Professor Glenn Parry

Despite increasing attention and calls for transdisciplinary (TD) working in engineering, a lack of clarity surrounding what constitutes a TD research approach persists. This paper aims to reduce ambiguity by characterising TD and identifying when the TD approach should or should not be used. Specifically, the research answers the question: when might it be beneficial to take a TD rather than a single, multi or interdisciplinary research approach? Survey responses from twenty-eight authors (50%) who presented papers at the 28 th ISTE International Conference on Transdisciplinary Engineering (TE2021) were qualitatively analysed. Findings show a TD approach to research is beneficial for complex problem-solving. New understanding reveals that TD could be used to evidence scientific and social impact, and that context determines the appropriateness of TD adoption. However, even where TD adoption is deemed appropriate, institutional barriers to adoption may exist. In other words, the work environment (culture) in which we do our research, may determine if any meaningful benefits from TD are, or are not realised. Lessons from engineering education are used to discuss how to institutionalise TD, future transdisciplinary engineers and researchers might be taught and socialised in the competencies needed for transdisciplinary research.

Purpose This paper examines the impact of a blockchain platform on the role and importance of trust in established buyer-supplier relationships. Design/methodology/approach A literature review provides insight into trust development in supply chains. Research uses a case study of two wine supply chains: the producers, importers, logistics companies and UK Government agencies. Semi-structured interviews determine how trust and trustworthiness develop in buyer-supplier relationships and the impact of a blockchain-based technology proof of concept on supply chain trust. Findings A blockchain-based platform introduces common trusted data, reducing data duplication and improving supply chain visibility. The platform supports trust building between parties but does not replace the requirements for organisations to establish a position of trust. Contrary to literature claims for blockchain trustless disintermediation, new intermediaries are introduced who need to be trusted. Research limitations/implications The case study presents challenges specific to UK customs borders, and research needs to be repeated in different contexts to establish if findings are generalisable. Practical implications A blockchain-based platform can improve supply chain efficiency and trust development but does not remove the need for trust and trust-building processes. Blockchain platform providers need to build a position of trust with all participants. Originality/value Case study research shows how blockchain facilitates but does not remove trust, trustworthiness and trust relationships in established supply chains. The reduction in information asymmetry and improved supply chain visibility provided by blockchain does not change the importance of trust in established buyer-supplier relationships or the trust-based policy of the UK Government at the customs border.

This study investigates the variation in attitudes across stakeholders towards investments in the digital economy. Using semi-structured interviews to identify attitudes about the spatially evolving socioeconomic importance of the digital economy in New Zealand, we identified seven distinct yet partially overlapping concerns that prioritise preferences for digital investment. A key finding is that there are important asymmetries in stakeholders’ narratives and epistemological foundations that currently align to collectively strengthen resolve to invest in digital infrastructure and training, but this alignment may splinter in future. Some stakeholders saw internet access as coalescing social economy, and there were concerns that some people and some places would get left behind if access is not rolled out uniformly and as a priority. There were disagreements about who will prosper, who will get left behind, who should pay for upgrading digital skills, the extent that investments were connected with wellbeing and identity, whether fake news was significant, and the longevity of the impact of digital economy investments. This study contributes to theory by demonstrating that practically-relevant, socially-informed policy decisions can be underpinned by collective efforts that draw on heterogeneous narratives and multidimensional understandings.

The value of personal data has traditionally been understood in economic terms, but recent scholarship casts the value of data as multi-faceted, dynamic, emergent and co-created by stakeholders. The dynamics of the co-creation of value with personal data lacks empirical study. We conduct a case study of the development of a personalised e-book and find different perceptions of the value of personal data exist from the firm, intermediary and customer perspective: means to an end, medium of exchange and net benefit. The different data perspectives highlight ontological differences in the perception of what data are. This creates epistemological tension and different expectations of the data characteristics embedded in the process of value co-creation. The findings contribute to the growing data-in-practice literature, showing how different epistemological stances can create opposing expectations of what data should be, leading to ontological, policy and managerial tensions.

Blockchain projects have been developed to extend the reach of distributed ledger technology (DLT) beyond cryptocurrency to achieve “good” in the world. Such projects may make a claim for moral, ethical, and responsible intent, but many researchers have not critically examined what good means in context. The concept of good has been debated for centuries and whilst we will not conclude the argument, we should engage in the discourse. We propose the idea that exploration across micro, meso, and macro levels of value creating ecosystems is needed. The implications, both practical and theoretical, of the use of blockchain for good require analysis. As the ambition for blockchain innovations to transform society for the better becomes practical reality, understanding of such change will come from transdisciplinary researchers able to bridge knowledge of social and technical systems.

