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Industry 4.0 refers to the digital transformation in the manufacturing domain through new technology. Currently, it expands well beyond manufacturing, affecting many areas of life and posing implications for all types of business. This paper focuses on the relationships between Industry 4.0 and Healthcare which transitions to increased interconnectivity, automation and smart decision making. The integration context of Industry 4.0 into Healthcare is only partly understood. Little was done until now to consolidate what is known on the integration benefits and the challenges. This article reports results of a systematic mapping study that analysed 69 papers to extract knowledge about the concepts of Industry 4.0 and the emerging Healthcare 4.0., and the relationships between them. We found 10 different perspectives of Healthcare 4.0, ranging from strategic to tactical and operational levels. Next, our results show: (i) nine applications of Industry 4.0 in the Healthcare domain: Augmented Reality and Simulation, Autonomous Robotics, Cybersecurity, Big Data Analytics, Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, Additive Manufacturing and Systems Integration; and (ii) 10 benefits and nine challenges in Healthcare 4.0. The most frequently mentioned benefits are patients' diagnosis, monitoring, treatment, and financial benefits. The most researched challenges are data fragmentation, heterogeneity, complexity, and privacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the potential of Convergence Innovation (CI) as an effective catalyst for dealing with the COVID‐19 pandemic and devising a trajectory toward a sustainable post‐crisis future. It offers novel perspectives on sustainable innovation approaches that can enhance organizational performance and extend beyond it. The paper makes significant contributions to both the theoretical and practical aspects of innovation. It illustrates the impact of market forces in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and Digital Technologies (DT), highlighting the significance of sustainable innovation for organizational prosperity and individual welfare. Convergence Innovation is explained as a self‐regulating ecosystem that promotes and goes beyond value creation. Different technologies in the ecosystem enhance CI's sensing capabilities for fluctuations in market forces and facilitate the transmission of data for decision‐making. The study recommends splitting off the S‐curve of innovation and the life cycle of competitive intelligence, as the S‐curve of CI tends to be shorter in the digital age. This paper provides managers with a new framework for thinking about innovation and its role in achieving sustainable business success. By embracing CI, managers can create more agile and adaptable organizations that are better positioned to navigate the complex and rapidly changing world of the digital age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digitalization and greening are key themes in global development, the manufacturing industry, as a major sector of energy consumption and carbon emissions, is in urgent need of transformation to realize energy conservation and emission reduction, digital transformation provides an opportunity for its green development. However, whether digital transformation can restrain the carbon emission intensity (CEI) of enterprises is still controversial. Based on the data of China's A‐share manufacturing listed companies from 2013 to 2020, this paper uses fixed effect model and intermediary effect model to explore the relationship between digital transformation and enterprise CEI and the influence path. the results show that: (1) Digital transformation has significantly reduced the CEI of manufacturing enterprises. (2) Mechanism analysis indicates that green technological innovation and resource allocation efficiency play a chain mediating role in this relationship. (3) Heterogeneity analysis shows that the carbon emission reduction effect of digital transformation is more significant when enterprises belong to an energy‐intensive manufacturing industry or face strong environmental regulations and industry competition. The analysis of this paper not only deepens enterprises' understanding of digital transformation and green development but also provides a policy basis for China to advocate the coordinated development of the digital economy and green economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital technology is regarded as providing a promising means of moving production and consumption towards the circular economy. However, it is still unclear which functions of digital technologies are most useful to improving circularity, and how these functions could be used to enhance different circular economy strategies. This paper aims to address this knowledge gap by conducting a systematic literature review. After examining 174 papers, creating 782 original codes and 259 second‐round codes, the study identifies 13 critical functions of digital technologies which are most relevant to circular economy strategies. The paper then proposes a framework which reveals seven mechanisms of how these digital functions can enhance different circular economy strategies. The framework also reveals which combinations of the digital functions and circular economy strategies have already been studied extensively as well as where there may be gaps. This indicates which digital functions are more mature in terms of possible implementation for circular economy as well as what missing links there are in the empirical and theoretical research. The study advances the synergies between digital technologies and the circular economy paradigm through the lens of digital functions. The proposed framework and mechanisms build a theoretical foundation for future research, and we highlight five research areas for further studies. This study also provides a structured way for managers to