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In my opinion, it is rewarding for all of us to observe how our community of Italian management scholars has significantly evolved in recent years. Breaking free from the academic logic that ruled in the past, we have set up SIMA, our own representative and democratically elected scientific society of Italian management scholars; we have identified the values in which we recognize ourselves: openness, rigour, relevance, dissemination, ethics; we have nurtured a new organizational culture devoted to participation and service for the benefit of the scientific community; we have contributed, in a decisive manner, to configuring the newly expanded governance design of scientific societies in Italy dealing with accounting, management and organization studies. In this redesigning process, the AIDEA (Italian Academy of Economia Aziendale) was given a new role as the official representative with the responsibility of relating with institutions, professional bodies, and policymakers. Within the institutional context, among other achievements, we have attained the formal recognition of the non-bibliometric nature of our discipline and the establishment of a dedicated organizational framework (GEV 13B) for the evaluation of research in the field of business studies.... to be continued

Purpose of the paper: The increasing consumer adoption of voice-based artificial intelligence technologies is starting to catch the attention of researchers. This study fits into the nascent marketing literature on user perceptions of interactions with voice assistants (VAs) by exploring perceived VA anthropomorphism and benefits. We also seek to identify millennial clusters based on perceptual differences. Methodology: Quantitative exploratory research was conducted based on questionnaires (N=337) administered to millennials. The data were analysed through exploratory factor analysis. Subsequently, to identify clusters, we performed K-means cluster analysis. Findings: The EFA indicated a four-factor solution: “utilitarian and hedonic benefits”, “symbolic benefits”, “human-like voice” and “human-like presence”. The K-means cluster analysis identified three clusters: “useful and pleasant”, “human” and “status symbol”. Research limits: This paper is not exempt from limitations, especially those related to the exploratory nature of the analysis techniques adopted. Practical implications: Indicating the main perceptual dimensions of VA anthropomorphism and the benefits associated with user-VA interaction, our results provide marketers with important strategic implications for designing the VA interaction experience. The cluster analysis offers companies the possibility of selecting a target and addressing it by creating a specific value proposition. Originality of the paper: This study contributes to the existing partial and fragmented knowledge by offering an overall integrated interpretation of consumer perceptions related to VA interactions. Our findings are the first to jointly reveal user perceptions of the human voice and of the VA as a human interlocutor. Moreover, we contribute to the literature on anthropomorphism by conceptualising the human-like voice construct.

Purpose of the paper : This paper analyzes Italian consumers’ music habits in terms of online piracy behaviors and their interest toward subscription-based music services (SBMS), i.e. services that for a small monthly fee give users legal access to vast music libraries across multiple devices. The objective is to try and profile a piracy-prone consumer and explore if SBMS could be a viable alternative to online music piracy in Italy, where the general piracy rate is very high. Methodology : The study is based on an empirical quantitative analysis through the collection of 505 questionnaires completed by Italian consumers. Findings : The paper highlights how Italian consumers reflect the ‘attitude-behavior gap’ in music consumption, as they perceive online music piracy as ethically wrong, yet they still show low preference for the legal, reasonably priced choice (such as SBMS). Younger, male, lower education, students have the highest propensity towards online piracy. In addition, consumers’ awareness, familiarity and interest in subscription-based music services are still very low. Research limitations : The limitations of the paper are linked mainly to the adapted scales, to the omission of alternative determinants of attitude towards piracy, to the composition of the sample and for analyzing only two subscription-based music services (Napster and Spotify). Managerial implications : The results call for greater efforts by music industry actors and public institutions to educate Italian consumers about the consequences of their online piracy behavior and the possible solutions offered by SBMS. Originality of the paper : This paper is the first to focus on Italian consumers’ music habits, their attitude and behavior towards online piracy and their interest toward subscription-based music services as a viable alternative.

