M. Landoni, R. Wilson and F. Gibb
This paper starts by reporting the results of two studies into electronic book production, the Visual Book and the WEB Book. The Visual Book study (Landoni, 1997) explored the…
Abstract
This paper starts by reporting the results of two studies into electronic book production, the Visual Book and the WEB Book. The Visual Book study (Landoni, 1997) explored the importance of the visual component of the book metaphor for the production of more effective electronic books, while the WEB Book study (Wilson, 1999) took the findings of the Visual Book and applied them to the production of books for publication on the WWW. It was possible to extract from the two experiences a set of recommendations for producing electronic books. These are the starting point for a new project, EBONI (Electronic Books ON‐screen Interface). EBONI focuses on the evaluation of electronic resources for teaching and learning in academia and it is going to expand our previous findings with the aim of producing a set of guidelines for publishing educational material on the Web.
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M. Landoni, R. Wilson and F. Gibb
This paper presents the results of two studies into electronic book production. The Visual book study explored the importance of the visual component of the book metaphor for the…
Abstract
This paper presents the results of two studies into electronic book production. The Visual book study explored the importance of the visual component of the book metaphor for the production of more effective electronic books, while the WEB book study took the findings of the Visual book and applied them to the production of books for publication on the World Wide Web (WWW). Both studies started from an assessment of which kinds of paper book are more suitable for translation into electronic form. Both also identified publications which are meant to be used for reference rather than those which are read sequentially, and usually in their entirety. This group includes scientific publications and textbooks which were both used as the target group for the Visual book and the WEB book experiments. In this paper we discuss the results of the two studies and how they could influence the design and production of more effective electronic books.
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Giuseppe De Luca and Matteo Landoni
The chapter presents the process of decision-making and the practice of international expansion of a family business in the nineteenth century. The Swiss family business Legler…
Abstract
The chapter presents the process of decision-making and the practice of international expansion of a family business in the nineteenth century. The Swiss family business Legler moved to the area near Bergamo, Italy, in 1875, and expanded its operation over multiple generations. This chapter explores the cognitive dimension of the internationalisation process, how culture and family ties are used to understand risk and opportunities, and how a family business interprets push and pull factors under the lens of cultural self-representation and meaning creation. The historical analysis shows the importance of economic, cultural, and family-driven factors in the process of decision-making and in the practice of going abroad and making internationalisation successful and long-lasting.
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This study seeks to evaluate a selection of second‐generation ebook readers in order to determine which devices deliver the best experience for the user, in terms of functionality…
Abstract
Purpose
This study seeks to evaluate a selection of second‐generation ebook readers in order to determine which devices deliver the best experience for the user, in terms of functionality and overall experience. The technical and physical elements of the devices are also compared.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper starts with a brief discussion of the current ebook marketplace, and previous studies that evaluate ebook readers. It then reports on a study in which 33 Master's students from an Information and Library Studies course were each given an ebook reader and asked to complete a task designed to engage them with the device. The participants then evaluated the devices by completing a questionnaire. A discussion of the results of the study and implications for the development of ebook reading devices follows.
Findings
Although some issues, specifically size, weight, and screen quality, have been addressed in the new generation of ebook readers, some residual dissatisfaction remains. The participants in the study preferred to use devices with which they were familiar.
Originality/value
This study provides guidance on the usability of ebook readers and provides insights into the future of ebook reading devices. It will be of benefit to information professionals seeking to utilise ebook reading devices, and to designers of ebook readers.
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Yaxi Liu, Chunxiu Qin, Yulong Wang and XuBu Ma
Exploratory search activities are ubiquitous in various information systems. Much potentially useful or even serendipitous information is discovered during the exploratory search…
Abstract
Purpose
Exploratory search activities are ubiquitous in various information systems. Much potentially useful or even serendipitous information is discovered during the exploratory search process. Given its irreplaceable role in information systems, exploratory search has attracted growing attention from the information system community. Since few studies have methodically reviewed current publications, researchers and practitioners are unable to take full advantage of existing achievements, which, in turn, limits their progress in this field. Through a literature review, this study aims to recapitulate important research topics of exploratory search in information systems, providing a research landscape of exploratory search.
