ABSTRACT. Business process management (BPM) as a mature business operation management method has been applied by many enterprises. Its main concerns focus on solving the cross departmental communication problems. Cross-department communication is a visible symptom of the growing business problems of companies related to complexity，it is also a problem strongly related to BPM. These barriers will lead to low efficiency and poor-quality work, which is common in most organizations in China. This will bring hidden costs to the organization and even impact long-term performance. In the digital transformation age, organization ambidexterity is more important than ever to obtain short-term and long-term benefits. This case study suggests to combine the ambidextrous and hidden costs theory for outlining a collaborative network communication model (CNCM) and theory relationship model of hidden costs and ambidexterity BPM, in order to inves-tigate the effect between the cross-department communication operation structure and organiza-tional performance. This case study provided data collection by three data sources: 40 interviews of managers and employees, company records，observations over 3 months. The findings of the field study of this case are that cross-department communication operation structure has an effect on organizational performance and digital innovation. It also suggests that CNCM positively in-fluences organizational exploration and exploitation ability. It can also alleviate cross-department communication obstacles, low efficiency, and poor-quality work.

ABSTRACT. Although intercultural diversity is an important regulator of entrepreneurship, there is a dearth of studies that explore its influence on the interaction between entrepreneurship education programmes design and startup creation process’s actors. Previous studies mainly devoted attention to examine intercultural diversity’s effects on teams’ dynamics spotlighting its relationship with leadership, virtual working and organizations’ performance. In this vein and drawing on national cultural and organizational change, this study aims at investigating the intercultural diversity’s role in influencing the entrepreneurship education programmes design configurations and networks. Drawing on a single case study, we conduct semi-structured interviews gathered from 42 multicultural and heterogeneous teams, advisors and organizers of BESTMEDGRAPE, an entrepreneurship education programme involving five Mediterranean countries (France, Jordon, Italy, Lebanon and Tunisia) which followed nascent entrepreneurs all along the startup creation process. The contribution of this study is to conceptualize the interplay between intercultural diversity, entrepreneurship education programme and startup dynamics by generating new dimensions that crystallize the relationship between entrepre-neurship education literature and organizational ecosystems.

ABSTRACT. In this paper, we investigate the arising of organizational unlearning dynamics during transformations enabled by digital technologies, and their implications for organiza-tional change effectiveness. First, we carried out a desk analysis to explore the radical changes enabled by digital technologies that impact organizations multidimensionally. Afterwards, we investigate how this scenario creates the need for organizational un-learning dynamics, to overcome the interplay between path dependencies and organi-zational deep structure. Thus, we analyze four cases from the literature, with the aim of highlighting the impacts of digital advance over organizational culture, structure, strat-egy, control systems, and power distribution arrangements. This study brings the following main findings. First, changes related to digital trans-formation impact organizational deep structure. Second, organizational unlearning dy-namics arose from these changes, and is aimed at overcoming path dependency mech-anisms that could inhibit the organization from embracing innovative arrangements. Altogether, this study contributes to making awareness of the critical role played by organizational unlearning practices within organizational change, also suggesting a first set of insights relevant from both the theoretical and managerial perspective.

ABSTRACT. The pandemic Covid-19 has affected countries all over the world, including Italy. The use of smart working increased during the pandemic and is expected to maintain high levels of application even after the emergency. The possible aspects that this contribution will explain start from the impact of COVID-19 on organizations and the support offered by technologies. On these premises, the paper focuses on the changing use of technology in human resource management, in the specific healthcare organizational context. Then we will focus on the redesign of work thanks to new digital opportunities to understand how the organization changes and learns new ways of performing. The relevant elements of the change, the first actors, the time and the effects on performance will be shown through a case study analysis. The case study adopts a qualitative approach and focuses on the health system because this has faced a great challenge in this pandemic period since the presence of medical and paramedical personnel is a fundamental component here. However, several patient-related activities, notably treatment planning, multidisciplinary consultations, research and quality assurance do not require physical presence at work, making so-called "smart work" possible. The study aims to provide useful information to improve practices in the field of smart work, to better understand the phenomenon, especially in the health sector, a field that has not been explored and debated in the literature.

