Digital inequality is one of the most critical issues in the knowledge economy. Governments, businesses, and the public have devoted tremendous resources to address such inequality, yet the results are inconclusive. Theoretical understanding, complemented with theory-based empirical assessment of the phenomenon, is essential to inform effective policy-making and intervention. The context of our...

Critical Realism (CR) states that knowledge (epistemology) is different from being or existence (ontology). There is a reality (unobservable structures) which exists independent of human thought. Critical realists believe that these unobservable structures cause observable events. Therefore, the social world can be understood only if people understand the structures that generate events. This i...

eco-innovation is an actual topic as it links two key issues, innovation and sustainability. theenvironmental respect and innovation are important drivers of competitiveness. firms are willing to knowwhat to do to improve their eco-innovative capacity. the objective of this paper is to empirically determinewhat common characteristics have the most environmental oriented innovative firms. we ana...

ion and explanation A CR approach to the explanation of concrete phenomena such as semiosis analyses them as conjunctions of structures and causal powers co-producing specific effects. To do this it abstracts these structures, identifying them and considering their respective causal powers and liabilities. Having done this, it then moves back towards the concrete, combining the abstracted const...

Small-medium firms represent more than 90% of Italian firms, 50% of Italian production and 2/3 of employment and they need support in innovation process especially in known technology. The Italian small-medium firm, in fact, operates chiefly in medium to low technology sectors. They are often too small to make the necessary investments in training, computer systems, research and development, bu...

Because of the limited capacity of coastal lands and conflicting interests among stakeholders for coastal resources, there are intensifying pressures to retain and provide more public access to the coast. Coastal gated communities have been developed increasingly in the middle shoreline of Caspian Sea in North of Iran. They are kind of exclusive space production as they restrict public access t...

This paper develops a mathematical model of innovation in technology with two main characteristics. First, it discusses the endogenously made decision on not only how much to innovate, but also, how much to imitate. Second, it demonstrates that the decision to innovate or imitate are not mutually exclusive and a firm can innovate and imitate simultaneously. A mathematical model is presented, an...

Global open innovation is not new to many small economies. Innovative firms are open to capabilities available beyond organizational and national boundaries. Cross-border collaboration is flourishing. Regions with strong cluster portfolios become innovation hubs, while regions with no clusters risk stagnation. Universities are critical in helping regions tap into global resources. Open innovati...