Servitisation is a strategic transition of firms towards the creation of additional value through services. In this study, we adopt a data-driven approach and assume that company activity descriptions are representative of their activity and partly reflect the adopted strategy. We hypothesise that if there is a trend of traditional publishing firms adopting servitisation strategies, this should emerge from textual analysis of company descriptors. Relying on data-driven analysis of publicly available company information for UK and Ireland, we find no significant evidence of strategic diversity as a single group emerges from diverse clustering methods. Our results show either that the publicly available dataset is not representative of firm strategy in the publishing industry or that there is no real evidence of servitisation in the publishing sector. Implications for theory and for industry are discussed.

Engineering disciplines are paying increasing attention to transdisciplinary (TD) working. The terminology of single, multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary lacks clarity. Consequently, there is currently no consensus on what defines a TD research approach. This makes it difficult to implement and measure the impact of TD and TD working. Clear definition of the approach and understanding of where TD is most applicable is needed because the education of tomorrow's engineers can only be realised if researchers build upon coherent theoretical frameworks. This paper draws on theory to define TD and then aims to reduce confusion and instill clarity by identifying when TD as a research approach should or should not be used. This is achieved by answering the research question: when might it be beneficial to take a TD rather than single, multi or interdisciplinary research approach? Survey responses from twenty-eight authors (50%) who presented papers at the 28 th ISTE International Conference on Transdisciplinary Engineering (TE2021) were qualitatively analysed. Findings show institutional barriers to TD adoption may prevent the benefits of TD engineering research from being realised. Rather than the research approach itself, it is the environment in which we do our research, one which is decided long before our work begins, that will determine if any meaningful benefits from TD are realised.

The financial well-being of the charity sector has important social implications. Numerous studies have analysed whether the concentration of income in a few sources increases financial vulnerability. However, few studies have systematically considered whether the type of income (grants, donation, fund-raising activities) affects the survival prospects of the charity. We extend the literature by (a) explicitly modelling the composition of sources of income (b) allowing for short-term volatility as well as long-term survival, and (c) testing alternative specifications in a nested form.We show that the usual association between income concentration per se and financial vulnerability is a specification error. Greater vulnerability is associated with dependence on grant funding, not overall concentration. Previous studies showing that concentration of income per se is problematic are picking up a proxy effect. We also show that the volatility of income streams may be an important factor in the survival of charities, but that this also varies between income sources.

Companies within the Digital Economy are evolving their business models as they take advantage of the opportunities afforded by emerging digital technologies. There is a need to develop methods that will allow researchers and policy makers to understand the existence of, and relationships between, the different business models within the Digital Economy and track their evolution. Such methods could also help quantify the size and growth of the Digital Economy. This paper presents a computational method, which utilizes machine learning and web scraping, to identify new business models, and a taxonomy of organisations, through the analysis of a firm's webpage. The work seeks to provide an autonomous tool that provides regular output tracking trends in the number of firms in a market, their business model and changes in activity from product to service over time. This information would provide valuable and actionable insight for researchers, firms and markets.

This response to the Law Commission Call for Evidence on The Changing Law on Ownership in Digital Assetsis written on behalf of DeCaDe, the UKRI funded Centre for the decentralised digital economy. DECaDE is a multi-disciplinary collaboration between the Universities of Surrey, Edinburgh and the Digital Catapult. https://decade.ac.uk/ The response was coordinated by Professor Burkhard Schafer, University of Edinburgh 

This submission is made on behalf of DECaDE, the UKRI Centre for the Decentralised Digital Economy, and Creative Informatics, the Research and Development accelerator for the creative industries. 

Engineering disciplines are paying increasing attention to transdisciplinary (TD) working. The terminology of single, multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary lacks clarity. Consequently, there is currently no consensus on what defines a TD research approach. This makes it difficult to implement and measure the impact of TD and TD working. Clear definition of the approach and understanding of where TD is most applicable is needed because the education of tomorrow's engineers can only be realised if researchers build upon coherent theoretical frameworks. This paper draws on theory to define TD and then aims to reduce confusion and instill clarity by identifying when TD as a research approach should or should not be used. This is achieved by answering the research question: when might it be beneficial to take a TD rather than single, multi or interdisciplinary research approach? Survey responses from twenty-eight authors (50%) who presented papers at the 28 th ISTE International Conference on Transdisciplinary Engineering (TE2021) were qualitatively analysed. Findings show institutional barriers to TD adoption may prevent the benefits of TD engineering research from being realised. Rather than the research approach itself, it is the environment in which we do our research, one which is decided long before our work begins, that will determine if any meaningful benefits from TD are realised.

Visibility of digital art and its ownership can be achieved using blockchain technology as part of a broader solution for the identification, attribution, and payment for digital work. A case study is provided of a firm using the Bitcoin blockchain as part of an integrated solution to identify and authenticate ownership of digital property. An integrated ownership ledger allows for secure attribution, transfer, and provenance of digital property. Blockchain technology enables limited-edition digital property, while Internet-scale web crawl and machine learning shows where and how works are being used on the Internet.

