Unlocking the Hidden Potentials of Organization Through Merging of Humans and Digitals

Information technologies dominate our lives. More and more resources are allocated to us, and we actively use them. Biometrics is one of the technologies that helps us uniquely determine a person’s identity. However, living and working conditions often pose challenges in the use of biometrics. Too much light towards the biometric sensor, elevated temperature of the environment around and on the sensor itself, dirty fingers, makeup on the face, and glasses are just some of the problems that can contribute to not recognizing the biometric pattern. Therefore, the acquisition process is essential when using biometric systems to identify a person’s identity. This paper will deal with the data model that can be used when modelling the biometric system and the acquisition process as its indispensable part.

With digitalization, the connection of stakeholders in the global e-commerce supply chain has been facilitated. On the other hand, it has also introduced challenges such as increased risk of fraud and manipulation, and a lack of trust among participants who are physically separated and conducting business transactions from different locations. The involvement of intermediaries often complicates processes and raises costs. Blockchain technology addresses these issues by enabling transparent and secure transactions on a global scale, reducing the risk of fraud, eliminating unnecessary intermediaries, and strengthening trust among participants through a decentralized and immutable ledger. This paper proposes a methodology for introducing blockchain technology into the e-commerce supply chain, focusing on improving product authenticity, transparency of business transactions, and stakeholders’ trust. The possibility of introducing blockchain in a fashion e-commerce supply chain according to the proposed methodology is shown as a proof of concept. Blockchain integration is conducted with the developed prototype of a decentralized application tailored to the fashion industry. The developed decentralized application enables conducting B2C and B2B transactions via smart contracts within the e-commerce supply chain.

This paper presents a novel framework for ensuring the integrity and verifiability of AI models using blockchain technology, specifically leveraging the Solana blockchain’s off-chain capabilities. As artificial intelligence continues to play an increasingly critical role across various sectors, the need for transparent, traceable, and auditable AI model management has become paramount. Our proposed solution addresses this challenge by implementing a tokenization approach for AI models, which enables secure tracking of model lineage, modifications, and ownership transfers.

The framework utilizes Solana’s high-performance blockchain and the Token-2022 program to create a tamper-resistant record of AI model provenance and metadata. By incorporating parent-child relationships between tokens, the system facilitates the tracing of model evolution and specialization. This approach enhances trust in AI systems by providing a verifiable model development and deployment history.

We discuss the implementation details, including the off-chain solution architecture, tokenization process, and metadata structure. The paper also explores potential future developments, such as on-chain implementations, advanced encryption techniques, and creating an AI model marketplace. Our work contributes to the growing field of blockchain applications in AI governance, offering a scalable and efficient solution for maintaining AI model integrity in an increasingly complex technological landscape.

The development of e-commerce has complicated the decision-making process. Emphasizing conscious decision-making has yielded inconsistent results for sustainable consumption, often overlooking the unconscious influences. This study used digital nudges to enhance sustainable fashion consumption (SFC) among Gen Z consumers in southeastern Europe, whose environmental awareness does not always translate into buying habits. Recognizing Gen Z’s emphasis on togetherness and sustainability, the study focused on social influence and the environmental performance of fashion products. One hundred participants (41 males, 58 females, and 1 non-disclosed) were divided into two groups and completed six online questionnaires on purchase intention, willingness-to-pay, green trust, green perceived value, and word-of-mouth for six fashion product categories. The six MANOVAs confirmed that participants exposed to social norm nudges (experimental group) in fictitious e-commerce settings scored higher on all dependent variables. The results suggest that social nudges are a cost-efficient, promising tool for fashion retailers, providing a holistic understanding of products’ environmental and social values for Gen Z.

The starting point of successful innovation is the generation of creative ideas. Managing and controlling ideas is imperative for organizations as it enables them to save on research costs, shape future developments, especially in sustainability, and maintain their unique capabilities. As a result, idea management is recognized as a critical component of the Fuzzy Front End (FFE) process, as it assists organizations in effectively capturing and evaluating a wide range of good ideas and opportunities for innovation. By employing idea management tools (for example, idea management systems) and procedures, organizations can manage the FFE in a more structured manner, reducing the risk of spending resources on ideas that do not align with their strategic objectives or customer needs. The significance of the FFE and idea management is exceptional in academia (numerous publications) and in practice (application of various software solutions). Consequently, this paper aims to introduce a roadmapping framework for idea management, which might serve as the basis for comprehending and implementing the process and for conducting in-depth research on individual components of the idea management process. The framework is based on a literature review and interpretation of existing idea management systems.

