ENTerprise REsearch InNOVAtion Conference - ENTRENOVA - Dubrovnik, Croatia & Hybrid, 14-16 September 2023

Plenary lectures

Ramona Diana Leon

Universitat Poliecnica de Valencia

Enterprise Social Network: A Knowledge Management Tool for the Society 5.0

Society 5.0 emphasizes the need for a more human-centric approach to technological transformation and requires the alignment and cooperation of stakeholders at all levels. Enterprise social networks can help with this process because they can bring all stakeholders together in a safe online environment and support not only rational knowledge (opinions and suggestions about how things should be done, how businesses should act, and/or how products and services should be) but also emotional and spiritual knowledge (feelings, beliefs, values). Based on the knowledge flows that cross the enterprise social network, stakeholders’ awareness regarding economic, environmental, and societal goals increases, and they develop a common way of thinking about specific topics. Thus, enterprise social networks can act as viable knowledge management tools, supporting knowledge creation, dissemination, and use, and enhancing the development of a sustainable society and economy.

Shivam Gupta

Department of Information Systems, Supply Chain Management & Decision Support, NEOMA Business School, France

Blazing the trail: Technological innovation and servitization

We explore the effect of servitization on firms' technological innovation performances. Drawing on the learning capabilities theory, we conjecture that servitization can represent a crucial learning mechanism for the firms that translates into an ampler set of dynamic capabilities, including the ability to produce technological innovation. We test this hypothesis using a Poisson model controlling for time, firm and country unobserved characteristics. Our sample contains observations on 11,892 manufacturing firms that provided digital or sustainable servitization in 2020 across 38 major global economies. Our econometric analyses uncover a positive relationship between digital servitization and firms' innovative performances. Furthermore, our results reveal that firms that provide green servitization are less likely to produce technological knowledge. Finally, our evidence indicates that companies that offer digital and sustainable services are more likely to innovate. This study contributes to the literature by clarifying servitization’s critical role in shaping firms' innovation performances. These results have significant implications for managers and policymakers' ability to boost firms’ innovativeness during the transition toward a circular economy.