Business Model Innovation (BMI) is pivotal for startups navigating dynamic business environments, allowing them to leverage opportunities arising from technological advancements and evolving consumer behavior. Despite its significance, there is a lack of comprehensive knowledge for understanding the antecedents influencing the value creation, delivery, and capture processes of startups' BMI and its outcomes. This paper addresses this gap with a systematic literature review from the past decade. It presents a research framework for startups’ BMI, emphasizing the connections between antecedents and outcomes across entrepreneurial, organizational, and environmental levels. The evidence emphasizes the pivotal role of technology adoption in enhancing business performance. Simultaneously, the key contributors include fostering collaboration, engaging in market orientation, building competencies, and conducting business experimentation. This study recognizes external factors, including the regulatory environment and techno-economic trends influencing the outcomes of startups' BMI at both the environmental and organizational levels. Finally, this paper identifies critical avenues for future research.
This paper presents a systematic review of the literature on Technology Transfer and its role in the implementation of Energy Efficiency in the Industry 4.0 era. The main objective was to survey a portfolio using the Methodi Ordinatio 2.0 methodology, in order to understand whether the transfer of knowledge and technologies has contributed to the implementation of energy efficiency practices. The review revealed that technology transfer plays a fundamental role in optimizing the use of energy resources, facilitating the adoption of more efficient and sustainable solutions. Collaboration between different sectors and regions, as well as capacity building and sharing of good practices, were identified as key factors for the successful implementation of these technologies. Furthermore, the research highlighted the importance of public policies to encourage this transfer, especially in areas with lower technological capacity. It is concluded that technology transfer is essential to achieve global energy efficiency and sustainability goals, and that its continued promotion will be decisive for the development of innovative and scalable solutions in the future.
Small and medium-sized enterprises face escalating disruptions necessitating dynamic organizational resilience (the capacity to anticipate, cope with, and adapt to crises). While social media (SM) is recognized as a strategic resource, the mechanisms through which it amplifies specific organizational resilience stages remain underspecified. Drawing on 14 organizations embedded in Guadalajara's ICT ecosystem, this study employs grounded theory to identify six functional SM dimensions: organizational communication, digital marketing, social customer relationship management, digital communities, knowledge management, and collaborative innovation, operating across three maturity levels (foundational, intermediate, advanced). Findings suggest differentiated pathways in which foundational dimensions primarily strengthen operational coping, an effect associated with the activation of seizing capabilities, while advanced dimensions appear to function as higher-order dynamic capabilities that draw on the sensing and seizing infrastructures established in prior stages to support anticipation and adaptation through institutionalized learning, suggesting a path-dependent developmental trajectory for resilience. By integrating Dynamic Capabilities Theory with established stage-based resilience frameworks, this research illustrates how SM platforms may sequentially enable sensing, seizing, and transforming capabilities across crisis phases. Finally, contextual factors such as ecosystem density and absorptive capacity may moderate these effects, delineating the boundary conditions for generalizability beyond high-density regional clusters.
Objective: This study aims to map and analyze the Industry 4.0 research landscape in Brazil, comparing it with leading countries in order to identify dominant trends, research gaps, and Brazil’s position and potential contributions to the global knowledge base. Methods: A bibliometric approach was adopted based on scientific publications indexed in the Scopus database. Text mining and network analysis techniques were applied using the VOSviewer software to examine publication growth, co-authorship collaboration patterns, and thematic clusters. Comparative analyses between Brazil and leading countries were conducted to identify convergences and divergences in research focus over time. Results: The findings indicate strong global growth in Industry 4.0 research, while Brazil exhibits a comparatively slower expansion. Brazilian publications largely align with international research themes, particularly those related to the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, and Machine Learning. However, Brazilian studies show a distinctive emphasis on applications aimed at operational efficiency and sustainability. Conclusions: The study concludes that, although Brazil follows global Industry 4.0 research trends, differences remain in the scale and pace of scientific production. The results highlight opportunities to strengthen Brazil’s position through increased investment in research and development and expanded international collaboration. These insights are relevant for researchers, policymakers, and industry professionals seeking to promote strategic actions that enhance the impact and global integration of Brazilian Industry 4.0 research.
The aerospace industry is a sector characterized by its high technological complexity and investment requirements, and has therefore developed around major clusters worldwide. These clusters serve as hubs for innovation processes, technology transfer, and supply chain integration. However, limited research has focused on the early stages of industrial development or on contexts lacking established organizational cooperation structures—conditions commonly found in developing countries. This study proposes a resource management and technological cooperation model in which anchor firms act as facilitators and driving forces for interactions among government, industry, and academia. The model assesses the developmental stage of the aerospace sector by analyzing scenarios and prioritizing firm-level interactions with each component of the so-called Triple Helix, thus establishing a comprehensive management perspective. Through a case study of a region exhibiting a concentration of aerospace-related organizations—yet not formally structured as a cluster—the findings validate the proposed model and highlight its utility in optimizing resources and enhancing intersectoral collaboration.
