Nancy Allee and Darin C. Savage
As academic libraries and computer centers move toward convergence, multiple issues must be addressed before successful models of merged operations can develop. The organizational…
Abstract
As academic libraries and computer centers move toward convergence, multiple issues must be addressed before successful models of merged operations can develop. The organizational model of merged public health information resources at the University of Michigan stands as a viable example of collaborative operations under a unified management stucture. The undertaking represents more than administrative shuffling to consolidate staff and budgets: it is an attempt to reconceptualize the role of library services and computer services within an integrated model of cooperation that can offer more to its costituency than could the library and computing center functioning as separate entities. It is an undertaking that required a belief in the importance of information resources coupled with service and an approach that engages the larger academic mission of the university. The initiative has spawned new collaborative opportunities, resources, and interest, and has reinvigorated a sence of purpose and relevancy for the activities of the information professional.
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Nancy Bocken, Samuel Short, Padmakshi Rana and Steve Evans
Although business models that deliver sustainability are increasingly popular in the literature, few tools that assist in sustainable business modelling have been identified. This…
Abstract
Purpose
Although business models that deliver sustainability are increasingly popular in the literature, few tools that assist in sustainable business modelling have been identified. This paper investigates how businesses might create balanced social, environmental and economic value through integrating sustainability more fully into the core of their business. A value mapping tool is developed to help firms create value propositions better suited for sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach
In addition to a literature review, six sustainable companies were interviewed to understand their approaches to business modelling, using a case study approach. Building on the literature and practice, a tool was developed which was pilot tested through use in a workshop. The resulting improved tool and process was subsequently refined through use in 13 workshops.
Findings
A novel value mapping tool was developed to support sustainable business modelling, which introduces three forms of value (value captured, missed/destroyed or wasted, and opportunity) and four major stakeholder groups (environment, society, customer, and network actors).
Practical implications
This tool intends to support business modelling for sustainability by assisting firms in better understanding their overall value proposition, both positive and negative, for all relevant stakeholders in the value network.
Originality/value
The tool adopts a multiple stakeholder view of value, a network rather than firm centric perspective, and introduces a novel way of conceptualising value that specifically introduces value destroyed or wasted/ missed, in addition to the current value proposition and new opportunities for value creation.
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Let us start the year with some figures which clarify how ‘electronic’ the scene has become in three different respects.
No one would have believed in the last years of the twentieth century — until we actually got there — that millennial madness would not be so much in the form of UFO abductions…
Abstract
No one would have believed in the last years of the twentieth century — until we actually got there — that millennial madness would not be so much in the form of UFO abductions and crystal healing (which are only to be expected at times like this) but in the rush to demonstrate the readiness of computer systems for the year 2000. As many subscriptions run on a three‐year basis, the problem is suddenly becoming current in the library world.
Sandra P. Price, Anne Morris and J. Eric Davies
There has been a proliferation in commercial electronic document delivery services. Over the past few years this consistent growth, combined with enhancements to existing…
Abstract
There has been a proliferation in commercial electronic document delivery services. Over the past few years this consistent growth, combined with enhancements to existing services, has made it difficult for librarians to keep abreast of the latest developments and service availability. This paper presents an overview of document delivery services and suppliers, and provides discussion on the various types currently available. The paper is further divided into non‐collection‐based services, collection‐based services and specialised collection‐based services. Detailed information about particular services has been collated and presented in tabular form: this includes information regarding cost, delivery time, subject field and full contact details.
Nicolás Salvador Beltramino, Domingo García-Perez-de-Lema and Luis Enrique Valdez-Juárez
The objective of this study is to analyze the influence of the structural capital of SMEs in the capacity of innovation and organizational performance, in the context of an…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this study is to analyze the influence of the structural capital of SMEs in the capacity of innovation and organizational performance, in the context of an emerging country.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample consisted of 259 industrial SMEs from the province of Córdoba Argentina. The data was analyzed by Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS–SEM).
Findings
The study provided evidence that acquisition of information and knowledge management, organizational culture and structure, systems and processes have positive and significant effects on the innovation capacity of SMEs. Only the communication and cohesion component did not show positive and significant results on it. It also showed a positive and significant relationship between the capacity for innovation in processes and performance, contributing to the scarce empirical literature in the context of SMEs.
Research limitations/implications
The research exposes some limitations that uncover a path for the development of future lines of research. In the first place, the work focuses on the use of a single source of information, the consultation at the managerial level of the company, without considering other representative variables to measure the capacity for innovation. Second, the study covered only companies in the industrial sector and country. Future studies should focus on other sectors and countries.
Practical implications
The results of the study can have important practical implications for the owners and managers of SMEs. The results offer a vision of the dimensions of structural capital that most influence the innovative capacity of the organization. This is especially useful given that in the context of Argentina there is a low level of knowledge and structural capital is key to being more competitive. The managers of SMEs can thus increase the innovative potential of the company and favor the acquisition of information and knowledge and improve its processes and systems to contribute to the development of innovation capabilities to make SMEs more competitive.
Social implications
The results obtained can be useful for those responsible for making public policy decisions, since in the knowledge of the economy to maintain a developed state and nation, it is necessary to include as one of the main issues on the national agenda the improvement of intellectual capital of its people to promote the competitiveness of companies.
Originality/value
The research contributes to the development of intellectual capital literature focused on the generation of innovation and performance in the perspective of SMEs in emerging countries.
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Assunta Di Vaio, Anum Zaffar and Meghna Chhabra
Although intellectual capital (IC) and human dynamic capabilities (HDCs) play a significant role in decarbonization processes, their measurement and reporting is under-researched…
Abstract
Purpose
Although intellectual capital (IC) and human dynamic capabilities (HDCs) play a significant role in decarbonization processes, their measurement and reporting is under-researched. Hence, this study aims to identify the link between HDCs, carbon accounting and integrated reporting (IR) in the transition processes, investigating IC and HDCs in decarbonization processes to achieve net-zero business models (n-ZBMs).
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review with a concise bibliometric analysis is conducted on 229 articles, published from 1990 to 2023 in Scopus database and Google Scholar. Reviewing data on publications, journals, authors and citations and analysing the article content, this study identifies the main search trends, providing a new conceptual model and future research propositions.
Findings
The results reveal that the literature has rarely focussed on carbon accounting in terms of IC and HDCs. Additionally, firms face pressure from institutions and stakeholders regarding legitimacy and transparency, necessitating a response considering IR and requiring n-ZBMs to be developed through IC and HDCs to meet social and environmental requirements.
Originality/value
Not only does this study link IC with HDCs to address carbon emissions through decarbonization practices, which has never been addressed in the literature to date, but also provides novel recommendations and propositions through which firms can sustainably transition to being net-zero emission firms, thereby gaining competitive advantage and contributing to the nation’s sustainability goals.