In recent years, Surroundings Engagement Management (SEM) has become a critical component for ensuring smooth project execution. Driven by increasing societal awareness, declining trust in government institutions, and policy reforms such as the Dutch Environment and Planning Act (Omgevingswet). Yet, despite its expanding relevance, SEM is not easily defined. The role is broad in scope, strongly shaped by organisational and project contexts, and interpreted in multiple ways across practice. As a result, there is no single, uncontested understanding of what constitutes the work and responsibilities of an SEM professional....

There are increasing concerns regarding an insidious consequence of social media: the erosion of user autonomy. The research aims to explore unreflective habit formation – an expression of loss of user autonomy - in the context of TikTok usage in Vietnam and to apply STAMP model to conceptualize the issue and the STPA method to provide actionable recommendations to the Vietnam Government. Being explorative, the research adopts desk research and qualitative methods. By integrating different concepts of autonomy in philosophy and HCI, the research identifies five key dimensions of autonomy, namely decision, execution, self-congruence, independence and system hostility. As social media exploits neurological reward cycles to reinforce user habits, user autonomy is infringed under the decision, execution and system hostility dimensions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 Vietnamese female university students in Hue during April 2025, revealing that their impulsive TikTok habitual use is unreflective. There are three main losses from this impulsive habit: time, focus capacity and identity rigidification. The responsibility for regulating social media platforms lies with the Government. They should adopt a combined strategy that integrates strict regulation of social media with comprehensive public education. These measures must be informed by up-to-date scientific research on user behavior and platform design. Regulations should not target TikTok in isolation, as the platform’s features are widely replicated across the industry. While applying STAMP model and STPA method to social media reveals both challenges and benefits, this approach is appropriate as it offers actionable insights that support targeted and comprehensive policy strategies.

Universal Health Coverage (UHC) aims to ensure that all individuals have access to essential healthcare services without facing financial hardship. Achieving UHC requires not only the availability of healthcare services but also the delivery of high-quality care, supported by essential technologies such as medical devices. Medical devices enhance healthcare delivery by enabling timely and accurate medical interventions, yet ensuring that these devices contribute to healthcare outcomes requires more than making them available. In many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the functionality and integration of medical devices into healthcare delivery remain a persistent challenge. Devices that are not properly maintained, adapted to local contexts, or aligned with clinical needs often end up unused or broken. Therefore, procurement plays a crucial role in ensuring that medical devices are appropriately selected, acquired, and maintained to meet healthcare needs and remain functional over time.

This research explores how government-led procurement can be structured to support the sustained adoption of high-cost medical devices in LMICs, focusing on Malawi as a case study. A qualitative research design was adopted, using semi-structured interviews with key informants directly involved in the public procurement of medical devices in Malawi. These interviews provided insights into procurement practices, decision-making structures, and broader institutional dynamics. To guide the analysis, this research applies the Adaptability, Scalability, and Sustainability (ASaS) model, a decision-oriented framework designed to assess whether health interventions can be adapted, scaled, and sustained over time. The ASaS model is used as an evaluative tool to assess how well Malawi’s procurement practices align with key determinants of sustained adoption and to identify opportunities for improvement.

The findings show that public procurement of high-cost medical devices in Malawi is organised through a multi-layered system operating across national, institutional, and operational levels. Procurement processes are centrally governed to ensure regulatory oversight and financial accountability, with institutions such as the Internal Procurement and Disposal Committee (IPDC), the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA), and the Ministry of Justice overseeing compliance with national priorities under the PPDA Act of 2017. These formal structures define clear steps for procurement, including needs assessments, technical specifications, supplier selection, tendering, contract negotiation, and quality assurance to ensure procured devices meet required standards. However, while procurement structures define formal decision-making processes, procurement practices encompass the broader systemic and institutional conditions that shape how these processes function in practice and influence procurement outcomes.

Procurement practices in Malawi face challenges that affect the sustained adoption of high-cost medical devices. Externally, fragmented procurement between donor-driven and government-led acquisitions leads to the introduction of devices without government oversight, limiting central tracking and complicating procurement and maintenance planning. Funding constraints further restrict the ability to acquire and sustain essential devices. Although regulatory frameworks promote transparency, they often result in a proliferation of device types that are difficult to manage over time. Internally, poor coordination between procurement and planning departments leads to delays and misalignment with facility readiness. In addition, weak monitoring and evaluation systems hinder follow-up on device functionality and prevent evidence-based decision-making. Finally, procurement outcomes are shaped by device-specific factors, including maintenance needs, spare parts availability, and alignment with clinical workflows, which are not consistently addressed in procurement processes, increasing the risk that devices will become underutilised or non-functional.

Based on these findings, the research concludes that supporting the sustained adoption of high-cost medical devices in Malawi requires shifting from cost-driven acquisition models to more strategic procurement processes that incorporate the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Procurement decisions should account for long-term costs such as maintenance, spare parts, operation, and supplier service commitments. Additionally, establishing a centralised national inventory and tracking system for medical devices would improve oversight, support more accurate needs assessments, and enhance future procurement planning. Moving toward evidence-based procurement will require the development of monitoring and evaluation systems to track device functionality and usage over time, ensuring that medical devices remain operational and integrated into healthcare delivery.

Beyond procurement processes, institutional design also influences procurement outcomes. A better balance is needed between centralised technical expertise and local facility input to improve the alignment of procurement decisions with clinical needs and usability. Integration of usability assessments at the need identification stage could help ensure that selected medical devices are both clinically essential and aligned with existing workflows. At the same time, navigating the trade-offs between transparency, competition, and standardisation is essential. While open competition remains important for fairness, moving toward a more standardised selection of device types could simplify maintenance, training, and spare parts sourcing, thereby supporting long-term usability and integration into clinical workflows.

