The successful operation of electric cars hinges on the establishment of charging stations. The momentum of the sharing economy relies on individuals being willing to provide their services. The shift from records to for-profit music streaming necessitated the availability of music catalogs from all record companies. Disruption, which involves the introduction of new solutions or business models that render previous ones obsolete, is not solely tied to innovation; it often demands adjustments or even new innovations from contextual actors such as present and new suppliers, intermediaries, and customers. However, how the management of a disruptor, the firm introducing the new solution, makes sense of these other actors in relation to the disruption remains a critical question. This chapter employs network pictures, a theoretical orientation and method focusing on how managers make sense of contextual actors with interdependency as central in the conceptualization of the context. Empirically, sensemaking is captured through a case study on a start-up in the retail sector. This chapter concludes that the disruptor management possesses limited initial understanding of the context, where the comprehension is continuously adjusted in pursuit of profit and reliable contextual actors. Additionally, it highlights the connection between the initial network picture, past experiences, and a concentrated focus on the primary target for disruption. Ultimately, this chapter contributes to existing research by focusing on the sensemaking of disruptor managers and its theorizing about contextual actors related to disruption.

This paper describes and discusses how new digital venture business models are modelled by entrepreneurs at the vision stage. Using a longitudinal case-study methodology we study two digital wellness ventures. These studies indicate several sequential business models at the vision stage, where increased stakeholder integration but also insourcing upstream mark these. The business models can be understood as proactive opportunity-based, positively reactive coincidence based and negative reactive failure based. Over time, the business models move from a technological resource foci to legitimacy building practices. Contributions are made to innovation research through highlighting business modelling at the vision stage and theorising its mechanisms and legitimacy concerns. To practise, learnings related to legitimacy, rather than only resource constraints, would allow new ventures to quickly turn their focus in the right direction when trying to develop their business models.

New trends in innovation management may require new research methods. Social media analytics (SMA)-a method for capturing and analyzing data from user-generated content published on online platforms-has emerged as a complement or even alternative to more traditional research methods. This article systematically reviews and assesses the use of SMA and its potential for innovation management research. Our results show that use of SMA is still in an emergent phase, although it has become increasingly popular over the past decade. Our literature review illustrates that SMA provides new opportunities for innovation management scholars to enhance customer-, market-, technology-, and society-focused innovation research in several ways. In this paper we develop a research agenda and suggest areas for future research using SMA in innovation management.

The development of the sharing economy has resulted in a plethora of sharing economy business models. This paper takes its motivation from the increased variety of sharing economy business models to develop a typology of sharing economy business model transformations. It does so through creating a timeline of the sharing economy development, capturing business model configurations as activity systems along that development, and tracing mechanisms affecting sharing economy business model transformations. The paper thereby interlinks the sharing economy development on the phenomenon level with transformations of its business models. The paper contributes to past research by presenting a systematic account of the development of the sharing economy and its resulting business model configurations and by developing a typology focusing on the types of changes that have transformed the sharing economy business models and resulted in the plethora of business models. 

Purpose Additive manufacturing has been described as converting supply chains into demand chains. By focusing on metal additive manufacturing as a contemporary technology causing ongoing disruption to the supply chain, the purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss how incumbent firms act during an ongoing, transformational disruption of their supply chain. Design/methodology/approach Interviews and secondary data, along with seminars attracting approximately 600 individuals operating in metal additive manufacturing, form the empirical basis for this paper. Findings The findings of this paper indicate how disruption occurs at multiple positions in the supply chain. Episodic positions as conceptualised in this paper refer to how parties challenged by disruption attempt to reach normality while speeding the transformational disruption. Originality/value This paper contributes to previous research by theorising about episodic positions in light of a supply chain disruption. The empirical data are unique in how they capture supply chain change at the time of disruption and illustrate disruptive, transformational change to supply chains. The paper interlinks research on disruption from the innovation and supply chain literature, with contributions to both.