ABSTRACT. With an increasing number of digitalization initiatives in the public sector, public shared service providers that deliver and steering bodies that orchestrate the realization of those initiatives are under pressure to become agile, i.e., to adopt agile activities, principles, and an agile mindset. This study investigates challenges and corresponding mitigation measures of scaled agile transformations of such organizations. Based on data gathered through Action Research based multiple case studies and drawing on context theory, it identifies obstacles related to the political, environmental, and internal context as well as transformation management itself. Among them are siloed actions and individual interests, IT legacy, complexity of customer requirements, insufficient resources, no shared vision, low professionalization, and a missing holistic picture. Value stream thinking, architectural thinking, successful pilot projects, constructive criticism, and a culture of failure are suggested as countermeasures. The identified obstacles and measures fit well into and extend the findings from a systematic literature review. Our contribution is to contextualize and extend insights and recommendations related to the large-scale agile transformation of public shared service providers and steering bodies that both serve multiple customers, i.e., other public sector organizations. Further research can quantitatively test the measures, develop maturity models for them, or identify obstacle-measure-patterns. Practitioners receive insights that should also contribute to a more successful transformation of the public sector in the benefit of society and economy.

ABSTRACT. The paper deals with a case of organizational change "triggered" by a process of digital transformation. We refer to the management of change activated in the Su-preme Court of Cassation and related to the introduction of the on-line civil trial (Processo Civile Telematico). We have showed that the project of change itself acted as a knowledge translation mechanism. The project of change can therefore be interpreted as the interactional space where different players share the frame-work and develop a common language. The bottom-up approach pushes partici-pants to adopt organizational tools and languages that in turn become shared as-sets of the collaboration. This means that both project, as coordination mecha-nism, and project tools themselves have the potential to become a fruitful interac-tional space where participants may effectively enhance knowledge translation.

ABSTRACT. The blockchain is a decentralized IT architecture that has recently attracted strong attention from all sectors of the world economy. To banking sector, blockchain was originally used cryptocurrency trading and more recently smart contracts, peer-to-peer, and other banking services. The blockchain has expanded its technical basis by supporting less standardized credit process as success decentralized recording for credit process through digital ledgers. Following the paradigm of qualitative research, the paper aims to define a new business model to mortgage loans profitable by using new generation information technology. While this is not the first academic research link-ing blockchain technology to the lending process, it is the first research proposing an application of blockchain embedded credit mortgage process to reshaping small banks activity. The research results confirm the benefits of blockchain embedded credit system reduce the information asymmetry, credit rationing and profitability of lending business.

ABSTRACT. The aim of this work is to investigate the configuration of the management control system in a renewed firm concept, which pursues sustainability through the use of smart technologies. Smart technologies and sustainability are considered major trends in the current business environment, due to the potential that smart technology has to drive private and public organizations, business and communities towards a more sustainable society through economic, environmental and social value creation. The rise of these trends involves a radical change in how to conceive the company and how to interpret its interactions in the economic system. To be more competitive and adapt to these new challenges, companies are required to change their strategies, business models, decision-making and control processes. In this context, it is believed that the management control system can play a fundamental role in guiding companies in the process of sustainable and digital transition. Therefore, the objective of this research is to analyze how the “traditional” management control system changes on the basis of the changes previously indicated, both in the procedures / operating methods and in the tools used. In order to achieve this goal, this work use a qualitative-deductive research methodology, based on an in-depth analysis of national and international literature and on the development of a critical analysis of the issues addressed.

