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This collaborative paper aims to reflexively evaluate the versatile and comprehensive application of grounded theory, comparatively using two studies researching the strategic behaviour of small organisations within a small island state. The methodological stance adopted is that of practitioner researchers, critically analysing the research positioning and processes in two large grounded theory studies that mapped the competitive behaviours of some 100 small businesses in the small island EU state of Malta. The study evaluates grounded theory processes and actions taken in the two studies, depicting the systematic collection, comparison and analysis of the data gathered, concept generation, continuous interaction between actions and context, use of in-depth interviews combined with quantitative data, coding, mapping and categorisation of the data collected, and the use of MAXQDA as a viable software tool to carry out grounded theory. This practitioner research study comprises detailed practice-related implications for the use of grounded theory in researching small organisations, in a manner that a novice grounded theory practitioner can adopt and a manager in a small business can appreciate.

Although values in business have a long history, only recently has their pivotal role in innovation and its management become a topic attracting growing attention from both researchers and practitioners. Values-based innovation management is developing into a vibrant field of studies and practice with increasing relevance for innovation managers and entrepreneurs, providing a powerful toolbox of new methods and applications as well as having societal impact. We survey the state-of-the-art discussions in the field, including related concepts and methods and values-based approaches in areas such as innovation consulting and education, business modelling and entrepreneurship. As an introduction to the papers in IJIM’s Special Issue on Managing Values for Innovation, this editorial paper revisits and repositions some widespread assumptions about the nature, functions and potential of values in innovation contexts. We show to what extent values are an inevitable moment of innovation-related activities, requiring contributions from diverse stakeholders in normative, strategic and operational management dimensions. We illustrate their practicality to promote rather than handicap innovation and clarify their potential to change and assume different meanings rather than being static entities. The explanatory power of a values-based approach, its generative potential and its emancipatory impact motivate further research and development. Future avenues for research and development include impact management studies, attention to different levels of values and advancing the methodology and available tools to manage values for innovation in order to achieve more desirable outcomes.

The United States and China have common but differentiated climate mitigation responses. Most studies so far have sought to explain this divergence with a focus on energy resources, technology, economic, or social factors. These studies ignore the role of strategy and institutions, and thus appear incomplete. In this paper, the author investigates the climate mitigation responses of the United States and China from a strategic and institutional perspective, explores how their climate responses are shaped, and identifies possible weaknesses hidden in their climate approaches. The paper finds that the United States and China have distinct national climate positions due to their diverse strategies and institutions. However, they have chosen similar policy tools and have achieved fairly comparable emission reductions thus far. In the long run, the effectiveness and efficiency of the low-carbon transformation will possibly be hindered by weaker policy innovation capability at sub-national levels in China and the operationally volatile energy strategy in the United States.

Generating innovations is one of the key success factors of companies and organizations. To constantly create new innovations, an effective innovation strategy must be implemented by companies. Therefore, a variation of different strategic frameworks has been formulated. One framework which combines the idea of Open Innovation with startup-based interaction is the startup-orientated cooperative innovation (SOCI) strategy. The PANDA initiative of Fresenius University of Applied Science can be characterized as a coupled process of the SOCI framework. This paper presents the results of a survey, analyzing the impact of PANDA on the innovation strategies of the chemical and pharmaceutical industry based on the innovation attributes defined by the Oslo Manual 2018. The survey was used to compare 12 PANDA project evaluations implementing by European chemical and pharmaceutical companies. The main results of this study show that PANDA represents an effective tool to foster early-stage innovation development and indicates general effectiveness of SOCI strategies for chemical and pharmaceutical companies.

The study aims to scientifically substantiate the application of the scenario approach in predicting the development of the agri-food sector in rural areas. The conceptual novelty of the study is that it develops a scenario forecasting algorithm for the development of the agri-food sector of rural areas in the digital economy. It also clarifies methodological approaches and recommendations for forecasting production volumes of certain agri-food products at the zonal level. The paper shows that digitalization is one of the critical factors that directly ensure an increase in agribusiness efficiency in the current conditions in agriculture. An assessment of the impact of digital transformation processes on the activities of agricultural producers is given, and the advantages of using modern digital technologies in the agricultural sector are highlighted. Furthermore, the results of scenario forecasting of production volumes of agri-food products by farms of all categories are presented in the example of the non-black soil zone of the Republic of Bashkortostan. The study’s preliminary results are as follows: the world experience in scientific research on the use of digital technologies in the activities of agricultural producers was generalized.

Road traffic accidents have become an enormous global public health problem. Traffic accident injuries on highways can cause severe trauma. The death rate of the injured is very high within 30min after injury. According to statistics, about 75–95% of the people with fatal traffic injuries died before being taken to the hospital. If these casualties can be effectively treated, about 1/3 can be prevented from death. Therefore, pre-hospital first aid plays a very important role in the treatment of major traffic accident injuries. Paying attention to the pre-hospital emergency treatment is crucial to ensure the success of a major accident damage, and to improve treatment results and reduce mortality and morbidity. A good relationship between the doctor and ambulance officers is essential for efficient team work. All emergency surgical procedures in the case of severely injured patients are generally performed in accordance with the Damage Control Orthopedics (DCO) principle. In order to improve the pre-hospital rapid response and first aid capabilities, the government should establish independent trauma disciplines and trauma specialist training systems, and must build the regional trauma care system as well as the standards for graded treatment, thus establishing a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) for severe trauma. In this way, we can reduce the mortality and disability risks of severe trauma, improve the quality of patients’ life and save more lives.

Since the election of Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in May 2014, India’s approach to East Asia has changed, principally in response to pressures exerted by China. The Modi government inherited an East Asia strategy that combined a push for greater diplomatic and economic linkages with the region, an effort to improve Sino-Indian relations through a mix of engagement and deterrence, and a strengthening of security ties with the United States (US) and its allies. During its first three years in office, this paper argues that the Modi government stuck with this approach but attempted to pursue it more energetically as well as to assert India’s interests more clearly and forcefully in interactions with Beijing. After the Doklam standoff in 2017, however, India was pushed to assume a more clearly competitive stance, despite concerns about the reliability of Donald J. Trump’s new administration in Washington, China’s growing belligerence towards India and the rest of the region, and the impact of COVID-19. This stance entails both internal and external balancing, and a push for greater economic self-reliance that implies some decoupling from China, but which also has implications for India’s relations with other countries in East Asia.