Brands started out as communication tools to influence the image of companies or products (inside-out thinking) but have developed into channels of social forces. Powerful brands impact not just customer decisions but also markets and social institutions, such as fashion trends, city life, or even social movements. This book explores the implications of Niklas Luhmann’s theory of social systems for the theory and practice of agile brand management, in particular highlighting the central role of brand aesthetics and of brands as channels for mutual education between companies and consumers. Since the rise of social media, “perfect” brands have become the mirror of community values as the communities themselves develop brand content. Brands themselves become “living systems” and evolve like systems do. The author introduces systems theory to provide a conceptual framework that integrates the different views of branding: inside-out and outside-in thinking. This Luhmannian theory of branding is discussed against the current background of (Western) societies, which are undergoing a broad shift from hard to soft selling in marketing, influenced by social media. The book is not about whether closed systems analysis and discussion can or should replace traditional management; moreover, it emphasizes the fruitful insights and demonstrates that the power of management is limited and should be extended by looking at the means of closed systems. This book will be of primary value to scholars with an interest in systems theory and thinking, brand theory, and management. The interdisciplinary approach also makes the book a valuable resource for those researching change management, agile management, and sociology.

It is well understood that many business operations are evolving to fit within the mold of society’s technological advancement. This is no different for marketing. While there are indicators proving the evolution of marketing, there are still many questions that must be addressed when examining the changes made to the field: whether this evolution will force new tactics, whether it will be reduced to technological tools, and more. These questions must be answered in order to allow organizations to be more customer-oriented and competitive. Promoting Organizational Performance Through 5G and Agile Marketing provides knowledge and skills to allow readers the ability to understand the evolution and trends of marketing, as well as its implications in organizations and customer relationships. It consolidates concepts introduced in recent years and examines possible opportunities to broaden the breadth of marketing, demonstrating its interdisciplinarity. Covering topics such as loyalty programs, brand attachment, and purchase intention, this premier reference source is an excellent resource for business leaders and executives, brand managers, IT managers, marketers, communications professionals, students and faculty of higher education, librarians, researchers, and academicians.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Electronic Commerce, ICEC 2013, held in Turku, Finland, in August 2013. The theme of ICEC 2013 was "effective, agile, and trusted e-services co-creation” and reflects the alignment between computerized, formalized business procedures with the need to flexibly adapt and innovate businesses on the spot according to changing customer needs and requirements. The 13 papers published in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from more than 50 submissions, resulting in an acceptance rate of less than 25%. They are organized in topical sections on online advertisements and referential systems, recommender systems and pricing, social media, mobile services, business models, and societal implications.

Amidst the relentless pace of the contemporary business landscape, information technology (IT) projects grapple with an escalating challenge — the need to deliver solutions swiftly, adapt to evolving customer demands, and create value within the ever-shifting dynamics of the market. In this demanding environment, the traditional project management paradigms often fall short, necessitating a shift towards methodologies that embody flexibility, customer collaboration, and iterative development. Herein lies the crux of the issue faced by modern IT projects. Practical Approaches to Agile Project Management is a guide in the tumult of IT project complexities. This book provides a comprehensive solution to the complexities of contemporary project management by delving into topics such as alternative pricing models and the alignment of organizational cultures in IT partnerships, making it an indispensable resource for professionals, academics, and students navigating the domains of business, information technology, or project management. Primarily aimed at IT professionals involved in project management and service delivery, this book caters to a broad spectrum of individuals, including IT Project Managers, Consultants, Entrepreneurs, and Executives at IT Service Firms. Additionally, it extends its value to Business Leaders undertaking IT-enabled transformations and Academic Researchers delving into the intersection of agile methodologies and IT service delivery. From prioritization strategies for IT Project Managers to frameworks for consultants, entrepreneurs, and executives, this book addresses the diverse needs of its readership, offering practical, evidence-based insights to optimize IT service delivery across various organizational contexts.

Agile software development has become an umbrella term for a number of changes in how software developers plan and coordinate their work, how they communicate with customers and external stakeholders, and how software development is organized in small, medium, and large companies, from the telecom and healthcare sectors to games and interactive media. Still, after a decade of research, agile software development is the source of continued debate due to its multifaceted nature and insufficient synthesis of research results. Dingsøyr, Dybå, and Moe now present a comprehensive snapshot of the knowledge gained over many years of research by those working closely with or in the industry. It shows the current state of research on agile software development through an introduction and ten invited contributions on the main research fields, each written by renowned experts. These chapters cover three main issues: foundations and background of agile development, agile methods in practice, and principal challenges and new frontiers. They show the important results in each subfield, and in addition they explain what these results mean to practitioners as well as for future research in the field. The book is aimed at reflective practitioners and researchers alike, and it also can serve as the basis for graduate courses at universities.

