The Role of Digital Talents in the Transition to Circular Business Models for Environmental Conservation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12974/2311-8741.2021.09.5Keywords:
Environmental development, Digital talents cultivation, Circular economy, Circular business models, Digital transformationAbstract
The problem of environmental conservation and resource-efficient functioning of enterprises is currently one of the most urgent for developed and developing economies of the world. The opportunities for improving the efficiency of companies' activities in the field of environmental conservation in Industry 4.0 conditions are strongly connected with new business models and technologies of the digital economy. The use of digital solutions can significantly reduce emissions, increase the rational use of resources, improve energy efficiency, etc. Moreover, the whole concept of interaction of economic agents with each other and with the environment is changing. In general, this allows, firstly, deploying different solutions to improve the interaction of economic entities with the environment due to the application of different digital technologies (deep technologies, including Artificial intelligence, Industrial Internet of Things, Blockchain, Additive manufacturing, etc.). Secondly, to switch to new business models those are most effective in the context of human interaction with the environment. An example is the circular business model. However, the implementation of both options requires the availability of appropriate specialists in the field of the digital economy – digital talents. Now there is a significant gap in this area between demand and supply in the labor market. A shortage of digital talent exists. The distribution of digital talents in enterprises is unreasonable. The lack of digital talent, especially high-end technical specialists, is prominent, as is the lack of low-end technicians and technicians familiar with the industry. The core characteristic of digital talents is the ability to quickly and accurately find out novel information and new situations in the information field amidst the constant renewal of information technology. This requires the ability to learn continuously and independently. The training of these technicians in universities is essential. The solution to existing challenges is possible based on the development of effective interaction between educational institutions and the subjects of the labor market. The paper contains the main directions of digital talents cultivation in the context of transition to circular sustainable business models.
References
Schwab K, The Fourth Industrial Revolution, 2016
Ciarli T, Kenney M, Massini S, Piscitello L, Digital technologies, innovation, and skills: Emerging trajectories and challenges, Research Policy, 2021; 50(7): 104289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2021.104289
Nikitaeva A.Yu, Serdyukov RD, Fedosova MN. Regional Drivers of Digital Ecosystems' Development of Industrial Enterprises. Regionalnaya ekonomika. Yug Rossii
[Regional Economy. South of Russia], 2021; 9(3): 100-112. (in Russian). https://doi.org/10.15688/re.volsu.2021.3.9
Beltagui A, Rosli A, Candi M, Exaptation in a digital innovation ecosystem: The disruptive impacts of 3D printing, Research Policy, 2020; 49(1): 103833. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2019.103833
Hinings B, Gegenhuber T, Greenwood R.? Digital innovation and transformation: an institutional perspective, Inf. Organ 2018; 28: pp. 52-61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infoandorg.2018.02.004
Sadhukhan J, Dugmore TIJ, Matharu A, Martinez-Hernandez E, Aburto J, Rahman PKSM, Lynch J, Perspectives on "game changer" global challenges for sustainable 21st century: plant-based diet, unavoidable food waste biorefining, and circular economy, Sustainability (Switzerland), 12 (2020). https://doi.org/10.3390/su12051976
World Economic Forum (WEF) The Global Risks Report 2017 (12th edition) (2017) Geneva
Stock T, Obenaus M, Kunz S, Kohl H, Industry 4.0 as enabler for a sustainable development: A qualitative assessment of its ecological and social potential, Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 2018; 118: 254-267, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2018.06.026
A sustainable and equitable digital revolution: Eliane Ubalijoro, One Earth, 2021; 4(6): 801-804, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2021.05.019
George G, Merrill RK, Schillebeeckx SJD, Digital sustainability and entrepreneurship: how digital innovations are helping tackle climate change and sustainable development, Enterpren. Theor. Pract., 104225871989942 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1177/1042258719899425
Brenner B, Hartl B, The perceived relationship between digitalization and ecological, economic, and social sustainability, Journal of Cleaner Production, 2021; 315: 128128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128128
Sustainability in the Digital Age (SDA). 2020. Digital Disruptions for Sustainability Agenda (D^2S Agenda): Research, Innovation, Action. Future Earth. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kYfAXcFi2zl7jg0r7Zp1I2x3oy wNFkCh/view.