Background: The evaluation of demonstration sites set up to provide improved access to psychological therapies (IAPT) comprised the study of all people identified as having common mental health problems (CMHP), those referred to the IAPT service, and a sample of attenders studied in-depth. Information technology makes it feasible to link practice, hospital and IAPT clinic data to evaluate the representativeness of these samples. However, researchers do not have permission to browse and link these data without the patients’ consent. Objective: To demonstrate the use of a mixed deterministic-probabilistic method of secure and private record linkage (SAPREL) - to describe selection bias in subjects chosen for in-depth evaluation. Method: We extracted, pseudonymised and used fuzzy logic to link multiple health records without the researcher knowing the patient’s identity. The method can be characterised as a three party protocol mainly using deterministic algorithms with dynamic linking strategies; though incorporating some elements of probabilistic linkage. Within the data providers’ safe haven we extracted: Demographic data, hospital utilisation and IAPT clinic data; converted post code to index of multiple deprivation (IMD); and identified people with CMHP. We contrasted the age, gender, ethnicity and IMD for the in-depth evaluation sample with people referred to IAPT, use hospital services, and the population as a whole. Results: The in IAPT-in-depth group had a mean age of 43.1 years; CI: 41.0 - 45.2 (n = 166); the IAPT-referred 40.2 years; CI: 39.4 - 40.9 (n = 1118); and those with CMHP 43.6 years SEM 0.15. (n = 12210). Whilst around 67% of those with a CMHP were women, compared to 70% of those referred to IAPT, and 75% of those subject to indepth evaluation (Chi square p< 0.001). The mean IMD score for the in-depth evaluation group was 36.6; CI: 34.2 - 38.9; (n = 166); of those referred to IAPT 38.7; CI: 37.9 - 39.6; (n = 1117); and of people with CMHP 37.6; CI 37.3- 37.9; (n = 12143). Conclusions: The sample studied in-depth were older, more likely female, and less deprived than people with CMHP, and fewer had recorded ethnic minority status. Anonymous linkage using SAPREL provides insight into the representativeness of a study population and possible adjustment for selection bias.

This research aims to identify paradoxes in the context of distributed ledger technologies (DLTs). Paradoxes are phenomena that are contradictory, appearing rational in isolation, but illogical in combination [1]. Expert interviews and a Delphi study will be used to identify paradoxes that are emerging with DLTs. From this we aim to deduce managerial implications on how to resolve challenges associated with these paradoxes and develop a research agenda. The identified paradoxes will help organizations working with DLTs as research sheds light on emerging tensions (e.g., related to sustainability and inherent trust), and potentially how they may be resolved.

Long-term support agreements such as availability-based contracts are often associated with the servitization of business models in such sectors as defence aerospace. In practice, there is no unambiguous way of linking availability and service outcomes from an operational perspective; rather, the focus tends to be placed almost exclusively on product-related metrics. To address this gap, this paper outlines a conceptual model of how advanced service outcomes should be delivered under an availability-based contract for defence avionics. The model is grounded on empirical evidence gathered through an in-depth case study in the UK defence sector. The research is one of the first attempts to shift the focus away from a notion of availability as a property designed into a piece of equipment, and to detect its emergence from the interactions between relevant socio-technical elements within the underpinning advanced service delivery system, or Product-Service-System (PSS), identified by analysis of empirical data. This research provides insights into where action should be taken within a PSS that would be difficult to obtain from the analysis of field reliability data alone. It also provides a conceptual model that can assist the formulation of scientific models based on quantitative data such as multi-echelon inventory systems for repairable items. While the transferability of the findings is limited by the specificity of the case, a detailed description is provided to facilitate comparison with other cases.

Blockchain technology (aka Distributed Ledger Technology or DLT) is a novel configuration of Peer-to-Peer, cryptographic and distributed computing technologies that have the potential to shift the internet from an internet of information to an internet of value network, with significant disruptive potential. To date, the cryptocurrency 'bitcoin' is the application of DLT that has attracted most attention, not all of it favourable. However, DLTs are about much more than cryptocurrencies and, as Kranzberg's (1986) first law of technology, that 'Technology is neither good nor bad; nor is it neutral' reminds us, we can ethically frame applications of new technologies. To date, research has tended to focus on the technical characteristics of DLTs, and there has been little reflection on potential socially and environmentally beneficial use cases: Blockchain for Good (B4G). The aim of this this exploratory and descriptive paper is to reflect on innovative B4G applications that could help deliver socially and environmentally beneficial outcomes, framed in terms of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, through challenging existing business models and providing new opportunities for value creation.

The blockchain innovation appears to represent viable catalysts for achieving global sustainable development targets. Projects and initiatives seeking to extend the reach of distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) seem mostly intended for the benefit of for-profit businesses, governments, and consumers. DLT projects devised for the public good could aim, in theory, to fulfill the United Nation's current sustainable development goals. Blockchain technology is being applied in ways that could transform this ambition for good into a practical reality.