In conclusion, this research underscores that the sustained adoption of high-cost medical devices in Malawi requires rethinking both procurement processes and the broader institutional frameworks in which they are embedded. Aligning procurement with healthcare system capacities requires moving beyond cost-driven acquisitions toward approaches that account for long-term usability, maintenance, and operation. Embedding these elements into procurement planning, alongside the development of monitoring and reporting mechanisms, would help ensure that procurement decisions are aligned with real needs and capacities within healthcare facilities. Equally important is addressing institutional design to ensure that procurement processes are supported by governance structures capable of integrating clinical, technical, and operational perspectives. By aligning procurement with the realities of healthcare system capacities and embedding long-term considerations, Malawi can move from acquiring medical devices to ensuring their sustained use. These insights are critical for policymakers and practitioners seeking to strengthen healthcare systems and promote sustainable outcomes from medical device investments.

Proactivity in e-government and service design aims to revolutionize digital public services by having the government reach out to citizens based on data, life changes, or predicted events. This could streamline internal processes and enhance citizen well-being. However, the success of proactive services depends on their incorporation, design, and implementation. Values play a crucial role in these processes and are influenced by politics, governance, design processes, social factors, legislation, and technical possibilities, potentially leading to value conflicts.

This thesis examines the contextual conditions shaping the management of value conflicts in digital proactive public services, focusing on the Dutch Persoonlijke Regelingen Assistent (PRA) project, which aims to centralize Dutch regulations and provide proactive notifications and assistance. The project, still in its design phase, offers insights into how contextual conditions impact proactive application development. These findings can be extrapolated to broader proactive public services contexts.

The thesis uses existing literature to identify crucial values and assess their manifestation in proactive applications. It employs the Value Sensitive Design (VSD) approach to construct value hierarchies, identifying conflicting and enabling values. Strategies for handling value conflicts are evaluated and extended with public policy design strategies, highlighting the influence of contextual conditions on value conflicts and their resolution.

A framework of conditions was established to illustrate their impact on value conflicts and strategies. Political conditions, such as ideology-based values and funding priorities, influence dominant values. Governance conditions affect practical matters like funding, project timelines, and stakeholder involvement. Procedural conditions in the design process involve key trade-offs. Legal and technical conditions are crucial for data processing applications, impacting privacy and proactivity conflicts. Social conditions determine the application's reception and effectiveness, with sensitivity to expectations, stigma, and readiness being vital.

Public organizations must set realistic objectives, consider contextual conditions, and anticipate outcomes at each step. A chosen strategy for managing value conflicts from the start can ease decision-making. Evaluated strategies have varying practicality and benefits, complicated by the context-dependency of value conflicts. A learning strategy is recommended, involving multiple strategies and stakeholder coordination to gather practical insights.

To formalize this process, appointing an organization at the meso-level of governance is suggested. This organization would evaluate project queries based on past cases and value conflict consequences, bridging the gap between macro-level government legislation and micro-level standards. This body of knowledge would guide responsible innovation in the public sector, enabling designers, policymakers, and scientists to learn from each other’s cases and contribute collectively to progress.

In summary, proactivity in digital public services holds promise but requires careful consideration of contextual conditions and value conflicts. A meso-level organization can provide the necessary guidance and knowledge to navigate these challenges effectively.