Gregori P, Holzmann P, Digital sustainable entrepreneurship: A business model perspective on embedding digital technologies for social and environmental value creation, Journal of Cleaner Production, 2020; 272: 122817. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122817
Bag S, Gupta S, Kumar S, Industry 4.0 adoption and 10R advance manufacturing capabilities for sustainable development, International Journal of Production Economics, 2021; 231: 107844, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2020.107844
Bag S, Gupta S, Kumar S, Industry 4.0 adoption and 10R advance manufacturing capabilities for sustainable development, International Journal of Production Economics, 2021; 231: 107844. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2020.107844
Khan IS, Ahmad MO, Majava J, Industry 4.0 and sustainable development: A systematic mapping of triple bottom line, Circular Economy and Sustainable Business Models perspectives, Journal of Cleaner Production, 2021; 297: 126655. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126655
Fatimah YA, Govindan K, Murniningsih R, Setiawan A, Industry 4.0 based sustainable circular economy approach for smart waste management system to achieve sustainable development goals: A case study of Indonesia,Journal of Cleaner Production, 2020; 269: 122263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122263
Izzet Ari, Riza Fikret Yikmaz, Chapter 4 - Greening of industry in a resource- and environment-constrained world, Editor(s): Sevil Acar, Erinç Yeldan, Handbook of Green Economics, Academic Press, 2019: 53-68, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-816635-2.00004-3
S. Rajput, S.P. Singh Connecting circular economy and industry 4.0 Int. J. Inf. Manag 2019; 49: 98-113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2019.03.002
de Sousa Jabbour ABL, Jabbour CJC, Godinho Filho M, Roubaud D. Industry 4.0 and the circular economy: a proposed research agenda and original roadmap for sustainable operations. Ann. Oper. Res 2018; 270(1-2): 273- 286. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-018-2772-8
Yesim Deniz Ozkan-Ozen, Yigit Kazancoglu, Sachin Kumar Mangla, Synchronized barriers for circular supply chains in Industry 3.5/Industry 4.0 transition for sustainable resource management, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 2020; 161: 104986. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.104986
T.E.T. Dantas, E.D. de-Souza, I.R. Destro, G. Hammes, C.M.T. Rodriguez, S.R. Soares, How the combination of Circular Economy and Industry 4.0 can contribute towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, Sustainable Production and Consumption, 2021; 26: 213-227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2020.10.005
Ferasso M. T. Beliaeva, S. Kraus, T. Clauss, D. Ribeiro- Soriano. Circular economy business models: The state of research and avenues ahead, Business Strategy and the Environment. 2020; 29: P. 3006-3024. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2554
Ranta VL, Aarikka-Stenroos JM. Vaisanen Digital technologies catalyzing business model innovation for circular economy - Multiple case study, Resources, Conservation & Recycling. 2021; 164: P 105-155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105155
Nikitaeva AYu, Kiseleva NN. Reconfiguration of Business Models of Industrial Enterprises: Vectors of Increasing Sustainability in the New Realities. Vestnik Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Ekonomika
[Journal of Volgograd State University. Economics], 2021; 23(1): 110- 120. (in Russian). https://doi.org/10.15688/ek.jvolsu.2021.1.9
Tim Stock, Michael Obenaus, Sascha Kunz, Holger Kohl, Industry 4.0 as enabler for a sustainable development: A qualitative assessment of its ecological and social potential, Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 2018; 118: Pages 254-267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2018.06.026
Nikitaeva A.Yu, Kiseleva NN. Reconfiguration of Business Models of Industrial Enterprises: Vectors of Increasing Sustainability in the New Realities. Vestnik Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Ekonomika
[Journal of Volgograd State University. Economics], 2021; 23(1): 110- 120. (in Russian). https://doi.org/10.15688/ek.jvolsu.2021.1.9
Батова Н, Сачек П, Точицкая И. Циркулярная экономика в действии: формы организации и лучшие практики// BEROC Green Economy Policy Paper Series, PP no.5 https://www.ipm.by/webroot/delivery/files/PP_5_rus.pdf.
M. Spring, L. Araujo Product biographies in servitization and the circular economy. Ind. Mark. Manag 2017; 60: pp. 126- 137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2016.07.001
Accenture. Circular Advantage: Innovative Business Models and Technologies to Create Value in a World without Limits to Growth / Accenture. - 2014. https://www.accenture. com/t20150523T053139__w__/usen/_ acnmedia/Accenture/Conversion-Assets/Dot- Com/Documents/Global/PDF/Strategy_6/Accenture-Circular- Advantage-Innovative-Business-Models-Technologies-Value- Growth.pdf
Jaime Sánchez-Ortiz, Vanesa Rodríguez-Cornejo, Rosario Del Río-Sánchez and Teresa García-Valderrama. Indicators to Measure Efficiency in Circular Economies. Sustainability 2020; 12: 4483. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12114483
S. Nambisan Digital entrepreneurship: toward a digital technology perspective of entrepreneurship Enterpren. Theor. Pract., 2017; 41: pp. 1029-1055. https://doi.org/10.1111/etap.12254
Hinings, T. Gegenhuber, R. Greenwood Digital innovation and transformation: an institutional perspective Inf. Organ 2018; 28: pp. 52-61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infoandorg.2018.02.004
Debora Tortora, Roberto Chierici, Massimiliano Farina Briamonte, Riccardo Tiscini, 'I digitize so I exist'. Searching for critical capabilities affecting firms' digital innovation, Journal of Business Research, 2021; 129: Pages 193-204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.02.048