This seminal compendium, available through open access, illuminates the forefront of digital collaboration in production. It introduces the visionary concept of the Internet of Production (IoP), an ambitious initiative by Germany's esteemed Cluster of Excellence at RWTH Aachen University. This handbook pioneers the integration of data, models, and knowledge across development, production, and user cycles, offering interdisciplinary insights into production technology's horizons with the overall objective to create a worldwide lab. The work is organized into seven key parts, each contributing to a comprehensive understanding of the IoP. Part I lays the foundation with interdisciplinary visions and concepts. Part II delves into IoP's infrastructure, encompassing digital shadows and actionable artificial intelligence. Part III examines materials within the digitalized production landscape. Part IV confronts the challenges and potentials of production processes under novel digitalization methods. Part V focuses on production management with data-driven decision support, while Part VI explores agile development processes. Finally, Part VII delves into the interplay between internal and external perspectives in the IoP, human-centered work design, and platform-based ecosystems. Supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG), this compendium redefines manufacturing through the transformative IoP lens. Embrace this scholarly endeavor to embrace technological advancement. This is an open access book.

In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, businesses today face an imperative to adapt and innovate continuously. Digital transformation is at the core of this evolution. It enables organizations to rethink and redesign their operations, processes, and customer interactions. Within this context, marketing has seen a profound shift, with agile methodologies and advanced technologies redefining traditional practices. It is imperative to explore the intersection of these critical areas. Digital Transformation Initiatives for Agile Marketing explores the various aspects of marketing and digital transformation, including how technology is changing the way marketers operate, how businesses can leverage data to improve customer engagement, and the challenges and opportunities that com with implementing digital transformation initiatives. It also discusses new marketing tendencies related to technology, people, and processes. Covering topics such as artificial intelligence, customer experience, and omnichannel marketing, this book is an excellent resource for marketers, business leaders, academicians, researchers, educators, graduate and postgraduate students, and more.

This research monograph presents an inter-disciplinary study of the impact, and current status, of applications of complexity-related concepts in the early stages of development of Agile Project Management (APM). The results serve as an introduction for exploring more profound relations between complexity-related ideas and APM in the future. The increasing complexity of software projects and their environment in the 1990s constituted the main determinants of the development of the family of methodological frameworks called Agile Project Management. Development of APM has been shaped by a broadly defined area of research called complexity science or complexity theory based on complex adaptive systems (CAS) and on their characteristics: Complexity, chaos, the edge of chaos, emerging properties, non-linearity, self-organization, etc. In the 21st century, due to the expansion of Agile beyond software development, the challenges deriving from the complexity of projects and the environment are even more urgent or compelling. Such phenomena demand more profound inter- and multi-disciplinary studies. This book examines the impact of applications of complexity-related ideas deriving from intuitive complexity and from complexity science in the early stages of development of the Agile methodological frameworks in project management and considers the current status of those applications. It questions the usefulness of those applications for the practice and theory of APM, and then proposes a conceptual framework for further theoretical studies and several ways of improvement and refinement of the Agile Project Management necessary to deal with broadly defined complexity in project management. Requiring a medium-level knowledge of complexity studies and knowledge of project management, this book is written for the research community studying the links between the various methodological frameworks included in APM and complexity-related ideas. It will also be interesting for studies of the impact of complexity on modern management, and for master’s students on IT and management courses.

The development of the Agile Movement, whatever the area of application or discipline, comes from the famous “faster, cheaper, better" maxim. As such, the agile manufacturing paradigm rests on four principles: response to change and uncertainty, supplying highly customized products, synthesis of diverse technologies, and intra-enterprise and inter-enterprise integration. For the reader interested in agile project management applications, response to changes, and transformations and its impact on managing projects, this book is a must-read. Various insights are covered, including: how to master complexity and changes in projects, economy, and society; how interaction between the project management team and project owners can influence risk management; how to move beyond the traditional mechanistic project management approach; how to include agile principles into an improved Logical Framework Analysis structure; what the impact is of agile principles on project management organizations what kind of innovative project management practice supports agile principles; and much more.

Communication between man and machine is vital to completing projects in the current day and age. Without this constant connectiveness as we enter an era of big data, project completion will result in utter failure. Agile Approaches for Successfully Managing and Executing Projects in the Fourth Industrial Revolution addresses changes wrought by Industry 4.0 and its effects on project management as well as adaptations and adjustments that will need to be made within project life cycles and project risk management. Highlighting such topics as agile planning, cloud projects, and organization structure, it is designed for project managers, executive management, students, and academicians.