ABSTRACT. Purpose: Given the growing interest in the energy transition, we aim to understand if and how blockchain technology improves the traceability of renewable energy information and provides reliable information for companies’ sustainable disclosure regarding renewable energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Design: We conducted a literature review regarding the support that the energy market can receive from the blockchain and consequently on the possible contribution of blockchain to more reliable companies’ disclosure regarding renewable energies. We use a qualitative methodology, analyzing two case studies. Findings: Blockchain technology has great potential for supporting reliable information to improve sustainability disclosure in energy sector activities, especially on GHG emissions reporting Scope3. Also, this technology has great potential for providing renewable energy traceability, but it is necessary the support other elements as smart devices and regulations. Moreover, blockchain application in the energy sector is living a primary phase that needs more time to develop its potential. Originality/value: Although there is abundant literature on companies’ environmental information, very few studies support the transparency and reliability of this information, considering technological supports to guarantee the origin and renewable nature of the energies used. First insights are provided that might guide and foster the use of blockchain for renewable energy use and disclosure. Research implications: The analysis invites interaction between academics, energy sector operators and legislators. It is a contribution that answers to the global warming target regarding the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and RE resources adoption in compliance with the 2030 and 2050 goals.

ABSTRACT. Businesses across all sectors are developing and implementing increasingly “intelligent” systems that are empowered by a wave of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, driven by the growing availability and accessibility of data and processing power. This paper examines the state of AI adoption in small and medium-sized enterprises in the manufacturing sector, an area of research that has received relatively little attention. Three small and medium-sized enterprises, whose main offices are located in Northern Italy, have been studied to understand how they deal with the issue of AI adoption and what problems they typically encounter. An articulated picture emerges where SMEs struggle between the desire to realize the promises of innovation and the ability to build the appropriate organizational setting to pursue it.

ABSTRACT. TThe concept of Industry 4.0 still triggers multiple challenges that SMEs should overcome before, during and after its implementation. While existing studies offer an overview of potential enablers and barriers and strategic roadmaps to follow, their representation is far global and do not consider the uniqueness of SMEs. Moreover, there is a research gap about how these elements can enter in tension and create additional challenges for SMEs facing Industry 4.0 implementation. Therefore, this paper conducts a narrative literature review to draw an interpretive framework about potential tensions that can occur between existing enablers and barriers that SMEs can experience and strategic choices that they make during Industry 4.0 implementation. The 49 identified tensions are analysed by means of a contextualist approach to stress the importance of considering Industry 4.0 implementation as change management project. By following such logic, SME may become aware of tensions among its pre-existing inner or outer features (context) as well as by undertaken actions towards this transformation (process). Together, these tensions can influence the way a SME makes its strategic choices about Industry 4.0 implementation (content). The results of this study show that tensions can be also detected between ideal types of strategic choices that can be influenced by contextual tensions or reflect processual tensions. By going further than a classification of existing findings, the study stands for a new implication for SMEs facing Industry 4.0: without considering their particularities on a case-by-case basis, they can endure extra challenges in the form of tensions.

ABSTRACT. The European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) excellence model, designed for the first time at the beginning of the Nineties and formalized in 2013, was recently updated in the new version of 2020. Although the foundations of the model remained unchanged, relevant modifications in the model’s framework are destined to impact the future empirical and theoretical debate. Therefore, there is a need for review work that can represent reference points for future development of the topic. In this paper, we present a systematic literature review concerning the works published in the top journal of the ABS list on the EFQM excellence model. In particular, we focused on theoretical and empirical articles, giving a descriptive and thematic picture of the literature, and reflecting on the future research opportunities.

