Introduction
Through Horizon Europe work programme for 2025, the European Commission invests “over €7.3 billion to strengthen Europe’s research and innovation engine and global edge” (European Commission, 2025a). Horizon Europe (2021–2027) is a €93.5bn research and innovation programme. According to the European Commission (2025a), key elements of the Horizon Europe 2025 work programme include efforts to reduce carbon emissions, decrease energy costs and invest in digital and space technologies, green projects and sustainable development. Furthermore, the programme aims to accelerate progress towards climate and digital goals, support automotive research and innovation, and foster talent development.
Among the new and emerging digital technologies, the European Commission (2025b, 2025c, 2025d) highlights the importance of blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT) and the Next Generation Internet. Many of these advanced technologies have applications in strategic fields like healthcare and transportation.
Understanding the role of emerging information technologies in driving digital innovation is essential, as such innovations contribute significantly to the development of competitive advantages for firms, nations and regions. Advanced digital technologies serve as catalysts for job creation, economic growth and the transformation of economies and societies toward more inclusivity (Argyres et al., 2020; Yang et al., 2025; Zhang et al., 2024a, 2024b; Zhang et al., 2025). Equally important is the emphasis on knowledge transfer and organizational learning as critical sources of sustained competitive advantage. Moreover, emerging information technologies play a pivotal role in the management of knowledge across diverse economic sectors (Loia et al, 2025; Zhang et al., 2019, 2022, 2023). In this context, fostering university–industry collaboration is imperative. This includes the provision of strategic resources and infrastructure to research institutions and universities, the nurture of scientific knowledge networks and the optimization of the potential of information technologies to accelerate both the green and digital transitions (Cepa, 2021; European Commission, 2025e; Khezri, 2025).
I hope this issue contributes to the dialogue among academics, researchers, policymakers, industry leaders and other relevant stakeholders; fosters the exchange of scientific knowledge and insights on digital technologies, innovation and the green economy; and helps shape the future of more inclusive economies and societies.
Contents of the issue
The fifth issue of Journal of Science and Technology Policy Management presents a collection of 7 papers addressing some crucial topics for more inclusive and resilient economies and societies: absorptive capacity, China’s Belt and Road Initiative, cybersecurity, entrepreneurship, green economy, innovation, IoT, knowledge transfer, regional innovation, smart cities and technology adoption. The issue provides empirical evidence from countries like China, India and Iraq.
The first paper titled “A bibliometric review of Internet of Things (IoT) on cybersecurity issues” (by Ganji and Afshan) explores some key issues of IoT and cybersecurity that will help to shape dialogue and actions on these crucial topics. Authors state that “in response to the growing interest in Internet of Things (IoT) technology and its profound implications for businesses and individuals, this bibliometric study focuses on a critical yet understudied aspect, i.e. cybersecurity. As IoT adoption grows, so do concerns regarding user privacy and data security. This study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the current research in this vital area, shedding light on research trends, gaps and emerging themes. The study conducted a bibliometric analysis and systematic review of literature spanning over two decades (2013–2023). Bibliometric analysis is conducted using Biblioshiny which is R-software-based advanced analytical tool. Further, VOSviewer is used to conduct network analysis. The study highlights the evolving landscape of IoT cybersecurity, emphasizing interdisciplinary intersections and the ethical dimensions of IoT technologies. The study uncovers crucial concerns related to IoT adoption, emphasizing the urgent need for comprehensive cybersecurity protocols. It identifies emerging themes such as artificial intelligence and blockchain integration, indicating a shift toward interdisciplinary solutions. Furthermore, the research highlights ethical gaps in current IoT discussions, emphasizing the importance of responsible innovation”.
The second paper titled “The impact of the China’s Belt and Road Initiative on innovation, knowledge transfer and information diffusion: opportunities, challenges, and criticism” (by Uctu and Şahbaz) states that “the China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, hereafter) has reenergized the Silk Road concept, with most literature focusing on the political and economic effects of the BRI. While certain aspects of the Digital Silk Road (DSR), digital component of BRI, have been researched, much less focus has been placed on the technological development, tech transfer and information diffusion aspects of the BRI. The aim of this study is to investigate the opportunities, issues and critiques that have arisen as a result of the Belt and Road Initiative’s implications on innovation, knowledge transfer and dissemination. Research in its nature is descriptive. Literature reviews are a significant part of the development of a field. Therefore, secondary sources were considered. The literature and the study have highlighted several opportunities, problems and criticism that decision-makers and the relevant agencies and institutions should take into account when deciding how to move forward with BRI and its digital component DSR”.