The search for the key drivers of economic growth in capitalist economies has been a focal point of economic analysis since the days of classical economists like Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and Karl Marx. To better understand growth and the forces enabling capitalist economies to expand their production of goods and services, economists often categorise economic factors into two independent groups.
On one hand, there are demand-side factors such as consumer spending and investment, which primarily drive economic fluctuations. On the other hand, there are supply-side factors like technological innovation and labour force growth, which set the potential output path of an economy. This potential output represents the maximum production level an economy can achieve without causing inflation, acting as a centre of gravity for actual economic dynamics.
Potential output is particularly crucial for Eurozone countries due to its significant role in fiscal regulations and monetary policy. Fiscal rules, such as those governing structural budget balance, require countries to align their budgets with potential output to ensure sustainable public finances. The European Central Bank (ECB) monitors the output gap—the difference between actual and potential output—to assess whether economies are approaching inflationary limits. Both fiscal and monetary policies thus rely heavily on the concept of potential output, highlighting its importance in maintaining economic stability and growth.
This research aims to enhance the understanding of economic growth through a simple demand-led model that incorporates hysteresis—the lasting effects of demand-side dynamics on potential output. Despite increasing recognition of hysteresis, few studies have developed straightforward dynamic models integrating these mechanisms. Notable exceptions include the work of Fazzari, Ferri, and Variato (2020), who examined hysteresis effects on US economic growth using a simple demand-led model. This study extends their framework, using Italy's economy from 1979 to 2018 as a case study, and introduces key conceptual and methodological changes to improve model accuracy and uncertainty analysis.
Italy's economic context, marked by low and stagnant GDP and labour productivity growth, high unemployment, and widespread involuntary part-time employment, provides a unique setting for this investigation. The Fazzari, Ferri, and Variato (2020) model is demand-led, with potential output as the upper boundary for economic dynamics. Demand-side factors, especially autonomous components like government spending and exports, shape the system's evolution. Hysteresis mechanisms link potential output to changes in unemployment rates and capital stock accumulation, challenging traditional views that separate supply-side and demand-side dynamics.
Dynamic simulations of the model across various scenarios yield critical insights. Accurate simulations require specific values for key parameters, such as the propensity to save and the long-run target capital-output ratio. The model reveals a trade-off between accurately describing demand-side and supply-side dynamics, particularly regarding labour productivity evolution post-1990s and general labour supply trends over the study period.
The empirical simulations show that the stability of steady-state solutions depends mainly on certain demand-side parameters. The adjustment speed for expected growth (α)—indicating how many years of past yearly growth are used by households to form future growth expectations (with higher α implying a longer memory)—and the adjustment speed for the capital-output ratio (λ)—showing how quickly the actual capital-output ratio converges to its long-run value set by firms—are critical.
Accurate scenarios for the Italian economy fall outside the unstable range, ensuring stable economic dynamics. However, the value of α suggests caution due to the implied long memories of past growth in forming future expectations.
Our research introduces unique conceptual and methodological tools that enhance the analysis of economic growth. The use of Causal Loop Diagrams (CLDs) visually represents feedback loops and interdependencies within the model, making complex relationships easier to understand and communicate. Additionally, our empirical analysis employs the All-Factors-At-a-Time (AAT) method, which allows for simultaneous variation of all model parameters across their feasible ranges. This approach offers a more comprehensive and realistic examination of non-linear systems compared to traditional methods.
For policymakers, recognising hysteresis and integrating these advanced tools into economic models can lead to more informed and effective decision-making. By considering the long-term impacts of demand-side policies on potential output, and using visual and comprehensive analytical methods, policymakers can better navigate the complexities of economic growth and stability. This research advocates for a more integrated and nuanced approach to economic policy, fostering broader dialogue and enhancing our collective understanding of growth dynamics.
While this research provides valuable insights, it acknowledges several limitations. Methodologically, the study relied on assumptions about the initial capital-output ratio and growth rates due to a lack of initial data, potentially impacting model accuracy. The empirical approach, while intuitive, may lack the mathematical rigour needed for robust results, and more advanced econometric techniques could enhance parameter estimates. Conceptually, the model struggled to capture supply-side dynamics, particularly labour productivity stagnation and labour supply evolution. The reliance on exogenous inputs for autonomous demand components limits the model’s ability to fully replicate real-world demand-side dynamics.
Future research should build on this work by expanding the current model to better capture case-specific information, particularly recognising the impact of austerity measures on Italy’s economy. Revising the hysteresis mechanisms is crucial to accurately reflect the dynamics of supply-side variables, incorporating factors such as labour protection legislation and financialisation proxies. Additionally, addressing inequality and ecological constraints within the model could provide a more comprehensive understanding of sustainable economic growth. These aspects are critical for enhancing the model’s applicability and relevance in public and policy debates.
Moreover, comparative analysis using different models, such as the Solow-Swan model, could offer unique perspectives on economic growth theories and their assumptions. Exploring the connection between economic modelling and policymaking, particularly how diverse economic theories are integrated into policymaking, presents another promising avenue. This could involve interviews with experts to understand how models are employed in major policymaking institutions and how a plurality of economic theories can be effectively communicated to the public. By addressing these areas, future research can enhance the robustness and applicability of economic growth models.

This research looked into Algorithmic Systems used in the execution of the SUWI-law by executing agencies. It analysed the use and governance of these systems and their possible harms to citizens and society by means of an Actor Analysis and System-Theoretical Process Analysis (STPA), supported by semi-structured interviews.

It aimed to answer the following research question:
How can a systems safety perspective combined with an actor perspective be used to provide a sociotechnical description of algorithmic systems, their governance and possible hazards at agencies executing the SUWI-law?

By means of the Actor Analysis, this research was able to describe the actor field and implications of it on the problem situation. The main insight from the actor field was the presence of ‘double binds’, several value conflicts that trouble use of AS. STPA, a method that focusses on safety of a system as a whole rather than individual components, provided the ability to map algorithmic systems within their sociotechnical context. It focussed on three hazards, which are system states that lead to accidents. These three hazards were the use of flawed logic in algorithmic systems, the use of flawed information in algorithmic system, and the flawed understanding citizens have of the role of the systems. They were explored through a Safety Control Structure, which displays controlled processes and those controlling them, and the construction of causal scenarios.
Semi-structured interviews focussed on the governance of algorithmic systems, and possible improvements. They provided empirical input for STPA.
The main contributions of this research are the proposal it makes for a sociotechnical description of algorithmic systems and their harms, using concepts derived from STPA. Such descriptions can be used to build shared understanding of algorithmic systems and their harms. It showed how such a description can be constructed using an Actor Analysis, interviews, and STPA, describing how these methods work together.

This study examines how sustainable commuting alternatives can be designed and implemented to maximise adoption among hospital employees, particularly considering non-standard employment schedules and location-specific challenges. Conducted as part of the 'Living Lab Sustainable Transport' initiative, the research aims to provide insights for the Academic Medical Center and Pon Mobility Nederland on how to maximise the adoption of eco-friendly commuting options, while addressing the unique challenges of shift work and irregular schedules. By analysing employee preferences for alternative commuting options, such as cycling, e-bike leasing, shared e-bikes and public transport, the study aims to offer practical recommendations for promoting a modal shift away from car-based commutes. A Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) was conducted to assess key factors influencing commuting decisions, including financial incentives, travel time, and perceived comfort. Findings indicate that employees with irregular schedules require additional support, particularly regarding safety concerns and flexibility for off-peak commutes. Financial incentives, such as full public transport reimbursement, e-bike travel allowances, and increased parking costs, were effective in encouraging more sustainable commuting behaviours. The results contribute valuable insights for the healthcare sector and other industries facing similar commuting challenges, offering a framework for promoting sustainable commuting practices while addressing the unique constraints of shift work and location-specific factors.

