Download or read book Business Ecology written by Joseph M Abe and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-09-10 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Business ecology is a new field that synthesizes centuries of cultural wisdom, a close observation of natural systems, and proven business success strategies, such as strategic planning and total quality management. It emulates nature's systems design to provide a harmonious, relationship-oriented approach that reveals how your organization really works. This book applies these principles to help you integrate profitability, stakeholder relations, and environmental performance ¦ giving your organization the natural edge in emerging ecological economy. Business ecology measures not just financial but overall viability by revealing vital flows and relationships that sustain your business. It is a lens for seeing those intangible elements of your organization's design -- such as core values, value-creation cycles, and innovative thinking ¦ that are essential factors shaping its success. The Business Ecology Network (BEN), founded in 1995, is a catalyst for life-sustaining enterprise. BEN is a learning community for leaders and managers who want to apply a new way of thinking ¦ business ecology ¦ to create new, sustainable opportunities for their businesses and non profit organizations. Visit the BEN web page at http://naturaledge.org.

Download or read book A Business Ecology Perspective on Community Driven Open Source written by Markus Radits and published by Linköping University Electronic Press. This book was released on 2019-01-25 with total page 411 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thesis approaches the phenomenon of open source software (OSS) from a managerial and organisational point of view. In a slightly narrower sense, this thesis studies commercialisation aspects around community-driven open source. The term ‘community-driven’ signifies open source projects that are managed, steered, and controlled by communities of volunteers, as opposed to those that are managed, steered, and controlled by single corporate sponsors. By adopting a business ecology perspective, this thesis places emphasis on the larger context within which the commercialisation of OSS is embedded (e.g., global and collaborative production regimes, ideological foundations, market characteristics, and diffuse boundary conditions). Because many business benefits arise as a consequence of the activities taking place in the communities and ecosystems around open source projects, a business ecology perspective may be a useful analytical guide for understanding the opportunities, challenges, and risks that firms face in commercializing OSS. There are two overarching themes guiding this thesis. The first theme concerns the challenges that firms face in commercialising community-driven open source. There is a tendency in the literature on business ecosystems and open source to emphasise the benefits, opportunities, and positive aspects of behaviour, at the expense of the challenges that firms face. However, business ecosystems are not only spaces of opportunity, they may also pose a variety of challenges that firms need to overcome in order to be successful. To help rectify this imbalance in the literature, the first theme particularly focuses on the challenges that firms face in commercialising community-driven open source. The underlying ambition is to facilitate a more balanced and holistic understanding of the collaborative and competitive dynamics in ecosystems around open source projects. The other theme concerns the complex intertwining of community engagement and profit-oriented venturing. As is acknowledged in the literature, the subject of firm-community interaction has become increasingly important because the survival, success, and sustainability of peer production communities has become of strategic relevance to many organisations. However, while many strategic benefits may arise as a consequence of firm-community interaction, there is a lack of research studying how the value-creating logics of firm–community interaction are embedded within the bigger picture in which they occur. Bearing this bigger picture in mind, this thesis explores the intertwining of volunteer community engagement and profit-oriented venturing by focusing on four aspects that are theorised in the literature: reinforcement, complementarity, synergy, and reciprocity. This thesis is designed as a qualitative exploratory single-case study. The empirical case is Joomla, a popular open source content management system. In a nutshell, the Joomla case in this thesis comprises the interactions in the Joomla community and the commercial activities around the Joomla platform (e.g., web development, consulting, marketing, customisation, extensions). In order to achieve greater analytical depth, the business ecology perspective is complemented with ideas and propositions from other theoretical areas, such as stakeholder theory, community governance, organizational identity, motivation theory, pricing, and bundling. The findings show that the common challenges in commercialising community-driven open source revolve around nine distinct factors that roughly cluster into three domains: the ecosystem, the community, and the firm. In short, the domain of the ecosystem comprises the global operating environment, the pace of change, and the cannibalisation of ideas. The domain of the community comprises the platform policy, platform image, and the voluntary nature of the open source project. And finally, the domain of the firm comprises the blurring boundaries between private and professional lives, the difficulty of estimating costs, and firm dependencies. Based on these insights, a framework for analysing community-based value creation in business ecosystems is proposed. This framework integrates collective innovation, community engagement, and value capture into a unified model of value creation in contexts of firm–community interaction. Furthermore, the findings reveal demonstrable effects of reinforcement, complementarity, synergy, and reciprocity in the intertwining of volunteer community engagement and profit-oriented venturing. By showing that this intertwining can be strong in empirical cases where commercial activities are often implicitly assumed to be absent, this thesis provides a more nuanced understanding of firm involvement in the realm of open source. Based on the empirical and analytical insights, a number of further theoretical implications are discussed, such