This article investigates, through the country-of-origin effect and value-in-use lenses, how the implementation of digital services creates opportunities for cultural industries to expand internationally. We argue that intrinsic attributes of cultural content such as the capacity to entertain are difficult to parameterize because they are somewhat experiential and subjective. This means that extrinsic cues are essential to foreign consumers when making a decision to purchase digital services. We specifically evaluate the influence of Britishness, cultural distance, exoticness, brand image, and flag-brand congruence on the purchase intentions of consumers in foreign markets. This study employs a unique consumer dataset with information on the internationalization of British cultural digital services. The depth and breadth of the survey data collected through collaboration with a UK media industry partner with a globally recognised brand is significantly richer than data used in previous studies. In particular, the study exploits a survey with 5,200 usable data points from consumers residing in fourteen geographically dispersed countries. Findings support theoretical predictions that Britishness, cultural distance, exoticness, brand image and flag-brand congruence are positively linked to the purchasing decisions. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

There is a market for successful distribution of television content using a Windowing strategy. This article investigates if a strategy where content is made available to consumers through different channels over time, a "Windowing" business models, is appropriate for releasing television programs. By initially exposing consumers to a controlled quantity of free content greater value can be captured at later stages as 55% of these consumers are 13-20% more likely to become paying subscribers.

The covid-19 pandemic has created a fertile ground for fake news, particularly with regards to the vaccines produced. As a consequence, mistrust of the vaccine has grown in Europe. In a January 2021 survey, led for Reuters London, 30% of the UK population stated they distrusted them, and only 30% of the French population were willing to be vaccinated, one of the lowest rate in the world (Kelland, 2021). Governments and medical institutions need to address the challenge of fake news that is damaging people’s health and well-being, whether they relate to a global scheme to sterilize women globally (Stecklow & Macaskill, 2021) or a worldwide conspiracy let by Bill Gates (Goodman & Carmichael, 2020). To that aim health systems have focused on the development of social media strategies to fight false information and orient people toward legitimate sources (WHO, 2021). But how can they make sure people are given information sufficient to make well informed decisions, and best fight fake news?

Technological advances over the last decade saw the rise of ICT and IoT, paving the way for the Supply Chain of Things. Blockchain technology was one of the most recent and potentially most significant developments. Blockchain technology are secure by design and can enable decentralization and visibility, with application in cryptocurrency transactions, historical records, identity management, traceability, authentication, and many others. However, successful adoption of such technology requires that the people, process and technology are ready. We propose a conceptual framework where the concept and technology can balance between positive and negative manifestations depending on human behavior, therefore determining the success of Blockchain technology application in supply chains. While both the concept and technology are relatively ready, human behavior is a challenge as it is known that people suffer from habits and perform poorly when exposed to large volumes of data. Therefore, the development of advanced supply chains with much greater visibility enabled by Blockchain technology must take into consideration people in order to succeed.

When moving towards digitally enabled advanced services, firms are faced with the challenge of servicing heterogeneous customer requirements that emerge during product use. Whereas offers may have been designed with fixed functionality and a focus on stable outcomes, in the advanced service environment providers must respond to a variety of demands emergent from multiple contexts of use. Using a case example from healthcare, this chapter illustrates that adopting a modular systems approach to a firm's offer enhances its ability to meet customers' heterogeneous requirements in use. The chapter shows that through the application of modularity, in combination with digital and material technology, products can have the flexibility to absorb variety in use. Modularity and digitisation permit the binding of form and function to be postponed until requirements emerge in use, allowing the organisation to quickly tailor the offering to emergent demand.

We propose a new systematic method to answer the research question: ‘What is the financial and economic impact of servitizing the firm, digitising the firm, and combined servitization and digitization strategy?’ Our method quantifies servitization, digitization and their synergy by analysing their relationship with firm financial and economic outcomes. The method is applied to the British publishing industry. Using text-mining and econometric analysis of secondary data, 258 UK book publishers (93% of the market share) are analysed over a period of 10 years (1,508 observations). Firms are categorised as servitized (S-firms), digitized (D-firms), digitized and servitized (DS-firms) and pure (P-firms) that are neither servitized nor digitized (control group). We detect no significant difference in terms of productivity and profitability between P-firms and D-firms. Although we find evidence of a servitization paradox, both S-firms and DS-firms show greater productivity than P-firms. Profitability of DS-firms is greater than that of P-firms, but profitability of S-firms is lower than that of P-firms. The research improves on the existing methodology employed to examine the impact of servitizing or digitising the firm and provides a means to measure how servitization and digitization impact on the productivity and profitability of a firm within a specific context.