Dopo aver corso a lungo ed affannosamente con la Regina Rossa, Alice, sudata e affaticata, si accorge con meraviglia di essere rimasta sempre al punto di partenza. La Regina, attonita per tanto stupore, le dice: “qui per quanto si possa correre si rimane sempre allo stesso punto; per andare da qualche parte si deve correre almeno ad una velocita doppia!”. Lewis Carrol, nel 1871 in “Attraverso lo specchio”, cosi descriveva la dinamica del Paese delle meraviglie, con una metafora che pare ideata per descrivere il mondo competitivo di oggi. Con un po’ di autoironia, il nostro ambiente accademico di studiosi di management lo possiamo accostare al Paese delle meraviglie. Certamente, come la creazione di Carrol, anch’esso e sottoposto a cambiamenti profondi e repentini, che richiedono adeguate risposte strategiche, istituzionali e culturali: bisogna agire con una velocita doppia, ma cio non e ancora sufficiente, bisogna andare nella corretta direzione! Decisi sono i cambiamenti intervenuti per il nostro Mestiere: una nuova cornice normativa, una drammatica contrazione delle risorse, la spinta verso un maggiore grado di apertura e di internazionalizzazione, la forte esigenza di generare valore competitivo per il sistema, la diffusione, sacrosanta, della cultura della valutazione, etc. In questo contesto, circa un anno fa, la nostra comunita ha ritenuto di creare la propria Societa Scientifica, la Societa Italiana di Management (SIMA), un organismo aperto, elettivo, rappresentativo, il quale, al passo con i tempi, potesse fungere da punto di riferimento per la comunita stessa, nei suoi rapporti interni, con gli interlocutori istituzionali e con gli altri stakeholders. La Societa Italiana di Management si propone di operare su differenti piani: in ambito accademico, per far crescere la disciplina e rappresentarla nel suo ambiente istituzionale di riferimento, e in ambito economico e sociale, per favorire l’avanzamento e il trasferimento della cultura imprenditoriale e manageriale.

Dear friends of Sinergie, This issue of the Journal contains the best papers presented at the Sinergie-SIMA 2019 conference "Management and sustainability. Creating shared value in the digital era", which took place last June at Sapienza, University of Rome, Italy. The Conference had a large participation, with around 350 participants, 51 full papers and 101 extended abstracts presented, and offered a rich and profound perspective of investigation on a theme that is of crucial importance at all levels: for institutions, for businesses, for people's lives. The relevance and urgency of sustainability - environmental, social, and economic - in recent years have finally found increasing confirmation also in important political-institutional forums, translating into action plans, such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with its Sustainable Development Goals, and the European Green New Deal. ... to be continued

In molte riviste scientifiche gli editor si avvicendano con una certa frequenza. Sinergie nei suoi 37 anni di vita ha fatto eccezione con la direzione del fondatore Giovanni Panati fino alla sua scomparsa nel 1988, per poi vedere la direzione di Gaetano M. Golinelli affiancato nel 2009 da Claudio Baccarani.Oggi la rivista si presenta ai suoi lettori con una nuova governance scientifica, a partire proprio dagli Editor in Chief con un processo di rinnovamento che coinvolge il Comitato Scientifico, gli Associate Editor, il Comitato di Redazione e prevede l’istituzione di un Comitato d’Onore.In questa prospettiva anche la copertina e stata rivisitata abbandonando il tradizionale colore rosso per esprimere il cambiamento anche nella veste grafica. ... to be continued

In the face of increasing competition, the capacity of an organization to acquire knowledge from the outside has become fundamental in the development of new products that can satisfy customer’s demands. Pertinent literature on the topic has stressed the ways in which an organization should practice social product development, allowing for the inclusion of all types of stakeholders in idea generation, selection, validation, and commercialization. Notwithstanding the opportunities offered by social product development, the ways in which an organization could manage this approach, along with the types of knowledge needed, still remain largely unexplored research fields. Moving on from these premises, this study examines how organizations can use different sources of knowledge via ambidextrous habits of exploitation and exploration, according to practice-based innovation, to sustain social product development.

Da tempo si segnala come conclusa la fase “marshalliana” dei distretti industriali: un modello organizzativo, radicato nel Nordest e in altre aree del nostro Paese, basato sul concetto di “specializzazione flessibile”, che una vasta letteratura ha riconosciuto in anni passati come efficace alternativa al modello fordista della produzione di massa e della grande impresa verticalmente integrata. Alla luce di queste considerazioni, il riferimento alla bottega “rinascimentale” sembra offrire una stimolante prospettiva di senso, capace di confrontarsi con le sfide della knowledge economy e in grado di mettere in rapporto locale e globale senza assorbire uno dei due termini nell’altro.

This study, that is still work in progress, carries out an analysis of the role of COO in the decision making process of wine importers. More specifically, made in Italy wine and the US importers have been considered in the analysis. In fact, made in Italy wine is mainly exported by small and medium companies aiming to grow in foreign markets but facing, especially in the US market, a high complex macro and micro-environment. Laws (three tier system), intensity of competition and market segmentation impose the use of independent importers. The latters operate in a market where the link with a specific country (COO) and/or Region (Place of Origin) represent one of the distinctive attributes of the wine production (Bruwer, Johnson, 2010). The study is based on the development and administration of a self-administered questionnaire sent to importers in the US.