Environmental challenges such as pollution, climate change, water and natural resources depletion and dwindling bio-diversity are true threats to the survival of our civilization, forcing us to learn how to act now. Fortunately this is exactly what this book does: presenting real life cases, along with theory, methodologies and tools demonstrating how eco-innovation can support sustainable economic growth and save our planet for future generations. Following an introduction describing developments and directions of eco-innovation, Section One discusses Models and Frameworks Supporting Eco-Innovation, with chapters on search strategy for radical eco-innovation; and systematic eco-innovation with TRIZ Methodology. Section Two offers surveys and case studies showing eco-innovation in practice, including a sketch of the eco-innovative landscape in the Brazilian Cellulose, Paper and Paper Products Industry; efforts to eco-innovate among large Swedish companies; progress towards joint product-service business models and more. The third section surveys future directions and emerging trends, among them a new methodology for eco-friendly construction; the development of lightweight small inter-island ferries in Scandinavia and BioTRIZ: a win-win methodology for eco-innovation. The book explores eco-innovation as a framework for supporting the development of new business models which consider the entire business ecosystem, on the way to a sustainable world. Moreover, it explores the eco-innovation process in cross-national and cross-sector perspective.

This book presents the role of life cycle engineering and life cycle management of products and services and their contributions to corporate environmental sustainability and the circular economy. It addresses the main techniques, tools, systems and practices for improving the environmental performance of business products and services throughout their life cycles. The book covers the main topics and concepts related to life cycle engineering and life cycle management applied to the business context. It presents the themes through basic and in-depth theories. In addition, all chapters provide examples of real and hypothetical case studies for discussion and assimilation of theoretical content and its contextualization in the real and practical business scenario. The chapters are complemented by quantitative exercises.

This book analyzes some of the most recent advances in the field of decision making and fuzzy systems applied to business and economics presented at the International Conference on Modeling and Simulation (MS'12 Rio de Janeiro), 10–13 December, 2012. In this conference, a special focus is given to the fundamental concept of sustainable development. Other key applications in business, economics and finance are also considered. In general, it is very useful for graduate students and researchers interested in pursuing research that combines quantitative techniques such as modeling and simulation and decision making with business and economic problems. This is especially useful when dealing with complex environments where the information is very uncertain and additional mathematical and statistical techniques are needed in order to understand the specific situations considered.

In recent years the topic of environmental management has become very common. In sustainable development conditions, central and local governments much more often notice the need of acting in ways that diminish negative impact on environment. Environmental management may take place on many different levels - starting from global level, e.g. climate changes, through national and regional level (environmental policy) and ending on micro level. This publication shows many examples of environmental management. The diversity of presented aspects within environmental management and approaching the subject from the perspective of various countries contributes greatly to the development of environmental management field of research.

This book highlights the latest research on responsible business and its practical implications for the economy, society, academia, and politics. It presents selected contributions from respected scholars and experts who have conducted international research on corporate social responsibility, sustainability, ethics, corporate governance, finance, and responsible investing. The book examines the spreading and enhancement of CSR and sustainability at the micro, meso, and macro levels, especially in light of their increased relevance following the recent pandemic. Taken together, the results of the empirically and theoretically based contributions offer a unique and multi-faceted perspective on current global trends and expected developments in this area. They cover a wide range of contexts and situations, helping readers expand their knowledge and drive effective change to tap their organizations’ full potential.

As the field of information technology continues to grow and expand, it impacts more and more organizations worldwide. The leaders within these organizations are challenged on a continuous basis to develop and implement programs that successfully apply information technology applications. This is a collection of unique perspectives on the issues surrounding IT in organizations and the ways in which these issues are addressed. This valuable book is a compilation of the latest research in the area of IT utilization and management.

In context of entrepreneurship, this book was motivated by a desire of a team of well-known authors. The book consists of 23 closely related thematic contributions, which fall into 4 separate sections: Interactions between Economy and Entrepreneurship; Innovation in Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth; Current Trends in Family Business, Social Entrepreneurship and Responsibility; and The Role of Human Resource Management, Education and Gender in Entrepreneurship. Authors-contributors have submitted the results of their recent research and presented essential findings about the decision-making process of entrepreneurs in order to maintain their businesses competitive. The reader can get an insight into the selection of the best scientific contributions that have been reviewed and ready for debate. Our piece of work, Entrepreneurship: Development Tendencies and Empirical Approach, has interdisciplinary features. This work by authors from different countries - Finland, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy, Spain, Turkey and Malaysia - is dedicated to readers providing up-to-date research data and background for further research as well as implementation techniques in business practice.