organizations as âstructuresâ to that of systemic organizations as âcommunication flowsâ. The milestone of systemic approach in management maybe found in the research and applied works of Anthony Staford Beer with
his Viable System Model (VSM) that today faced a relevant reconiguration by Golinelli and the Italian school on Viable Systemic Approach (VSA). The paradigm shift in this ield has been smoother than in sociology, and didnât imply the discard of the concept of organization as a structure. This because,
in management sciences, the perspective and, consequently, the subject of study is the organization and its structure. We think this paradigm shift is possible also in management sciences, if we consider the whole organization as a structured information low creating a dematerialized structure. Our research question is: âIs it possible to apply in business sciences the fundamental concepts that caused the paradigm shift in sociology?â To answer to this question we discuss about ontology of the firm and of the concept of value in order to understand to what extent intangible communication lows are called upon to be involved in a new deinition of structure
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