Digital technologies reshape the competitive landscape as firms develop new means of value creation, delivery, and capture. The implementation and suitability of digital business models depend largely on the resources of incumbent firms and new entrants and on the firm positioning in the supply chain. The effect of digital business models is context specific and hence insights from a wide range of industries are included here; among them retailing, manufacturing, Internet, health, and television broadcasting. The maximization of revenues through customer engagement and the reduction of costs are often the main drivers for digital business model adoption.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the interplay between firm boundary decisions and the management of both-and efficiency and flexibility and the implications this has for modular design in the provision of advanced services. Design/Methodology/Approach: A single case study in the defence industry employs semistructured interviews supplemented by secondary data. Data is analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: The findings provide a process model of boundary negotiations for the design of efficient and flexible modular systems consisting of three phases; boundary ambiguity, boundary defences and boundary alignment. Practical implications: The study provides a process framework for boundary negotiations to help organisations navigate the management of both-and efficiency and flexibility in the provision of advanced services. Originality/Value: Drawing upon modularity, paradox and systems theory, this article provides novel theoretical insight into the relationship between firm boundary decisions and the management of bothand efficiency vs. flexibility in the provision of product upgrade services.

This paper presents a framework to enable case study analysis of sustainable development from business models innovation. Increasing economic development can give rise to trade-offs between economic growth and environmental degradation. Business model innovation can help address such trade-offs by refocusing value creation and capture towards less environmentally damaging activities. Business models therefore provide a critical tool in the move towards sustainable development. In this paper a literature review of existing business model frameworks is conducted and gaps found in the definition and conceptualisation of value, alignment with sustainable development, and assessment of social and environmental impacts and goals. More generally, there is a lack of in depth case studies in the sustainable business model literature. A framework is developed to address these gaps and to allow in depth analysis and understanding of the functioning of business models for sustainable development. Development and piloting of the framework made use of literature and co-operative enquiry. The framework of the paper is applied in depth with a unique energy company case study. Application shows economies of scope to be critical to the delivery of sustainable development. The business model framework addresses equity and distributional issues that are key to sustainable development, but missed by current frameworks.

This study draws on literature at the intersection of servitization, digital business models and supply chain management. Work empirically explores how digital disruption has affected Business-to-Business (B2B) interdependencies. Dematerialization of physical products is transforming the way firms are positioned in the supply chain due to a reduction in production and transport costs and the different ways business engage with customers. Specifically, we propose that these new market conditions can empower downstream firms. We further propose that upstream firms can still capture additional value through digital service if their servitized offer includes difficult to imitate elements. The context of the analysis is the publishing industry. The Payment Card method employed is used to test UK and US consumer's perceptions of digital formats (eBooks) and assess their willingness to pay in relation to printed formats. The method undertaken enables us to elicit aggregated consumer demand for eBooks which in turn identifies optimal pricing strategies for the digital services. Analysis demonstrates that during digital servitization upstream firms should seek to deploy unique resources to ensure their strategic position in the supply chain is not diminished.

Purpose – Improvement of Reverse Supply Chains requires accurate and timely information about the patterns of consumption. In the consumer context the ways to generate and access such Use-Visibility data are in their infancy. This study demonstrates how the Internet of Things [IoT] may be operationalised in the domestic setting to capture data on a consumer’s use of products and the implications for Reverse Supply Chains. Design/methodology/approach - This paper uses an explorative case approach drawing on data from studies of six UK households. ‘Horizontal’ data, which reveals patterns in consumers’ use processes, is generated by combining ‘vertical’ data from multiple sources. Use processes in the homes are mapped using IDEF0 and illustrated with the data. The quantitative data is generated using wireless sensors in the home and qualitative data is drawn from online calendars, social media, interviews and ethnography. Findings – The study proposes four generic measurement categories for operationalising the concept of use-visibility: experience; consumption; interaction and depletion, which together address the use of different household resources. The explorative case demonstrates how these measures can be operationalised to achieve visibility of the context of use in the home. The potential of such use-visibility for reverse supply chains is discussed. Research limitations/implications -The explorative case study is based on an in-depth study of the bathroom which illustrates the application of Use-Visibility Measures (UVM) but provides a limited use context. Further research is needed from a wider set of homes and a wider set of use processes and contexts. Practical implications – The case demonstrates the operationalisation of the combination of data from different sources and helps answer questions of ‘why?’, ‘how?’, ‘when?’ and ‘how much?’, which can inform reverse supply chains. The four UVMs can be operationalised in a way that can contribute to supply chain visibility, providing accurate and timely information of consumption, optimizing resource use and eliminating waste. Originality/value – IDEF0 framework and case analysis is used to identify and validate four UVMs available through IoT data – that of experience, consumption, interaction and depletion. The UVMs characterise IoT data generated from a given process and inform the primary reverse flow in the future supply chain. They provide the basis for future data collection and development of theory around their effect on reverse supply chain efficiency.