as the role of intersubjective trust in relation to the uncertainties that commercial actors face, an alternative way of classifying community types, the metaphor of superorganisms in the context of open source, issues pertaining to the well-being of community participants, and issues in relation to the transitioning of open source developers from a community-based to an entrepreneurial self-identity when commercialising an open source solution. Furthermore, this thesis builds on six sub-studies that make individual contributions of their own. In a broad sense, this thesis contributes to the literature streams on the commercialisation of OSS, the business value and strategic aspects of open source, the interrelationships between community forms of organising and entrepreneurial activities, and the nascent research on ecology perspectives on peer-production communities. A variety of opportunities for future research are highlighted. Denna avhandling undersöker fenomenet öppen källkod, ’open source’, ur ett lednings och styrningsperspektiv. Mer konkret studeras aspekter på kommersialisering av ett community-drivet open source projekt (OSS, open source software). Uttrycket ’community-drivet’ hänvisar till open source projekt som drivs och styrs av volontärgrupper, till skillnad från open source projekt som drivs och styrs av enskilda företag. Genom att tillämpa ett affärsekologiperspektiv fokuserar denna avhandling på det vidare sammanhang som karaktäriserar kommersialisering av OSS, såsom globala och kollaborativa produktionssystem, värderingarna öppenhet och samarbete, marknadsstrukturer, och diffusa organisationsgränser. Aktiviteterna i open source communityn och dess kringliggande ekosystem kan bidra till många fördelar för företag, och därför kan ett affärsekologiperspektiv vara en användbar analytisk lins för att förstå de möjligheter, utmaningar och risker som företag står inför när de kommersialiserar OSS. Två övergripande teman lyfts fram i denna avhandling. Det första temat handlar om de utmaningar som företag står inför när de kommersialiserar community-driven OSS. Det finns i litteraturen om affärsekologier och open source en tendens att betona fördelar, möjligheter och positiva aspekter på beteende på bekostnad av att undersöka utmaningar som företag står inför. Affärsekologier innebär dock inte enbart möjligheter för företag, utan kan också orsaka en rad utmaningar som företag behöver hantera för att lyckas. Med utgångspunkt i denna obalans i litteraturen fokuserar det första temat på de utmaningar med kommersialisering av community-driven OSS. Detta görs för att bidra till en mer balanserad och holistisk förståelse av den på samma gång kollaborativa och konkurrerande dynamiken i affärsekologin runt ett open source projekt. Det andra temat handlar om sammanflätningen (intertwining) mellan community-deltagande och vinstdrivande verksamhet. Såsom det framgår i litteraturen har frågan om samverkan mellan företag och communities blivit allt viktigare, eftersom communityernas överlevnad, framgång och hållbarhet har blivit strategiskt viktiga för många organisationer. Även om många strategiska fördelar kan uppstå som en följd av samverkan mellan företag och communities saknas forskning om hur värdeskapande uppstår i en vidare kontext. Med ett bredare perspektiv i åtanke undersöker denna avhandling sammanflätningen av frivilligt community-deltagande och en vinstdrivande verksamhet genom att fokusera på fyra aspekter av sammanflätning som förekommer i litteraturen: förstärkning, komplementaritet, synergi, och ömsesidighet. Denna avhandling är utformad som en kvalitativ utforskande fallstudie. Det empiriska fallet är Joomla, ett innehållshanteringssystem som bygger på open source. Inom ramen för avhandlingen undersöks fallet i termer av samspel inom Joomla-communityn och de kommersiella aktiviteterna som sker runt Joomla-plattformen (t.ex., webbutveckling, rådgivning, marknadsföring, anpassningar, och extensions). För att uppnå ett analytiskt djup kompletteras affärsekologiperspektivet med idéer och förslag från andra teoretiska områden, såsom intressentmodellen, community-styrning, företagsidentitet, motivationsteori, prissättning, och buntning. Resultaten visar att utmaningarna med kommersialisering av community-driven OSS kretsar kring nio olika faktorer som kan grupperas i tre områden: ekosystemet, communityn, och företaget. Ekosystemsfaktorerna innefattar den globala verksamma miljön, förändringshastigheten och kannibalisering av idéer. Community-faktorerna innefattar plattformspolicy, plattformsimage, och att deltagandet i open source projektet sker på frivillig basis. Slutligen innefattar företagsfaktorerna suddiga gränser mellan privatliv och arbetsliv, svårigheten att uppskatta kostnader samt beroendeförhållanden mellan företag. Baserat på dessa insikter föreslås en modell för att analysera communitybaserad värdeskapande i affärsekologier. Modellen integrerar kollektiv innovation, community-deltagande, och value capture i en holistisk modell för community-baserad värdeskapande i kontexten samverkan mellan företag och communities. Vidare beskrivs effekterna av sammanflätningen av frivilligt community-deltagande och vinstdrivande verksamhet i termer av förstärkning, komplementaritet, synergi, och ömsesidighet. Genom att visa att sammanflätningen av frivilligt community-deltagande och vinstdrivande verksamhet kan vara stark i fall där det ofta antas implicit att kommersiella aktiviteter inte förekommer ger denna avhandling en mer nyanserad förståelse av företags roll i kontexten open source. Baserat på empiriska och analytiska insikter diskuterar denna avhandling ett antal teoretiska konsekvenser, såsom rollen som intersubjektiv tillit spelar i förhållande till den ovisshet som kommersiella aktörer står inför, ett alternativt sätt att klassificera community-typer, metaforen superorganismer i kontexten open source, community-deltagares välbefinnande, samt hur open source utvecklare hanterar övergången från en community-baserad självidentitet till en entreprenöriell självidentitet vid kommersialisering av OSS. Dessutom ger de sex delstudier som avhandlingen bygger på egna bidrag som presenteras i respektive delstudie. I stora drag bidrar denna avhandling till litteraturen om kommersialisering av OSS, affärsmässiga och strategiska aspekter på open source, samspelet mellan community-driven entreprenörsverksamhet samt den framväxande forskning som använder ett affärsekologiperspektiv för att studera kollegial produktion baserad på allmännytta. En mängd olika möjligheter för framtida forskning lyfts fram.