The third paper titled “Role of green awareness and green behaviour in fostering sustainable consumption in India” (by Naini and Reddy) presents the results of a study that “aims to determine the solutions to address the Indian attitude-behaviour inconsistency in the green purchasing context and provide the possible combinations of antecedents that aid Indian marketers in designing promotional and advertising strategies. A non-probability criterion-based sampling technique was used in collecting the data across Hyderabad city of Telangana region through online survey technique. The respondents were the customers who were attracted towards green and eco-friendly products. A total of 129 responses were received. SPSS v26 software was used to conduct the descriptive analysis, and the two-step analysis approach of the measurement and structural model was conducted in SmartPLS. Results indicate that interpersonal influence has a greater direct influence on green purchase behaviour (GPB); altruism’s influence on green purchase intention (GPI) and GPB is through environmental attitude (EA) and green awareness (GA). EA has a significant influence on GA and green behaviour (GB). The GA and GB individually act as potential mediators between EA and green consumption behaviour (GCB) variables. Perceived environmental knowledge (PEK) does not influence GPB directly or indirectly. Altruism still ranks at the fifth position among the six antecedents, indicating reciprocal determinism and not an altruistic purchase approach in the Telangana region”.
The fourth paper titled “Identifying the push and pull factors for migration patterns vis-à-vis smart cities’ context” (by Naval, Alexopoulos, Rizun and Saxena) affirm that “while the causes of migration across a range of diverse societies have been studied in the extant literature, a systematic study encapsulating the extant literature pertaining to the push and pull factors for the phenomenon of migration has not been conducted so far. The purpose of this study is to present a gist of the push and pull factors that are responsible for migration patterns across different contexts. Inferences from the literature review and documentary analysis show that, on the one hand, the push factors for migration entail the enforced reasons like natural causes, wars, health and the like; the pull factors are, by and large, the affirmative ones related to better job opportunities, anticipation of improved well-being and so on. It may also be deduced that both the categories of migration causes are analyzed at the individual, group, societal as well as regional levels. Hitherto, the migration research has focused on understanding the antecedents and consequences of migration in temporal–spatial context, but a syncretic understanding of the push and pull factors behind migration vis-à-vis smart cities is required. The present study seeks to fill this gap. Besides contributing toward the mainstream literature on migration in general, the present study also adds to the literature pertaining to the specific factors responsible for migration patterns”.
The fifth paper titled “Factors affecting the adoption of digital entrepreneurship: a survey of private schools in Nineveh Governorate in Iraq” (by Allawi and Alyouzbaky) presents the results of a study that explores “the factors affecting the adoption of digital entrepreneurship among the pioneers of private schools in the Nineveh Governorate, using the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). The study seeks to address an academic problem represented by the low level of interest in the research literature on digital entrepreneurship. By contrast, the problem in the field is the failure of several entrepreneurial organizations, in general, and private schools, in particular. The researchers chose the private school sector in the Nineveh Governorate, Republic of Iraq, as the field of study. The targeted individuals represented school founders serving as investors and entrepreneurs, totaling 154 participants. The deductive approach was used as the main research method, with the survey approach as a sub-method. A questionnaire was used for data collection, and the researchers used structural equation modeling software, SmartPLS. The results revealed that constructs such as effort expectation, social influence, facilitating conditions, behavioral intention and experience are factors contributing to predicting the transition to digital entrepreneurship”.
The sixth paper titled “Meeting the challenges of wheat production through a skillful mix of new varieties, commercialization and technology adoption” (by Bhooshan, Singh, Sharma and Prabhu) discusses the results of a study conducted in India. It highlights that “the role of technology transfer units, examined in this study, was found to be vital to expedite the process of disseminating new varieties and their production technology. A total of 1,000 households were surveyed in the sampled states. A probit model was used to analyse. Age, education, land holding, tractor use and number of working family members in agriculture were found to significantly affecting adoption of the new seed varieties. Technology transfer through licensing has impacted the adoption of new seed varieties positively by highlighting Punjab possessing the highest adoption and western Uttar Pradesh was majorly adopting the old variety”.
Finally, the last paper of the issue, titled “Proximity and regional innovation performance: The mediating role of absorptive capacity” (by Zhao and Wang) proposes that “proximity is a crucial factor influencing innovation collaboration and performance. Most existing studies have primarily focused on the organizational level and been static in nature. Therefore, a further study on how proximity affects innovation performance is needed. This paper aims to fill this gap by highlighting the organizational, cognitive and geographical proximity in China’s open regional innovation system. This paper analyzes the data from 2010 to 2015 through path analysis. The results reveal that geographical proximity has a direct positive effect on regional innovation performance in China’s regional innovation system. It also shows that organizational proximity exerts a negative impact on absorptive capacity, and through it adversely affects regional innovation performance. In contrast, cognitive proximity is found to have a positive effect on absorptive capacity, enhancing regional innovation performance. Based on these findings, this paper contributes to a better understanding of the role of proximity in innovation collaboration and performance. By highlighting the importance of different proximity types, it provides insights for policymakers and practitioners seeking to foster regional innovation”.