explore the appropriate digital functions for their CE strategies, so as to identify required digital technologies and new value creation through digital functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to explore how innovation search is conceptualised, given that firms increasingly use innovation intermediaries. The paper examines the search processes which involves the role of innovation intermediaries in different stages of the innovation search process. The study discovered that innovation search activity is a much more extended and complex process, not being as targeted or as specific than previously conceptualised, and involves a set of search stages, which are associated with a loosely coupled iterative search process. Innovation intermediaries were also discovered to be undertaking new, more extended roles in the search process, through, for example, combining new search procedures with online digital platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the impact of technological advances and digital transformations, with a particular focus on the "future of work" and its implications for lifelong learning and adult working learners. We emphasize the pressing need for human‐centric solutions to address complex human challenges that technology alone cannot resolve, such as access to education, socioeconomic disparities, and cultural barriers. Drawing on articles in this issue, we advocate for cultivating improved human capabilities among systems, organizations, leaders, educators, and learners to navigate the accelerating technological and social transformations in work and education. Additionally, this paper underscores the significance of educators, policymakers, and advocates in serving the lifelong learning needs of adult working learners, while also highlighting the need for more agile and pragmatic strategies. While addressing the necessity of integrating technological advancements with human development, we stress the importance of ongoing education and training to adapt to the changes brought on by Industry 4.0 era. Ultimately, the paper calls for responsive and intelligent education policies and systems that promote the education, well‐being, and economic participation of citizens in the face of a rapidly evolving technological landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In the ever‐changing landscape of the banking industry, digital transformation has become a major challenge. Banks are transitioning towards digitalisation by utilising information and digital technologies while reducing their branch networks. This paper investigates the relationship between technological innovation and banking customers' perception and satisfaction. By analysing a comprehensive consumer finance survey, we assess how the digital transformation of banks is perceived by customers and its impact on their satisfaction. Our results demonstrate that customer perceptions of a bank's digital innovativeness are positively associated with effective digital transformation. Customers tend to be more satisfied with banks that have a higher degree of digitalisation. Furthermore, our findings reveal that customers view banks as more innovative when the reduction in bank branches since the pandemic has been more intense. These insights shed light on the technological transformation of banks and its influence on their customers, providing valuable information for banks seeking to navigate the digital landscape and improve customer satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on the contingency theory, the paper aims to shed light on the contribution provided by technological innovation on sustainability reporting quality. A fuzzy expert system (FES) was developed to evaluate the cumulative effects related to the adoption of digital devices in sustainability reporting practices. The analysis underlined the enabling role covered by Sustainable Enterprise Resources Planning (S‐ERP) systems on sustainability reporting processes. In detail, we found that the disclosure of environmental information using technological platforms can lead analysts to a more accurate evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"The lightning spark of thought generated in the solitary mind awakens its likeness in another mind." The Special Issue editors and the authors in the Special Issue tackle this call for action by complementing macro-level insights with an exploration of the microfoundations of collaborative innovation. The authors build on ethnographic field studies at six design consultancies representing three design fields (architecture, industrial design and interaction design) in the Northwestern USA. [Extracted from the article]

Unionized organizations are implementing more than ever technological changes to cope with an increasingly changing and highly digital environment. Despite the extensive literature on union responses to changes, there is not much evidence on how unions and employers draft provisions pertaining to technological changes in collective agreements. Therefore, this paper aims to conduct an in‐depth analysis of these provisions in over 500 collective agreements signed between 2000 and 2020. Specifically, this study focuses on office workers in two of the most important Canadian industries, namely, the healthcare and manufacturing sectors. The findings indicate that within the examined provisions, the regulation of technological change varies along a continuum that extends from no obligations to stringent obligations on the part of the employer. Moreover, the results show that these provisions have remained stable over the past two decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design‐driven innovation literature focuses on meanings that people give to products and services. This paper investigates how new meanings can be designed and proposed to society rather than to individuals in the particular context of smart mobility. Smart mobility is characterized by a wide