PurposeThis paper aims to identify and compare the arrangements of innovation capabilities and their correlation with the socio-environmental responsibility of two groups: companies with less socio-environmental concern (Group Gray) and companies with greater socio-environmental concern (Group Green).Design/methodology/approachDescriptive and quantitative research with 1,322 Brazilian manufacturing companies was conducted. We analyzed (1) the actual arrangement of capabilities and (2) the ideal arrangement of capabilities with the greatest impact on innovation.FindingsResults suggest that there is a difference in the arrangement of capabilities between the two groups. Also, there is a difference between the capabilities that effectively receive the companies' attention and the capabilities that should be valued and developed. Green companies must focus their efforts on Transaction capability, followed respectively by Management, Development and Operation capabilities. Gray companies must focus on Development capability, followed by Management, Transaction and Operation capabilities.Originality/valueBy identifying the ideal capability arrangement, this research provides important information that can guide managers in planning internal strategies for investments, prioritizing management efforts and rearranging capabilities to boost innovation for sustainability.

Purpose In qualitative research, it is recurrent to conduct data collection through interviews, which must be first transcribed for the data to be analyzed. Although there is a relationship between the stages of the interview and the data analysis, the link between them (i.e. the transcription) seems to be a neglected methodological procedure. This occurs because, in papers, it is generally reported that “the interviews were transcribed”, without any details about the transcriptions conduction. From this methodological gap, this paper aims to discuss the relevance of detailing the methodological procedures adopted in the transcription in research reports in the management field. Design/methodology/approach This paper takes the form of a methodological essay. Findings The discussion focuses on the concepts of naturalized and denaturalized transcription, the relevance of adopting transcription norms and the need for reflexivity in conducting transcriptions – elements that must be explained in research reports to improve the methodological quality. Practical implications This paper explores methodological details that management students and researchers can adopt when performing transcriptions. Consequently, journal editors and reviewers will have more subsidies on the methodological quality employed in researches, which contributes to a better evaluation process. Originality/value This study demonstrates the relevance of a neglected methodological technique – transcription, which needs to be detailed in research reports, to contribute to the increase of methodological accuracy and to provide essential information to readers, allowing them to evaluate the rigor of the research. Thus, it is proposed that transcription should be considered a quality criterion in qualitative research.

PurposeThis study aims to identify the drivers for adopting the circular economy (CE) in a born-sustainable business of the fashion sector.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory case study was carried out with a unique and relevant case: the only Brazilian company implementing circularity practices defined through a sectoral commitment, the 2020 Circular Fashion System Commitment.FindingsFrom an analysis of the literature, a theoretical scheme composed of internal and external drivers is proposed. In the case studied, there is a prevalence of internal drivers that led the company to implement the CE. Most of the internal drivers described by the literature were identified in this research, except for two: profitability and available technology. Regarding the external drivers, of the 12 listed, only laws and regulations were identified. Thus, the results suggest that internal drivers are more numerous and may be more prominent than external ones for CE adoption in the born-sustainable business.Research limitations/implicationsDue to its exploratory design and unique case study, the research does not allow generalizations, suggesting replication with a larger number of companies and carrying out quantitative research with born-sustainable companies and incumbent companies, for comparison. Considering that there is a difference between companies that decide for sustainable practices and companies that were already born sustainable, it can be questioned if the drivers for implementing CE for both companies are also different.Originality/valueThis study proposes a theoretical scheme that indicates the main internal and external drivers for companies' CE implementation. Developed from a literature review and applied in an empirical case, this scheme is comprehensive and can be adopted to analyze companies of different sizes and industries. Hence, this paper generates new perspectives for CE literature.

