EMERALD

This study aims to identify the role of top management team (TMT) in the internalization process and vital characteristics for successful internationalization. The literature analysis presents the evolution of TMT concept, its relatedness to internalization conditioned by resource dependency theory and institutional theory and current studies on TMT characteristics linked to internationalization. Conducted research also let us to identify which abilities, skills, or knowledge TMTs are missing, aiming to achieve better international performance. The study contributes to current small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) internationalization studies by providing insights, a deeper analysis of such phenomena and future research directions. Consequently, the study provides directions for SMEs, seeking to improve their performance of international activities. The practical implications of the study’s results are related to the selection and recruitment of new TMT members or recommendations for training. The evaluation of candidate’s experience, personal qualities, and communication skills are important in hiring process of managers. It might require the improvement in selection process by including business case simulation, trial day, or references from previous employers. TMT members’ capabilities should be regularly evaluated by peers and if necessary specialized training should be provided on time.

Purpose. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of information technologies and technology-enabled social networks on the efficiency of knowledge management processes in the Middle Eastern audit and consulting companies. Design/methodology/approach. Scientific literature analysis, structural equation modeling and expert evaluation (structured questionnaire) were used to develop the research model, collect data from the audit and consulting companies’ experts and test the research hypotheses. Findings. The empirical results of this research supported the hypotheses stating that information technologies and social networks positively affect the knowledge management cycle, including five processes (acquisition, creation, storage, sharing and application) within the Middle Eastern audit and consulting companies. Research limitations/implications. The research results were generated from the Middle Eastern audit and consulting companies, which form a limitation concerning the geographical area and the business sector. Practical implications. From the results of this study, audit and consulting companies, as well as organizations and society broadly, would benefit via the positive effect of information technologies and technology-enabled social networks on the whole knowledge management cycle, which has a further impact on organizational performance. These practical implications are related to a more open, sharing culture that drives organizational performance to the members and stakeholders of organizations, which, in turn, benefits society. Originality/value. This research analyzes information technologies and technology-enabled social networks’ impact on knowledge management processes, particularly in the context of the Middle Eastern audit and consulting companies. While the phenomena have received some attention in the prior scientific research, the studied context so far remained under-researched, where a gap is found in studying the knowledge management cycle as a whole.

PURPOSE - An increasingly urbanized global population is facing multiple, inter-related and inter-connected challenges. By applying the so-called Living Lab concept, the authors open up innovation processes through online and offline collaborations between urban policymakers, non-profit organizations, citizens and other stakeholder groups. However, much of the current research being conducted on Living Labs is lacking in empirically tested methodologies for the co-creation of sustainable urban innovations in defined contexts. This research is intended to fill this gap by presenting a systemic approach to digital co-creation processes in Living Labs. The purpose of this paper is to present the first evaluation results of European Living Labs by applying the new developed digital co-creation monitoring technique. DESIGN/METHOD/APPROACH - By emphasizing the interplay between places, technology and people, the Digital Co-Creation Index (DCCI) calculation methodology provides a systemic understanding of the basic factors shaping the co- creative processes in Living Labs. DCCI has been used to evaluate such labs in four different European cities: Aukštamiestis in Vilnius, Lithuania; Alvalade in Lisbon, Portugal; Città Studi in Milano, Italy and Zuid Park in Ghent, Belgium. The empirical data for assessment and index calculation were collected by using a mixed-method approach (i.e. qualitative and quantitative analysis). FINDINGS. While the findings are complex and varied, the case studies in this paper share several characteristics and patterns – the attractiveness of physical spaces, opportunities for experimentation, the density and diversity of stakeholders involved and the emergence of creative communities that co-design novel initiatives. The results show that digital technologies are underused in the evaluated Living Labs. RESERCH/LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS. The results are limited to a comparison of the European Living Labs in the research sample. In the absence of an index that was obtained, designed and tested in other territorial contexts, the comparative value of the outcomes of this research can be established between only four case studies. The authors anticipate that the implementation of the C3Places project and other research activities will yield even more scientific results. The findings and their implications should be discussed and tested in the broadest context possible. By focusing on creative synergy between places, technology and people, this paper presents a unified and empirically validated systemic approach to assessing digital co-creation efforts in urban planning. ORIGINALITY/VALUE - Unlike previous research, this paper presents a unified and empirically based approach to assessing digital co-creation efforts in urban planning by emphasizing interplay between place, technology and people.