Abide Coskun-Setirek, Zuhal Tanrikulu, Digital innovationsdriven business model regeneration: A process model, Technology in Society, 2021; 64: 101461, ISSN 0160-791X. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2020.101461
Stock T, Obenaus M, Kunz S, Kohl H. Industry 4.0 as enabler for a sustainable development: A qualitative assessment of its ecological and social potential, Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 2018; 118: Pages 254-267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2018.06.026
Pham TT, Kuo TC, Tseng ML, Tan RR, Tan K, Ika DS, Lin CJ. Industry 4.0 to accelerate the circular economy: a case study of electric scooter sharing Sustainability (Switzerland) (2019), p. 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11236661
Patrick Gregori, Patrick Holzmann, Digital sustainable entrepreneurship: A business model perspective on embedding digital technologies for social and environmental value creation, Journal of Cleaner Production, 2020; 272: 122817. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122817
Charbel Jose Chiappetta Jabbour, Ana Beatriz Lopes de Sousa Jabbour, Joseph Sarkis, Moacir Godinho Filho, Unlocking the circular economy through new business models based on large-scale data: An integrative framework and research agenda, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2019; 144: Pages 546-552. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2017.09.010
Ming-Lang Tseng, Raymond R. Tan, Anthony SF. Chiu, Chen-Fu Chien, Tsai Chi Kuo, Circular economy meets industry 4.0: Can big data drive industrial symbiosis?, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 2018; 131: Pages 146-147, ISSN 0921-3449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.12.028
Dantas TET, de-Souza ED, Destro IR, Hammes G, Rodriguez CMT, Soares SR. How the combination of Circular Economy and Industry 4.0 can contribute towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, Sustainable Production and Consumption, 2021; 26: 213-227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2020.10.005
Maria E. Mondejar, Ram Avtar, Heyker Lellani Baños Diaz, Rama Kant Dubey, Jesús Esteban, Abigail Gómez-Morales, Brett Hallam, Nsilulu Tresor Mbungu, Chukwuebuka Christopher Okolo, Kumar Arun Prasad, Qianhong She, Sergi Garcia-Segura, Digitalization to achieve sustainable development goals: Steps towards a Smart Green Planet, Science of The Total Environment, 2021; 794: 148539. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148539
Tommaso Ciarli, Martin Kenney, Silvia Massini, Lucia Piscitello, Digital technologies, innovation, and skills: merging trajectories and challenges, Research Policy, 2021; 50(7): 104289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2021.104289
Yesim Deniz Ozkan-Ozen, Yigit Kazancoglu, Sachin Kumar Mangla, Synchronized barriers for circular supply chains in Industry 3.5/Industry 4.0 transition for sustainable resource management, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 2020; 161: 104986. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.104986
de Sousa Jabbour ABL, Jabbour CJC, Foropon C, Godinho Filho M. When titans meet-Can industry 4.0 revolutionise the environmentally-sustainable manufacturing wave? The role of critical success factors Technol. Forecast. Soc. Change 2018; 132: pp. 18-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2018.01.017
Surajit Bag, Gunjan Yadav, Pavitra Dhamija, Krishan Kumar Kataria, Key resources for industry 4.0 adoption and its effect on sustainable production and circular economy: An empirical study, Journal of Cleaner Production, 2021; 281: 125233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.125233
R. Glass, A. Meissner, C. Gebauer, S. Stürmer, J. Metternich Identifying the barriers to Industrie 4.0 Procedia CIRP, 2018; 72: pp. 985-988 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2018.03.187
Yesim Deniz Ozkan-Ozen, Yigit Kazancoglu, Sachin Kumar Mangla, Synchronized Barriers for Circular Supply Chains in Industry 3.5/Industry 4.0 Transition for Sustainable Resource Management, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 2020; 161: 104986. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.104986
Alkalai Y. Digital literacy: a conceptual framework for survival skills in the digital era // Journal of Educational Multimedia & Hypermedia. 2004; 1(13): 93-106.
Gilster P. Digital literacy / P. Gilster, New York: Wiley Publishing, 1997. 25-48 c.
Brown M, Xiao J. The challenge of digital literacy: leapfrogging from limited skills to a critical mindset // Distance Education in China. 2018; (4): 42-53.
Zhang C, Han S, Bai X. Future-oriented development of digital literacy and its development strategies - a study based on the New Media Consortium Horizon Project Digital Literacy Strategy Brief // Distance Education in China 2019; (4): 9-16.
Zhang E, Sheng Q. Developing digital literacy for learners: the interpretations and implications of UNESCO's reportson digital literacy global framework and its assessment // Education Research. 2019; 6(25): 58-65.
ManpowerGroup 2018 talent shortage survey. 2018.
Some K. Addressing digital talent gap in the business transformation journey // Analytics Insight. URL: https://www.analyticsinsight.net/addressing-digital-talent-gapbusiness- transformation-journey/.
Edison Data science competence framework (CF-DS). URL: https://edison-project.eu/data-science-competenceframework- cf-ds/.
Beer J, Depew C. The role of process engineering in the digital transformation // Computers & Chemical Engineering. 2021; (154). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compchemeng.2021.107423
Yang P. The value, development emphasis and policy supply of digital economy // Journal of Xi'an Jiaotong University (Social Sciences). 2020; 2(40): 57-65.
Li X, Lu H, Lin M. On the mechanism of digital transformation of retail industry // China Business and Market. 2020; 4(34): 32-40.
Zhang J. et al. Progress of Circular Economy Practice and Suggestions for Promotion // Environmental Protection. 2021; 5(49): 29-33.