In the Peruvian business environment, the adoption of Artificial Intelligence is key to optimising processes. However, its implementation faces challenges due to a lack of resources and cultural barriers. This research aims to analyse the relationship between AI adoption and product innovation, security, organisational preparedness, and perceived ease of use. A non-experimental quantitative design with a structural equation model (SEM) was used, collecting data through structured surveys applied to employees in the telecommunications sector. The results show that AI security has a positive and significant effect on AI adoption (p = 0.000), while the perceived ability of the employee directly influences perceived ease of use (p = 0.003). In turn, AI adoption has a significant impact on product innovation (p = 0.000), process innovation (p = 0.000), and AI-driven marketing (p = 0.000), confirming that technological confidence and skills development drive greater business efficiency and innovation. In conclusion, AI adoption is strengthened when there is rigorous management of AI security and staff capacity building, as it increases utility by promoting innovation. This work seeks to provide evidence from the Peruvian context, focusing on workers' real experiences with AI and how these can guide solutions tailored to the needs of the sector.
Research on how affective commitment in entrepreneurs is shaped through contextual influence is limited, despite the relevance this entrepreneurial behavior has on venture outcomes. To address this knowledge gap, we present a theoretical framework to support our hypotheses and use a structural equation model to test them. We analyze the effects of the university environment, family entrepreneurial background, and subjective norms on the affective commitment of entrepreneur students using data from the 2018 Global University Entrepreneurial Spirit Students' Survey (GUESSS). Our results indicate a positive direct effect of the university environment and subjective norms on affective commitment. Furthermore, subjective norms mediate the relationships between the university environment and the family's entrepreneurial background and affective commitment, and the total influence effect of family background and university environment on affective commitment was proven to be statistically significant through bootstrapping. Our research makes a theoretical and empirical contribution to the literature on the mechanisms that shape affective commitment for student entrepreneurs since previous research has focused on personal traits instead of social environment. For practical implications, we underscore the importance of providing a university environment with resources such as courses, orientation, and support related to entrepreneurial behaviors, thereby equipping student entrepreneurs with the necessary tools for success and calling for awareness among family businesses that want to promote the continuance of entrepreneurial behaviors in their next generations.
Strategic alliances have long required their participants to combine the certainty of formal contracts with the adaptive flexibility of relational mechanisms, and the substitutes-complements debate in alliance governance has spent decades trying to clarify how these two qualities can be combined. The recent emergence of blockchain-enabled smart contracts complicates this picture in interesting ways. This article asks how smart contracts interact with the contractual and relational governance mechanisms documented in the strategic alliance literature, what conditions shape this interaction, and what the implications are for alliance theory. Drawing on the alliance governance literature and the blockchain governance literature in roughly equal measure, the paper develops a framework that positions smart contracts as a third governance mechanism alongside contractual and relational forms, producing a hybrid arrangement termed algorithmic-relational governance. Three propositions are derived and illustrated through a case study of Walmart Canada's DL Freight platform, one of the larger production-grade smart contract deployments in a multi-party alliance setting. The findings suggest that smart contracts function primarily as governance complements rather than substitutes, that they alter alliance dynamics in ways transaction cost economics alone cannot predict, and that their effectiveness depends on deliberate architectural design choices that are themselves products of relational negotiation between alliance partners.
This study evaluates the outcomes of collaborative research projects for technological innovation supported by the Brazilian Company of Research and Industrial Innovation (Embrapii) model in Brazil, focusing on the results achieved for participating firms. Despite growing interest in university-industry collaboration (UIC), empirical evidence on the concrete impacts of structured incentive models remains limited, particularly in developing economies. To address this gap, this research investigated whether Embrapii's model for funding UIC effectively generates innovation, strengthens firms’ technological capabilities, and leads to broader organisational and market outcomes. The analysis is based on a study conducted with 179 companies funded by Embrapii and constitutes the first comprehensive evaluation of the model. Methods include descriptive statistics, Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), Cost-Benefit Analysis, and Input-Output Analysis. Results show that 68,2% of projects led to innovations, and 91% of firms reported positive impacts—ranging from increased product value and market access, to enhanced internal capabilities. These findings reveal significantly higher numbers when compared to the innovative performance of Brazilian industry in the national innovation survey, as well as figures higher than those found in other funding instruments addressing UIC. QCA suggests that intellectual property generation and competence building may contribute significantly to innovation within Embrapii's projects. Strong commitments from both sides of cooperation - research organisations and companies - appear to be at the core of these findings. The study provides valuable insights for Science, Technology and Innovation policy design in Brazil and other Latin American contexts.