Design/methodology/approach
Automatic and manual searches were performed on seven reputable databases to collect relevant literature published between January 2005 and July 2023. The literature pool contains 146 primary studies on exploratory search in information system research.
Findings
This study recapitulated five important topics of exploratory search, namely, conceptual frameworks, theoretical frameworks, influencing factors, design features and evaluation metrics. Moreover, this review revealed research gaps in current studies and proposed a knowledge framework and a research agenda for future studies.
Originality/value
This study has important implications for beginners to quickly get a snapshot of exploratory search studies, for researchers to re-align current research or discover new interesting issues, and for practitioners to design information systems that support exploratory search.
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Ljubomir Paskali, Lidija Ivanovic and Dragan Ivanović
The purpose of this paper is to determine the digital library usage patterns as a means of improving the system, as well as the user experience, to give appropriate recognition to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine the digital library usage patterns as a means of improving the system, as well as the user experience, to give appropriate recognition to the most popular dissertations’ authors and to measure the interest of non-academic users for dissertations defended at the University of Novi Sad (UNS).
Design/methodology/approach
A logging module of the digital library of theses and dissertations of University of Novi Sad (PHD UNS) application has been implemented. The module recorded the messages relating to the search queries and downloads over a three-year period from 2017–2019. These logs are analysed using the Elasticsearch, Logstash and Kibana (ELK) technology stack and the results are shown using graphs and tables.
Findings
The analysis determined the perfect time for weekly maintenance of the system, defined a recommendation for improving the system and revealed the most popular dissertations. A significant number of downloads and queries originated from citizens, i.e. users outside the academic community.
Practical implications
The conducted analysis defined recommendations for the system improvement which can be used by PHD UNS research and development (R&D) team and revealed the most popular dissertations which are used for the promotion of its authors through faculties’ websites.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of ELK based log analysis of a Serbian language documents’ repository. Besides, the value of results for the PHD UNS R&D team and UNS rector team, the study proves that PhD digital library presents an important Open Science communication channel for presenting scientific results to the citizens.
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Mei Kei Leong, Karen Tsen Mung Khie, Aqilah Yaacob, Thivashini B Jaya Kumar and Thanuja Rathakrishnan
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is widely used in higher education teaching and learning. This trend of AI integration will continue to emerge within the education system. To stay…
Abstract
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is widely used in higher education teaching and learning. This trend of AI integration will continue to emerge within the education system. To stay ahead of the curve in the education realm, educators shall involve the usage of AI in teaching activities, assessments, and learning experiences. This book chapter aimed to highlight the challenges faced by higher education while proposing refined solutions to educators in involving the usage of AI tools in their teaching pedagogy. The suggested solutions were drafted from three different perspectives of AI to be integrated into its curriculum, namely the 3As triadic approach. Activities are identified as the essential asset to fostering a collaborative learning environment encouraging students to make use of cocreated AI in activities creation. Meanwhile, assessment preparation requires rigorous restrictions on AI usage to portray higher order thinking skills while abiding by ethical guidelines and legal framework. Academic content is prudent in ensuring latest findings and research are credible while bridging the gap between interactive academic materials with students' learning outcomes. Concurrently, we highlighted several approaches to achieve AI collaborative learning and enhance students' experience.
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The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework for the intermediation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Governments may apply different form of support with the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework for the intermediation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Governments may apply different form of support with the aim of increasing corporatization and internationalization of SOEs. The paper suggests a strategy based on institutional intermediation as the more efficient to drive corporatization and internationalization.
Design/methodology/approach
The research selected cases concerning SOEs in different industries in Europe in search of recurrences from a novel theoretical perspective. Among them, a case study concerning the Italian Space Agency explores the development of an institutional intermediary.
Findings
Government supports to SOEs appear in different forms and contribute to different results. A typology of the most recurrent forms shows three different types of actions governments have taken to support internationalization of firms. Intermediation seems the most suitable to trigger corporatization and internationalization.