Improving productivity in the entertainment industry is a very challenging task as it heavily depends on generating attractive content for the consumers. The consumer-centric design (putting the consumers at the centre of the content development and production) focuses on ways in which businesses can design customized services and products which accurately reflect consumer preferences. We propose a new framework which allows to use data science to optimize content-generation in entertainment and test this framework for the motion picture industry. We use the natural language processing methodology combined with econometric analysis to explore whether and to what extent emotions shape consumer preferences for media and entertainment content, which, in turn, affect revenue streams. By analyzing 6,174 movie scripts, we generate the emotional trajectory of each motion picture. We then combine the obtained mappings into clusters which represent groupings of consumer emotional journeys. These clusters are then plugged into an econometric model to predict overall success parameters of the movies including box office revenues, viewer satisfaction levels (captured by IMDb ratings), awards, as well as the number of viewers’ and critics’ reviews. We find that emotional arcs in movies can be partitioned into 6 basic shapes. The highest box offices are associated with the Man in a Hole shape which is characterized by an emotional fall followed by an emotional rise. This U-shaped emotional arc results in financially successful movies irrespective of genre and production budget. Implications of this analysis for generating on-demand content and improving productivity in entertainment industries are discussed.

Purpose: This paper examines the potential of ‘biomarkers’ to provide immutable identification for food products (chocolate), providing traceability and visibility in the supply chain from retail product back to farm. Design/methodology/approach: Research employs qualitative data collection, including fieldwork at cocoa farms and chocolate manufacturers in Ecuador and the Netherlands and semi-structured interviews with industry professionals to identify challenges and create a supply chain map from cocoa plant to retailer, validated by area experts. A library of biomarkers is created using DNA collected from fieldwork and the International Cocoa Quarantine Centre, holders of cocoa varieties from known locations around the world. Matching sample biomarkers with those in the library enables identification of origins of cocoa used in a product, even when it comes from multiple different sources and has been processed. Findings: Supply chain mapping and interviews identify areas of the cocoa supply chain that lack visibility required for management to guarantee sustainability and quality. A decoupling point, where smaller farms/traders’ goods are combined to create larger economic units, obscures product origins and limits visibility. These factors underpin a potential boundary condition to institutional theory in the industry’s fatalism to environmental and human abuses in the face of rising institutional pressures. Biomarkers reliably identify product origin, including specific farms and (fermentation) processing locations, providing visibility and facilitating control and trust when purchasing cocoa. Research limitations/implications: The biomarker ‘meta-barcoding’ of cocoa beans used in chocolate manufacturing accurately identifies the farm, production facility or cooperative, where a cocoa product came from. A controlled dataset of biomarkers of registered locations is required for audit to link chocolate products to origin. Practical implications: Where biomarkers can be produced from organic products, they offer a method for closing visibility gaps, enabling responsible sourcing. Labels (QR codes, barcodes, etc.) can be swapped and products tampered with, but biological markers reduce reliance on physical tags, reducing the potential for fraud. Biomarkers identify product composition, pinpointing specific farm(s) of origin for cocoa in chocolate, allowing targeted audits of suppliers, and identifying if cocoa of unknown origin is present. Labour and environmental abuses exist in many supply chains and enabling upstream visibility may help firms address these challenges. Social implications: By describing a method for firms in cocoa supply chains to scientifically track their cocoa back to the farm level, the paper shows that organizations can conduct social audits for child labour and environmental abuses at specific farms proven to be in their supply chains. The paper therefore provides a method for delivering supply chain visibility for firms serious about tackling such problems. Originality/value: This paper provides one of the very first examples of biomarkers for agricultural supply chain visibility. An in-depth study of stakeholders from the cocoa and chocolate industry elucidates problematic areas in cocoa supply chains. Biomarkers provide a unique biological product identifier. Biomarkers can support efforts to address environmental and social sustainability issues such as child labour, modern slavery, and deforestation by providing visibility into previously hidden areas of the supply chain.

Purpose:This paper investigates how blockchain has moved beyond cryptocurrencies and is being deployed to enhance visibility and trust in supply chains; its limitations, and potential impact. Approach: Qualitative analysis undertaken via case studies drawn from food companies using semi-structured interviews. Findings: Blockchain is demonstrated as an enabler of visibility in supply chains. Applications at scale are most likely for products where the end consumer is prepared to pay the premium currently required to fund the technology, e.g. baby food. Challenges remain in four areas: trust of the technology; human error and fraud at the boundaries; governance; consumer data access and willingness to pay. Research implications and limitations: The paper shows that blockchain can be utilised as part of a system generating visibility and trust in supply chains. Research directs academic attention to issues that remain to be addressed. The challenges pertaining to the technology itself we believe to be generalisable; those specific to the food industry may not hold elsewhere. Practical implications: From live case studies we provide empirical evidence that blockchain provides visibility of exchanges and reliable data in fully-digitised supply chains. This provides provenance and guards against counterfeit goods. However, firms will need to work to gain consumer buy-in for the technology following repeated past claims of trustworthiness. Originality: This paper provides primary evidence from blockchain use cases ‘in the wild’. The exploratory case studies examine application of blockchain for supply chain visibility.