Purpose – This article’s purpose is to develop The Model for Smart, Self-learning and Adaptive Resilience Building (SARB). Design/Methodology/Approach – Products and patents of methods and systems analysis was carried out in the fields of BIM application, Smart, Self-learning and Adaptive Resilience Building. Based on other researchers’ findings, The SARB Model was proposed. Findings – Analysis of the literature showed that traditional decisions on the informational modelling do not satisfy all the needs of smart building technologies owing to their static nature. The SARB Model was developed to take care of its efficiency from the brief stage to the end of its service life. Research Limitations/Implications – The SARB Model was developed to take care of its efficiency from the brief stage to the end of its service life. The SARB Model does have some limitations: (1) the processes followed require the collection of much unstructured and semi-structured data from many sources, along with their analyses to support stakeholders in decision-making; (2) stakeholders need to be aware of the broader context of decision-making and (3) the proposal is process-oriented, which can be a disadvantage during the model’s implementation. Practical Implications – Two directions can be identified for the practical implications of the SARB Model. The initial expectation is the widespread installation of SARB Model within real estate and construction organisations. Furthermore, development of the SARB Model will be used to implement the ERASMUS+ project, “Advancing Skill Creation to ENhance Transformation—ASCENT” Project No. 561712-EPP-1-2015-UK-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP. Originality/Value – The practical implications of this paper are valuable.

Purpose – This study proposes to develop and investigate different iterative solvers for non-Newtonian flow equations. Design/methodology/approach – Existing approaches for the time discretization of the flow equation and for an iterative solution of the discrete systems are discussed. Ideas for further development of existing preconditioners are proposed, implemented and investigated numerically. Findings – A two-level preconditioning, consisting of a transformation of the original system in the first step and subsequent preconditioning of the transformed system is suggested. The GMRES iterative method, which usually performs well when applied to academic problems, showed dissatisfactory performance for the type of industrial flow simulations investigated in this work. It was found that the BiCGStab method performed best in the tests presented here. Research limitations/implications – The iterative solvers considered here were investigated only for a certain class of polymer flows. More detailed studies for other non-Newtonian flows should be carried out. Originality/value – The work presented in this paper fills a gap related to the usage of efficient iterative methods for non-Newtonian flow simulations.

Purpose – The paper aims to evaluate the problems and theoretical characteristics of integral cultural space development in the context of transition processes in Central and Eastern Europe. Design/methodology/approach – The paper has used the outcomes of the research conducted over recent several years, dedicated to the diagnostics of the problems of transformations as well as economic and social development in Central and Eastern Europe with a special reference to the development of the integral cultural space. Findings – Major findings show that the creation and development of the integral cultural space in Europe is a very complex and controversial process, and in this course various problems and conflicts arise. Therefore, to encourage the creation of the integral cultural space in Europe appropriate cultural policies need to be implemented in Europe. These policies may embrace many priorities including the preservation of cultural diversity, adaptation and dissemination of integrated European dimensions and elimination of inappropriate factors within humanism and democracy of all European countries. Practical implications – For implementation of key priorities of cultural policies the use of a number of pan-European scale special programmes is suggested. Originality/value – The new non-traditional ideas of possible economic and social development in Central and Eastern Europe are discussed.

One of the major problems in e-business is to find what you want. The number of alternative products and services on the Internet are in the thousands. How can customers find the rational products and services on the Internet? Once product or service information is found, the customer usually wants to compare alternatives. There are five types of aids to comparison shopping: search on hypertext files by agents, search alternatives on databases, alternative search and tabular comparison, comparison of alternative products and services from multiple malls, search and multiple criteria decision making. The multiple criteria decision making methods and multiple criteria decision support systems are used in this type of e-business comparison shopping. This article is indented to provide how the application of multiple criteria decision support system as developed by authors would increase the efficiency of the e-business of a real estate. The developed by authors Real Estate E-Business System allows performance of functions as follows: search of real estate, finding out of alternatives and making of comparative tables, alternatives multiple criteria analysis (deremination of market value, value in use, investment value; multiple criteria analysis of alternatives and selection of most efficient ones, etc.), the after-purchase evaluation.