The contemporary global economy remains overwhelmingly influenced by the inventions of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0), also referred to as Industry 4.0 (I 4.0). This article examines the potential impact of IR 4.0 inventions on changes in enterprise value-creation processes and their interface with the principles of the Circular Economy (CE) as a sine qua non for the functioning of Sustainable Value Creation Chains (SVCCs).
This study examines health-oriented responsibility (HOR) as a distinct dimension of health-promoting leadership (HPL), identifying the mechanisms through which HOR contributes to knowledge valorisation in professional service firms (PSFs) operating within knowledge-intensive contexts. The qualitative study draws on 51 in-depth interviews conducted across 16 large private-sector organisations. Participants were purposefully selected to maximise information relevant to the study. Designed within a grounded theory framework, the study utilises open and selective coding as its primary analytical procedures. The findings reveal that health-oriented responsibility is a strategic organisational mechanism that mitigates the risk of operational discontinuity in human capital and reduces productivity losses associated with the depletion of cognitive resources. Furthermore, it enables the development of individual and team competences, thereby supporting the accumulation of organisational knowledge. This meta-dimension of health-promoting leadership is enacted across three interrelated domains of health: mental, physical, and social. The study provides novel insights into the role of health in business processes and its contribution to knowledge valorisation in professional service firms. It integrates knowledge management with change management through a health-centred lens, advancing a processual understanding of how health functions as a strategic mechanism in knowledge-intensive contexts. Consequently, the study establishes a foundation for leveraging long-term knowledge development as a source of competitive advantage in professional service firms. As a qualitative study, the research seeks analytical generalisation by identifying underlying conceptual mechanisms rather than statistical generalisation. The findings are based solely on the perspectives of employees perceived as leaders, which may limit insight into how other organisational members experience health-oriented responsibility.
The paper presents research results on the current state of deployment of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) applications as innovative technological solutions within road freight transport companies that could be modified through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Eighteen ITS applications were proposed and examined for significant potential changes in their use resulting from AI implementation. During the empirical procedure, a quantitative study was undertaken using the survey research method on a sample of 152 road freight transport companies operating within three voivodships in the southern territory of Poland. The study addressed the recognition of motivations and capabilities of these enterprises in implementing innovations. It further examined the extent of the surveyed companies’ engagement in the implementation of selected innovative technological solutions, the utilised ITS applications that may be subject to modification as a result of AI integration, and the relationships between the use of modifiable ITS applications and the organisations’ capacity for innovation. The findings indicate that in these transport enterprises, most cases of advancement in the implementation of ITS technologies, potentially subject to modification through the application of AI, can be classified as either initial or preparatory. The research results also reveal a pronounced diversification of advancement among these ITS application deployments. The study offers a theoretical contribution by proposing an original conceptual framework that enables a systematic depiction of AI-enhanced ITS as drivers of technological innovation in freight transport enterprises.
This paper examines whether digital familiarity among young people in Latvia can be interpreted as an analytical baseline for discussing future readiness for work in increasingly artificial intelligence (AI)-mediated labour markets. The study analyses the evidence from the 2023 survey on youth digital behaviour, labour values, and employment strategies as a pre-AI baseline for understanding emerging labour-market vulnerabilities. The study applies a risk-oriented analytical approach combining a literature review with the empirical analysis of two anonymous online surveys conducted in Latvia in 2023. The first survey, which serves as the primary empirical source, included 98 young respondents aged 15-29. The second survey, which is used as contextual evidence, included 113 respondents from Riga’s working population engaged in information technologies or the regular use of digital tools. The 2023 data are reinterpreted in light of labour-market, technological, and regulatory developments in 2024-2026.
This paper aims to identify the determinants and their dynamic impact on R&D strategic decisions regarding Big Data as a Service (BDaaS) within a platform innovation ecosystem (PIE). An evolutionary game model and simulation system comprising a platform-based firm and a complementor were developed to explore the causal relationships between key factors and BDaaS R&D strategies. The results indicate that changes in digital capability, absorptive capacity, incremental pay-offs, and penalties affect both actors’ R&D strategic choices between independent and collaborative approaches. Furthermore, a contractual agreement serves as a formal governance tool, and capability alignment is a key driver of successful joint BDaaS R&D. An appropriate balance between incremental pay-offs and penalties can help platform-based firms and complementors gain a competitive advantage and avoid opportunism. The study findings highlight the importance of understanding mutual capabilities and establishing a formal collaborative contract between a platform-based firm and a complementor before formulating R&D strategic decisions regarding BDaaS. This provides actionable insights for platform companies seeking to unlock data value and effectively govern collaboration.