range of digital technologies that aim to make all mobility services within a city or territory more accessible and easy to use for citizens. At the same time, to effectively create value, the opportunities digital technologies offer must meet the needs of emerging lifestyles. In modern life, people manifest their interest in the semantic dimension by embracing solutions that are personally constructive and aligned with their cultural values. From an empirical point of view, this paper relies on two case studies that illustrate radical innovation of meanings in the smart mobility domain. Both case studies suggest a multi‐level perspective: on the one hand, they address landscape pressure and the need for more sustainable solutions for future mobility; on the other hand, they propose a new understanding of transport and travel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how micro, small and medium‐sized enterprises (MSMEs) can overcome resistance to digitalization through open innovation and design thinking techniques. By analyzing data from 74 Italian MSMEs participating in an Industry 4.0 adoption policy initiative, the research explores strategies to increase the adoption of new technologies. Using an action‐research analytical approach of 9 months, we identify factors facilitating the digitization process in MSMEs and achieving digitization policy objectives. This paper emphasizes the role of training, networking, and co‐creation initiatives in enhancing MSMEs' digital literacy and promoting the adoption of new technologies. These findings contribute to the ongoing debate on MSMEs' digital transformation and inform policy‐making by highlighting both enablers and barriers. Ultimately, the research aims to provide valuable insights for practitioners and policymakers seeking to support MSMEs in their digitalization journey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on technical‐maintenance worker perspectives on the insertion of digitised drone technologies in the European steel industry. The industry is aiming for a 'business model transformation' by means of digitalisation, which includes the use of drone technologies for maintenance functions. In this paper, we explore on what basis might such workers embrace or resist this new technology. Drawing on data from a project investigating the use of drones for a 'safer, faster and leaner' workplace, we employ an analysis of technology 'effects' to discuss the risks and benefits to workers of drone technologies (see Orlikowski, Organ. Sci., 3, 1992, 398; Edwards and Ramirez, New Technol. Work Employ., 31, 2016, 99). The insertion and use of drone technology within the industry raises questions for the industry's highly skilled workers and their representatives on the 'effect' of drone innovations on the industry's existing structures and patterns of work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gaining benefits of Digital Engineering is not only about implementing digital technologies. An ecosystem for innovation is a system of systems in its own right, only partly engineered, subject to risks and challenges of evolving socio‐technical systems. This paper summarizes an aid to planning, analyzing, implementing, and improving innovation ecosystems. Represented as a configurable model‐based Reference pattern used by collaborating INCOSE working groups, it was initially applied in targeted INCOSE case studies, and subsequently elaborated and applied to diverse commercial and defense ecosystems. Explicating the recurrent theme of Consistency Management underlying all historical engineering, it is revealing of Digital Engineering's special promise, and enhances understanding of historical as well as future engineering and life cycle management. It includes preparation of human and technical resources to effectively consume and exploit digital information assets, not just create them, capability enhancements over incremental release trains, and evolutionary steering using feedback and group learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving total factor productivity (TFP) is essential to achieving high‐quality and sustainable economic development. The existing literature mainly focuses on the impact of traditional infrastructure on TFP but generally ignores the role of new digital infrastructure in TFP and does not test impact mechanisms and whether there is heterogeneity in effects. Using panel data of 30 regions in China from 2006 to 2017, this paper analyzes the impact of new digital infrastructure on TFP and its mechanisms. The results are as follows: (1) New digital infrastructure can significantly improve regional TFP. After the robustness test, the results still support the findings. (2) New digital infrastructure can promote technological innovation, optimize factor allocation, and achieve economies of scale, thus improving TFP. (3) Further analysis shows that the positive effect of new digital infrastructure on TFP shows significant heterogeneity. In regions with high economic development levels, high research and development (R&D) levels, and high traditional infrastructure development levels, the positive effect of new digital infrastructure on TFP is more obvious. These findings not only enrich the literature on digital infrastructure and economic growth but also serve as a reference for governmental departments as they optimize their strategy for developing digital infrastructure and realizing sustainable economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital platforms are restructuring how many companies and industries function, including humanitarian organisations that operate in complex environments and serve vulnerable populations. To date, however, there has been limited study of their use in humanitarian and particularly refugee contexts. This paper seeks to address this gap by drawing on the concept of platformisation to study the opportunities and challenges arising from UNHCR's transition from a closed