European Journal of Management Issues

3-12

Authors: Ilmi, Z., Wijaya, A., Kasuma, J., & Darma, D. C

Purpose – to explore a crowdsourcing data-driven approach to construct crowd knowledge databases for innovation through supporting creative idea generation. In this approach, social media will be used as platforms to crowdsource knowledge for producing the databases. Findings. Creativity is an essential element of innovation, but producing creative ideas is often challenging in design. Many computational tools have become available recently to support designers in producing creative ideas that are new to individuals. As a standard feature, most of the tools rely on the databases employed, such as ConceptNet and the US Patent Database. This study highlighted that the limitations of these databases have constrained the capabilities of the tools and, thereby, new computational databases supporting the generation of new ideas to a crowd or even history are needed. Crowdsourcing outsources tasks conventionally performed in-house to a crowd and uses external knowledge to solve problems and democratize innovation. Social media is often employed in crowdsourcing for a crowd to create and share knowledge. Originality/Value. This paper proposes a novel approach employing social media to crowdsource knowledge from a crowd for constructing crowd knowledge databases. Practical implications. The crowd knowledge database is expected to be used by the current computational tools to support designers producing highly creative ideas that are new to the crowd, in new product design, and ultimately to innovation. Research limitations/Future research. In this study to provide insights and potential directions for future research are discussed that challenges of employing described approach. Paper type – theoretical.

25-33

Authors: Krasnikova, N. O., Dzyad, O. V., Mihaylenko, O. G., & Hrechyn, K. O.

Purpose – To assess the integration and management of the formation and implementation of the competitive advantages of the Visegrad Four countries in the European market of information, computer, telecommunication (ICT) services based on their analysis in the individual market segments. Design/Method/Research approach - this study aims to determine the presence and nature of the competitive advantages of countries in the European ICT services market based on the calculation of export specialization indicators, to establish factors for their growth and effective implementation based on the results of structural, regressive, comparative analysis and synthesis. Findings. It has been suggested that the introduction of the European rules for market organization stimulated the building-up in the Visegrad Four countries of their competitive advantages in the European ICT services market through innovative investment resources, effective management of private, public sector, and international investors and personnel. Practical implications. The accession of Eastern European countries to the European digital market and digital space requires a generalization of the experience of the Visegrad Four countries and the identification of factors, directions, and priorities of the national policy for the development of the ICT sector. Originality/Value. The scientific novelty of the study - based on the calculation of the comparative advantage index, different integration and effectiveness of managing the competitive advantages of the Visegrad Four countries, primarily the sphere of IC services to the European market (relatively high - in the Czech Republic due to state financing, moderate – in Poland due to financial support from the state, in Slovakia due to private investment in R&D, low – in Hungary), this situation requires a balanced innovation and investment strategy of the countries in the future, the training of a sufficient number of qualified IT specialists, stimulation of private investment in R&D and business cooperation with the sphere of knowledge by means of tax and administrative incentives, facilitating the transition of small and medium-sized businesses on the principles of economics 4.0. Paper type – empirical.

41-51

Authors: Omondi, P. P., Ndegwa, J. W., & Okech, T. C.

Purpose – tо study sought to delve into social capital and commercial banks' internationalization in Kenya drawing on the internationalization concept. Design/Method/Approach. The research adopted a positivist philosophical approach and used a descriptive cross-sectional research design targeting top and middle-level managers in Kenya's commercial banks. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 22.0 for both descriptive and inferential statistics. Structural Equation Modelling was used to establish the influence of social capital on commercial banks' internationalization in Kenya. Findings. The findings established a significant and positive relationship between the components of social capital: inter-cultural empathy, inter- personal impact and diplomacy, and commercial banks' internationalization. Practical implications. The results have significant consequences: Firstly, social capital has a positive and statistically significant relationship with commercial banks' internationalization. Secondly, all dimensions of social capital affect the acquisition of foreign market knowledge and financial resources. Thirdly, the use of individuals' social capital often changes during internationalization. Originality/Value. The study's novelty demonstrates the interaction of commercial banks' managers in Kenya on the application of social capital as an internationalization orientation process. Research Limitations/Future Research. The research contributes to the advancement of location theory. It opens avenues for future research to establish what extent social capital is beneficial to banks that have ventured into international markets. Paper type – empirical.