Forum for Reflection and Debate: Smart Businesses, Creating the Future

Carmen Echazarreta Soler, Albert Costa Marcé

An interdisciplinary and multi-professional forum for reflection and debate was created in order to discuss and define relevant and significant indicators that enable us to identify, differentiate and promote smart businesses – those that promote the use of communication and information technologies as a means of improving citizens’ quality of life. Following an exhaustive literature review, the debate focuses on four axes: technology, innovation and quality of life; communication; leadership and people management, and smart businesses. In conclusion, we highlight a series of differentiating characteristics of smart businesses, in five areas: a) Technology: Humanization and creation of jobs of value in light of automation and digitalization; cyber security and data protection. b) Administration and management: Reconciling economic activity and value-generation for stakeholders; people management and value-based leadership; optimization of the work environment; fostering teamwork; care and appropriate management of staff; creating “pride of belonging”; giving back to society; respect towards generational, cultural and general diversity; promotion of volunteering. c) Research: Innovation: guided and applied research; university-business knowledge transfer, and knowledge creation. d) Education and training in values to face the challenges posed by technology; training; recycling in light of (climate) change e) Communication: Transparency; customer communication; democratizing social journalism, op-ed and testimony sites that foster corporate improvement and bridge the digital gap. Defining these qualitative and quantitative indicators will provide a business management tool for managing technology in organizations, at a time of transformation and big social challenges from digitalization and automation. The reflections, discussions, and knowledge arising out of this forum of experts seek knowledge transfer in four areas: research, education, entrepreneurship and business.