ABSTRACT. Reputation mechanisms are commonly used on digital platforms to reduce information asymmetry, increase trust, and facilitate transactions between users. Despite extensive research on the design challenges of such mechanisms, the specificities of online labor platforms, like the evolution of skills or the heterogenous context in which transactions take place, are not fully addressed in the current literature. Thus, this work aims at determining how to design suitable reputation mechanisms for online labor platforms. The research follows the Action Design Research approach and is conducted in cooperation with the providers of the online labor platform “Scrambl.”. First, a synthesizing analysis of design features of state-of-the-art reputation mechanisms of a sample of 21 existing online labor platforms is conducted. Second, a systematic literature review is performed along with ten semi-structured interviews with potential users of Scrambl. to identify and evaluate relevant design requirements. Seven design requirements emerge from this work, which may serve as a guideline for researchers and practitioners in the labor market industry to design adequate reputation mechanisms.

ABSTRACT. This study aims to investigate the extent to which the twin (digital & green) transition evolves at the firm level, by boosting firms’ propensity to establish collaborative relationships along their supply chain. Extending previous studies on the relationship between ICTs and environmental sustainability, we test our hypotheses on a sample of 189 Italian firms belonging to the Northern-eastern fashion industry. Results confirm that the contribution of digital technologies to the green transition is boosted by the adoption of collaborative partnerships. Moreover, on one hand, the collaborative behavior is moderated by the firm dimension. On the other hand, in presence of higher levels of external pressures to digitalize, firms are more prone to use digital data to adopt environmental-oriented behaviors, regardless of their size.

ABSTRACT. Blockchain technology has gained considerable momentum in recent years which has led to an increasing adoption due to its distinctive characteristics such as decentralization, security, transparency, and reliability. Given this trend, extensive attention from both practitioners and literature has been dedicated to the opportunities and advantages of blockchain implementations as means of creating new forms of platform ecosystems. Despite, such initiatives, tangible results based on successful case studies remain limited. The objective of this research is to contribute to the current debate by empirically exploring the drivers that determine success in the development of platform ecosystems using blockchain. The research provides an in-depth analysis of the Spunta Banca DLT project, a project started in 2017 that implemented an inter-organisational platform based on blockchain technology within the Italian banking sector for the management of the interbank reconciliation process. Qualitative interviews were conducted with project participants to gain important insights into the platform development process and the use of the technology. Based on the findings gathered from the interviews, the main actions and procedures taken that led to the successful development of the new system were highlighted.

ABSTRACT. The process of digitization over the years has increasingly taken hold in various areas of our daily lives. When talking about digitization, it is impossible not to talk about smart cities as the two phenomena are linked. Smart cities are supported by digitalization and technological innovations leading to future environmental, social, and financial benefits. The result of digitization in smart cities can be measured by the increase in the quality of life of citizens thus providing a return on the investments made. Digital transformation has enabled smart cities to gain knowledge and understanding of critical issues thus obtaining a competitive advantage over non-digitalized cities. In this paper, we consider the impact of people at the city level focusing on the importance of entrepreneurs' personality traits. Entrepreneurs, through their activity and thanks to their charisma, can bring innovations to the territory. Among the personality traits studied in the literature, we focus on narcissism, considering the positive and negative aspects of this personality trait. Moreover, we also focus on social capital positively influences innovative acquisitions, the geographical location of the entrepreneur is a key factor, that characterizes the performance of the innovative entrepreneurial activity.

ABSTRACT. Digital transformation is affecting companies worldwide, with effects on different industries. In this paper we focus on the tourism sector, and investigate how firms and related territories may leverage digital transformation and which challenges they may face in adopting digital solutions. To do so, we rely on a qualitative approach and performed 10 interviews to different actors in the field to examine the adoption of an innovative online hospitality data intelligence platform, called HBenchmark, and how it can promote the development of the tourist destination of Livigno and its territory Valtellina. Our findings point to two main dimensions, related to both the benefits and challenges in the development of smart destinations, and offer contributions to literature about digital transformation and smart destinations while providing implications for public actors and managers.