transactional system to an open innovation platform focusing on core processes of identification, value creation and platform governance that are relevant for refugee management and protection. Our empirical study captures the perspectives of the UNHCR, organisational stakeholders and refugees in the world's largest refugee camp in Northern Uganda with regards to UNHCR's strategy towards platform openness. We find that UNHCR's data transformation strategy introduces the potential for increasing institutional value in the form of more effective service delivery to refugees. However, these technological opportunities do not necessarily translate to greater value if they do not mesh with current work practices, incentives and activities of service provider organisations and refugees. Our study helps identify opportunities to address these constraints, primarily through improving understanding of the emergent governance‐related tensions that exist for digital platforms for development and surfacing existing issues of exclusion and vulnerability. We conclude with insights for the broader theorisation of identification platforms and with recommendations for policies and practices that together might help realise the potential value creation introduced through the platformisation of identification systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"The Experimental Book Object: Materiality, Media, Design" is an anthology that explores the evolving role of traditional paper books in the digital age. Written by over 20 scholars, the book examines how practitioners in the field of book authoring, designing, and publishing are rethinking and reinventing the essence, functionalities, and forms of books through innovative experimentations. Divided into three parts, the anthology covers topics such as the materiality of books, their mediating qualities, and various book designs. The authors argue that the physical aspects of books contribute to meaning construction and interpretations, and they discuss how these innovations allow physical books to occupy a unique space at the intersection of physical and digital realms. The anthology also embraces diversity by examining various genres and cultural artifacts and giving voice to those who shape the essence of books. While informative, the anthology could benefit from a broader scope that includes more global literary contributions and representation of children's literature. Overall, the anthology provides a valuable resource for scholars and learners interested in the evolution of books and offers fresh pathways for future research. [Extracted from the article]

Scholars have offered important critiques of the socio‐spatial processes of contemporary technological development, including the rise of "smart city" urban development models. While these critiques have been essential for understanding contemporary forms of techno‐capitalism and their reach into new areas, this paper calls for a consideration of alternative modes of digital development in urban life beyond the logics of securitisation and capital accumulation. In particular, I examine the critical discourses and experimental practices of a grassroots movement focused on claiming "technological sovereignty" (TS) in Barcelona. The TS movement is a broad, de‐centralised network of cooperatives, associations, and community initiatives experimenting with alternative practices of locally rooted, open‐source digital development. These groups explore democratic and cooperative practices of work, property, production, and consumption in relation to digital technology, based around an ethics of care and a commitment to working through and within local communities. In examining the values, beliefs, and practices of the TS movement, I bring ongoing discussions around digitalisation and the "smart city" into critical conversation with the extensive literature on prefigurative urban politics and postcapitalist economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given that entire industries face sustainability challenges, it is important to understand the dynamics that lead "firms‐in‐an‐industry" to engage in sustainable product innovation. To provide more insight into the question of how innovation activities spread from individual firm action to an industry‐wide engagement, this paper examines the automobile industry and the development of electric vehicles (EVs). The analysis covers automobile incumbents over a crucial decade for EV development in the industry, focusing on the different strategic motives that especially the so‐called "first movers" used to justify their earlier engagement. We find that EVs became a core pillar of the incumbents' technology strategies through a combination of coercive, normative, and mimetic pressures. Yet, the strategic motives to engage in EVs stayed poles apart between different companies. The insights from our study are relevant for those interested in the diffusion of sustainable product innovation and in incumbent behaviour in sustainability transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the new manufacturing area, the Chinese textile industry is facing the opportunities and challenges under the sustainable development model and advanced manufacturing technology. It is urgent to use digital technology to realize digital transformation. In this process, digital dynamic capability and digital innovation are significant for textile firms to achieve digital transformation performance. Drawing on the data from 367 questionnaires of Chinese textile firms, we apply multiple regression to examine how a firm's digital transformation is affected by adopting digital technology. A conceptual model based on framework of resource–capability–performance is developed to examine how adoption of digital technology, digital dynamic capability, and digital innovation orientation affects a firm's digital transformation performance. The results indicate that the positive relationship between