In our thesis, we conducted an in-depth exploration of the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in public sector decision-making, focusing particularly on AI case routing for welfare benefits allocation. Initially, our research was guided by a techno-optimistic viewpoint, presuming that municipalities would inherently benefit from AI adoption. However, as our study progressed, we encountered the complexities and challenges inherent in the practical implementation of AI in public services.

We employed the Design Science Research methodology, utilizing a diverse array of methods including literature reviews, case studies, expert interviews, and system safety analysis. Our objective was to develop a method-type artifact to enhance decision-making in civil services, with a special emphasis on the application of AI in welfare benefits allocation. Our findings indicated that AI implementation in the public sector is highly context-dependent, requiring a tailored approach that addresses various technical, organizational, and cultural barriers.

Throughout our research, we identified critical factors such as the need for transparency, fairness, and accountability in AI systems. We recognized the importance of adopting a balanced perspective that considers both AI and non-AI solutions. Our study highlighted the potential benefits of AI in public services, such as increased efficiency and improved quality of decision-making. However, we also noted significant challenges in ensuring system safety and maintaining ethical standards.

Through expert interviews and a detailed system safety analysis, we emphasized the necessity of establishing clear rules for the responsible use of AI case routing and addressing the associated risks. Our research concluded that AI might not always be the most suitable approach, particularly if safety concerns and ethical considerations outweigh the potential benefits.

In summary, our thesis underscores the need for a critical and balanced approach to the integration of AI in public services. We advocate for a holistic strategy that involves collaboration among government, academia, industry, and civil society. This approach is vital to harness the potential benefits of AI while mitigating risks and ensuring the well-being of society.

The digitalization of European universities’ tool infrastructure has transformed how institutions operate and deliver education to students, from sharing content on learning management systems to hosting lectures on video-conferencing platforms. However, despite many new benefits of digital education technologies (DETs) and their contribution to reaching the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 targets for Quality Education, it also comes with new challenges like user privacy, environmental impacts, and shifting power dynamics between institutions and service providers. Additionally, concerns have been raised regarding the responsible development and longevity of the university’s digital infrastructure given the recent rapid digitalization trend and how new DETs are selected.

Sustainability assessment can be a useful model to evaluate an institution’s DET selection process as it provides a holistic evaluation through a multidimensional perspective to develop a more responsible and future-proof approach to digital education infrastructure. However, a multidimensional sustainability analysis has not been applied in the context of DET selection. Therefore, it is unclear to decision-makers what sustainable DET looks like and what role sustainability plays in the DET selection process. This study addressed this gap by answering the following question: How are European higher education institutions incorporating sustainability into selecting digital education technologies?

The sustainability dimensions of DETs were formulated by conducting a literature review of contemporary models, encompassing the environmental, social, and technological aspects. A more sustainable DET increases the positive impact along each of these dimensions. An environmentally sustain- able DET preserves and protects natural resources by reducing the environmental impact through its hardware and software. A socially sustainable DET increases equal access to education for all learners, regardless of socioeconomic status, disabilities, or geographic location while preserving individual privacy. A technologically sustainable DET is long-lasting, possesses the necessary functionalities, and balances a tool’s simplicity, openness, and ownership. While most sustainability models include the economic dimension, due to the university’s non-profit nature and the common prioritization of economic factors above other criteria in decision-making, this study excluded the economic dimension to examine the other dimensions more closely. Furthermore, the pedagogical dimension was omitted due to its sustainability considerations typically arising after the implementation of a DET, rather than during its selection stage and therefore is beyond the scope of this research.

Four key actors involved in the DET selection process were identified through an actor analysis. These include the university’s Head of IT who oversees the institution’s infrastructure system and their IT tool specialists who provide technical expertise, service providers whose products comprise the DET market, and education associations who help universities procure DETs. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with European university Heads of IT to gather data on the current DET selection process and the challenges institutions face when incorporating sustainability into DET selection.

The sustainability dimensions were used in conjunction with grounded theory open and axial coding analysis to evaluate the sustainability of current DET selection processes. The results showed that decision-makers predominantly utilize the EU-regulated tendering process to select DETs, which comprises minimal sustainability criteria while assigning significant importance to the economic factor (i.e., DET price). Additionally, interviewees shared they prioritize social and technological sustainability, specifically the privacy, data security, and functionality of DETs over other sustainability criteria. On the other hand, environmental sustainability is underrepresented in DET selection criteria. This is primarily due to the lack of available data and initiatives collecting DET environmental impact metrics, making it difficult for decision-makers to create relevant requirements and kickout criteria to compare DET options based on environmental sustainability. Finally, the analysis illustrated the three most common challenges that hinder sustainable DET selection are the limited financial and human resources, the insignificant or lack of sustainability criterion weighting, and the long and inflexible tender process.

Overall, this study contributes to filling the knowledge gap in understanding the sustainability of current European universities’ DET selection process and highlights key challenges decision-makers and researchers should focus on to improve the sustainability of digital education technologies. Future research can build on this work by expanding the scope beyond Northwestern European institutions, interviewing other decision-maker actors, and developing a standardized selection process for sustainable DET selection.

Additionally, recommendations were made to the four actor groups as well as general advice for universities to increase DET sustainability. The Head of IT should prioritize the environmental aspect in DET criteria and collaborate with service providers to address environmental impact metrics. They should also encourage the development of new tools by teachers and students. The IT tool specialist should engage in co-development with service providers for better tool support and to ensure a secure and functional digital infrastructure. Service providers need to align their products with sustainability criteria, propose pilot projects to universities, and share environmental impact metrics with relevant stakeholders. Education associations should organize collective efforts to enhance the sustainability of the DET tendering process and offer streamlined services like joint procurement and model contracts to simplify the selection process. Universities could transition to renewable energy to reduce DET’s carbon footprint, implement e-waste recycling and disposal programs, and support research into sustainable DET.