Download or read book The New Ecology of Leadership written by David K. Hurst and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2014-10-07 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: David Hurst has a unique knowledge of organizationsÑtheir function and their failureÑboth in theory and in practice. He has spent twenty-five years as an operating manager, often in crises and turnaround conditions, and is also a widely experienced consultant, teacher, and writer on business. This book is his innovative integration of management practice and theory, using a systems perspective and analogies drawn from nature to illustrate groundbreaking ideas and their practical application. It is designed for readers unfamiliar with sophisticated management concepts and for active practitioners seeking to advance their management and leadership skills. HurstÕs objective is to help readers make meaning from their own management experience and education, and to encourage improvement in their practical judgment and wisdom. His approach takes an expansive view of organizations, connecting their development to humankindÕs evolutionary heritage and cultural history. It locates the origins of organizations in communities of trust and follows their development and maturation. He also crucially tracks the decline of organizations as they age and shows how their strengths become weaknesses in changing circumstances. HurstÕs core argument is that the human mind is rational in an ecological, rather than a logical, sense. In other words, it has evolved to extract cues to action from the specific situations in which it finds itself. Therefore contexts matter, and Hurst shows how passion, reason, and power can be used to change and sustain organizations for good and ill. The result is an inspirational synthesis of management theory and practice that will resonate with every readerÕs experience.

Download or read book The Ecology of Commerce written by Paul Hawken and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Paul Hawken believes that the impending ecological catastrophe cannot be prevented by individuals - only big business is powerful and influential enough to reverse the present trend. In this book he sets out to show the need for a new relationship between governments and businesses, believing that their present collusion against the public is undemocratic.

Download or read book Knowledge Ecology in Global Business Managing Intellectual Capital written by Lytras, Miltiadis D. and published by IGI Global. This book was released on 2009-03-31 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides ideas on how intellectual capital through emerging technologies can support business performance. Covers topics such as competitive strategy, human resource management, and organizational learning.