Established theory suggests that firms experiment with business models in dynamic contexts. However, the relationship between business model experimentation and organisational performance remains unclear. For this purpose, we propose an assessment of the economic value of business model experimentation in dynamic contexts by defining the unit of analysis at the industry level. Analysis draws upon a unique panel dataset from the recorded music industry composed of 414 observations from 32 countries for the period 1998-2010. The results show two optimal modes for maximising value capture in dynamic contexts. First, if a dominant format exists, a 'network' effect becomes prevalent which has a positive impact upon revenue. Second, when firms engage in experimentation leading to a highly diversified set of business models the industry sector becomes better able to capture value from diverse and changing consumer needs.

Despite increased discourse around transdisciplinary (TD) research, there is a perception it has received less attention within engineering. This is significant if, as generally accepted, TD increases the societal value of research. This paper benchmarks TD engineering research against the broader TD literature, addressing the question: How do the characteristics of the academic engineering TD literature compare to the TD academic literature in general? We analyse the chronology, source journals, and text of papers referencing TD within their abstract and compare this to papers that fall within the engineering subject area. The conclusions find that TD research is limited generally, and within engineering specifically. Historically, TD research focuses on sustainability challenges, a persistent trend within the general literature. Within engineering research, the focus of TD is wider and addresses operational and ‘grand challenge’ problems. TD remains poorly defined and future work should focus on clarifying meaning within the engineering discipline.

Service value is realized within the interaction of client and provider, and the Enterprise Image (EI) creates a picture of a moment in time of the working relationship. The EI focuses on a contractual relationship between two parties and identifies the resources used and who controls them. The resources included in the image are those that are required to achieve the outcome desired from a client/provider interaction. The approach has been applied to many different operations, for example, service maintenance, product provision, and consulting. EIs have proven useful in management decision making, service development, communication, and understanding complex enterprises.

The operations and supply chain management the normative assumption holds that a product’s structural and functional elements are fixed pre-production to support efficiency of operations. Firms moving from manufacturing to service are faced with delivering resource for customers in context and absorbing variety in use provides them with a number of challenges. This paper examines AM as a technology that efficiently provides high variety that meets emergent user demand. A single case study is undertaken, drawing upon design change data and in-depth interviews with industry experts. Findings show that in non-digitised environments, introducing design changes to modular products through life creates complexity, where complexity refers to increasing interdependencies between components in the product architecture that lead to increased coordination costs between internal and external supply chains. We find that advances in AM can act as a supply chain solution, managing complexity and allowing products and supply chains to efficiently and effectively adapt close to context of use. Findings suggest that existing theory must expand beyond the normative assumption that the physical product is fixed and the intangible service elements adapt to absorb variety, to include cases where the tangible product can absorb variety to meet emergent need.

The topic of servitization has generated a considerable body of research and many conferences, as well as industry engagement. Yet, despite the extensive literature associated with this now-mature discipline, there is no broad-based consensus on the core concepts and definitions deployed by servitization scholars, and both terminology and usage often seem ambiguous. This paper examines challenges related to service growth strategies, as well as strategies involving deservitization or a retreat from service offerings. Showing that these strategies have been pursued for more than fifty years, clarification is sought here by framing the corresponding processes and proposing definitions for four core terms: servitization, service infusion, deservitization and service dilution. It becomes clear that in focusing on the organizational change entailed by these processes, future research must elucidate 'softer' issues such as leadership and business logic.

Economic policies tend to downplay social and community considerations in favour of market-led and business-focussed support. The Covid-19 pandemic underscored the need for greater and deeper social cohesion and local social support networks while highlighting that an overreliance on market forces can create social problems at times of need. Community businesses (CBs) are not for profit organisations that provide services and produce goods where the profit (or surplus) is reinvested back into that community. This article explores why CBs in England responded in a variety of ways to the Covid-19 pandemic, assesses what government policy did to help and hinder their place-based operations, and explores the observed socioeconomics of their age-related volunteer staff churn. Some CBs were ravaged by the consequences of the pandemic and associated government policies with many becoming unsustainable, while others evolved and augmented their support for and services to their communities, thereby enhancing their community’s resilience. We highlight how adjustments to government policies could enhance the sustainability of CBs, making them and the communities they serve more resilient.

The blockchain innovation appears to represent viable catalysts for achieving global sustainable development targets. Projects and initiatives seeking to extend the reach of distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) seem mostly intended for the benefit of for-profit businesses, governments, and consumers. DLT projects devised for the public good could aim, in theory, to fulfill the United Nation’s current sustainable development goals. Blockchain technology is being applied in ways that could transform this ambition for good into a practical reality.

