1. The role and meaning of the digital transformation as a disruptive innovation on small and medium manufacturing enterprisesVasja Roblek, Maja Meško, Franci Pušavec, Borut Likar, 2021, original scientific article Abstract: The research reported in this paper explores the impact of digital transformation as a disruptive innovation on manufacturing SMEs. The research is based on a qualitative Delphi study encompassing 49 experts from eleven EU countries. The paper aims to demonstrate how disruptive innovations affect organizational changes and determine critical factors in organizations that impact the initiating and promoting R&D of disruptive innovation. We discovered that disruptive innovations impact product/process development methods, new production concepts, new materials for products, and new organization plans. Additionally, we identified organizational changes related to the development and use of disruptive innovations in the future. We also indicate how disruptive innovations influence social and technological changes in the organizational environment. The analysis also disclosed three main groups of disruptive innovations and their impact on future smart factory development, namely the following: technological changes, the emergence of innovative products, business models and solutions and organizational culture as one of the crucial key success factors. The analysis also examined the enablers of the successful development/introduction of disruptive innovations, wherein internal and external factors were determined. Additionally, we presented obstacles and the approaches necessary to mitigate them. We can conclude from the findings that in the timeframe of 5–10 years, only the SME that uses/develops disruptive innovations will survive in the market. However, the companies do not always have a clear idea of the meaning of disruptive innovations. Therefore, it is important to set clear goals regarding the achievement of disruptive innovations in companies. It is also necessary to creatively apply presented instruments enabling improvement of organizational changes and apply some additional concepts, which we have suggested. Keywords: digital transformation, disruptive innovation, Industry 4.0, Delphi study, SME, smart factory Published in DKUM: 11.10.2024; Views: 0; Downloads: 5 Full text (662,09 KB) This document has many files! More... |
2. A sustainable distribution model for agrowellness: strategies for tourist farm innovation and growthTina Cvahte Ojsteršek, Lazar Pavić, 2024, original scientific article Abstract: The concepts of “agrotourism” (or agritourism), focusing on farm-based tourism, and “wellness tourism,” which emphasises health and well-being through travel, are common and well-researched. As the paper explores, this combination presents a strategic approach to enhance the tourist farms’ offer by aligning it with contemporary desires for health, relaxation, and nature immersion. Based on exploring the existing offerings on tourist farms in rural Slovenia and a survey among potential users, we identified some aspects of why agrowellness is not yet developed to the extent one would expect. Focusing on six main areas—local identity, sustainability, community engagement, innovation, digitalisation, and sports activities— the developed distribution model outlines what steps farms can take to reach a broader audience and contribute to sustainable development. By integrating authentic local experiences, eco-friendly practices, community collaboration, innovative activities, a robust digital presence, and opportunities for active outdoor recreation, tourist farms can offer unique, enriching experiences that appeal to modern tourists seeking wellness and connection with nature in the spirit of agrowellness. This comprehensive strategy aims to elevate the agrowellness sector’s appeal. It supports the preservation of rural heritage and promotes healthy lifestyles, positioning tourist farms as crucial players in a sustainably focused tourism industry. Keywords: agrowellness, distribution, tourist farms, innovation, wellness tourism Published in DKUM: 11.10.2024; Views: 0; Downloads: 1 Full text (170,30 KB) |
3. Knowledge transfer for innovativeness in family businessesMarina Letonja, Mojca Duh, Zdenka Ženko, 2021, original scientific article Abstract: Family businesses (FB) are important in the most of national economies. We explored whether successors innovativeness is positively associated with the transfer of the founder innovativenes sthrough knowledge transfer and creation processes in a form of the internal transfer of founders tacitand experiential knowledge and skills and with the external transfer of knowledge, when potential successors attend educational programs, external training, or gain working experience in other companies. Our research reveals that when the actual forms of internal knowledge transfer a rediscussed, the positive correlations exist between innovativeness of successors and their early inclusion into FB, apprenticeship, inclusion of successors into meetings with business partners and strategic planning before they get involved in FB. Our survey partially confirmed that regarding external transfer of knowledge, working experiences of successors in other companies and participation in academic courses are positively associated with their innovativeness. Keywords: family business, innovation, knowledge transfer, succession Published in DKUM: 24.09.2024; Views: 0; Downloads: 2 Full text (1,24 MB) This document has many files! More... |
