This paper discusses the role of so-called national champions within the context of the EU's ambitious goal to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economic region in the world by 2010. We find football to be a useful analogy in our discussion of national champions. There are...

Health care systems need to be resilient to deal with disasters like the global spread of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) on top of serving the changing needs of a multi-morbid, ageing and often dispersed population. This paper identifies, discusses and augments...

Organizations in a wide array of fields and disciplines are increasingly using design thinking as an innovative process to create products or services that address wicked problems in their industries. Design thinking, a method of creative and collaborative problem solving originating in the...

Organizations are increasingly challenged by dynamism and turbulence that determine conditions of complexity in decision making. The aim of this paper is to highlight the need for a general frame of reference for management and marketing and to justify why adopting a systems approach is adequate...

This paper investigates the effect of freight transport time savings (FTTS) on the performance of transport consuming companies. In the first part existing methods on FTTS valuation are critically discussed and their limitations are identified. Following, a conceptual model is built introducing...

Our article epitomizes systems thinking not only to identify possible unintended consequences of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA), but also to offer suggestions mitigating their impact. Employing two-loop, generic system archetypes, our intent is to help stakeholders in intellectual...

The objective of this paper is to recommend planning options for improving the resilience, competitiveness, and sustainability of coastal cities. Insights for an improved understanding of dynamic coastal ecosystems and tourism impacts are shared. These are based on project level solutions and...

Purpose: This study explores the complexity of developing a sustainable small and medium industry (SMI) through a conceptual model that integrates lean and green manufacturing principles. Design/methodology/approach: This model includes a systems diagram that illustrates the structure of the...

Despite popular misconceptions, cooperatives present a very successful organizational form worldwide. A recent study found that in the U.S., for example, 134 agricultural cooperatives celebrated their 100th anniversary in 2014. This observation on cooperative longevity is not matched by a...