Digital Economy. Emerging Technologies and Business Innovation

This research investigates the transformative impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI), specifically Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) and computer vision (CV), on B2C retail promotions within the evolving digital landscape. Accelerated by the pandemic, retail digitization emphasizes the integration of AI for personalized advertising materials, overcoming limitations of traditional printed promotions. Despite the potential, the widespread adoption of AI technologies in retail remains constrained. Our study addresses this gap by employing a systematic literature review and qualitative content analysis within the socio-technical systems (STS) model. The analysis assesses existing research, emphasizing the need for a holistic understanding of the social and technical implications. Research questions delve into the adequacy of current research and the range of perspectives examined in AI-driven retail promotions. The paper concludes with a comprehensive framework integrating STS and the consumer journey, paving the way for competitive retail strategies.

As the digital economy expands, a significant portion of companies’ competitiveness hinges on their ability to adopt and integrate digital technologies (DT) into products, processes, and business models. This is particularly pertinent for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which play a significant role in wealth generation and employment creation across various economic sectors.

However, despite the evident advantages presented by this digital landscape, SMEs encounter substantial obstacles hindering their adoption of DT. These technologies are pivotal in facilitating SMEs’ transition towards sustainable and digitally-driven business models. Understanding the transitional phase of these enterprises holds paramount importance for both researchers and practitioners.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the extent of DT adoption among European (EU27) SMEs and explore the correlations between that adoption and various company characteristics, such as economic activity, size, and innovation intensity. To achieve this goal, a sample comprising 11,866 SMEs from the EU was analysed, utilising correspondence analysis to discern relationships between the variables.

The findings reveal a significant prevalence of European SMEs exhibiting a low intensity of innovation activity implementation. Moreover, there is a notable lack of adoption of digital technologies. However, a strong positive correlation is observed between the degree of DT adoption and innovation intensity. In light of these findings, further research is imperative to delve into potential patterns in DT adoption. Understanding methods to overcome barriers and promote measures and policies conducive to heightened technology adoption is crucial in enhancing the innovation level among European SMEs.

Digital Transformation has emerged as a decisive consideration for achieving success in contemporary business ventures. As the interpretation of the term varies among researchers, its multifaceted nature in different industries become evident which requires to be examined. With such a vision, this study explores the intersection of Digital Transformation with business models, logistical aspects and their subsequent strategic resource allocations in multiple industries. The research was guided by the intention to study the impact of well-known success parameters to transform organizations digitally, the subsequent effects on business models and further interplay with logistical technologies. The research involved 11 in-depth interviews with professionals from various industries and countries, focusing on organizations with diverse experiences in digitalization, digital supply chain and logistics management. These interviews exploited a structured questionnaire based on established success factors and digital maturity measures. The study indicates that digital maturity levels are positively associated with the successful implementation of digital transformation. Furthermore, it uncovers the interaction of success factors, technology adoption, business model innovation, and logistics enhancements in the process. Financial performance is found as contingent on a strategic alignment of transformation with business objectives and overcoming resistance to change, particularly from senior employees. By integrating insights from interviewees and financial data analysis, this research sheds light on the importance of effective digital transformation, its performance indicators, and the hurdles that organizations face. These findings have potential implications for businesses and organizations endeavoring to embrace Digital Transformation while navigating its complexities and challenges.

The concept of digital platforms has attracted a great deal of attention in the fields of economics and information systems, shaping scholarly discourse for the past few years. However, despite the frequent usage of the term “digital platform” in the literature, its definition covers a wide range of meanings. Scholars often use the term to mean very distinct concepts which creates a sort of semantic confusion within the scientific community. To clarify the different elements and perspectives shaping the definition of a digital platform, a systematic literature review was carried out. A total of 64 definitions from 58 scholarly resources were collected and analyzed through qualitative content analysis. This analytical process aimed to isolate and identify the fundamental elements used in defining digital platforms, along with discerning the multiple perspectives from which this term is approached. Furthermore, this study traces the evolution of the definition of the concept in parallel with the dynamic development of digital platforms in recent years.

The digital economy is rapidly transforming the economy, presenting both unprecedented opportunities and complex challenges. This paper aims to provide an in-depth examination of the dynamics, trends, and implications of the digital economy and digital maturity.

This comprehensive review thoroughly examines the interdependent connection between the digital economy and digital maturity, presenting a comprehensive analysis of existing scholarly literature. In the contemporary era of digital advancements, the interaction between economic activities and technological progress has led to the emergence of the dynamic digital economy.