The term ‘transdisciplinary’ is receiving increased attention within engineering academic and research funding communities. We survey authors of papers presented at the 27th ISTE International Transdisciplinary Engineering Conference (TE2020) to answer two research questions: 1) How do authors define transdisciplinary engineering? 2) What do authors perceive differentiates interdisciplinary engineering research from transdisciplinary engineering research? Responses from thirty-four participants (50%), are qualitatively analysed. Results show that for the three characteristics commonly used in characterisations of transdisciplinarity (goal, collaboration and integration), multiple concepts exist. These range from generic expressions which overlap with how interdisciplinarity is defined within the general literature, to stronger, more definitive expressions. Conclusions find that rather than a single definition a transdisciplinary landscape exists. To enable users to define where they sit in the transdisciplinary landscape, we create a framework enabling users to map their position under the three key characteristics of goal, collaboration and integration.

This paper examines innovation in product-service systems. Using the lens of the general modular systems theory (Schilling, 2000), the research examines the factors that influence whether a product-service system would benefit from an increasingly modular, or an increasingly synergistic specific (or integrated) state in a servitized context. The paper presents results from an in-depth case study of an OEM of military vehicles. The OEM provided design services to reconfigure military vehicles based on the requirements of the end-user (military personnel), and were based on real-time need from active overseas engagements. The research design uses a mixed-methods approach. Given modularity is a directly observable configuration of structure, design structure matrices (DSMs) were used to inspect the modular structure of vehicles each time a customer-requested design change was integrated. To supplement the DSMs, thematic analysis was conducted on 29 in-depth interviews with the organisation’s employees, as well as on texts, documents and secondary data. In applying the general modular systems theory to the context of an outcome-based product-service system, the research finds four additional factors that push a system toward or away from modularity. These factors arise from the diversity of the customers’ use-contexts that were not included in the original Schilling (2000) framework. These factors include requirements based on contextual variety, emergence, actor agency, urgency in use. The paper contributes to the innovation management and service modularity literature by updating and refining the general modular systems theory, and provides guidance to managers when designing and innovating outcome-based product-service systems.

Digitally enabled organizations are supported by new information and communication technologies, referred to as digital technologies, which increasingly promise enormous opportunities for growth. The study reviews 10 case studies from the literature and analysis the approaches these organizations have taken to successfully implement digital technologies. The findings reveal a conceptual framework that seeks to support management in understanding the actions required to implement digital transformation.

Recent decades have seen increased interest in transdisciplinary (TD) research. To deliver on the promise of TD working there has been a call for the expansion of TD education in emerging literature. The challenge with proposed approaches is that they are often difficult to implement requiring significantly changed courses structures, and the coordination of teams of academic and industry experts to deliver. This creates a barrier to the main-streaming of TD education. Our research aims to create a practical approach for Transdisciplinary Engineering (TE) education which can be easily incorporated within existing course designs and in doing so facilitate wider disseminated. This paper presents the design and pilot of a TE session with MRes students from the University of Bath’s, Centre of Doctoral Training in Advanced Automotive Propulsion Systems. The session is evaluated by way of student feedback. The results show broad satisfaction with the session. Six of the eight indicated that they were satisfied with the quality of the session (two students were neutral). All students considered that the course material was presented in a clear and understandable way. All students considered that the course was accessible to their level of understanding. Future work will see the session delivered within additional engineering MSc courses at Bath and internationally with informal agreements in place with Universities in Colombia, Korea and Poland.

Blockchain technology provides an exciting application space for innovation in diverse domains but threatens disintermediation for organizations providing a trusted and auditable account of ownership and transactions. It needs, however, an appropriate regulation to keep pace with technological developments. Technology remains very young, akin to the Internet in the early 1990s. Use cases, practical demonstrators, standards, and lexical consistency are urgently required.

Despite increased discourse around transdisciplinary (TD) research, there is a perception it has received less attention within engineering. This is significant if, as generally accepted, TD increases the societal value of research. This paper benchmarks TD engineering research against the broader TD literature, addressing the question: How do the characteristics of the academic engineering TD literature compare to the TD academic literature in general? We analyse the chronology, journals, and text of papers referencing TD within their abstract and compare this to papers that fall within the engineering subject area. The conclusions find that TD research is limited generally, and within engineering specifically. Historically, TD research focuses on sustainability challenges, a persistent trend within the general literature. Within engineering research, the focus of TD is wider and addresses operational and “grand challenge” problems. TD remains poorly defined and future work should focus on clarifying meaning within the engineering discipline.

Servitization is a strategic transition of firms towards the creation of additional value through services. In this study we adopt a data-driven approach and assume that company activity descriptions are representative of their activity and partly reflect the adopted strategy. We hypothesise that if there is a trend of traditional publishing firms adopting servitization strategies, this should emerge from textual analysis of company descriptors. Relying on data-driven analysis of publicly available company information for UK and Ireland, we find no significant evidence of strategic diversity as a single group emerges from diverse clustering methods. Our results show either that the publicly available dataset is not representative of the publishing strategy in industry or that there is no real evidence of servitization in the publishing sector. Implications for theory and for industry are discussed.