Download or read book Understanding Business Ecosystems How Firms Succeed in the New World of Convergence written by Yvon Pesqueux and published by De Boeck Supérieur. This book was released on 2018-06-29 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Understanding Business Ecosystems: How Firms Succeed in the New World of Convergence? builds on strategic management and innovationmanagement academic contributions to better understand theoreticaland empirical challenges of business ecosystems. Even if the concept ofbusiness ecosystem was coined in 1993, it will lie fallow during more than tenyears before gaining scholars' interest. Managers will however recognize therelevance of this concept as it grasps the complexity of their business realityin terms of new collaborative and innovative strategies.Thus, the main purpose of this book is twofold. On the one hand, the objective is to identify the epistemological and theoretical fundamentals of business ecosystems, and on the other hand, the purpose is to analyse the various managerial challenges. This volume analyses in particular the issues of knowledge management, coopetition strategies, platforms, governance, etc. Understanding Business Ecosystems: How Firms Succeed in the New World of Convergence? is finally a key reference book that innovates by integratingfor the first time well known French speaking scholars' contributions from the strategy and innovation management fields.

Download or read book Business and the Environment written by Richard Welford and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 1996 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Reader brings together, in one volume, the most important and innovative articles written on the interaction of business and the environment. This is an essential reference, not only for students in business schools, management studies and environmental courses, but for environmental managers and consultants and all those interested in 'greening' the business environment.

Download or read book The Business of Less written by Roland Geyer and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-09-06 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Business of Less rewrites the book on business and the environment. For the last thirty years, corporate sustainability was synonymous with the pursuit of ‘eco-efficiency’ and ‘win-win’ opportunities. The notion of ‘eco-efficiency’ gives us the illusion that we can achieve environmental sustainability without having to question the pursuit of never-ending economic growth. The ‘win-win’ paradigm is meant to assure us that companies can be protectors of the environment whilst also being profit maximizers. It is abundantly clear that the state of the natural environment has further degraded instead of improved. This book introduces a new paradigm designed to finally reconcile business and the environment. It is called ‘net green’, which means that in these times of ecological overshoot businesses need to reduce total environmental impact and not just improve the eco-efficiency of their products. The book also introduces and explains the four pollution prevention principles ‘again’, ‘different’, ‘less’, and ‘labor, not materials’. Together, ‘net green’ and the four pollution prevention principles provide a road map, for businesses and for every household, to a world in which human prosperity and a healthy environment are no longer at odds. The Business of Less is full of anecdotes and examples. This brings its material to life and makes the book not only very accessible, but also hugely applicable for everyone who is worried about the fate of our planet and is looking for answers.

Download or read book The Keystone Advantage written by Marco Iansiti and published by Harvard Business Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today, many companies operate within a complex network of firms that all depend on each other for success. In this book, authors Marco Iansiti and Roy Levien use the powerful example of biological ecosystems to show how companies can leverage these emerging business networks for long-term success. The book's title, "The Keystone Advantage", is taken directly from biology - it refers to "keystone species", which proactively maintain the healthy functioning of their entire ecosystem for a simple reason: their own survival depends on it. In the same way, say the authors, companies can protect and ensure their own success by deliberately fostering the combined health of the network they operate in.

Download or read book Integral Ecology and Sustainable Business written by Ove Jakobsen and published by Emerald Group Publishing. This book was released on 2017-09-20 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection addresses the relationship between business, the natural environment, ethics and spirituality with insights from economists, business scholars, philosophers, lawyers, theologians and practitioners globally. The contributions offer new and invigorating approaches to sustainable business practices and sustainability leadership.

Download or read book Sri Lanka Ecology Nature Protection Laws and Regulations Handbook Volume 1 Strategic Information and Basic Laws written by IBP, Inc. and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2011-11-05 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 2011 Updated Reprint. Updated Annually. Sri Lanka Ecology & Nature Protection Laws and Regulation Handbook

Download or read book Ecological Systems written by Rik Leemans and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-12 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Earth is home to an estimated 8 million animal species, 600,000 fungi, 300,000 plants, and an undetermined number of microbial species. Of these animal, fungal, and plant species, an estimated 75% have yet to be identified. Moreover, the interactions between these species and their physical environment are known to an even lesser degree. At the same time, the earth’s biota faces the prospect of climate change, which may manifest slowly or extremely rapidly, as well as a human population set to grow by two billion by 2045 from the current seven billion. Given these major ecological changes, we cannot wait for a complete biota data set before assessing, planning, and acting to preserve the ecological balance of the earth. This book provides comprehensive coverage of the scientific and engineering basis of the systems ecology of the earth in 15 detailed, peer-reviewed entries written for a broad audience of undergraduate and graduate students as well as practicing professionals in government, academia, and industry. The methodology presented aims at identifying key interactions and environmental effects, and enabling a systems-level understanding even with our present state of factual knowledge.