Research limitations/implications
The study explores institutional intermediaries as a novel supporting strategy for governments. It proposes a novel concept based upon a single case study. Further research needs to test and verify the institutional intermediaries’ impact drawing on a larger sample and different contexts.
Originality/value
So far, few attempts have linked corporatization to globalization. The paper tries to fill this gap between corporatization and internationalization of SOEs. Its value is the provision of a novel view that includes institutional intermediaries as instrumental to governments’ strategy that aims to bridge the two components.
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Michele Coletti and Paolo Landoni
The purpose is to assess the usefulness of creative vouchers, a specific kind of technology and innovation vouchers (small grants usually given to SMEs to acquire external…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose is to assess the usefulness of creative vouchers, a specific kind of technology and innovation vouchers (small grants usually given to SMEs to acquire external knowledge) where the knowledge suppliers are creative firms such as design agencies.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiple case analysis of four EU-funded pilot voucher schemes was carried out through project reports and semi-structured interviews with relevant stakeholders.
Findings
The authors show that creative vouchers are effective policy instruments despite the limited amount of money involved because they trigger new innovation trajectories often in a serendipitous way. The authors also show that the quality of projects and satisfaction of the beneficiaries increase when both proposals and suppliers are screened.
Research limitations/implications
The authors’ conclusions are based on four pilot projects in a specific region of the world (Western Europe). Though two of them were extended to a much bigger scale, their generalizability may be limited. Moreover, the limited number of cases does not permit an analytical evaluation of all the voucher schemes mechanisms.
Practical implications
The findings of this paper can be very useful to policymakers designing voucher schemes and to the companies involved, whether they are providers or beneficiaries. In particular, the voucher allocation mechanisms may have a strong impact on the success of the program.
Social implications
The innovation spurred by the collaboration with creative firms is generally neither energy-intensive nor capital intensive, but brain intensive, and this is the best way to leverage on the talent of local creative and make companies create value based on immaterial resources.
Originality/value
To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of creative vouchers after Bakhsi et al., 2015, and the only one involving several schemes in different countries. It shows the innovation potential of such a little known policy instrument for SMEs. Moreover, it provides insight on how to design a voucher scheme in order to improve its effectiveness.
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Paolo Landoni and Daniel Trabucchi
This study investigates the sustainability models of non-profit and hybrid organizations, which aim to balance economic, social and environmental objectives. The research…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the sustainability models of non-profit and hybrid organizations, which aim to balance economic, social and environmental objectives. The research introduces the Sustainability Model Canvas to analyze these organizations and identify common patterns, unique characteristics and managerial insights to balance the triple bottom line.
Design/methodology/approach
The research utilizes the Sustainability Model Canvas to examine the sustainability models of 200 non-profit and hybrid organizations. Data were collected from secondary sources, including articles, reports and websites. The analysis was conducted using the activity system theoretical framework, which helped to identify design elements and themes within the business models of the studied organizations.
Findings
The study reveals four primary sustainability model patterns: donated income, earned income, public income and auto-generated income. An additional mixed approach pattern is identified, combining elements from the four primary patterns. The research highlights the parallels between these sustainability models and multi-sided platform business models, offering managerial suggestions for leveraging these patterns to achieve sustainability.
Research limitations/implications
The study is based on secondary data, which may limit the depth of insights compared to primary data collection. At the same time, the chance to consider hybrid organization through multi-sided platform lenses provides relevant contributions to both the literature streams.
Practical implications
The identified sustainability model patterns and managerial suggestions can serve as blueprints for non-profit and hybrid organizations aiming to design or innovate their sustainability models. The Sustainability Model Canvas offers a practical tool for organizations to visualize and balance their triple bottom line objectives.
Social implications
The research underscores the importance of integrating social and environmental considerations into business models, promoting a holistic approach to sustainability that can lead to broader social and environmental benefits.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the business model literature by extending the focus beyond traditional profit-oriented organizations to include non-profit and hybrid organizations. The introduction of the Sustainability Model Canvas provides a new tool for designing and analyzing sustainability-oriented business models. The study also suggests considering sustainability models as multi-sided platforms, offering new insights for both academic and practical applications.