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This paper aims to develop a conceptual framework as a valuable investigative tool for future empirical studies examining stakeholders’ interactions within a high-performance computing (HPC) service ecosystem and identifying the enablers for better value co-creation under various service provisioning contexts.

This conceptual paper follows a theory adaptation research design that systematically examines the literature on a substantive topic encompassing HPC technology adoption and usage by European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Furthermore, it introduces theoretical perspectives from service innovation research as its methodological approach (method theory) to develop a theoretical framework for value co-creation within an HPC service ecosystem.

The conceptual framework presented in this paper identifies the critical resource elements of SMEs, which can potentially be integrated with other stakeholders’ resources and complement the limited internal resources of SMEs for enhanced value co-creation within an HPC service ecosystem.

The conceptualisation of an HPC service ecosystem and the potential of value co-creation through integrating stakeholders’ resources, presented in this paper, underscore further empirical research in this direction.

Findings from this paper can inform European policymakers for regional development to frame regional strategies and policies that enable SMEs to better uptake HPC services. Service providers can revisit their business models to reconfigure their organisational resources for enhanced value proposition and co-creation.

This study advances the agenda of transformative service research that aims uplifting changes and societal well-being through a more inclusive and sustainable value co-creation among a wider set of stakeholders within the service ecosystem.

The paper addresses an under-investigated research gap by examining SMEs’ adoption of HPC services and opportunities for higher value co-creation using a service ecosystem approach based on multi-actor interaction, collaboration and resource integration.

High performance computing (HPC) is used to solve complex calculations that personal computing devices are unable to handle. HPC offers the potential for small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) to engage in product innovation, service improvement and the optimization of resource allocation (Borstnar and Ilijas, 2019). However, the expensive infrastructure, maintenance costs and resource knowledge gaps that accompany the use of HPC can make it inaccessible to SMEs. By moving HPC to the cloud, SMEs can gain access to the infrastructure without the requirement of owning or maintaining it, but they will need to accept the terms and conditions of the cloud contract. This paper aims to improve how SMEs access HPC through the cloud by providing insights into the terms and conditions of HPC cloud contracts.

This paper adopts a systematic literature review by implementing a four-step approach. A comprehensive search was undertaken and results synthesized to enable this paper’s objectives to be met.

This paper proposes that SMEs could gain competitive advantage(s) by understanding their own needs and improving their contract negotiation abilities, service management skills and risk management abilities before accepting the terms and conditions of the cloud contract. Furthermore, a checklist, service-level agreement, easily ignored elements and risk areas are presented as guidance for SMEs when reviewing their HPC cloud contract(s).

While HPC cloud contracts are a niche research topic, it is one of the key factors influencing the ability of SMEs to access HPC through the cloud. It is, however, by no means a level playfield with SMEs at a distinct disadvantage because of not influencing the writing up of the HPC cloud contract. The added value of the paper is that it contributes to our overall understanding of the terms and conditions of HPC cloud contracts.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate innovations in intellectual property rights (IPR) databases, techniques and software tools, with an emphasis on selected new developments and their contribution towards achieving advantages for IPR management (IPRM) and wider social benefits. Several industry buzzwords are addressed, such as IPR-linked open data (IPR LOD) databases, blockchain and IPR-related techniques, acknowledged for their contribution in moving towards artificial intelligence (AI) in IPRM.

The evaluation, following an original framework developed by the authors, is based on a literature review, web analysis and interviews carried out with some of the top experts from IPR-savvy multinational companies.

The paper presents the patent databases landscape, classifying patent offices according to the format of data provided and depicting the state-of-art in the IPR LOD. An examination of existing IPR tools shows that they are not yet fully developed, with limited usability for IPRM. After reviewing the techniques, it is clear that the current state-of-the-art is insufficient to fully address AI in IPR. Uses of blockchain in IPR show that they are yet to be fully exploited on a larger scale.

A critical analysis of IPR tools, techniques and blockchain allows for the state-of-art to be assessed, and for their current and potential value with regard to the development of the economy and wider society to be considered. The paper also provides a novel classification of patent offices and an original IPR-linked open data landscape.

Existing research of modern literature have shown that the phenomenon of digital entrepreneurship is lacking in robust theoretical foundations on several occasions. This article is a comprehensive literature study that focuses on the phenomena of digital entrepreneurship and offers views on the subject to provide insights into recent advancements in the area.