Simultaneously, digital maturity is considered as a pivotal factor, indicating the readiness and capability of entities to fully leverage the potential of digital technologies.

The review explores diverse dimensions, encompassing technological adoption.

This conceptual study examines digital maturity models, exploring their origin, meaning, and practical utility in guiding organizations through the complexities of digital transformation.

Digital investment remains a challenge on the mind of every manager, especially after the Covid-19 crisis. It changed the business landscape, overturned organizations’ classification, and consumed an interesting amount of budget and resources. Indeed, more than US$3.22tn are invested in digital in a worldwide range. However, the return on this investment remains fuzzy. Moreover, there is no definitive answer on the impact of digital investment on firm performance. This article aims to clarify the relationship between digital investment and organizational performance. Based on a survey of 312 companies and 74 interviews, our findings highlight that digital transformation has not a powerful impact on organizational performance. Indeed, Moroccan companies are still in the infancy of their digital adventure, which explains the reduced impact of digital investment on performance. Moreover, digital investment seems irrelevant for Moroccan companies since they think that it has a greater impact on the international level than the national one. Miscommunication, the lack of digital competencies, inertia, the company’s environment, and managerial myopia limit digital investment in Morocco. Unable to see the real weight and importance of this investment, Moroccan companies do not invest sufficiently and are not expecting interesting results from their digital adventure.

Financial inclusion is viewed as one of the most potent strategies for improving regional economies and lowering air pollution by providing consumers with enough access to and use of diverse digital financial services that match their demands. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the Digital Financial Inclusion Index on regional economic growth in 31 Chinese provinces between 2003 and 2022 using linear and quadratic GMM-system methods. In the linear model, the results suggest that digital financial inclusion has a positive effect on economic growth. The quadratic GMM-system, on the other hand, confirms that this relationship is not linear. Furthermore, according to the results of the two models, digital financial inclusion can decrease the detrimental consequences of environmental pollution. To maximize the positive effects of digital financial inclusion on economic growth, authorities should strategically integrate digital technology and strengthen regional joint efforts.

In this study, we delve into the multifaceted landscape of AI in education at Mohammed V University, providing a comprehensive roadmap to leverage its potential. As AI continues to evolve and integrate into educational systems, institutions must remain adaptable to meet the diverse needs of students while harnessing technology to create a more engaging and impactful learning environment. To address our central question, we use Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis by combining TOPSIS with PCA. This analysis reveals a significant demand for AI solutions bridging the gap between academic learning and real-world practical applications. Economically, this finding highlights a promising opportunity for stakeholders to develop and market AI tools and platforms focused on the development of practical skills, in harmony with the preferences of this specific market segment.

Another aspect focuses on the personalization of the educational experience. At Mohammed V University, students embracing AI favor adaptive and personalized educational technologies tailored to their individual learning needs, thereby reducing disparities in available resources. This underscores a clear market interest in AI-based solutions offering customized learning experiences, ensuring that each learner’s unique needs are met.

A third dimension involves a specialized technological niche in the education market. This niche presents a unique opportunity for institutions wishing to explore the technical aspects of AI in education, particularly in the context of Mohammed V University. This exploration has the potential to push the boundaries of what AI can bring to the field of education.

This study presents a modeling proposal for knowledge construction with strategies enabled by Generative Artificial Intelligence (GEN-AI) by ChatGPT. The modeling was tested (for illustrative purposes) in an MBA course in Technological Innovation Project Management/Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Module (online) at a Public Higher Education Institution (HEI) in Brazil. This study fills a gap in the literature and makes significant contributions: (a) it suggests a model for the construction of knowledge; (b) serves as a guide for educators and managers in choosing strategies for training professional skills; c) sheds light for educators and managers who intend to move forward with the adoption of teaching-learning strategies enabled by GEN-AI/ChatGPT guided by learning styles; (d) expands the Socio-Constructivist Theory on teaching strategies. Thus, the findings of this study suggest that it is worth adopting ChatGPT to enhance teaching and learning strategies to develop professional skills; and in this way, this tool can become a strategic priority for organizations that intend to advance with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: Quality Education.