ABSTRACT. Both scholars and practitioners attribute a strategic role to Smart Cities and Digitalization for Urban Development, witnessed by the extensive literature produced on the subject in the last decade. Thus, this growing interest involves the need to clarify the complexity deriving from the ongoing urbanization and digital transition processes. This paper aims to provide a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) to tackle the relationship between the inputs generated by the Smart Governance policies and the output related to their enhancement. It offers an outline of the extant literature, framing the future research trajectories. A rigorous methodology will allow the reader to fully understand the nature of such a limited research area. Furthermore, the small number of contributions intersecting the two strands will represent the nuclear unit within which investigate the operational effects in the context of Urban Development. Finally, the discussion of the findings will be aimed at drawing up a research agenda to improve smart government decision-making from a collaborative perspective.

ABSTRACT. S Group, a large-scale state-owned building materials group in China, has a history of several decades and has gradually experienced problems such as declining market competitiveness, low efficiency, insufficient digital ability, and cross-departmental coordination. This case study explores the key factors that influence the transformation of the marketing information system through in-depth interviews and eight years of organizational observations. Using a structured interview guide to gather data and information, 15 people from the group president, IT, marketing, sales, and production departments were interviewed about the marketing information system transformation. This paper aims to explore the impact of organizational dysfunction, analyze the hidden cost problems existing in current enterprises, and conduct a qualitative analysis of enterprise problems using the human-digital competitiveness (HDC) model(Monod et al., 2021a). His case also demonstrates the role of HDC theory in clarifying the transformation process of marketing information systems. The HDC model can effectively identify the transformation factors and evaluate the enterprise transformation process.

ABSTRACT. Business models are increasingly recognized as a concept to support innovation in organizations. The implementation and operation of a new or altered business model involves the (re-)design of an organization's business processes and their successful execution. However, we currently lack an understanding of how existing research can be used to guide organizations in systematically moving from a business model design to the implementation and operation of the business model through their underlying business processes. Therefore, this study aims at identifying and analyzing methods that relate business models and business processes. For this purpose, we conducted a systematic literature review on methods that bridge business models and business processes. We classified the selected methods according to their characteristics and support during the business model the design, implementation, and operation of business models. The results of our systematic review provide an overview of existing methods that organizations can adopt when moving from business model design into the implementation and operation of their business model using processes. Our work also synthesizes knowledge gaps and identifies future research avenues for relating business models and business processes.

ABSTRACT. Organizations implementing enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems experience the need for extensive changes in structure, core processes, and roles - making change management crucial. Prior research on change management in ERP implementations focuses mostly on large enterprises and lacks empirical insight into why change management is challenging. We conducted a case study in a Norwegian Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) working in mechanical manufacturing. Interviews, observations, and documents were analyzed. This study contributes to the literature focusing on change management in ERP implementations and pro-vides rich insight into how and why change management is challenging in an SME context by detailing eight key reasons behind 33 challenges. Lessons learned from this study may have transferable value to other SMEs implementing ERP. The study highlights the importance of considering culture, overall organizational workload, and ensuring deep engagement during an ERP project. Several of the challenges were interconnected. Customizing organizational processes was challenging because it opposed the established culture within the company, risk management was underestimated, and culture was more of an impediment than a facilitator for change management. Finally, the management style, lack of holistic project view, and lack of competence in computer usage were also identified as challenges impeding an efficient implementation.

ABSTRACT. The main aim of this paper is to secure a sustainable environment for future collaborations between public administrations and the open data ecosystem stakeholders. Thus, it develops of an agenda considering current issues extracted from the forward-looking policy documents of the domain that have been drafted by large consulting companies and organisations dealing with open data. The methodological approach towards the creation of the Open Data Research Areas Taxonomy for public administrations is as follows: (a) identification of the major policy and expert documents; (b) decomposition and analysis of the current issues; (c) composition of the final taxonomy including metrics of importance. The authors of the paper worked separately in step (b) and collaboratively in step (c). This way, the authors tackled the complexity in interpretation of what a research or a policy topic is and how it is extracted from the document. The results of the study include 7 main categories of open data research and 54 unique issues and topics. After the development of the final taxonomy, the study focuses on the issues that are related to the public administrations and 27 topics were identified.