In order to achieve a conception of the phenomena, using the PRISMA flow chart, the significant findings were organised into themes, contexts and approaches. A comprehensive evaluation of the relevant previous research was carried out. Both the Web of Science and Scopus were utilised to locate, extract, select and evaluate relevant papers based on the keywords found during the search. In the end, papers from 92 different publications that are indexed by SSCI were chosen for this investigation.

This comprehensive literature analysis was to identify current research routes on digital entrepreneurship. In conclusion, this study generates outcomes that describe the process by which digital entrepreneurship are recognised and discussed: digital business models; digital entrepreneurship process; platform tactics; technology adoption; entrepreneurship and digital business.

By setting the framework for additional research development and motivating scholars to pursue this issue, the study contributes to the understanding of the conceptualisation of digital entrepreneurship.

Project managers are under a never-ending pressure to demonstrate the expected value of projects to the project sponsors; however, in most cases, project managers fail to realize this strategic value due to the loopholes left in project governance throughout various stages of the project life cycle. Furthermore, another root cause of project failure might be linked to an exceedingly self-interested project leader who is exploitative of his/her team. This is a recurring yet still unexplored aspect of destructive leadership that requires attention from the scientific community as well as practitioners. Hence, the present study explored the relationship between project governance and information and communication technology (ICT) project success, as well as the moderating effects of exploitative leadership on this relationship.

With this aim, 357 responses were collected from project professionals in the emerging ICT industry in Pakistan, and the results were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with partial least squares (PLS).

The findings provide new evidence that project governance significantly improves project success opportunities in the ICT industry; however, this relationship is negatively moderated by exploitative leadership.

The study findings extend the project leadership literature by uncovering the influence of the dark side of project leadership (i.e. exploitative leadership), in addition to revalidating the impact of project governance on project success through a multi-dimensional context.

The paper discusses the problem of business process modelling, various techniques which are used to carry out business process modelling and aims to analyse the use of different techniques to find a better solution.

Business process modelling techniques could be divided into two groups, the diagrammatic and tabular techniques. As a representative of diagrammatic techniques, a flowchart is chosen and discussed in detail. A process model could also be developed using the activity table as a representative of tabular techniques. A comparative analysis of the two techniques is consequently carried out. The pros and cons of both techniques were analysed on the two case‐studies – the problems of Sales_Claim and Credit_Card are used as examples to test both techniques.

Based on the comparative analysis, several useful remarks are given as a result of this work. First, both techniques are simple and useful for business processes modelling. Drawing a flowchart is easier than developing an activity table. Second, it was found that the flowchart technique is too flexible and does not possess any mechanism to control gaps which could exist in the process model. On the other hand, the vertical linkage mechanism imposes a strict order on the development of the activity table, which enable the analyst to discover gaps existing in the table. Third, it was found that the visibility of a flowchart is good when the model is relatively small, but it becomes unclear in large models. The activity table is more visible even when the table contains hundreds of activities. The visibility depends on the analyst and his/her experience; many analysts prefer a diagrammatic presentation of processes, whereas other analysts are more tabular‐oriented. Fourth, concerning user involvement, the structure of the activity table requires an active user involvement, because every user (internal entity) occupies a certain column in the table, where the entity's activities are indicated. For this reason, the user is interested in cooperating in defining his/her activities correctly. On the other hand, the user's role in creating a flowchart does not go beyond observation. Business process modelling is a complex and difficult task. Using one technique may result in a model that does not reflect the original business process. For this reason, using a combination of both techniques could produce a process model which represents a true reflection of reality. Thus, it is suggested that because of the strict role imposed by vertical linkage, the analyst starts process modelling by developing the activity table and then continues by transforming the table into a flowchart. Having such a flowchart, which represents a good transformation of the original business process, is essential for successful continuation of business process simulation or other methods for business process improvement or reengineering.

The paper summarises and suggests several useful remarks as a result of this work, which also recommends the possibility of linking the two techniques to develop better business process models.

The implementation of high performance computing (HPC) in business (especially small and medium-sized enterprises) is accompanied with mistrust to a certain extent, which has imposed the need for building of digital trust (DTrust) among stakeholders. The purpose of the present paper is to find out the ways on how to build and maintain such trust.