Digital transformation in the public sector requires not only technological advances but also approaches that prioritize citizen experience and the generation of public value across multiple levels. This article proposes an evaluation model for digital planning in government agencies, grounded in a human-centered and ecosystemic perspective. Based on the integration of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) principles, public value theory, and participatory design approaches, we developed a maturity index composed of six dimensions: usability, accessibility, user experience (UX), co-creation, transparency, and adherence to public guidelines. Each dimension is operationalized through a checklist of indicators applicable to Information Technology Master Plans (PDTIs). The model was applied to PDTIs from Brazilian federal ministries, enabling the identification of gaps and best practices related to user centrality and digital public value creation. The results highlight the importance of incorporating HCI approaches from the early stages of IT planning as a strategy to strengthen digital citizenship, inclusion, and institutional legitimacy. This study contributes methodologically to the evaluation of digital public policies and opens avenues for future research focused on measuring user experience in the governmental context.
This study addresses the fragmented understanding of the role of governance structures and mechanisms in fostering sustainability within supply chains. It seeks to investigate how governance contributes to the development of Sustainable Supply Chains (SSCs), aiming to identify key authors, influential journals, and prevailing research themes, while highlighting both theoretical and managerial gaps in the literature. A bibliometric analysis was conducted based on articles indexed in the Scopus database between 2014 and 2024, employing the ProKnow-C methodology. This involved a multi-stage selection process comprising citation analysis, content alignment, and relevance assessment, culminating in a final portfolio of 30 rigorously selected articles. The analysis revealed the prominence of author Kannan Govindan, alongside the Journal of Cleaner Production and the International Journal of Production Research as the leading publication venues. Frequently recurring keywords such as “Supply Chain Management,” “Sustainable Development,” and “Sustainability” underscore the centrality of collaborative and sustainability-oriented approaches within SSC research. The findings contribute to the theoretical consolidation of SSC governance by categorizing governance structures and mechanisms applicable to sustainable supply chains. From a managerial standpoint, the study offers actionable insights to inform the design and implementation of governance strategies that foster sustainability across supply networks. Additionally, it outlines future research avenues to support interdisciplinary inquiry into governance and sustainability integration.
Understanding the impact of perceived obstacles on various inputs and outcomes within the innovation process is essential for firms engaged in innovation activities. While much of the existing theoretical framework focuses on financial barriers, that is, the economic constraints that limit firms’ ability to develop and implement new ideas, products, or processes, this article expands and complements the literature by examining the influence of non-financial obstacles. These include knowledge limitations, organizational challenges, market constraints, and regulatory hurdles, all of which can hinder innovation even when financial resources are available. Thus, the objective of this study is to analyze the evolution of the perception of obstacles to innovation in Chilean companies. The study draws on data from versions VI to X of the Chilean National Innovation Surveys, covering the period 2007–2016, and applies confirmatory factor analysis to identify latent perceptions of barriers, along with multiple linear regression models to evaluate their relationship with inputs, outcomes, and R&D activities. The findings show that non-financial barriers are as significant as financial ones and reveal distinct temporal trends: while financial obstacles tend to decrease over time, barriers related to knowledge, cooperation, demand, and regulation have gained relevance, particularly affecting small and medium-sized enterprises. This longitudinal perspective provides a novel empirical contribution to the study of innovation in developing economies and offers key insights for the design of more targeted and adaptive public policies.
This study identifies key factors influencing digitalization investment decisions in Colombian SMEs and their alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Analyzing 4,600 surveys from 2023, we employed multilayer perceptron Artificial Neural Networks with backpropagation algorithms for predictive modeling, supported by validation through confusion matrices and ROC curves (average AUC: 0.94). Results revealed the most significant predictors: understanding digitalization's possibilities and advantages (20.87%), employees using ICT (14.77%), average workforce size (10.68%), and e-commerce marketplace participation (7.32%). The study's originality lies in precisely quantifying each factor's relative importance, providing an empirical foundation for prioritizing digitalization initiatives, and analyzing strategic alignment with SDGs, particularly SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). These methodologically robust findings offer valuable guidance for policymaking, business strategies, and interdisciplinary theoretical frameworks promoting sustainable digital transformation of Colombian SMEs within broader socioeconomic contexts, while addressing critical technological adoption barriers, enhancing regional competitive advantage, and establishing comprehensive implementation pathways for digital ecosystem development. These insights directly inform practical digitalization policies for SMEs by providing evidence-based prioritization of educational initiatives over direct technology investments, with significant implications for sustainable development and competitive advantage in emerging economies.