Download or read book Business Environment written by Hiriyappa B and published by PublishDrive. This book was released on 2018-06-01 with total page 118 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Business Environment can use as a manual for how to develop and analysis of business in a complex, critical, dynamic and progressive competitive environment. It is ideal for self- study and context includes the analysis of business and its components. This book is specially designed for those who are the students of Business, MBA, PGDM & Executives. IT management, businessmen, entrepreneurs, consultants, small business owners, clients, customers, professionals, operating managers, middle-level managers across the management consultant, business executives and business professionals such as director of forecasting and planning, forecast manager, director of strategic planning, director of marketing, sales manager, advertising manager, CFO, financial officer, controller, treasurer, financial analyst, production manager, brand/product manager, new product manager, supply chain manager, logistics manager, material management manager, purchasing agent, scheduling manager, director of information systems and non MBA’s. Non-business background persons and stakeholders who look beyond not only profits but also to know and learn how to sharpen your firm’s environment edge and improve competitiveness and give a boost to your business or profession.

Download or read book Business Ecosystems written by K. Rong and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-12-02 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book examines business ecosystems in an emerging industry context whilst exploring four essential areas of business ecosystems: the business ecosystems' key constructive elements, their typical patterns of the element configurations, the five phase process of their life cycle, and the nurturing strategies and processes from a firm perspective.

Download or read book The Ecology Book written by DK and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2019-04-02 with total page 704 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Learn about species, environments, ecosystems and biodiversity in The Ecology Book. Part of the fascinating Big Ideas series, this book tackles tricky topics and themes in a simple and easy to follow format. Learn about Ecology in this overview guide to the subject, great for novices looking to find out more and experts wishing to refresh their knowledge alike! The Ecology Book brings a fresh and vibrant take on the topic through eye-catching graphics and diagrams to immerse yourself in. This captivating book will broaden your understanding of Ecology, with: - More than 90 of the greatest ideas in ecology - Packed with facts, charts, timelines and graphs to help explain core concepts - A visual approach to big subjects with striking illustrations and graphics throughout - Easy to follow text makes topics accessible for people at any level of understanding The Ecology Book is a captivating introduction to what’s happening on our planet with the environment and climate change, aimed at adults with an interest in the subject and students wanting to gain more of an overview. Here you’ll discover more than 90 of the greatest ideas when it comes to understanding the living world and how it works, through exciting text and bold graphics. Your Ecological Questions, Simply Explained How do species interact with each other and their environment? How do ecosystems change? What is biodiversity and can we afford to damage it? This fresh new guide looks at our influence on the planet as it grows, and answers these profound questions. If you thought it was difficult to learn about this field of science, The Ecology Book presents the information in a clear layout. Learn the key theories, movements, and events in biology, geology, geography, and environmentalism from the ideas of classical thinkers in this comprehensive guide. The Big Ideas Series With millions of copies sold worldwide, The Ecology Book is part of the award-winning Big Ideas series from DK. The series uses striking graphics along with engaging writing, making big topics easy to understand.

Download or read book The Ecology of Industry written by National Academy of Engineering and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1998-09-03 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume provides insights into the environmental practices of five industry sectors: materials processing, manufacturing, electric utilities, and pulp and paper. The ecology of industry is presented in terms of systems of production and consumption, taking into account the flows of material, energy, capital, and information. The book examines ways to improve the environmental performance of these industries (and others, such as the service sector) and shows how decisions made by industry managers can leverage systemic environmental improvements elsewhere in the economy.

Download or read book Bhutan Ecology Nature Protection Laws and Regulation Handbook Volume 1 Strategic Information and Basic Laws written by IBP USA and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2008-03-03 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When the going gets rough, the rough . . . start raising their own food. In the first full-color guide of its kind, author and small farm owner Laura Childs reveals exactly what it takes to start raising your own animals, including chickens, geese, goats, sheep, pigs, and cows. Childs discusses what you can expect to harvest from your animals—from eggs to milk to meat to wool—based on her own real-life experiences. Whether you want to raise a few chickens for eggs alone, try your hand at a few goats with the aim to make your own cheese, or are looking to sustain your family and make some extra money from raising and selling beef, this is the book for you. Childs offers general information for each breed and animal, from how to get started to what to feed and where to house the animals. This invaluable guide is the perfect first book for anyone interested in starting a backyard barnyard or a small farm—or simply dreaming about the idea.