digital technology adoption and digital transformation performance is less significant; this path is fully mediated through digital dynamic capability. Digital innovation orientation has a positive moderating effect and that the efficiency digital innovation has the most significant moderating effect among all digital innovation types. In addition, compared with textile firms in the low level of digital technology adoption, the firms in the high‐level group show a significant positive relationship between digital technology adoption and digital transformation performance. These findings confirm the validity of the model and contribute to existing literature on technology efforts in firms and provide guidelines to help managers implement informed decisions about digital transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Walking and cycling have been transformed by digital technologies, which range from mapping apps for wayfinding, through ‘wearables’ which monitor activity, to social media apps for comparing activity within social groups. Some technologies are explicitly orientated to health projects, others are not, yet all have potentially profound effects on bodies, health‐orientated identities, and understandings of health. This paper uses the concept of biomedicalisation to explore emerging literature on the intersection of digital technologies with everyday mobility, focusing on walking and cycling. Beyond simply ‘medicalising’ mobility (by bringing it into the realm of public health), digital technologies contribute to various transformations of health: encouraging some health practices, inhibiting others; creating or excluding individual and collective health‐related identities; and reconfiguring health and well‐being. There is research evidence on the contingent and multiple relationships between digital technologies and social practices, with specific themes including quantification; the role of apps in framing walking as extraordinary, cycling as competitive; enabling users to perform as healthy, neoliberal citizens; and digital careers. There has been less attention on how social divisions are reproduced or disrupted by the mediation of mobility through digital technologies. Further research should consider the impact of digital technologies on political economies of health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Open Innovation paradigm has been increasingly considered as a relevant approach to innovation. Among the different sources, end users are particularly meaningful. Scholars have highlighted several methods and strategies to involve them in the innovation process by asking, observing, and giving them the chance to actually co‐create. Digital technologies are expanding the span of opportunities in this direction, gathering a huge amount and variety of data, while the end user enjoys a digital product; these data can be called “user generated big data” (UGBD). The aim of this research is to understand whether UGBD can contribute in user innovation and to highlight the enabled strategies to create value through them. Leveraging on a multiple case study (Twitter, Spotify, Strava, and Deliveroo), the paper first classifies UGBD among the methods to foster user centered innovation, and then it defines two strategies to create value relying on UGBD. First, companies can leverage on a “using data” strategy—addressing both the end user or other player in the ecosystem—fostering service innovation through an inbound approach. Second, a “selling data” strategy can be pursued, addressing new clients and fostering business model innovation, enlarging the company's value chain in an outbound perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition, digitization, in combination with the reliability of fluid power systems, is opening up new opportunities for innovation at all levels. In times of increasing global awareness of the limited amount of resources and its sustainable usage as well as increasing attention to the impact of humankind on the environment and the global climate, fluid power technology faces new and increasing challenges. In addition, with new digital opportunities, like soft sensors that provide completely new insights into existing systems through intelligent processing of existing sensor data, this research can lead to further contributions to sustainability. [Extracted from the article]

New product development (NPD) success depends on the capacity of different functions to effectively collaborate. In particular, while recent studies have highlighted the importance of marketing and design working together, research suggests this relationship is often fraught with conflict due to different 'thought worlds.' However, empirical research also identifies that the solution lies not in reducing the psychological distance between the two functions, but in the sensemaking practices used by designers and marketers to expand each other's understanding of the potential NPD solution. This process is known as resourceful sensemaking, and it refers to practitioners' capacity to transform knowledge with the aim of expanding each other's horizons to ensure better team outcomes. Drawing on 71 interviews with designers and marketers in Australia and New Zealand, we examine how each function strategically deploys knowledge of the other to improve NPD outcomes. Building on the sensemaking literature, we demonstrate that while still drawing on different thought worlds, the inputs of both designers and marketers are necessary for effective NPD. We also identify that both are capable of creating a common framework of meaning through three resourceful sensemaking practices: exposing, co-opting, and repurposing. Moreover, we identify the need for resourceful sensemaking that results in horizon-expanding discourse among those involved in NPD. These practices are found to enable marketers and designers to expand the range of considerations and inputs into NPD; help organizations reconcile