4. 37th Bled eConference - Resilience Through Digital Innovation: Enabling the Twin Transition : June 9 – 12, 2024, Bled, Slovenia, Conference Proceedin2024, proceedings Abstract: The Bled eConference, organised by the University of Maribor, Faculty of Organizational Sciences, has been shaping electronic interactions since 1988. The theme of the 37th conference is "Resilience through digital innovation: enabling the twin transition". The theme addresses the critical convergence of digital transformation and sustainability, in line with the European Commission’s top priorities and policy initiatives. At the conference, we aim to highlight the opportunities of digital technologies that can contribute to building organisational and societal resilience, with a focus on social and environmental goals. The papers in this conference proceedings explore a range of topics including the opportunities and challenges of the twin transition, emerging technologies, artificial intelligence and data science, decision analytics for business and societal changes, digital innovation and business models, restructured work and the future workplace, digital health, digital ethics, digital education, smart sustainable cities, digital consumers, and the digital transformation of the public sector. Keywords: resilience, digital transformation, innovation, twin transition, sustainability, digital transition, green transition Published in DKUM: 28.05.2024; Views: 337; Downloads: 45 Full text (21,98 MB) This document has many files! More... |
5. Agile leadership in the light of efficiency of organizations and the health of employees : editorialPaul Jiménez, Borut Milfelner, Anita Dunkl, 2023, other scientific articles Keywords: agility, innovation, flexible work, new ways of working, organizational culture, leadership culture, working conditions Published in DKUM: 27.05.2024; Views: 200; Downloads: 15 Full text (100,17 KB) This document has many files! More... |
6. Importance of innovativeness in the selected company and the introduction of standards as the toolsŽiga Lesjak, 2023, master's thesis Abstract: The master’s thesis provides a comprehensive investigation into the interplay of innovation management theory and standardization theory, with a particular emphasis on the ISO 9001 standard.
The study is situated within the context of a technology enterprise, company X, offering an in-depth examination of the role of ISO 9001 standard implementation in enhancing the innovativeness and effectiveness of the company's marketing processes. It emphasises the transformative impacts of ISO 9001 standardization, including improved customer focus, process standardization, increased transparency, heightened team engagement, and enhanced risk management.
The main purpose of this research is to demonstrate the successful integration of innovation theory with standardization, using company X as a model of best practice. The research further examines the transformation of the company's operations before and after the ISO 9001 standard implementation, highlighting a shift towards a more structured, customer-centric, and risk-aware approach to innovation. Lastly, an action plan to increase the innovative capacity of company X, aligned with ISO 9001 standards, is proposed. Keywords: innovativeness, innovation, standardization, standard, ISO 9001 Published in DKUM: 19.04.2024; Views: 233; Downloads: 19 Full text (2,36 MB) |
7. Directions for the sustainability of innovative clustering in a countryVito Bobek, Vladislav Streltsov, Tatjana Horvat, 2023, original scientific article Abstract: This paper presents potential improvements through utilizing the cyclical nature of clusters by human capital, technology, policies, and management. A historical review of the formation and sustainable development of clusters in the US, Europe, Japan, China, and other regions is carried out to achieve this. The aim was to identify and assess the prominent occurrence cases, the central institutional actors, the indicators of their innovative activity, and the schematics of successful cluster management. The theory section covers current classification methods and typology of innovation-territorial economic associations. Consequently, a regression analysis model is produced to identify the potential dominant success factors in implementing the innovation policy of the most successful innovative clusters. Comments on the influence of these predictors on the competitiveness and level of innovative development of the 50 inspected countries follow. As a result of qualitative and quantitative analysis, an overview of the best world practice, the new vision, and its priorities are proposed to improve the efficiency at the level of management structures of innovation clusters. Keywords: cluster, cluster policy, state policy, regression analysis, institutions, innovation, R&D Published in DKUM: 09.04.2024; Views: 306; Downloads: 126 Full text (1,23 MB) This document has many files! More... |