ABSTRACT. The growth of resource production and waste generation leads to severe environmental degradation affecting the health, productivity, and cleanliness of cities making the intervention of Public Administrations (PA) necessary. PAs are responsible for making the right strategic decisions that directly affect communities, yet only with accurate data, it is possible to design systems with the right number of vehicles, establish efficient routes, set targets, and track progress. Studies show how blockchain technology is an opportunity to facilitate a variety of processes, however, there are several conditional challenges that must be overcome to realize blockchain technology’s full potential. This systematic literature review explores the current research topics and challenges regarding blockchain adoption in waste management aiming at sharing future directions for the Public Administration. The research has the aim to serve as an overview of the current state-of-art of the blockchain technology solution leading to the obtainment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The authors highlight how blockchain technology applications in waste management have the potential of changing the current organizational patterns and facilitating the Public Administrations in assuring cleanliness and healthy environments for communities. This systematic literature review makes several useful contributions. First, it identifies the main areas of research and the main research methods, it enables researchers to identify which areas are yet to be explored and, it shows that there are already widely discussed. Further research is needed to have a full understanding of the situations in which blockchain technology is beneficial.

ABSTRACT. The Made in Italy companies play a fundamental role in the Italian economy. In the era of Industry 4.0, Made in Italy companies have to face the challenge of innovation trying to make own the revolution of digitalization that involves complex analysis of large data (Porter & Hepplemann 2018). Therefore, the implementation and use of innovative accounting information systems seem essential for transforming the strategic planning process by providing new relationships with employees, customers and suppliers, new ways of data analysis to support strategic actions (Dobusch & Kapeller 2017), changing competitive dynamics and suggesting new sources of innovation (McIntyre & Srinivasan 2017). The increasingly sophisticated technological advancements can be used by creative industries to obtain up-to-date and relevant information. Nevertheless, the academic literature does not reach a consensus about the effect of 4.0 technologies on creative industries. Only recently has the academic literature investigated the role of innovation in creative industries in more detail. The purpose of this research is to identify how industry 4.0 and the “digital world” technologies affect knowledge management practices and innovation processes of companies operating in the Made in Italy sectors. A systematic review of the literature of the major academic and research databases has been used as methodology to achieve the aim of the paper. This work contributes theoretically to the development of literature on Industry 4.0 and it could support entrepreneurs in better understanding the factors that condition the full exploitation of the opportunities offered by Industry 4.0 in Made in Italy companies.

ABSTRACT. Companies struggle to exploit the value of their data. Providing a roadmap, data strategies define the scope and objectives of a company’s data management. However, most companies remain behind the curve. Based on structured expert interviews, we provide six initial design guidelines for implementing data strategies effectively. They should be applicable across industries and at all levels of a company’s data management as follows: (1) Define effectiveness as the overarching project goal – in doing so, focus on better insights, that is, enabling advanced analytics. (2) Implement data strategies across the company, ideally with board member support. (3) Create diverse project teams – IT should not be the sole project leader. (4) Follow a top-down project approach, supplemented by quick wins covering a company’s current pain points. (5) Ensure data quality first, then integrate your data, and assign roles & responsibilities. (6) There is no one size fits all. Consider different digital technologies – aligned with your information system backbone.

