Construction projects generate failures, interface problems, operating constraints, and feasible remedies, yet only part of this experience becomes durable technological invention. This study argues that such conversion depends on network coupling between the construction project network and the technological collaboration network, and examines how this coupling shapes the composition of patented inventions. Using 14,458 Chinese shield-tunneling machinery patents filed from 1985 to 2023, we reconstruct dynamic multilayer networks linking project co-participation ties with patent co-application ties. Network coupling is associated with higher invention impact and lower invention novelty and generality. This pattern indicates a translation-exploration tradeoff: overlapping project and invention relationships help firms codify field experience into inventions that attract follow-on attention within related technological trajectories, while anchoring search in familiar project frames and concentrating technological scope. Emerging technology weakens the negative association between coupling and novelty, and technological diversity weakens the negative associations with novelty and generality. The study identifies network coupling as a relational mechanism through which construction project experience enters technological invention, explaining how cross-arena alignment supports impactful invention while constraining recombinational novelty and technological reach.
Blockchain Technology (BCT) is a network technology that can potentially increase transparency, efficiency, and sustainability of agri-food supply chains (AFSC). However, BCT adoption in the agri-food industry is still limited, with many relevant actors struggling to be engaged or understand their role in the network. To address this issue, this paper leverages the Actor-Network Theory to investigate why some BCT-enabled networks emerge and stabilise in the industry, and others fail. We thus deep-dived into the network dynamics along the four moments of the translation process. For this purpose, seven BCT projects were analysed based on multiple case study research. Findings lead to the conceptualisation of four translation trajectories, based on the degree of alignment achieved across problematisation, interessement, enrolment, and mobilisation moments. These are the Linear, Stalled, Interrupted, and Aborted translation trajectories. On one hand, results reveal that successful BCT implementation relies on strong focal actors, effective technology providers, and engaged upstream and downstream partners. On the other hand, failures are often linked to weak spokesperson legitimacy, limited digital skills, resource constraints, and heterogeneous interests. This study highlights the centrality of negotiation, co-construction, and gradual knowledge-building in overcoming barriers to adoption. Consequently, it demonstrates that BCT’s impact depends not solely on technological affordances but also on relational and organisational capacities. Practically, these insights inform managers and consortia on governance, stakeholder engagement, and digital readiness strategies to enhance traceability, product authenticity, and competitive advantage in AFSCs. Finally, this study acknowledges limitations and future research directions.
The academic debate over Web 3.0 is increasingly characterized by a plurality of contributions emerging from both technological and managerial perspectives, a situation largely driven by the sustainability implications associated with these technologies. Although Web 3.0 is often portrayed as a powerful enabler of the green transition, its adoption also raises important environmental concerns. Within this context, the European Commission’s recent introduction of the Digital Product Passport (DPP), grounded in blockchain and other Web 3.0 infrastructures, represents a promising opportunity for fostering firms’ competitiveness and sustainable growth, but also introduces new environmental and organizational challenges. As a contribution to the current discussion on Web 3.0 and DPPs in relation to sustainable and circular transitions, this paper presents the results of a structured literature review of 25 studies published between 2023 and 2026. An analysis confirms the topicality of this debate, and four main thematic areas are identified: the technological foundations of DPPs, the regulatory and institutional frameworks shaping their adoption, the organizational capabilities required for implementation, and the sectoral domains in which DPPs are being applied. The findings of this study support the development of a conceptual framework in which DPPs are positioned as essential instruments for advancing the circular economy transition, and suggest directions for future research on technological, regulatory, organizational, and user-centered aspects of this issue.
Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is rapidly reshaping organizational workflows and holds considerable promise for supporting creative work. Yet, its role in shaping employee creativity remains not fully understood. Drawing on technology affordance theory, this study conceptualizes perceived competence, communication speed, and self-learning ability as perceived GenAI characteristics and examines their associations with employee creativity through knowledge acquisition and information support as forms of affordance actualization. It also considers perceived opacity as a boundary condition on the relationship between knowledge acquisition and creativity. The empirical evidence is drawn from a three-wave, multi-source dataset of 426 matched employee–supervisor pairs in AI-intensive industries in China. The findings suggest that these perceived GenAI characteristics are positively linked to both knowledge acquisition and information support, which are in turn positively associated with employee creativity. Perceived opacity weakens the positive relationship between knowledge acquisition and creativity. This study extends research on AI-enabled creativity by distinguishing employees’ perceptions of GenAI characteristics from the affordances they actualize in practice, and by specifying the intermediate processes through which such perceptions become consequential for creative outcomes. The findings also offer practical implications for organizations seeking to design and implement GenAI systems that better support employees’ creativity.
Science and Technology Parks (STPs) have been widely studied as instruments for innovation and firm performance, yet their role in shaping firms’ digital presence remains insufficiently understood. This paper investigates whether alternative STP typologies—Science Parks (SPs), Technology Parks (TPs), and Hybrid Parks (HPs)—are associated with differences in firms’ basic digital presence and tenant firms’ economic outcomes. The analysis draws on cross-sectional data from 1864 firms located in 46 Spanish STPs in 2021 and applies logistic and OLS estimations, alongside robustness checks (winsorization and alternative reference categories) and propensity score matching. The results reveal systematic differences across park types. Firms located in TPs and HPs exhibit a significantly higher likelihood of maintaining a corporate website compared to those in SPs, controlling for firm size, age, and sector. These park types are also associated with higher levels of sales and labor productivity. By contrast, profitability and market share are more strongly linked to the existence of a digital presence than to park typology. The hypothesized positive moderation effect is not supported; instead, some interactions involving HPs are significantly negative, suggesting that the incremental association of basic web presence with performance may be weaker in these environments. Overall, the findings suggest that STP typology is associated with differences in commercial scale and efficiency, whereas the presence of a corporate website is associated with higher profitability and market share. The study contributes to the STP literature by integrating the digital dimension into the analysis of STPs and discusses implications for the strategic design and upgrading of STP models.