In response to society’s growing demand for sustainable practices, innovation across products, services, processes, and business models is now expected to minimize the adverse impacts of industrial processes. This study investigated the influence of innovation management on sustainability within the business models of Portuguese industrial companies. A quantitative approach was employed through a survey conducted among Portuguese industrial companies, with data analysis performed using the partial least squares technique. The findings revealed a positive relationship between sustainability-oriented innovation practices and sustainable business models. Furthermore, the adoption of such systems had a positive influence on the level of innovation. This research contributes to the existing literature by exploring the association of innovation management with sustainability within business models. The insights gained can provide valuable guidance to managers and decision-makers in promoting innovation and facilitating the transition to a more sustainable future.
The 2025 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences emphasizes the importance of innovation and technology management for a country's economic growth. However, Latin America and the Caribbean show low and uneven levels of innovation based on the Global Innovation Index (GII). Innovation and technological development can help address the region's major challenges, such as sustainable development, climate change, and the integration of new technologies like artificial intelligence and robotics. This situation prompts us to propose research ideas to develop policies and programs that boost innovation in this region.
Although value proposition (VP) plays an essential role in companies, there are few studies that address its communication in terms of professional discourse, and the way members of the same company perceive it has not been explored. This study aims to identify the convergent and divergent perspectives that actors in a digital microfirm have regarding their VP, and to determine where these divergences emerge within the microfirm’s activity system. A simple case study was conducted to describe how multiple perspectives on VP are discursively expressed and its disruptions in the activity system. First, results were grouped into 11 categories, which then resulted in 3 macro-categories focusing on different aspects of VP: Quality Service, Holistic Marketing, and Challenges and Uncertainty. Using an activity system analysis, 4 distinct disruptions were identified, all concerning the Rules axis of the activity system. Unlike the traditional conception of the VP as a single definition of the essence of the company, it was found that the actors attribute different purposes to their organization.
The automotive value chain has traditionally been significant in Brazil and Argentina, and encouraged by specific incentives. The aim of this research is to analyse the differences regarding promotion policies of this value chain in these two countries, focusing on those oriented towards technological capabilities and, hereafter, to see their effects in terms of production, technology, and foreign trade. The methodology will be focused on the analysis of variables relevant to the scope of study. The results show that, unlike Argentina, Brazil has incorporated incentives for the development of technological capabilities in policies aimed at the automotive value chain. This resulted in Brazil's greater innovation efforts and results in the sector, a favourable gap in terms of productivity, and greater international competitiveness of the automotive value chain. In addition, it plays a leading role in the technological development of ethanol-fuelled engines and has a greater diffusion of electric vehicles than Argentina. These divergent trajectories demonstrate the relevance of public policy to promote the development of technological capabilities.
The objective of this research is to evaluate the impact of the Innovative Entrepreneurship instrument, implemented by the National Agency for Research and Innovation (ANII by its Spanish acronym) of Uruguay. This study presents several significant contributions. First, it uses data from innovative start-ups funded between 2008 and 2021, which were compiled into one of the largest databases used for this type of research. As well, an innovative econometric technique is applied that allows to work with unbalanced panels —an especially important aspect when analyzing a program that supports innovative start-ups, for which mortality rate is high— while also estimating the duration of the treatment effect. The findings provide evidence of investment leverage in innovation activities of 195%, indicating that firms supplement public funds with their own resources. Furthermore, it is observed that participation in the program induces persistent changes in the innovative behavior of companies, which persist over time. No impacts were found on the economic performance of companies.
Resumen La evolución de la tecnología está redefiniendo las prácticas de gestión tradicionales y estimulando la innovación y la digitalización en el mundo. El objetivo de esta investigación es identificar las condiciones necesarias y suficientes que permiten un alto nivel de digitalización en México. Desde el enfoque de innovación, se explican y describen los principales fundamentos teóricos de este trabajo. Por medio de la metodología denominada Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), se realiza un análisis de suficiencia y necesidad aplicado a los datos obtenidos del Centro México Digital en 2024. Los resultados de este estudio sugieren que las empresas en México necesitan implementar procesos de adopción tecnológica, aplicar más profundamente la ciberseguridad, incentivar el uso del comercio electrónico, incrementar la innovación y desarrollar un ambiente de economía digital, ya que la presencia simultánea de dichos factores, permiten alcanzar un nivel de desarrollo digital mayor. Los resultados sirven de guía a los tomadores de decisiones para establecer prácticas empresariales que faciliten el proceso de digitalización en la época actual.