ABSTRACT. On-demand work applications (ODWA), a form of digital platforms, are the primary enablers of short-term or ‘gig’ work economy. In this paper, we study these platforms in their role as enablers of women belonging to low socio-economic sections. These women act as the primary unpaid workers while being expected to make economic contribution. Hence, they suffer from classic case of time scarcity. Gig economy enabled by these ODWAs have made this possible to some extent. We employ the theoretical lens of affordance theory to delineate the affordances that are provided by the various features of ODWA and their impact on these women. We do a mixed method study employing inter-views of gig workers supplemented with survey of 927 workers of one of the largest ODWA in India. Our analysis points to the sense of identity and individuality that these platforms provide. We also find that the presence of a digital platform between the customer and these women lowers the societal boundaries that have been the biggest challenge in their inclusion. Our research is, hence, significant from both information systems and inclusion research perspective as it contributes to the theoretical understanding of the impact of digital platforms on breaking societal structures.

ABSTRACT. This qualitative study aims to understand sustainability’s role in responsible consumers’ Online Customer Experiences (OCEs). In this study, we focus on female fashion shoppers, and study three dimensions of their OCE: cognitive, affective, and social. Although online shopping and responsible consumer behaviour have increased tremendously, sustainability’s role in OCE has not been studied before from the customer’s perspective. The data consists of nine semi-structural interviews of Finnish female self-proclaimed responsible consumers and is analyzed with qualitative content analysis. The findings show that sustainability issues are present in all OCE dimensions, which are also all interconnected. In short, we find that OCE’s cognitive dimension includes customers’ evaluation of the online store’s social and environmental sustainability as well as the product’s sustainability, necessity, and longevity. The affective dimension of OCE includes a wide range of feelings arising from perceived sustainability and one’s consumption choices. The social dimension includes one’s self-presentation, social channels, and the socio-technical implementation of online stores and their social features. The findings are beneficial for online store providers and academics interested in studying sustainability and OCE from the information systems perspective.

ABSTRACT. Given an emerging literature within the Information Systems (IS) field in the role of technology in social (in)justice and forced migration, in this research-in-progress paper we present preliminary findings from a longitudinal study with Syrian refugees (2018–present), which aims to understand the role of technology in refugees’ journeys from departure to destination. Our findings are articulated across three phases: in Phase 1, involving interviews with refugees sheltered in Greece, we found that social media played an important role during early stages of refugee journeys, mainly for information purposes. In Phase 2, drawing on social media data, we discovered a range of uses of social media within the refugee community, surfacing a hidden and largely unrecognised ‘hybrid community’—in-person and virtual—of refugees. In Phase 3, which is currently being developed, the concept of a ‘hybrid community’ is being explored in relation to diverse patterns of technology use by refugees. Our analysis reveals three stages of social media use related to hybrid communities—pre-departure, while on the move, and post-arrival—showing that hybrid communities take a different form over time as per the different uses of social media at different stages.

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this research is to observe, within the literature, the academic discourse developed around digital platforms and digital ecosystems, considering their interconnection with emerging technologies. This study adopts a bibliometric approach to analyze, in a systematic and repeatable manner, academic contributions published on digital platforms and ecosystems over a time span from 2001 to mid-May 2022. The bibliometric analysis of 1392 articles comprises two phases. The descriptive part of the analysis highlights the key characteristics of the discussion around the topics and the academic community involved in terms of publication and citation trends, most productive authors and countries, and most influential authors and articles. Conversely, co-word analysis allowed for the observation and analysis of the conceptual structure of the dataset. The findings indicate that only in the last 10 years has there been a significant growth in academic interest in this research area. The academic discourse on digital platforms is more developed than that on ecosystems, and this could be explained by the various facets and types that result in a broader application of the former topic, which began to be discussed in the early 2000s. The results of the co-word analysis show a strong presence of digital technologies, which was investigated in greater detail to determine the possible influence exerted by technologies on the literature related to the research topics considered. This study provides research insights and suggestions for exploring the knowledge gap identified, namely how emerging technologies interact with digital platforms and ecosystems.