During the pandemic, insights into the large-scale use of multiple instructional methods were generated. Building upon existing categories of barriers to digital higher education teaching, this short paper explores the relationship between these barriers to different teaching formats (face-to-face, blended, hybrid, and online). With a survey, we collected data during the fall of 2023 from 192 student participants. Results indicate a higher perception of barriers to online teaching. Still, face-to-face teaching scores higher on bodily discomfort. Meanwhile, blended and hybrid formats score consistently between face-to-face and online teaching. Our results conclude that online teaching needs more investment in research and implementation to become the new normal.

In our accelerated evolving and interconnected world, E-Learning ushered in a new era of education, working and living. This study applies the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use Technology (UTAUT) to analyse students’ intentions to use and their usage behavior of E-learning system at Tunisian Universities. The proposed model represents six hypothesis that were tested using Structural equation approach SEM. The data was collected from 300 higher students who use E-learning platforms like Google classrooms, Moodle etc. The results show that performance expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions have a great effect on the usage behavior of E-learning. However, effort expectancy has no influence on the behavioral intention. In addition, the findings approved the moderator role of the voluntariness of use on the relationship between social influence and behavioral intention. This study offers a guide for directors of universities to allocate efficiently theirs resourcesin order to ensure the continuity of higher education and maintaining educational and pedagogical performance whatever the circumstances. Discussion and furthers research perspectives were proposed.

One fundamental value proposition of every digital platform is to facilitate transactions between two or more stakeholders. Active user engagement is therefore a crucial success factor for platforms to thrive, grow and establish a competitive network. This paper delves into the topic of platform engagement on content-and-review platforms by using Google Maps as a research tool. Applying a qualitative approach, a descriptive analysis of local business entities’ data on Google Maps is elaborated, focusing particularly on engagement activities in the conjunction of business-owners and end-users. The findings suggest that under-, over-, and non-engagement are less desirable for local business entities. Following a practice-oriented discussion, strategic pathways are proposed to leverage business value from platform engagement activities.

This study investigates the impact of product innovativeness on customer engagement online. More precisely, we suggest that this association is mediated by intrinsic motivation and online word-of-mouth. On the Facebook page for Macoco, a survey was published. The dataset includes a sample of 220 Macoco product buyers, and structural equation modeling is used to evaluate the data. The findings demonstrate that product innovativeness only indirectly influences online customer engagement through the involvement of other factors, such as intrinsic motivation and, in our case, online word of mouth. The results also imply that word-of-mouth mediation between product innovation and online customer involvement is more effective than intrinsic motivation mediation. This study is a pioneer in figuring out how people are drawn to innovative products on social media. It investigates how product innovativeness generates positive word-of-mouth and subsequently impacts online shoppers’ intrinsic motivation.

In an era of technological progress, exploring the nexus between technology and religious practices, especially concerning Sharia e-commerce platforms, holds paramount importance. The study aims to investigate how religiosity impacts the awareness and development of Sharia e-commerce in Indonesia. This survey encompassed 714 Muslim respondents from diverse demographics in Indonesia, the biggest Muslim country. The data analysis employed descriptive statistics. The survey found that more than 90% of respondents identified as smartphone users and used digital wallets for online shopping. The survey highlighted a striking discrepancy between recognizing technology’s potential in supporting religious practices and actively engaging with Sharia-compliant e-commerce platforms. Therefore, the religiosity seems to be mattered in cognition and awareness, but it does not matter to customers’ preferences on using Sharia e-commerce platforms. Integrating Sharia products into conventional e-commerce platforms is better compared to developing Sharia e-commerce platforms exclusively. The integration of the current e-commerce players with halal-certified brands, religious institutions, or community organizations can strengthen the visibility and credibility of Sharia values in e-commerce.

This study investigates how and to what extent social media communications benefit both travelers and travel agencies throughout the customer journey. Fourteen Tunisian travel agencies were studied using multiple sources of evidence. We found that the integration of owned, earned, and paid social media produces different advantages for travel agencies and offers diverse benefits for their customers at every stage of the customer journey. Furthermore, these positive impacts were fully realized when travel agencies developed a successful communication strategy, allocated appropriate resources, and implemented coherent marketing practices. These findings are detailed and conceptualized in a new theoretical model titled the “Integrated Social Media Success Model”.