8. Strategic transition to sustainability : a cybernetic modelTjaša Štrukelj, Petya Dankova, Nomi Hrast, 2023, original scientific article Abstract: As the importance of the transition to sustainable development is increasingly recognised by individuals, organisations, and society as a whole, there is a growing need to examine its impact at micro-, meso-, and macro-levels. There is an urgent imperative to ensure the sustainability of growing economic inequalities, a degraded environment, and people living in uneven conditions in different societies. The authors, therefore, highlight the strategic role and essential contribution of organisations, and universities/higher education institutions in particular, in achieving sustainable development and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Universities/higher education institutions play a key role in fostering entrepreneurship and innovation, and they form the crucial architecture of contemporary practices in national economies and beyond. Policy makers, university/higher education institution governors, managers, and professors shape students and create new social contexts, and these must be oriented towards sustainability. This paper aims to explore the strategic role of organisations, in particular, universities/higher education institutions, as a key link between personal and social responsibility and, thus, as a powerful enabler of sustainable development. The authors examine the strategic transition to sustainability of two higher education institutions, the University of Maribor and the University of Economics—Varna, and conduct a qualitative case study research to develop a cybernetic model of the university’s/higher education institution’s transition to sustainability, which reflects the organisation’s growing commitment to achieving the Sustainability Development Goals. The model includes seven successive stages: pre-awareness, awareness, focusing, implementation, reaching out, transparency and disclosure, and continuous improvement. The study shows that sustainable development, i.e., sustainability governance, management, and operations, are indispensable for implementing the strategic concept of sustainability in an organisation and for achieving the strategic transition to sustainability as explained in the proposed cybernetic model. Keywords: governance, sustainability, sustainable development, SDGs, strategic management, innovation, university, higher education institution Published in DKUM: 19.03.2024; Views: 266; Downloads: 27 Full text (3,58 MB) This document has many files! More... |
9. Challenges of Commercial Aquaponics in Europe : beyond the HypeMaja Turnšek, Agnes Joly, Ragnheidur Thorarinsdottir, Ranka Junge-Berberovic, 2020, original scientific article Abstract: In recent years, aquaponics has been receiving increased interest globally as a commercial food production technology and aquaponics start up companies have been formed in most European countries. Between 2014 and 2018, the European-funded COST Action FA1305 “The EU Aquaponics Hub Realising Sustainable Integrated Fish and Vegetable Production for the EU” created a strong network of researchers and entrepreneurs. However, surveys show that the aquaponic production in Europe is still very limited, and very few companies are economically viable. In order to obtain insights into the barriers to early development of commercial aquaponics, two surveys were carried out—one in Europe, which included France, and one in France alone, with a different protocol. Henceforth, for simplicity, the former will be referred to as Europe and the latter as France. The results reveal that the development of commercial aquaponics has hit the level of “disillusionment”, caused by numerous challenges facing commercial food production. As the understanding of the processes involved in aquaponics is increasing, it will be very interesting to follow the developments in the field over the coming years in order to ascertain whether aquaponics will follow the phases outlined by the “Gartner’s Hype Cycle” and thus proceed to become an established technology, or whether it will remain an “one hit wonder” and disappear in the “Trough of Disillusionment”. Keywords: aquaponics, innovation adoption, Gartnerʹs Hype Cycle, Europe Published in DKUM: 29.01.2024; Views: 281; Downloads: 18 Full text (1,65 MB) This document has many files! More... |
10. 36th Bled eConference – Digital Economy and Society: The Balancing Act for Digital Innovation in Times of Instability : June 25 – 28, 2023, Bled, Slovenia, Conference Proceedings, Second Edition2023, proceedings Abstract: The Bled eConference, organised by the University of Maribor, Faculty of Organizational Sciences, has been shaping electronic interactions since 1988. The theme of the 36th conference is "Digital Economy and Society: The Balancing Act for Digital Innovation in Times of Instability". In times of instability, which include political, economic, resource, health, and environmental challenges on the one hand, and technological disruption on the other, it is critical to ensure that digital innovation continues to lead to the right and sustainable solutions that are tailored to the needs of all people, enterprises and society. It is very important to keep in mind the protection of our planet, including fauna and flora. These efforts include adopting appropriate regulatory frameworks, fostering digital literacy and skills development, promoting inclusive access to digital technologies, and addressing the ethical, social and environmental implications of digital transformation. The papers in this conference proceedings address digital transformation of enterprises, artificial intelligence and data science solutions, decision analytics for business and societal challenges, new, digital and data driven business models, digital consumer, digital education, digital health, digital ethics, restructured work and solutions for smart and sustainable cities. We continue to provide an open forum for academia, including students, industry, and policy makers where everyone can contribute to creating a better world. Keywords: digital economy, digital society, digital transformation, digital innovation, instability, balancing Published in DKUM: 12.12.2023; Views: 472; Downloads: 45 Full text (17,32 MB) This document has many files! More... |