ABSTRACT. In this study, we investigate how digital platforms contribute to preparing the ground for socio-ecological transformation processes towards more sustainable food systems. To do so, we performed a single exploratory case study, analyzing the case of Too Good To Go, an app that offers food retailers the possibility to sell their unsold food at a discounted price. Based on participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and a rich document analysis of secondary data, our study identifies three mechanisms that characterize the process of preparing the system for change: (i) unobtrusive practice shift, namely the (re)production of social relations and day-to-day practices that result in a gradual and not-disruptive shift towards more sustainable practices; (ii) legitimation attainment, described as legitimization resulting from actors’ considerations of the social, economic, and environmental consequences related to joining the platform; and (iii) evolutionary layering, or the mobilization of different sectors around a broad societal concern that requires multi-scale processes of change. These three mechanisms are discussed in light of their underlying factors and contributions offered

ABSTRACT. The rapid development of smart and connected digital technologies is creating a new wave of disruptive innovation by transforming society and revolutionizing how we interpret markets and business organisations. Interconnected people, organisations, and technologies form complex digital ecosystems such as smart homes, smart cities, smart factories, or smart enterprises. Such settings represent valuable business opportunities and both research and practice are exploring the limitations and opportunities of digital ecosystems. Digital ecosystems are multidisciplinary concepts whose meaning, and interpretation varies depending on the boundaries of the disciplinary areas in which they are framed. In this paper, we aim at progressing the study of digital ecosystems by presenting the preliminary results of an exploratory quantitative bibliometric study. The paper contributes by identifying themes and trends of the digital ecosystems literature.

ABSTRACT. Cities are facing increased dynamism due to rapid technological development, digitalization, and citizens' requirements, creating novel opportunities for smart city transformation. If, until a few years ago, the city's development from a smart perspective was an opportunity, today, it has assumed a predominant character on a social and economic level. This study investigates the evolution of online service implementation in cities over the years and its impact on the entrepreneurial environment. Using panel data based on 20 Italian cities for 11 years period ranging from 2011 to January 2022, this paper evaluates the online services' evolution and implementation using cluster analysis to identify two clusters (cities in transition and developed). Moreover, we performed a predictive validity analysis to identify the relationship between the clusters and the entrepreneurial environment. The results show that, at the emergent stage of the digitalization process, the development of the city's smartness was important to have an advantage over other cities; today, the implementation of smart city services is essential to create a favourable local environment for the development of entrepreneurial opportunities.

ABSTRACT. Humans interacting with and within the geographical space generate webs of relations triggering a constant adaptive mechanism that physically makes the territory a social construction. Simultaneously, time determines continuous shifts, generating evolutions known as transitions led by technological differentiation over time. Resulting complex socio-technical systems follow development trajectories and dynamic non-linear patterns in a time frame and space-related view functioning as backgrounds in everyday life and the transportation infrastructure is not an exception. In this sector, theory highlights the need to re-adequate aged practices because of their crucial role in the sustainable liveability of places. When seeking efficient solutions, the literature finds the public authority as the right to act as system integrator through dynamic capabilities and is the key actor to engage private stakeholders and citizens toward smarter municipality systems like the transportation one. The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is considered as a valuable tool considering the present policy trends and the increasing deregulation and privatisation in the transportation sector. Departing from the innovation strategy concept, we investigate the strategic challenges of the transportation sector in reframing these roles with an attentive eye on local areas and related actors involved. The overall research question is the following: "how do transport and mobility infrastructure settings impact towns and suburban localities in terms of sustainable and economic growth by establishing PPPs as the main tool?". The main findings introduce and reframe the technical tactic level as essential for a renewed PPP governance model.

ABSTRACT. Cities of the future as smart communities use information and communication technologies to drive innovation and promote sustainable and inclusive urban growth, improving the quality of life, and developing the city as an inclusive and smart community. A smart city helps shape the city of tomorrow as sustainable community. An inclusive city helps support sustainable urban development, strengthening collaborative spaces. Smart cities help the city to identify a pathway for sustainable future, building sustainable and inclusive cities as smart communi-ties. Cities select a smart city view for shaping inclusive smart cities.