Würzburg, Univ., Diss., 2008.

Digitalization is the process of making digital everything that can be digitised to change a business model and provide new revenue and value-producing opportunities. However, difficulties exist in evaluating the value created by digital technology investments in organisations, industry structures, economies and society, at large. My dissertation illustrates how the distinct characteristics of digital technologies are implicit in an evolution from stable to fragile product innovation; while highlighting the need for a dynamic approach to entrepreneurial innovation within national innovation systems. The foundations for my work are bound up in the digitalization of value networks, and the context for this research is digital cinema - a process that began in 2000. Digital cinema offered a new value proposition to distributors and significant cost reductions for the US studios. With a reliance on a highly developed value chain to protect intellectual property, these studios sought to learn from the disruption digitalization caused to the music industry, by cultivating digital technology as an, incremental innovation, in replacing celluloid with bytes to project content to cinema audiences. Global digital cinema penetration in 2014 stood at 90 per cent of the total screen footprint. The dissertation assesses features of this digital rollout that have been under-explored; including the role digital technology has assumed in process and product innovation; and, the behavioural responses of both incumbents and new entrants during the diffusion and adoption phase. My dissertation is supported by eight published papers, which highlight the need for domestic policymakers to focus their attention on emerging entrepreneurial innovations; the utilisation of current knowledge and strategies for novel solutions in order to strengthen their respective national innovation systems. Taken together they help explain the creation, diffusion and adoption of digital cinema, explore the new content creation opportunities they support, and explain how three nations in particular have sought to innovate and reorientate themselves in relation to these novel phenomena. The wider implications of the findings of the project build on the innovation literature in examining the diffusion, adoption and knowledge acquisition during the rollout of digital cinema technology. These findings suggest a radically different reading of both disruptive innovations and national innovation systems than has been offered in previous accounts, viewing the digital cinema rollout as a case study of an increasingly mobile sector, in which technological factors retreat in importance behind entrepreneurial innovation as a key driving force in reaching audiences. Finally, in exploring the phenomenon of the digitalization of value networks I have made a significant contribution to knowledge in the design of an innovative mixed method; specifically in the area of field research - a qualitative data collection method designed for considering, observing, and interacting with individuals in their natural environments. Over time, I have established that digital cinema was capable of delivering novel supply and demand solutions - starting with a few unrelated scraps of data, through the establishment of personal networks with communities of practice (in the UK, US & Norway) to building rich, and complex quantitative data sets capable of measuring the entire diffusion and adoption phase of the digital cinema rollout, right across Europe.

Geographic clusters of firms have been extensively studied in different bodies of literature, but little attention has been paid to the process of cluster formation and its determinants. While focusing on the effects of clusters on innovations and on the productivity of firms, the literature has neglected the agency of entrepreneurs in cluster emergence. This thesis aims to contribute to the literature on clusters by studying the role of personal networks and firm networks in three aspects of the emergence of clusters: 1) the early stages of formation; 2) the creation of business relations between firms; and 3) the creation of knowledge among clustered firms. The analysis was conducted using the biotechnology sector in four geographic regions of Chile as a case study. Data on firms was collected using in-depth interviews and a survey. The analysis of the data was carried out using content analysis, multilevel estimations and econometric analysis. The results reveal three main findings. First, the personal and business relations of entrepreneurs can determine the location decisions of firms. Second, personal relations are positively associated with the emergence of formal business relations between firms. Third, the number of personal and business connections a firm has positively affects its production of knowledge, measured as patent applications and scientific journals. These findings suggest that social networks within a cluster shape its emergence and development. The results also show that the different types of networks coexisting in a cluster - personal networks, business networks and research networks, among others - affect one another and determine the development of clusters. The implications of this research may be helpful for policy-makers, professional associations and cluster managers. Activities to foster personal interaction between members of a cluster and other key actors - universities, incubators, venture capital firms, government agencies, etc. - may generate collaborations between firms that would not otherwise emerge.

One factor of the leadership stratagem is to account for the core values, operations, and growth of the organization. The purpose of this case study was to ascertain the financial strategies small business leaders incorporate to help ensure growth of small businesses. The conceptual framework of Schumpeter's innovation and entrepreneurship theory and the Grameen model were included to drive the scope and analysis of this study. A purposive sample of 8 leaders from successful small businesses in Islamabad contributed to a focus group session; 4 out of these participants originated from the finance and management department and 4 represented sales and product development departments working in 3 outlets of the firm. Transcript review and member checking were used to support the reliability of the interpretation of participants regarding what they said and meant from their responses. Moreover, company documents were reviewed to triangulate the data. Yin's 5-step data analysis plan was used for the final data analysis. Four major themes surfaced from data analysis: Microfinance, product quality, customer care, and strategic vision. These endorse business leader stratagem and association to their mission, financial strategy, overall business operations, and survival and growth. Product quality is vital to maintain and retain valuable customer for revenue generation. Customer care is emphasized for its importance as an ethical practice and gaining customers confidence. Strategic vision is recognized as the foremost leadership skillset to plan and organize future business strategies effectively, which impacts business growth and longevity. The outcome of this study may contribute to positive social change by enhancing understanding of the leadership strategies that impact the longevity of the business to secure jobs and benefit employees, their families, and the surrounding community.

The topic of sustainability has found its way into the corporate entrepreneurship activities of large corporations. The Sustainable Corporate Entrepreneurship (SCE) strand is still in its infancy. Since most large corporations engage in corporate entrepreneurship and are exploring new business models inside and outside corporate boundaries, several questions arise from different viewpoints. First, from corporate perspective researchers and business leaders wonder which internal modes of SCE activities have emerged in business practice and how large corporations explore sustainable value propositions. Second, from entrepreneur and investor perspective, the question emerges which factors influence the likelihood of corporate ventures, such as spin-offs from corporations, raising venture capital to scale sustainable business models. Therefore, to further develop the field of SCE, this cumulative dissertation presents three research papers analysing sustainable corporate entrepreneurship at the intersection of corporations and start-ups.

Computing is becoming exponentially more pervasive, and so-called process of ``Digital Transformation'' is but starting. As computers become ever more relevant, our societies will need computing professionals that are well-equipped to face the many challenges their own discipline amplified. The education of computer scientists, so far, mostly focused on equipping them with technical skills. Society and academia, however, are increasingly recognising computing as a field where disciplines collide and intersect. An example that we investigate is that of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (I&E), a field that has often be used to equip computer science students with soft skills and non-technical competences. Computer science faces some unique problems, among which a lower student interest for non-technical subjects, and a constant process of epistemic and technological obsolescence. This thesis showcases some experiences that aim to address these challenges, going towards (re)connecting the Humans and Machines participating in computer science education with the needs of the World of today and tomorrow. Our work combines some theoretical reflections with pedagogical experiments, to ensure that our work has at the same time descriptive power and empirical validation. To aid teachers and learners in the change process, these experiments share a pedagogical approach rooted on Active Learning, ranging from Challenge-Based Learning to Peer Education, to custom-tailored teaching methodologies. In designing each experiment, we start by asking ourselves: how is what we want to teach practiced in the real world? Theoretically, this thesis contributes to the state of the art by conducting a horizontal exploration of how computer science education can enter an age ever more dominated by so-called ambiguity. Methodologically, we propose lightweight techniques for qualitative measurement that are rigorous, but introduce little methodological burden, emphasising our work's reflective and exploratory dimension. Our work aims to show how, using the same broad design process, courses can be flexibly adapted to fit an ever-changing world, including significant disruptions such as the transition to online education.