With the increasing need for entangling the complexity around worldwide crises and transitions, the transdisciplinary collaboration between governmental organisations, multidisciplinary academic institutions and companies is becoming increasingly crucial. Involving citizens within the policy-making processes regarding those crises and transitions already led to various positive outcomes, for example increased awareness, understanding of policies, new innovations, and acceptance of decision-making. This participatory involvement is now effectively executed through the implementation of Participatory Value Evaluations (PVEs). Since HEIs need to fulfill a Third Mission, involving employees within their policy making might lead to several benefits as well. This master thesis explores the added value of applying a PVE within the higher education institution (HEI) context, analysing both the perspectives of employees and the policymakers, and therefore provide valuable insights for future implementations of PVEs within professional bureaucracies. The results show a pivotal role for using the PVE approach within HEIs, compared to the citizen-to-government context. However, further research is needed to establish design principles and preconditions around the PVE approach within a HEI.

Educational technologies play a critical role in the European action plan to strengthen digital literacy skills by 2027 and solve Grand Challenges related to work and education by 2030, as the global community shifts increasingly into the Digital Age. Four technology types are examined: face-to-face, online, hybrid or blended, and video learning. Policy makers who wish to weigh user preferences and acceptance of educational technology types will find they may better address, for example, the transition from school to hybrid work, as well as mitigate the shortage of teaching hours within The Netherlands. Acceptance is operationalized as ‘behavioral intention’ to use a technology type. However, models of acceptance cannot determine whether students and schools would successfully adopt these forms of learning (or technology types) after implementation, regardless of their reliability in measuring factors like BI/ATT, PE, or PEOU. Limited research has been conducted locally and nationally; literature case studies typically measure one or two learning forms. Moreover, theory suggests that, if a (learning) technology is accepted, then successful adoption is likely. Therefore, I aim to explore “To what extent do Dutch students of middle and higher education, ages 16-25, prefer and will theoretically accept different educational technology types?” This study employs a quantitative survey to rank learning preferences and assess its acceptance via a modified Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). This study intends to propose an emergence preference model (EPM) composed of a modified technology acceptance model (mTAM) to challenge the theoretical concept of preference as a robust measure to supply statistical information in support of acceptance studies. The model was validated with PLS-SEM, and the results were delimited by the modified TAM. The results showed secondary school students prefer Face-to-face learning while university students’ preference is well distributed. The reasons for these technological preferences were comprehensive and well explained by chosen acceptance factors. The preference of student’s technology for each acceptance factor was key to showing this relation. Therefore, user preference and user acceptance indeed provide comprehensive knowledge to decision makers who consider weighing acceptance.

When attempting to enter a market, it is of the utmost importance to make a well-thought decision. Numerous academics have examined the first-mover advantage literature to determine whether entering first, second, or late is more advantageous. After many decades, there is still no consensus, and it appears that we are in a dialogue of the deaf. This thesis gives a list of first-mover advantages and disadvantages and discusses the symmetry between first-mover advantages and first-mover disadvantages, as well as first-mover advantages and second-mover disadvantages, in order to extent the topic. This list alone is not enough to settle the debate, so we introduce the pattern of development and diffusion. The pattern of development and diffusion contextualises the problem and shows the demonstrates the effect of first-mover advantages on the development of a product category. The relationship demonstrates that a setting can be either dynamic (a market entry has a substantial impact on the product category) or static (a market entry has little effect).
This thesis proposes a model to illustrate the factors that influence the decision to enter the market. Aspects that influence the formulation of a market entry strategy are included in the model. For the sake of simplicity, only the strategy to enter a market has been investigated. Next to the model, we created a flowchart that describes the steps required to develop a market entry strategy. Eventually the goal is to make a well-thought decision. The dialogue of the deaf on first, second or late being most favourable has been the cause of this thesis but the conclusion is none of those. The most important part of first-mover advantages and disadvantages is the effect they bring along with the entry into a market. This thesis claims that first-mover advantages are advantages and disadvantages that may be evaluated over the development of a product category, rather than belonging to any particular order. The weights of (dis)advantages differ over the course of the development so at different points in time, different advantages can be utilised. The first-mover (dis)advantages present aspects that can be utilised at a particular situation. The decision maker should foresee whether, given the current (dis)advantages, after its introduction the situation is most favourable or if the situation is most favourable when you wait, and competitors have entered the market. The combination of the pattern of development and first-mover advantages show this principle and show why the dialogue of the deaf on market order is not useful. The decision to enter a market has never been simple, and it likely never will be. This thesis offers direction for the decision-making procedure and explains how to comprehend it. The complexities of market entry decision making are not yet resolved, but a well-thought decision is getting closer.

