Jaione Ganzarain

Firms must adapt to a business environment in constant flux. Economic and political factors and the constant interruption of new technologies force firms and organizations to change and to adapt, so that they are not left behind. Over recent years, the development of disruptive innovations has completely revolutionized past scenarios. These innovations break with what is already established and firms from various sectors face no choice other than to incorporate them into their project management portfolios, so as to ensure survival and business sustainability. Using MIVES methodology as its foundation, a business sustainability management model is presented in this paper for the management of disruptive innovation projects that a firm may wish to develop within a given sector. The management model is designed to facilitate disruptive innovation project management for firms within technological-industrial sectors, by assessing the sustainability of the project. The model is applied to two firms, one from the machine-tooling sector and another from the construction sector. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was performed, the results of which verified the validity and the stability of the proposed model.

The central role of R&D centers in the advancement of technology within industrial enterprises is undeniable and clearly affects their strategies, their competitiveness and their business sustainability. R&D centers assume responsibility for technology recognition, collection, acquisition, development and transition. Among their activities, the efficient choice of emerging technologies in the Technology Management Process is becoming a real challenge. In such heterogeneous scenarios, Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) models are commonly proposed as an appropriate decision-making approach. Multiple research works address the selection of particular technologies in industrial applications, but very few references can be found related to research institutions, and R&D centers in particular. Therefore, a decision-making model is provided in this study following the MIVES multi criteria method for the assessment of one or more technologies. The model is then applied to two case studies related to the selection process of new technologies at a Spanish R&D Center specialized in manufacturing.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are at the heart of a nation’s wealth creation, employment generation and economic development. To help SMEs stay competitive in a fast-changing environment, researchers have recently emphasized the relevance of business model innovation (BMI). However, BMI and its performance are not linear but rather a complex phenomenon that depends on contingency factors. Based on configurational theory, this study extends the BMI research to SMEs, exploring the management approaches and BMI capabilities that foster BMI in established SMEs. To achieve this objective, this study of a purposive sample of 78 Spanish SMEs adopts the fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method. Results suggest three substantive conclusions. First, long-term managerial orientation is a key factor for the development of BMI in SMEs. Second, five BMI capabilities (sensing customer needs, sensing technological options, conceptualizing and experimenting, collaborating and BMI strategy) support, in combination with the management approach, the development of BMI in established SMEs. Third, open innovation (open flows of knowledge regarding market needs and the potential of technologies, as well as collaboration with customers) are concrete preconditions of business model innovation. Therefore, managers in SMEs need both to actively consider their management approach towards BMI, and to develop some key dynamic capabilities in their organizations to implement BMI, an approach also valid for post-Covid-19 management.

In our increasingly globalised economy, managing continuous change whilst remaining competitive and dynamic has become a central issue for firms in the industrial sector. One of the elements for obtaining this competitiveness is the value creation model of the firm. The most important challenges in firms are characterised by dynamic complexity which makes it difficult to understand factors in their context. Consequently management and decision making is hindered (Antunes et al, 2011). Business models are characterised by complexity and dynamism. Performance of the firm is a complex topic determined by the large amount of variables that can be involved in the system, and the different effects that influence the system in the short and long term. Due to this complexity a systemic view is required, that is, an holistic view of the whole system. Such a systemic view enables managers to make decisions based on evidence rather than intuition and personal experiences, as they understand how the whole system works. Thus, the main aim of this research is to use an empirical tool such as System Dynamics (SD), to support and sustain firms in the identification of new constructs related to their Business Model (BM).

The relationship between Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and business performance has been a topic of great importance for academics from different areas for several decades. In this sense, this study analyzes the impact of the use of ICT on the diversification strategy of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). From a sample of 95 companies in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, it is evident that diversified companies show a higher level of use of ICTs and that this resource affects positively the degree of international diversification and business performance. For the descriptive and correlational statistical analysis of the variables, the SPSS software version 21 was used

Purpose: To address the challenges regarding the concept of Industry 4.0 and the diversification methodology and based on the strategic guidance towards Industry 4.0, we propose a process model as a guiding framework for Industry 4.0 collaborative diversification vision, strategy and action building. In this paper we suggest a stage process model to guide and train companies to identify new opportunities for diversification within Industry 4.0. Systematically carrying out the stages will take a company to their individual specific vision and collaborative vision between different companies in the Industry 4.0 scenario.Design/methodology/approach: This new collaborative diversification methodology involves industry within the pilot program; from the diversification and capacity assessment analysis of the company`s profile, skills and technologies that dominates, to identify the diversification opportunity map and its business modeling within the Industry 4.0 paradigm.Findings: The application of maturity models to the Industry 4.0 may help organizations to integrate this methodology into their culture. Results show a real need for guided support in developing a company-specific Industry 4.0 vision and specific project planning.Originality/value: Industry 4.0 promotes a vision where recent developments in information technology are expected to enable entirely new forms of cooperative engineering and manufacturing. The vision of industry 4.0 describes a whole new approach to business operations, and especially the production industries. To address the challenges regarding the concept of Industry 4.0 and the diversification methodology discussed above, and based on the strategic guidance towards Industry 4.0, we propose a unique process model as a guiding framework for Industry 4.0 collaborative diversification vision, strategy and action building.