Analysis and critical reflection on previous research dealing with phenomena of digital transformation (DT), HPC, corporate digital responsibility (CDR) and DTrust have enabled the authors to design their own conceptual model as the answer to the research questions of how, and in what way, CDR influences DTrust.

The authors have determined that the previous researches pointed to the existence of the correlation between CDR and DTrust although they did not elaborate on this explicitly. It was shown that the DT itself directly influences trust and sustainability. The indirect influence DT has via CDR was the task the authors undertook through designing a new conceptual model within whose frame the authors separately presented the influence of total CDR on DTrust as well as of the specific CDR dimensions on the particular dimensions of DTrust.

The authors tried to offer the conceptual model that exactly determines the relation of individual dimensions of the processed phenomena by analyzing theoretical and empirical researches carried out so far, and eo ipso shed more light on their mutual relation. The authors firmly believe that this paper offers a useful frame for further empirical researches.

This paper aims to explore high performance computing (HPC) in the context of the South East region of Ireland, which hosts a publicly available HPC infrastructure, by identifying whether companies, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), are using, or are prepared to use, HPC to improve their business processes, expansion and sustainability. The result of the analysis provides region-specific guidelines that are meant to improve the HPC landscape in the region. The lessons learned from this research may apply to other similar, and developing, European regions.

This paper explores the use of HPC in the context of the South East region of Ireland and examines whether companies, especially SMEs, are benefiting from the use of publicly available HPC infrastructure in the region. This paper also provides a set of recommendations, of a policy nature, and required actions to increase HPC usage, based on the reality of the region. Therefore, the first step in the process was to understand the HPC landscape in the South East region of Ireland. Interviews were conducted with higher education institute (HEI) staff who were knowledgeable about the HPC infrastructure of their institutes and also about whether collaboration between the HEIs and businesses from the same region exists. The interview findings allowed the proposal of region-specific guidelines to improve the HPC landscape and collaboration in the region. The guidelines were analysed and refined in a focus group with key regional stakeholders from academia, industry and government, who have experience and expertise in high-technology transfer processes happening in the region.

The findings of the current study strongly suggest that HPC usage by SMEs in the South East region of Ireland is still incipient; and that HPC knowledge is currently inadequately transferred from the HEI hosting the HPC infrastructure to public and private sector organisations based in the region. The findings also demonstrate that there are no courses or training programmes available dedicated to HPC and that the level of collaboration between the HEI hosting the HPC infrastructure and industry in the region is minimal as regards HPC usage and projects. Therefore, there is a need to put specific targeted policies and actions, both from a regional government and HEI perspectives, in place to encourage SMEs to optimise their processes by using HPC.

This research is unique as it provides customised region-specific recommendations (RSR) and feasible actions to encourage industry, especially SMEs, to use HPC and collaborate around it. The literature review identified that there is a lack of studies that can inform policymakers to include HPC in their innovation agenda. Previous research studies specifically focussing on HPC policies are even more scarce. Most of the existing research pertaining to HPC focusses on the technical aspect of HPC; therefore, this research and paper bring a new dimension to existing HPC research. Even though this research was focussed on the South East of Ireland region, the model that generated the RSRs can be extrapolated and applied to other regions that need to develop their HPC landscape and the use of HPC among SMEs in their respective regions.

This paper aims to explore the dynamic relationships between high-performance computing centres (HPC centres) and small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) working in the automotive sector.

An empirical study was conducted in 14 European countries with a total of 92 participants, representatives of HPC centres and SMEs. Data were collected through focus groups.

Findings show there is a distinct manner of shaping collaboration and cooperation networks between both spheres. In shaping the relationships, cognitive frames play a role through specific values involved share. Institutions also play an important role.

Research into relationships between HPC centres and SMEs conducted was qualitative; therefore, limitations arise on data not being able to be generalized. The cultural aspect is to be taken into account when conducting further studies.

Findings of this study can be used by policymakers, especially those interested in regional innovation. The results can be of use when tailoring innovation policies, especially when it comes to enhancing the regional and extra-regional cooperation between HPC centres and SMEs.

To the best of authors’ knowledge, this paper is one of the first research contributions to analyse the relationships between HPC centres and SMEs from the automotive sector in selected European countries.