Environment-Enterprise Integration

Introduction

Ecology requires dramatic changes in industrial economic trends. The affluent society paradigm, based on manufacturing efficiency, transforming raw materials into mass products, quickly increases pollution and waste and is facing imminent limitations to safeguard mankind’s future. It is difficult to accept the today’s population approach that it is their absolute privilege to exploit the earth’s resources. They seem to feel their entitlement is based on being the first to obtain possession. The impending eco-regulation is an entangled issue made rather critical in times of economic recession, as mandatory restraints are seen as severe changes and forbidding full access to immediately spendable riches.

In this chapter we outline the knowledge entrepreneurship way out of this issue (Michelini, 2008), based on value added intangibles and assured by two main opportunities:

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  the resort to product-service deliveries, imposed as the lifestyle manufacturers’ responsibility;

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  and the net-concerns efficiency, obtained by clustering facility/function fit-for-purpose capacities.

The issue is a technology-driven construct, offered by information and communication aids, aimed at advanced entrepreneurial settings. The emerging net-concerns have to incorporate the Information and Communication Technology as instrumental business support of lifestyle supply chains. The technicalities cover a series of prospects showing the readily available mix of opportunities:

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  design, manufacture, trade, service, and bookkeeping fusion

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  net-enhanced product-service deployment organisation

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  forward/backward logistics information flow integration

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  resource productivity management and imbalance recording

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  customers relationship and certification establishment

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  supervisors’ accreditation and eco-vaulting administration

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  entrepreneurial project and partnership clustering appraisal

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  facility/function market and broker negotiation/incorporation

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  interoperability ruling and in-progress achievement assessment

• •

  networking value added and return on the collaborative course

• •

  design, manufacture, trade, service, and bookkeeping fusion

• •

  net-enhanced product-service deployment organisation

• •

  forward/backward logistics information flow integration

• •

  resource productivity management and imbalance recording

• •

  customers relationship and certification establishment

• •

  supervisors’ accreditation and eco-vaulting administration

• •

  entrepreneurial project and partnership clustering appraisal

• •

  facility/function market and broker negotiation/incorporation

• •

  interoperability ruling and in-progress achievement assessment

• •

  networking value added and return on the collaborative course.