either/or dualisms; and lead them to identify unmet consumer needs, which result in the creation of innovative products. This paper thereby advances understanding of interfunctional coordination in NPD, integration of design into NPD, and sensemaking more broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The changing nature of leadership is already a motion in progress. The digital revolution is already a fact. The current paper attempts to define what kind of leaders to expect in the near future in the context of the technological society. What to expect if the leader is noeme, cyborg, just an avatar or any kind of HET (human enhancement technology) person? How virtual leadership affects the effectiveness and what is needed for the virtual leaders or social media opinion leaders to move the masses—is there a special ingredient? Current trends are reviewed and extrapolated to a transhumanistic perspective. It is also argued that now the transhumanist perspective is marginal, but (following the tendencies) may be dominant in the future. That suggestion deserves a closer examination because it redefines the perception of the leadership as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst recent years have seen increasing pressure to extend the participation of older people in the labour market, it is clear that there remain significant challenges in achieving this and that these take specifically gendered forms. This paper explores if and how these might be shaped in intra-action with the rapid pace of technological change linked to the pervasive spread of digital technologies in the workplace. We take our theoretical lead from critical gerontology, feminist accounts of inter-sectionality and Science & Technology Studies, which together insist on an anti-essentialist and performative account of gendered ageing that focuses on everyday practices and the conditions that shape these in particular spaces, places and times. Our empirical focus is on healthcare work, where we find that gendered ageing appears in more or less troubled relations to the increasingly technological practices of medicine and nursing. We conclude with a discussion exploring the implications of our theoretical perspective and empirical findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Targeted online ads, algorithmic analytics tools, clickbait‐y social media campaigns, big data voter databases—digital technologies have become a cornerstone of contemporary political campaigns in the United Kingdom. Candidates, party campaigners, and a multitude of other registered campaigners embrace digital campaigning for democratic engagement, mobilising voters and electioneering. Yet, in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, it has become clear that these technologies are vulnerable to abuse and deception. Pressing issues surrounding privacy, transparency, and human rights persist, and systems of electoral law have become ill‐equipped to enforce good behaviour and compliance with the law. Drawing from empirical evidence ahead of the 2019 UK general election, this article examines systemic obstacles to regulatory innovation. The inquiry provides an analysis of key policy challenges affecting elections and democracy, and develops an analytical framework pathways to regulatory innovation in the digital domain across three dimensions: (1) Institutional structures; (2) organisational processes; and (3) regulatory functions. The article puts forward practical policy recommendations to promote regulatory innovation that is tech‐savvy, evidence‐based and future‐proof. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farming relies on the accurate collection and processing of data. Algorithms utilizing artificial intelligence can predict patterns and spot problems, helping farmers make more informed decisions. Robotics, machine learning and the internet of things offer opportunities to improve farming methods and output. Emerging technologies provide significant opportunities for farms to maximize productivity but contain risks. This challenge requires a balance between ensuring that stakeholders are able to benefit from the opportunities while managing competing interests and technological complexities. This article examines legal developments in this field, highlighting the role of domestic and international regulations. The authors point out that several issues are not considered within current frameworks, initiatives and efforts affecting their effectiveness. Based on this, they will suggest a pragmatic solution considering recent European Union law. This article examines legal developments in this field highlighting the role of domestic and international regulations. The authors point out that several issues are not considered within current frameworks, initiatives and efforts affecting their effectiveness. Based on this, they will suggest a pragmatic solution based on recent European Union law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing number of firms are seeking to leverage emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and 3D printing, to enhance their innovation efforts. These seemingly distinct technologies are currently coalescing into an encompassing new technology called the digital twin. This technology allows innovative firms to create a digital replica of a physical entity that evolves over its life cycle. This article explores the implications of the digital twin for innovation theory and practice. First, we examine the connection between the digital twin and three related technologies (i.e., 3D printing, big data, and AI). Second, we create a typology of four categories of digital twins (i.e., monitoring, making, enhancing, and replicating) and illustrate their relevance for innovation management. Third, we offer a set of four case studies that exemplify this typology and illustrate how digital twins have been put into practice. Fourth, we craft a set of digital twin‐related future research