Public sector entities face many challenges and changes with regard to the information needs of different information users. Non-financial reporting is one of the ways to deal with the changes and new requirements of information users. Against this background, a survey was conducted in Croatia among users and producers of reports, primarily to determine whether the respondents were familiar with non-financial reporting. The aim was to find out which non-financial information users and accountants consider to be the most important and what their attitude towards non-financial reporting is. In other words, whether they consider the introduction of non-financial reporting necessary and whether users need non-financial information. As there is no developed framework for non-financial reporting in the public sector, the non-financial information proposed by the International Integrated Reporting Framework was used. A quantitative survey was conducted to collect data. The survey was conducted in the form of a questionnaire in the Republic of Croatia among various information users and accountants. The research conducted in the Republic of Croatia leads to the conclusion that non-financial reporting in public sector entities is not developed and that knowledge about non-financial reporting is weak among all groups of respondents. On the other hand, information users recognize the need to prepare non-financial reports in the future, which can be seen as support for the implementation of non-financial reporting.

Sustainability and sustainable practices are a priority of policy guidelines for the future period and require the involvement and contribution of all stakeholders through operations in the domain. This paper focuses on the analysis of existing literature with the aim of synthesizing and defining research and development initiatives for key domains within higher education institutions for the integration of sustainability. Those domains are: Study Programs and Curricula; Operations, Student Life and Campus; Research, Science, Networks and Partnerships; and Projects. Identifying research and development initiatives contributed to the understanding of how higher education institutions can contribute to sustainable development. In addition, the research is the basis for creating a framework for implementing, developing and evaluating sustainable practices in higher education institutions.

Clinical hospital centers and general hospitals represent the primary sources of debt in the Croatian health sector. In response to concerns about financial sustainability, the Croatian government will implement a significant organizational reform of the hospital sector in 2024. According to the provisions of the Healthcare Act, the management of general hospitals will be transferred to state ownership. In addition, a new Public Health Protection Network will be established, introducing structural and organizational reforms to centralize the planning of health resources based on regional (county) needs. The aim of this study is to examine the differences in the technical efficiency of hospital operations between counties and to identify trends over time. To this end, the Window Data Envelopment Analysis (WDEA) is applied to the period from 2016 to 2022. The results show significant differences in the efficiency of the healthcare system between the counties, which underlines the need for targeted measures and systematic monitoring. In this context, the new Public Health Protection Network is positioned as a strategic initiative to promote integrated, patient-centered care.

The way that humans and machines engage has changed significantly, particularly when it comes to cooperating and working together to accomplish goals in an organizational context. As a result, “human-machine teams” were created, found in both service-intensive sectors, where workers are coupled with chatbots and artificial intelligence (AI) tools and manufacturing, performing assembly and disassembly work. Inspired by the emergence of these new work teams and the surrounding opportunities and problems, this book chapter’s aim is to synthesize and analyze the literature by identifying publication trends, hotspots, themes, most impactful voices, and contexts, as well as a future research agenda on human-machine teams. The book chapter is grounded in a multi-technique bibliometric analysis, based on Scopus-retrieved data, following the rigorous PRISMA guidelines. It was found that machine learning systems and trust are the most frequently occurring keywords, while 2022 saw the highest number of publications. The results also have important implications for practitioners and managers who are showing an increasing interest in integrating human-machine teams into organizational structures, as well as the scientific community, which will continue to explore this area in the future.

Digital transformation is increasingly becoming a crucial factor for business growth and management across companies of all sizes and industries, offering significant benefits. Despite this, statistics reveal a high failure rate for many digital transformation initiatives. To address this issue, this study conducted a thorough literature review and developed a Porter’s Digital Maturity Model grounded in Porter’s Digital Value Chain and guided by Sociotechnical Systems theory. The model, which consists of seven dimensions and six levels of digital maturity was validated through interviews with five experts from various industry sectors. According to experts, the new model is both detailed and adaptable, making it suitable for different companies, industries, and stages of development across departments, aligning with strategic business objectives. This model empowers companies to precisely assess their level of digital maturity, navigate the process of digital transformation and meet contemporary demands. Additionally, it contributes valuable insights to the body of literature on digital transformation and maturity models.

The transition from traditional to modern digital technologies presents a business revolution, that makes incremental changes to the conducting of business processes. In scientific literature, this process is referred to as digitalization, as an integral part of Industry 4.0. The purpose of this paper is to present a relevant literature review on the topic of digital transformation and key performance indicators in manufacturing. The aim of this paper is to emphasize the importance of digital and digital transformation key performance indicators in manufacturing. The intention of this paper is to emphasize the significance of digital transformation and digitalization in manufacturing, to identify key advantages and challenges of its application and to categorize key performance indicators in digital transformation. To achieve a competitive advantage and a better position in the market, the results presented in this paper can be used by companies to improve the allocation and use of resources, aiming for digital transformation.

In an era characterized by digital innovation, B2B business models are experiencing seismic change driven by the integration of e-commerce, big data, AI, digital marketing, IoT, and blockchain technologies. This paper explores the revolutionary impact of these digital trends and how they are reshaping business operations and customer engagement. Using insightful case studies from industry giants such as Alibaba, the paper illustrates the practical applications and transformative benefits of these technologies. Despite challenges such as the complexity of integration, legal hurdles, and privacy concerns, the potential for sustainable growth and competitive advantage in the digital age is immense. The paper argues for a proactive approach to overcoming these obstacles, enabling companies to take full advantage of the opportunities presented by digitalization and drive future success.