Abstract
This study aims to address an emerging area of application of agile methodologies outside the traditional technological environment, particularly outside the context of software engineering. In this sense, it intends to understand and contextualise the problems and challenges that are posed by traditional methodologies and explore how agile methodologies can complement or substitute to traditional methodologies in non-technological environments. For this purpose, a qualitative study was performed through three case studies operating in different sectors of activity like digital marketing, management consulting, and tourism. The findings indicate that both traditional and agile methodologies can coexist, and it is common to find hybrid methodologies that are adopted and customised according to the needs of each project and client. Furthermore, it was possible to conclude that following agile practices that make sense to the cultural values of the organisation is more important than adopting a specific agile methodology. Copyright © 2021 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Abstract
Entrepreneurship serious games offer an innovative model for developing entrepreneurial skills with students. Furthermore, they provide a highly engaging and risk-free environment for students to become aware of the challenges posed in the early stages of building and developing a start-up. In this sense, it becomes relevant to explore the process of adopting this type of game in the classroom. This study aims to explore how the formative and summative components of an assessment are mapped into seven serious entrepreneurship games. Through this information, this study seeks to help instructors in the process of adopting a serious game and understanding how the evaluation of these games can be used in the context of an entrepreneurship course. © 2021, IGI Global.

Abstract
Purpose This study explores the contribution that tech startups can provide in the fight against COVID-19. The Tech4Covid movement is presented to that effect, which has joined several Portuguese tech startups. This initiative gathers more than 5,000 volunteers and 28 ongoing projects in several interdisciplinary areas, including science, technology, health and education. Design/methodology/approach Two qualitative methods are adopted: the case study and the field research technique. This joint approach allows exploring in-depth the relevance and impact of the different areas included in Tech4Covid movement. Data were collected both from primary sources, namely by the authors' participation in the movement and by the use of secondary sources from each project. Findings The findings reveal three main areas in which the 28 ongoing projects can be categorized, respectively: support to health professionals and hospital equipment, health and education services and business and leisure. These projects offer direct and indirect contributions to the fight against COVID-19. From a perspective, they were initially designed to support health professionals in gathering protective equipment and supporting screening for suspicious cases. From another perspective, they also offer indirect benefits to citizens and the local economy. Originality/value This paper addresses a recent phenomenon with a dramatic impact on public health, social and economic dimensions. The study provides essentially practical contributions by revealing how Portuguese technological startups were organized and worked together to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is expected this study will serve as a reference for other countries and communities that intend to replicate this model.

Abstract
Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the European Union (EU) through heavy pressure on health services, business activity and people's life. To mitigate these effects, government agencies, civil society and the private sector are working together in proposing innovative initiatives. In this sense, this study aims to characterize and explore the relevance of these projects to mitigate the effects of COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach The Observatory of Public Sector Innovation provided by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development was considered to enable the identification and exploration of innovative projects to combat COVID-19. A methodology based on mixed methods is adopted to initially identify quantitatively the distribution of these projects, followed by a qualitative approach based on thematic analysis that allows exploring their relevance. Findings A total of 206 initiatives in the EU have been identified. The distribution of these projects is quite asymmetric, with Portugal and Austria totaling 33.52% of these projects. Most of these projects focus on the areas of public health, infection detection and control, virtual education, local commerce, digital services literacy, volunteering and solidarity and hackathons. Originality/value This work is relevant to identifying and understanding the various areas in which COVID-19 initiatives have been developed. This information is of great relevance for the actors involved in this process to be able to replicate these initiatives in their national, regional and local contexts.

Abstract
Big data offers great potential to improve organizational performance and generate competitive advantages. In this sense, knowing this phenomenon is relevant and this study aims to explore the role of big data on firm performance through a process of synthesis of several studies that have been published in recent years in different organizational contexts. This study adopts a mixed-methods approach. Initially, a systematic literature review is performed to characterize the studies that adopt structural equation modeling to determine the relationship between big data and firm performance. Additionally, a meta-analysis method is used to quantify the association between these two phenomena. The findings reveal a moderate positive relationship between the adoption of big data in the firm performance. This ratio is estimated at 0.38 with a confidence interval between 0.32 and 0.44 for a significance level of 0.05. The results of this study also allow us to conclude that the performance of organizations is also determined by other factors such as human capital, the data-driven organizational culture, or the learning capacity of the organization. This study offers mainly implications for companies that intend to invest in big data to know the potential value of this technology in organizational performance.

Abstract
Higher education institutions are looking for new educational models that encourage actions that contribute to the transformation of society. In the development of these competencies, the active methodologies assume a relevant role. This study addresses this challenge and explores the adoption of a serious game as an active methodology in the development of competencies for the labor market in the tourism sector. The study uses a mixed-methods methodology in which student performance is measured according to 18 indicators and the perception of the development of these competencies is complemented by the adoption of semi-structured interviews.