This article is focused on the importance and influence of Industry 4.0 and consequently the Internet-connected technologies for the creation of value added for organizations and society. The contribution of the article is mainly conceptual. With the development of the Internet, the Internet of things that is central to the new industrial revolution has led to “Industry 4.0.” The aim of this article is to synthesize the known theory and practices of Industry 4.0, and to investigate the changes that will result from Industry 4.0 and with the development of the Internet of things.
Purpose: This paper aims to present how contemporary students are self-organizing using smart technologies (ST) and the future social implications of ST. The research model is based on the concepts of the soft system methodology, social systems thinking, innovative smart systems, and cybernetic and knowledge management.Design/methodology/approach: The study contains elements of exploratory and descriptive case studies. Narrative analysis and interpretation of the collected data have been carried out.Findings: Students mostly use ST to save time when studying and in their free time. Students are surprised by how ST developed and are cautious when imagining how the technology will change and affect their lives. They are concerned regarding several ethical dilemmas of using it, such as privacy and spending time with their loved ones and friends. Students perceive their self-organization in the future as very dependent on the availability of ST in institutional settings (e.g. education and business process) as well as their personal lives. Students discuss their present perceptions about what the future will be and note that social system will be more dynamic in terms of socialization, and loss of personal contact with their friends and family is seen as the main threat.Research limitations/implications: The research is qualitative, and the questionnaire was carried out among business students at the Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.Practical implications: The paper offers an understanding of the usage of ST among business students. This study provides a road map of a few possible ways for usage of ST among students. The topic is also relevant for human resource managers, technology developers and marketing strategists for their better understanding of the behaviour of young people using ST in professional or private environments.Social implications: The findings can be useful for professors in identifying different learning methods that are useful for their students.Originality/value: The authors offer conceptualizations of ST within the social innovation framework and provide a contemporary understanding young people’s ST usage.
(1) Background: The importance of this article is to analyze the technological developments in the field of the Internet and Internet technologies and to determine their significance for sustainable development, which will result in the emergence of Society 5.0. (2) The authors used automated content analysis for the analysis of 552 articles published in 306 scientific journals indexed by SCII and/or SCI - EXPANDED (Web of Science (WOS) platform). The goal of the research was to present the relationship between the Internet and sustainable development. (3) Results: The results of the analysis show that the top four most important themes in the selected journals were “development”, “information”, “data”, and “business and services”. (4) Conclusions: Our research approach emphasizes the importance of the culmination of scientific innovation with the conceptual, technological and contextual frameworks of the Internet and Internet technology usage and its impact on sustainable development and the emergence of the Society 5.0.
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the significance of Web 2.0 and social media for organizational development and adaptation to an ever‐changing business environment and its successful managing. A model is proposed based on the concepts of innovative economy, knowledge management and social media for value creation in knowledge‐based industries.Design/methodology/approach: The paper examines critical factors that influence the role of social media in organizational change and value creation in knowledge‐based industries.Findings: The paper contributes to discussion about the increasingly important role of social media in the value added chain in knowledge‐based industries.Research limitations/implications: Social media are still an emerging phenomenon and further studies are required to investigate these relationships over a longer period of time.Practical implications: The topic is relevant for designing corporate strategies in knowledge‐based companies becoming a part of global networks. Better understanding of the impact of social media on value added could significantly enhance both the top and bottom lines.Originality/value: The paper explores when and why the inexpensive, but increasingly wider, use of social media in knowledge‐based industries is preferred to traditional media. This paper intends to give executives practical hands‐on advice for using social media in business campaigns.
This paper aims to present the evolution and change in content in tourism, over time, as well as the emergence of different sustainable tourism concepts (ST). For this purpose, a comparative Automated Content Analysis (ACA) is herein applied to scientific articles published between 1990, when the first article in this field was published in the Web of Science, and the end of 2020. The results show some overlaps between the concepts that have emerged over the periods. According to the analysis results, it can be concluded that the theme focuses on business model changes, adoption of organizational processes related to the provision of mitigation measures, implementation of cleaner and smarter technologies, the importance of cultural heritage for sustainable tourism product concepts, rural development, green investment, sustainable standards and sustainable reporting.
Purpose: System dynamics is a whole-system modelling and learning approach, useful for tackling non-linear problems, such as sustainable urban development. The purpose of this paper is to review system dynamics applications in the simulation of sustainable urban development over a period from 2005 to 2017. Design/methodology/approach: The analysis reveals that the number of applications of system dynamics modelling in the area of urban sustainable development increased in the analysed period. Research has changed its focus from the modelling of environmental problems to more complex models, portraying the multidimensional socio-economic processes that have an impact on the sustainability of urban development. Analysed case studies most often use the behaviour reproduction test for model validation, but without a unified approach. In most cases, modelling has been done in China, Germany and the USA, while urban development in the Eastern European countries, Africa and Latin America has not often been investigated. This paper indicates the knowledge gaps and suggests future research directions. Findings: Papers that report the use of system dynamics modelling reveal a wide range of applications in urban sustainability. The analysis shows significant emphasis on environmental problems, while the interest for modelling social problems has been increasing during the last several years. Most of the modelled problems examine the sustainability of resources (land, water) and waste management, which are used for insights into the reasons for the system behaviour, forecasting future behaviour and policy testing. Originality/value: The presented models were developed in most cases for the purpose of understanding the phenomena examined, as well as the future use of the models in policy planning. This brings us back to the need for greater stakeholder involvement, not only in the initial phase, but also during the whole modelling process, which could increase understanding, use and ownership of the models in the future, and thus increase their practical application.