Cities around the world constitute complex systems, as sets of sub-components that are connected and interact with each other. Due to this inherent complexity, there are numerous emerging challenges that need to be tackled. In those complex environments, various-interest groups collaborate and compete to achieve their goals and interests, constituting a vital part of urban planning. The advancement of technology and ICT, and the abiding need to keep citizens engaged, marked a critical shift in the way that urban planning confronts the increasingly contemporary complex issues. This advancement has offered citizens a way to digitally participate in urban planning procedures, overcoming certain limitations, while posing, also, challenges related to the level of its effectiveness.
While many methods and tools have been developed over the years, for enhancing citizen engagement and the effectiveness of public participation, there seems to be an evident gap in substantial and two-way collaboration among the (relevant) urban stakeholders. This thesis project aims to hark the perspectives and needs of the urban stakeholders, translating them into a conceptual design of a digital public participation platform. Next to that, except for the importance of the platform itself, as a tool, the focus was also given to participation, as a process, considering that such a platform could and should act as a promoter of effective public participation rather than a stand-alone solution. Consequently, the main research question of this study is: Which characteristics need to be included in designing a public participation platform so that it can enhance citizen engagement and facilitate more effective public participation in urban planning?
For this research, a design science research approach was chosen. A theoretical background was developed on existing theories, methods and frameworks related to public participation and digital platforms. Data collection was conducted using multiple methods, including workshops, semi-structured interviews, and questionnaires, while data analysis was conducted inductively, to identify all the emerging patterns and their interrelations.
From the data analysis, five core themes emerged: General findings; (De)Motivational factors for public participation; Characteristics; Technical requirements; Technological features. Retaining these themes, the analyzed results were then critically synthesized, both in qualitative and quantitative terms, to provide a holistic overview.
Combing the obtained results, the main research outputs were developed, providing an overall answer to the main research question. First, a trifold validation of the results, related to the past, present, and future, was conducted, fulfilling the rigor and design cycle of the design science research, and attaining a continuous assessment. Building upon the evaluation results, for the platform as a tool, a conceptual design was developed, based on the different views of the urban stakeholders. For the process of public participation in general, a set of guidelines was developed, providing recommendations on how to enhance citizen engagement and the effectiveness of public participation, based on the different views of the urban stakeholders.
This thesis concludes with some important final remarks, including limitations, recommendations for future research, research relevance, and the author’s final reflections on the research.

Law enforcement occurs in a complex environment that contains a variety of actors that interact with one another. These interactions create emerging collective behavior over time. For example, inspectors will try to influence non-compliant actors to become compliant, while inspectees may comply or thwart inspections. Inspection agencies such as the Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport (ILT) evaluate inspectees’ adherence to regulation and aim to boost compliance within an industry. However, they have limited resources and a wide range of potential societal challenges to address. They face an action dilemma, having to decide on what actions to take without full knowledge of whether their actions lead to higher compliance or improved social outcomes. Previous studies of the inspection environment rely on behavioral theories to investigate the underlying motivations of inspectees’ behavior. However, these theories presume inspectees’ motivations and characterize them homogeneously, often assuming they have perfect rationality. This leads to an inaccurate depiction of inspectees, reducing them to one-dimensional actors when in reality, their behavior is motivated by multiple factors and can be idiosyncratic. Data science techniques provide the opportunity to understand behavioral phenomena with data, leveraging datasets to identify statistical patterns in behavior to help inspectorates make decisions within a degree of certainty. A particular modeling technique that focuses on representing empirical data without assuming behavioral motivations is phenomenological modeling. Coupled with agent-based modeling (ABM), phenomenological modeling allows the researcher to simulate possible outcomes of observed behavior before the underlying motivations are understood. This provides insight into the macro-level behavior produced by micro-level interactions within the complex inspection environment...

Energy poverty, understood as a situation in which one household is not able to afford essential domestic energy services, is a phenomenon spread throughout Europe. In the following study, the Republic of Serbia will be considered specifically. The latter is, as other Western Balkan countries, affected by inefficient dwellings and housing appliances. These are characterised by outdated technological devices that further hamper their energy efficiency and carbon footprint. Additionally, the majority of the buildings in Serbia are outdated and need to be refurbished. This is aggravated by the fact that the residential sector represents the largest final consumer of energy in the country. Countries presenting a higher range of low-quality and energy-inefficient dwellings tend to present higher levels of energy poverty (and vice versa). Typically, residents living in energy inefficient households present below-average disposable incomes. Similarly, low-income groups are more subject to energy poverty. This hints to the “vicious cycle of energy poverty”, where households presenting low disposable incomes eventually end up spending more on energy since these are unable to afford inefficient dwellings and/or house appliances. The correlation between household energy efficiency and energy poverty has been recognised throughout the literature and among governmental institutions. In fact, increasing energy efficiency is a target present both in the Fit for 55 package delineated by the European Commission and the Sustainable Development Goals developed by the United Nations.

Considering the previously mentioned “vicious cycle of energy poverty” and the fact that low-income groups are more affected by energy poverty, it was decided to focus on this specific strait of society. Additionally, being a contracting party of the Energy Community Treaty, the Republic of Serbia adheres to implementing EU climate directives (sustainable goals) in the country. Stemming from this, the following Main Research Question was delineated, around which the whole research process was structured: Which energy policy strategy should the Ministry of Mining and Energy implement in Serbia as to achieve household energy efficiency and energy poverty objectives set by the European Commission directed towards low-income groups?

A case study-mixed methods approach was utilised for the following study. By merging the two methodologies, the proposed policies presented elements and were analysed from both a qualitative and quantitative perspective. On the one hand, the institutional, legal, and policy framework in the field of energy in Serbia was analysed, as to ensure the proposed policies were politically and socially feasible. On the other hand, the technical effectiveness in terms of final energy consumption and expenses reduction was also considered. To that end, a MS Excel linear and static simulation model was employed. It was found that performing a simulation-backed analysis of the available policy strategies in Serbia, delineating an optimal one to reduce energy poverty levels and improve household energy efficiency among low-income groups in Serbia, satisfying the sustainable targets set by the European Commission, represented a knowledge gap in the literature.