This study aims to investigate the research field of shadow economy in the new light of digitalization, spotlighting the thematic evolution of existing literature. The tools necessary for a bibliometric analysis are used to extract and visualize the most impactful insights. To trace the temporal evolution of research in this domain 72 documents were extracted from Web of Science platform, the selection being made using the next keywords: “digitalization”, “shadow economy”, “informal economy”, “informal sector”, “hidden economy”, and “black economy”. The empirical results underscore the important roles of Kurniawan T.A., Othman M.H.D and Goh H.H as reference authors when it comes to the digitalization and informal sector spectrum. Also, “Journal of Cleaner Production”, “Financial and Credit Activity-Problems of Theory and Practice” and “Sustainability” represent the top picks of the authors to publish their work on the studied subject.

The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship among green growth, green innovation, and digitalization. This will be accomplished through the application of linear and quadratic models, employing a two-step GMM-system approach on panel data from 2000 to 2022 for 27 European Union member countries. The linear model findings show that green innovation (PERT) has a positive and significant effect on green growth of 0.27. Moreover, with the use of the quadratic model, the squared PERT variable has a negative and significant impact, indicating a non-linearity relationship. Policymakers should prioritize and implement strategies that align with dynamic and scape to maximize our positive outcomes, like encouraging research and development activities specifically focused on green innovation in the digital era, investing in digital infrastructure, and stimulating the private sector to boost investment in environmentally friendly technology.

The goal of this study is to examine the literature on shadow economy and regional shadow economy in the context of digitalization and sustainable development. From a methodological perspective, the Web of Science database is used for the search of documents about “informal economy”, “underground economy”, “regional informal economy”, and “regional underground economy” between 1992 and 2023. The bibliometric analysis is conducted using the Biblioshiny and Bibliometrix packages from R, which provide information and visualizations on authors, keywords, papers, journals, and topic analysis. The results reveal a notable increase in documents within both overall and regional-level informal economy literature in 2016, coinciding with the formulation of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aimed at reducing inequalities and fostering inclusive economic growth, with a peak in 2021 driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, accelerating the digital transformation process and uncovering distinct patterns in the informal economy landscape. Moreover, during the last years, the literature on both the general shadow economy and regional aspects has placed growing emphasis on digitalization and sustainable development related themes, such as digital economy, financial development, innovation, e-waste, impact and globalization.

Mobile Technologies (MT) has transformed several domains by creating new opportunities. In the area of marketing, scholars underline the increasing interest for studying the impact of MT on marketing activities.

The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of scientific publications dealing with Mobile Technologies in the field of marketing and to identify and analyze the pending themes in this domain. As a valuable tool for processing large volumes of scientific data and as its contributions of advancements in marketing field, bibliometric methodology and network mapping are used. Data are collected from Web of Science, and 854 articles are selected and engaged in this study. Performance analysis reveal several bibliometric indicators such as the most impactful journals, the most indexed authors according to h-index, the most impactful and the most cited papers. Marketing scholars can learn about thematic clusters and discover new ideas for investigations in MT related to marketing area.

The field of artificial intelligence (AI) is currently growing by leaps and bounds. It is playing an increasingly important role in a variety of fields. The deployment of these technologies in the field of project management presents numerous advantages and opportunities to be seized, but also risks and challenges on several levels. With this in mind, the aim of this paper is to explore the different facets of project management linked to artificial intelligence applications in the Moroccan context. Accordingly, we aim to conduct semi-structured interviews with a sample of twenty-five Moroccan project managers in various business sectors. To analyze these results, a qualitative methodological approach of an exploratory nature was employed, assisted by Nvivo analysis software (version 12.0). The results of the study show that AI use is still very limited in the Moroccan context. Also, the result of this study present a number of catalysts driving AI adoption. This will contribute to existing knowledge in the area of the innovation of AI especially in the context of Moroccan project management.

This paper introduces a novel framework for Federated Data Spaces (FDSs) for advanced mobility services, aligning with the forefront of digital economy research, as demonstrated in Gaia-X initiatives. Our study addresses the emergent needs of inter-organizational collaboration in digital mobility services and systematically identifies and categorizes 32 distinct organizational roles into eight meta-roles. Derived from two meticulously selected mobility use cases, expert interviews developed this framework, embodying a unique blend of technological insight and economic foresight. Our research elucidates the intricate dynamics of role distribution in the digital economy, offering a comprehensive guide to establishing and managing FDSs. The paper provides a structured understanding of the roles and responsibilities required to successfully implement advanced mobility services, significantly contributing to the field. The methodology and findings are poised to influence digital economy strategies, particularly in fostering efficient, interoperable, and sovereign data exchanges within complex, multi-organizational structures.