Purpose Current online business development redistributes last-mile logistics (LML) from consumer to retailer and producer. This paper identifies how empirical LML research has used and defined logistic performance measures for key grocery industry actors. Using a multi-actor perspective on logistic performance, the authors discuss coordination issues important for optimising LML at system level. Design/methodology/approach A semi-systematic literature review of 85 publications was conducted to analyse performance measurements used for effectiveness and efficiency, and for which actors. Findings Few empirical LML studies exist examining coordination between key actors or on system level. Most studies focus on logistic performance measurements for retailers and/or consumers, not producers. Key goals and resource utilisations lack research, including all key actors and system-level coordination. Research limitations/implications Current LML performance research implies a risk for sub-optimisation. Through expanding on efficiency and effectiveness interplay at system level and introducing new research perspectives, the review highlights the need to revaluate single-actor, single-measurement studies. Practical implications No established scientific guidelines exist for solving LML optimisation in the grocery industry. For managers, it is important to thoroughly consider efficiency and effectiveness in LML execution, coordination and collaboration among key actors, avoiding sub-optimisations for business and sustainability. Originality/value The study contributes to current knowledge by reviewing empirical research on LML performance in the grocery sector, showing how previous research disregards the importance of multiple actors and coordination of actors, efficiency and effectiveness.

Purpose

Although ecosystems have been researched extensively over the past decade, we know little about how they should be organised. Focusing on a knowledge ecosystem comprising a university and a regional strategic network (RSN), this paper aims to describe and discuss the mechanisms for knowledge development in knowledge ecosystems.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper studies the integration of a university into a Swedish RSN. Data were collected through interviews with representatives of the university, the RSN and all firms comprising the RSN. A qualitative content analysis helped to detect mechanisms for knowledge development.

Findings

Two reinforcing mechanisms for knowledge development in the knowledge ecosystem are identified: structure and openness, which relate to insight and outlook, respectively. The findings also indicate a knowledge division, with the university representing the transfer of knowledge capabilities as a linear process, whereas the content-related knowledge is collaborative.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to research on knowledge ecosystems by describing how their organisation is based on a number of contradictions (structure and openness, insight and outlook, linearity and collaboration) to accomplish the development of knowledge capabilities and content-related knowledge.

Regional economic disparity and environmental sustainability are two prioritized areas of societal concern. By focusing on how societal support and company ambitions influence firms’ decisions, this paper reveals the tension between environmental sustainability and attempts to create a balance between regions. The paper describes the consequences of allocation of environmental effects for and of regional economic disparity and thereby highlights a dualistic causality. A case study illustrates the point by focusing on transportation and location decisions. The paper concludes that the delicate dilemma of allocating environmental effects is a matter of balancing various interests, hence indicating a paradox. The paradox extends between regional economic disparity and environmental sustainability but also between societal concerns and firms’ decisions. The paper contributes to the debate on sustainability by indicating that allocation of environmental effects is not as straightforward as corporate social responsibility suggests. The paper also contributes to research on regional economic disparities by indicating that focusing attention on environmental effects may have regional consequences and thereby potentially threaten other goals set by society. 

Purpose: This article explores the various stakeholders' perceptions of the ways digital work is organised within the sharing economy and the social implications of the transformation of work.

Design/methodology/approach: Applying social media analytics (SMA) concerning the sharing economy platform Foodora, a total of 3,251 user-generated content was collected and organised throughout the social media landscape in Sweden over 12 months, and 18 stakeholder groups were identified, discussing digital work within seven thematic categories.

Findings: The results show that the stakeholder groups in the Swedish context primarily expressed negative views of Foodora's way of organising digital work. The social media posts outlined the distributive and procedural justice related to the working conditions, boycott and protests and critical incidents, as well as the collective bargaining of Foodora.

Originality/value: By utilising a novel SMA method, this study contributes to the extant literature on the sharing economy by providing a systematic assessment concerning the impact of the sharing economy platform on the transformation of work and the associated social consequences.