directions that encompasses a broad range of innovation‐related topics, including service innovation, co‐creation, and product design. We hope that our examination of the digital twin serves as a catalyst to help advance innovation thought and practice in this intriguing new domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation experts posit that digital technologies—such as additive manufacturing (AM)—can address societal challenges and change the nature of work and collaboration. In recognition, this special issue encourages researchers to investigate how AM can be leveraged to reduce environmental externalities and devote greater attention to the production of 3D printed items. This article integrates academic research on new product development and the cradle‐to‐cradle philosophy with insights gleaned from long‐term case observations across a series of large‐scale AM projects to advance that 3D printing can unleash three pivotal adaptations to the traditional conception‐development‐launch ecosystem. Specifically, our direct participation in designing and building multiple 3D printed products reveals that: (1) spent products can possess valuable ingredient materials that can be repurposed, (2) the reduced structural strength of the reclaimed material can be a positive force insofar as spawning innovation in a new product category, and (3) manufacturing should appear as an independent stage in new product development. On this last point, our completed projects align with recent observations that newer AM technologies can make prototyping and manufacturing products easier, faster, and less expensive. Accordingly, we advance a cyclical sustainable innovation process, which consists of ideation, development, AM output (i.e., manufacturing), and material reclamation. This research is both theoretically meaningful and pragmatically useful. It addresses knowledge gaps regarding AM in the academic literature and spawns new research questions for innovation scholars. For managers, it provides a path to supplant the wasteful take‐make‐dispose production model with the more efficient and effective take‐make‐transmigrate approach that we deem an innovation loop. Specifically, our final built project—a 3D designed and printed chair that uses polymers from the spent chassis of a 3D printed car—serves as a proof of concept that AM can be a catalyst to a paradigmatic shift in how products are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digitalization is of great significance for resource‐based enterprises to break through the dual constraints of resource and environment. Based on the data of China's A‐share resource‐based listed enterprises, this study empirically examines the direct effect and transmission mechanism of digital transformation on the enterprises' environmental performance. The study finds that digital transformation significantly enhances the environmental performance of enterprises by stimulating green technology innovation, accelerating human capital accumulation, increasing environmental information disclosure, and strengthening environmental governance. The environmental performance of state‐owned, large‐size and high‐tech resource‐based enterprises is more prominently affected by digital transformation. In the eastern region and areas with higher environmental regulation, the impact of digital transformation on the environmental performance of resource‐based enterprises is more significant. This study provides targeted suggestions for resource‐based enterprises to make full use of the digital dividends and achieve high‐quality development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coordinated development of digitization and greening is the internal demand for the comprehensive transformation and upgrading of enterprises worldwide. Based on data of China's A‐share listed companies from 2012 to 2019, this article empirically confirms the stimulating effect of digital economy development on corporate low‐carbon innovation. The mechanism tests show that the above stimulating effect is due to both the reduction effects of financing constraints and environmental uncertainty brought by the rapid development of the digital economy. In addition, this article discusses the value of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and finds that the promotion of CSR can significantly improve the policy effect of digital economy development in enabling corporate low‐carbon innovation, especially for private listed enterprises in high‐pollution industries. The findings of this article deepen our understanding of how to promote corporate low‐carbon sustainable development in the digital era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

East‐Asian practitioners aspiring to engage in the design thinking (DT) practice—a human‐centred approach to innovation developed and primarily used in Western cultures—may experience a "cultural clash" or "cultural misfit" that may inhibit the acceptance of DT logic. To tap into this still underexplored terrain, this qualitative study explores the enablers and challenges of effective DT practice in achieving service innovation in Hong Kong organizations. Based on a dozen in‐depth interviews, we identified numerous sociocultural and institutional enablers and challenges, which we interpreted based on the postulates of structuration theory proposed by Giddens. Our conceptualization and empirical investigation of DT through a practice lens offers a new perspective when studying the contextual antecedents of DT. Specifically, the findings show that the choice to engage in DT practice is shaped by cultural specifics in the plurality of influences that move beyond the Western perspective and previous DT studies. From a practical point of view, our research informs policymakers and managers about the importance of being culturally sensitive and humanizing digital transformation when organizing service innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]