The smart firm: Opportunities and threats in value creation
Abstract
The interest in the study of the different configurations that can be adopted by companies in response to the changes of the business ecosystem grows as the dynamism of the environment increases. In current times, companies are constantly forced to find solutions to be able to survive and properly compete in a continuously changing environment, thus they are forced to assume a resilient configuration. The dynamism of the competitive environment is accompanied also by the opportunities and threats offered by the new information and communication technologies (ICT), which offers a set of “enabling technologies” capable of transforming big data into meaningful knowledge. The ability of properly managing company’s knowledge embodies the primary source of competitive advantage, as knowledge represents the main driver for the creation of value. Consistently, it is possible to provide a new definition of smart firm, which is configured as that company capable of integrating the set of skills and knowledge of the subjects operating within the company—human intelligence—with new ICT—artificial intelligence—in order to improve the rate of innovation, resilience and company performance, contributing to the well-being of the entire ecosystem in which the firm operates. However, maintaining a competitive advantage based on knowledge management cannot be taken for granted when using the new ICT, as it can be both facilitated and hindered by several factors. Specifically, three main categories of threats and opportunities can emerge
Keywords: Smart firms, Artificial intelligence, Knowledge management, Value creation