Purpose This paper aims to discuss the dynamic interactions among knowledge management, strategic foresight and emerging technologies, resulting in a framework that can help companies to shape these interactions for achieving positive outcomes. Design/methodology/approach This conceptual paper is based on prior literature streams, which were interrelated through an abductive research process. This iterative conceptualization approach led to the formation of testable propositions that advance the understanding on the interactions among knowledge management, strategic foresight and emerging technologies. Findings The framework demonstrates the existence of an actions cycle between strategic foresight and knowledge management through a constructivist perspective, where one can improve the other. These interactions can be useful both for the development of emerging technologies and for identifying these innovations in market that can be applied in companies. Hence, all these dynamic interactions do not point to a hegemonic relationship of one construct over the others, but for the value equality among them. Originality/value Although current literature points to the existence of relationships among knowledge management, strategic foresight and emerging technologies, the dynamism inherent in these interactions as well as their positive effects for companies’ results are not properly discussed. This paper fills such a gap and proposes directions for future research.

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The agriculture sector is one of the backbones of many countries’ economies. Its processes have been changing to enable technology adoption to increase productivity, quality, and sustainable development. In this research, we present a scientific mapping of the adoption of precision techniques and breakthrough technologies in agriculture, so-called Digital Agriculture. To do this, we used 4694 documents from the Web of Science database to perform a Bibliometric Performance and Network Analysis of the literature using SciMAT software with the support of the PICOC protocol. Our findings presented 22 strategic themes related to Digital Agriculture, such as Internet of Things (IoT), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and Climate-smart Agriculture (CSA), among others. The thematic network structure of the nine most important clusters (motor themes) was presented and an in-depth discussion was performed. The thematic evolution map provides a broad perspective of how the field has evolved over time from 1994 to 2020. In addition, our results discuss the main challenges and opportunities for research and practice in the field of study. Our findings provide a comprehensive overview of the main themes related to Digital Agriculture. These results show the main subjects analyzed on this topic and provide a basis for insights for future research.

Circular Economy (CE) has emerged as a potential strategy for developing business practices based on sustainability concerns, especially in the fashion industry, which presents high environmental and social impacts. Startups are responsible for introducing innovations in business conduction toward CE. As a current theme, research on Business Model Innovation for Circular Economy (BMI4CE) has increased. However, empirical research in the fashion industry and startups is still scarce. This paper aimed to identify the key elements of startups' BMI4CEs, using the fashion industry as the context of the study. We conducted an exploratory and descriptive multiple case study composed of ten early-stage fashion startups from Europe, North America, and Asia. The findings suggest that environmental and economic sustainability dimensions receive priority in the analyzed BMI4CEs. On business type, we found differences between product-based and service-based Business Models (BMs). The Business Models Innovations (BMIs) were based mainly on CE principles of closed-loop and reducing material use and consumption. BMs focus on CE strategies of product reuse and extend resource time by lowering consumption and material use. Findings also demonstrate the role of emerging and digital technologies (e.g., blockchain and artificial intelligence) for BMI4CEs effectiveness. We developed five propositions and a theoretical framework from a triple bottom line perspective. This research highlights new theoretical perspectives under an investigation area still little explored in the literature. Results enable fashion startup managers to understand better the functioning of BMI4CEs and the critical elements needed for their effectiveness.

Purpose There are indications that trust is essential in innovation ecosystems relations. However, studies have not yet focused on deeply exploring such connection. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the influence of trust among actors in the context of innovation ecosystems. Design/methodology/approach This study developed a conceptual framework and a set of propositions. We raised a discussion based on the intertwining of three widely known dimensions of trust (ability, benevolence and integrity) and four dimensions of innovation ecosystems (network collaboration, interdependency, value co-creation and innovation objectives). Findings This paper suggests that trust contributes to the development of innovation ecosystems’ dimensions. In addition, it sheds light on the need to consider all three dimensions of trust together and simultaneously, because, by itself, none of them is sufficient to build trust in innovation ecosystems. Also, we argue that the different connections between the dimensions of trust and those of innovation ecosystems lead to the development of such ecosystems. Originality/value Through the approach of an underexplored area of research, this paper contributes to a broad understanding of the role of trust in innovation ecosystems toward the pursuit of creating innovation. It also proposes a novelty to the field, by suggesting four dimensions of innovation ecosystems to help managers analyze ecosystems through a more practical perspective.