Three main policies were delineated corresponding to three different simulated scenarios. Namely, (i) the implementation of an emissions trading scheme extended as to also include the residential sector; (ii) the phasing out of heating oil and fossil fuels in 2030, followed by natural gas in 2040; (iii) the implementation of Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) in the residential sector. The latter resulted as the best performing policy, presenting the highest reduction in final energy consumption and expenses, resulting politically and socially feasible, delivering a positive social impact among low-income households in Serbia.

Digital challenger banks in the UK retail banking industry have caused unprecedented Personal Current Account (PCA) market share changes at the cost of traditional banks. This loss in competitive position prompted traditional bank managers to reconsider the way they operate, resulting in the commoditization of digital services till date. Now, the industry is faced with another potentially disruptive strategic innovation: sustainable business models. Adopting such a business model is, however, a complex decision for bank managers, as they need to ensure that the resources and capabilities of their bank align in an optimal manner to achieve competitive advantage. On the one hand, there is evidence in favor of sustainable business models as they have been associated with lower bank risk, better (financial) performance, and higher stakeholder value. In addition, consumers and policymakers increasingly expect UK retail banks to adopt a sustainable business model. On the other hand, there are also many uncertainties regarding the disruptive potential of sustainable business models - in part because there is no insight on how consumers might respond. Bank managers are thus faced with a dilemma on whether to change their business model at the cost of existing revenue for potential future profit.

In this study, we aimed to address these latter risks by providing insights into the mechanisms that underlie changes in the PCA market shares of UK retail banks and investigating what the future composition of the UK retail banking industry might entail when banks adopt sustainable business models. The UK retail banking industry is, however, a complex, open, uncertain, and dynamic multi-actor system in which the competitive position of banks depends on the strategic decisions of themselves and their competitors. As a consequence, there are many plausible future states of the system that can only be explored by the quantitative simulation of banks’ interactions. Previous literature advising bank managers on the adoption of sustainable business models fail to do so.

Due to the lack of detailed data on the consumer response to sustainable business models, however, we could not employ existing market share models that generally rely on the statistical analysis of this detailed (time-series) data. As such, we developed a novel simulation model that used the language of game theory in the context of agent-based modeling (ABM) to understand the complexity of customer market share dynamics. Specifically, the model simulated the consumer choice of bank behavior in response to the strategical decision-making of 20 banks on a variety of topics (e.g., sustainability, digital capabilities) during a seven-year time period. Consequent to being the first model of its kind that allows the study of the disruptive potential of a strategic innovation, we note that the model is unique in its ability to (i) simulate the endogenous decision-making by the banks under study in response to the evolving state of the system, (ii) simultaneously include (potentially) competitive effects (i.e., customer switching volumes) and (potentially) market-expansive effects (i.e., PCA market growth), and (iii) systematically address system uncertainties.

Using exploratory modeling of 12,000 alternative future scenarios, we show that PCA market shares are quite robust (i.e., between 0.5-2% decrease) to different factors such as the customer switching volume, PCA market growth, consumer choice of bank behavior, and different types of sustainable banking implementation strategies (e.g. being a leader or follower). As to the mechanisms that do underlie the marginal changes in the market shares of UK retail banks, we identify a role for improved digital capabilities of mid-tier banks resulting in an improved competitive position of these banks. In addition, smaller specialized banks in the UK may capture some market share, but this growth is limited as serving more customer segments is associated with less overall satisfaction and a consequent potential decrease in market share. This trade-off means that the organic growth of smaller banks in the UK retail banking industry is limited. We furthermore show that low PCA market growth, low consumer preference towards banks’ sustainable operations, and moderate to high consumer preference towards banks’ service quality and digital services significantly contribute to limiting the market share decrease of big 4 banks to max. 0.7%. Finally, we also show that PCA market pressure is not sufficient for all UK retail banks to adopt a sustainable business model. As such, we conclude that sustainable business models are not directly associated with PCA market share dynamics and that they have a minimal disruptive potential.

While numerical inaccuracy limits confidence in the simulation model outputs, the findings of this study can be used to draw general policy directions for UK regulators and bank managers.
To regulators:
• Focus on increasing competition through unique new entrants, as increased switching volumes currently have little effect on dynamics in customer market shares due to too little competitive differentiation between retail banks;
• Introduce additional incentives for retail banks to adopt sustainable business models, as PCA market pressure alone is insufficient to introduce a sustainability transition in the UK retail banking industry within the next seven years;
• Facilitate consistent data collection on a number of bank KPIs and make this data publicly available to aid future research onto the competitive positions of banks by both regulators and the private sector.
To bank managers:
• Do not focus on building customer market share, as one will likely capture customers that open a secondary (or even tertiary) account which is often operated with a very low margin (if not at a loss);
• Redefine how the customer value proposition is designed, as sustainable business models might have non-tangible side effects such as more loyal and less price-sensitive customers;
• Set up specialized PCA products to focus on an underserved small customer segment to avoid competing with the bulk of PCA providers;
• Use monetary incentives to compensate for a lacking performance on sustainability, digital capabilities, or service quality, as these incentives effectively dampen the dynamics in customer market shares;
• To mid-tier managers, investigate the potential to capture market share, as this study indicates that a potential upswing in mid-tier market share is possible.

Finally, we urge bank managers to consider the ecological consequences of sustainable business models when designing their policies. Precisely because there is no direct link between sustainable business models and customer market share, one can adopt such a business model without fearing the competitive position. The plausibility of irreversible climate change does mean that investment in measures for dealing with these circumstances, and not just greenwashing, should be taken sooner rather than later. Future work should focus on facilitating such multi-objective decision-making for bank managers by extending the model KPIs (e.g., consumer deposits, sustainability metrics) and by improving the model structure to increase numerical accuracy.

Large software projects often overrun costs, development time and do not deliver what has been envisioned by the customer. An important factor contributing to these cost overruns is the mismatch in the approaches of IT-architects and agile software development roles. In literature there are hints that complementary added value could be achieved from interaction of these roles. For practitioners there is need for governance strategies that improve the added value of combining these roles and their approaches in a complementary way. To identify how governance strategies help to obtain complementary added value from IT-architecture and agile software developer interactions this research used a multi-case study approach with exploratory and theory building focus. Interviews with IT-architecture and agile developer roles were used to collect data and compose case studies. This approach allowed to identify governance strategies with governance strategies that were used in practice. Multiple cases were chosen to analyse governance strategies across cases, which improved generalisability. The results include a topology of interaction models, a set of added value and problems found in the cases, related to their interaction model and a set of descriptions of governance strategies that could be used to achieve complementary added value from the interaction of software architects and agile development teams.The case studies and results provide practitioners with the opportunity to update their knowledge and change their perspective on interaction of IT-architecture and agile development roles. Future research could expand the results in terms of breadth and depth of organisations.

Open innovation ensures that there is a mutual flow of knowledge and skills between organizations. In this regard, the focus of open innovation is on forming mutually beneficial connections that can ensure competitive advantage. The market gets optimized processes and technologies, and the organization can achieve profitability. Although open innovation can have many benefits, it also brings challenges. The most important is the support within an organization to adopt open innovation. Employees are critical to open innovation. If organizations want to achieve successful open innovation, they must embed open innovation into the organization's mission and vision. This report maps the relationships between middle management leadership behaviors and employee open innovation behaviors. Leadership behaviors focus on developing the behaviors of employees and leaders themselves in relation to open innovation. Leadership encourages the development of employees' personal and professional skills. Leadership emphasizes decisions to build and maintain relationships and to promote open innovation behavior among employees, thus stimulating open innovation within the organization. Semi-structured interviews based on an exploratory qualitative method were used for this research. Interviews were conducted with 12 participants. Six leadership experts and six employees from different areas in the Netherlands were selected for this purpose. This research conducted a multilevel analysis and found that leadership behaviors drive important organizational changes related to open innovation and improve open innovation behaviors of employees. To implement open innovation within the organization, open innovation must be integrated into the mission and mandate of the organization. This creates effective collaboration between leaders and employees. Leadership can enable the use of leadership behaviors that can develop skills and competencies critical to open innovation. In addition, leadership behaviors have been found to influence employee behaviors related to open innovation when it comes to improving knowledge acquisition and sharing. In addition, employees are motivated to enter into external relationships with other organizations. Leadership behavior influences employee knowledge and skills. Leaders can influence the way employees acquire and share knowledge outside the organization and stimulate employees' open innovation behavior. Similarly, they can develop in the area of communication to foster useful long-term relationships. 9 In addition, more transparency, less time pressure, and the provision of support are important for gathering and sharing knowledge and building partnerships. This work has demonstrated effective leadership behaviors that can improve employee skills and competencies and specified the shift in organizational goals from open innovation to open employee innovation behaviors. Development within the organization can be accomplished by improving open communication and bonds between leaders-employees. In addition, there must be open communication between leaders and employees to motivate them to participate in open innovation activities. This research suggests that leadership behaviors can improve employees' open innovation behaviors by developing these behaviors in two phases of open innovation: obtaining ideas from external sources and idea integration. Open innovation involves individual employees and leaders, which can improve the output of open innovation in the organization.

Climate change is happening and has an increasingly great impact on nature, ecosystems, biodiversity and human society. To reduce adverse consequences of hazards for current and future generations, one must understand how adaptation behavior of civil societies could develop itself over time, interact with its environment and effect its ecosystem. As the emergence of adaptation behavior is complex, differs locally and is influenced by lots of cultural, socio, environment and political factors, there are a lot of missing places on which more research on the emergence of adaptation behavior of civil societies can be done. This EPA master thesis will study is the emergence of adaptation behavior on a case-study about flood adaptation behavior in Jakarta. A modeling approach will be used to analyze the cumulative impact of autonomous bottom-up household adaptation decisions according to the Protection Motivation Theory on the overall flood resilience of Jakarta. The model will be used to explore the effect of policy interventions on household adaptation decisions, to ultimately give an advice on how to achieve a more resilient flood response. The results of this study aim to provide a better understanding on human behavior and its interactions within Jakarta’s environmentally complex situation, what could be of help for the government of Jakarta in the development of long-term flood adaptation strategies.

Auto sector corporations are increasingly disclosing climate targets given the need to transition, which presents risks. However, institutional investors have yet to develop knowledge in climate science to assess the risk concretely. Instead, they rely on qualitative measurement such as the Environmental, Social, Governance factors for climate risk assessment. Therefore, the research seeks to reconcile the scientific gap present in the climate risk assessment framework in the auto sector. The research relies on a participatory modeling process with 11 expert practitioners, supplemented with a case study of an auto manufacturer for model testing. The research conceptualizes and designs a spreadsheet techno-economic model to measure the firm-level transition risk in the auto sector, defined as the capital requirement and regulatory risks, operationalized using cash flow. The model results show that the policy risk influences the degree to which the auto manufacturers invest to address transition risk. In addition, the expert practitioners agreed that the model is useful. In conclusion, since there is no transition risk assessment available in academia, the techno-economic assessment model is a novel addition that serves as an alternative to the qualitative ESG assessment approach.