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PurposeOver the last 50 years, increased attention for personalization paved the way for one-to-one marketing efforts, but firms struggle to deliver on this promise. The purpose of this manuscript is to provide a complete picture on personalization, develop a future research agenda and put forth concrete advice on how to move the field forward from a theoretical, methodological, contextual, and practical viewpoint.Design/methodology/approachThis research follows a systematic literature review process, providing an in-depth analysis of 135 articles (covering 184 studies) to distill the (1) key building blocks and components of personalization and (2) theoretical, contextual, and methodological aspects of the studies.FindingsThis manuscript uncovers six personalization components that can be linked to two personalization building blocks: (1) learning: manner, transparency, and timing and (2) tailoring: touchpoints, level, and dynamics. For each of these components, the authors propose future research avenues to stimulate personalization research that accounts for challenges in today's data-rich environments (e.g. data privacy, dealing with new data types). A theoretical, contextual, and methodological (i.e. industry, country and personalization object) review of the selected studies leads to a set of concrete recommendations for future work: account for heterogeneity, embed theoretical perspectives, infuse methodological innovation, adopt appropriate evaluation metrics, and deal with legal/ethical challenges in data-rich environments. Finally, several managerial implications are put forth to support practitioners in their personalization efforts.Originality/valueThis research provides an integration of personalization research beyond existing and outdated review papers. Doing so, it accounts for the impact of new technologies and Artificial Intelligence and aims to advance the next generation of knowledge development on personalization.

Retracing closely the events of the life of George Frederic, king of the Miskitu (in present-day Honduras and Nicaragua) between 1816 and 1824, this article describes how this Miskitu actor sought to set up, by hiring British agents, the concrete realization of a Central American commercial and political independence project—understood here as a utopia. Although his project ended in failure, the actions of this little-known Miskitu king had repercussions in the Caribbean and beyond, even in the heart of the City of London. Concentrating on a marginal actor seldom considered by historians reveals how particular American Indigenous peoples sought to actively position themselves in the important commercial and political transformations affecting the Atlantic World in the first decades of the nineteenth century.

PurposeBuilding on authoritative studies on inspiration in the field of psychology (e.g. Thrash and Elliot, 2013, 2014), this study aims to clarify how entrepreneurial inspiration – an emotional state of personal attraction toward entrepreneurship – is created and how it affects entrepreneurial intentions. First, receptiveness to inspiration is introduced as a potential entrepreneurial feeling trait that constitutes a universal enabler of entrepreneurial inspiration alongside typically idiosyncratic inspirational triggers. Second, this study proposes to reinforce the theoretical base of the relation between entrepreneurial inspiration and entrepreneurial intentions by applying the affect infusion model (AIM) and empirically testing its explanatory power.Design/methodology/approachHypotheses are tested through independent and dependent samplet-tests and hierarchical regression analyses with an interaction effect. Data originate from a pre-post course survey among 342 entrepreneurship students from various countries and institutions.FindingsThe results confirm a positive relation between receptiveness to inspiration and entrepreneurial inspiration. Receptiveness to inspiration precedes and increases with entrepreneurial experience, suggesting that it can be both inborn and cultivated. In line with the AIM, entrepreneurial inspiration stimulates only the entrepreneurial aspirations of participants without entrepreneurial experience. Experienced individuals, on the other hand, derived more entrepreneurial inspiration from their courses, but this was not translated to higher entrepreneurial intentions. Instead, they could benefit from this inspiration in other ways proposed in the literature, such as enhanced opportunity recognition.Originality/valueThis study provides much needed, theory-informed, insight into the formation of entrepreneurial inspiration. Furthermore, it is the first research to propose and test a specific theoretical underpinning of the relation between entrepreneurial inspiration and entrepreneurial intentions, which also accounts for the moderating role of entrepreneurial experience. Finally, the rare multi-country, multi-institution nature of the sample reinforces the external validity of the findings.

Understanding the determinants of cycling and thus creating optimal cycling conditions is still a challenge. The current study addresses this challenge by providing in-depth exploration of attributes of bicycle infrastructure, traffic volume, gradients, urbanisation degrees in stimulating cycling for various population categories. Participants had to cycle in a simulated VR environment mirroring the streetscape of a real Dutch city. The cognitive (e.g., safety perception) and affective (e.g., enjoyment, attractiveness) response was measured, real time. The results suggest that various attributes impact the cognitive and affective components to different extents. In particular, bicycle path presence and intersection absence had a positive impact on safety perception. Greenness of the environment contributed for lifting the attractiveness of the cycling experience. Hight car traffic had a negative impact on the way safety, enjoyment and attractiveness of cycling was perceived. Current outcomes should be implemented in creating bicycle infrastructure that appropriately meets the demand for attractive cycling experience that is safe and enjoyable for all.

PurposeTo investigate if online TV content platforms create value for consumers (and increase use) by offering its users the possibility to self-invest in the service (by giving personal content preferences). We link demographic and attitudinal antecedents to the relation between self-investment and use.Design/methodology/approachData were collected together with a Belgian media company (N = 4,136). To test the effects a latent growth model was composed in a multigroup setting with gender as the grouping variable. The model is analyzed through structural equation modeling in Mplus 8.0.FindingsIn general, strong relations between self-investment and increased use were found, although the effect of self-investment on use was stronger for female consumers. Furthermore, we established strong hedonic effects on using and investing in the service. For men, easy to use platforms lead to less self-investment.Research limitations/implicationsOur findings are restricted to free services. Furthermore, attitudinal variables are antecedents of behaviors. However, a more complex interplay between behavioral and attitudinal variables is possible. Further research could use repeatedly measured attitudinal measures and link these to behaviors over time.Practical implicationsService developers could offer different platform interactions to different segments to create consumer value. Women seem more receptive for extra functionalities, such as the possibility to indicate preferences. Men mainly focus on the content offered.Originality/valueThis study focuses on a new form of media distribution, online TV content platforms, where we investigate two related behaviors of users over time (self-investment and use) instead of a general approximation of use. Multi-source data were used.

An emerging research area is dedicated to developing approaches for assessing the ‘circularity’ of companies and their products, within the context of sustainability goals. However, empirical evidence on the uptake of these assessment approaches remains scarce. Using a purposive sampling, we conducted a survey receiving 155 responses and held 43 semi-structured interviews with Dutch and Italian companies active in circular economy (CE), pursuing three research aims: to explore the use of CE and sustainability assessment approaches; to study the process of developing assessment approaches; and to uncover benefits of—and barriers to—CE assessment. While we find high variability of assessment approaches, most often, companies develop tailor-made sustainability indicators and apply life cycle assessments to CE strategies. Importantly, assessment development for CE practices requires and facilitates collaboration with external stakeholders. Finally, we reflect on the paradox of standardisation versus tailoring of assessment approaches within the CE reality and recommend establishing company needs and capabilities before designing assessment approaches. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 765198. The authors want to acknowledge and thank all of the survey and interview respondents who participated in this research for their time and valuable contributions; special thanks to the Ecoinnovazione team for supporting the creation and testing of the survey and Nadia Lambiase from Mercato Circolare as well as other CE network coordinators for helping us to disseminate the survey and Alfredo Cartone for his insights concerning the statistical analysis. Also, thanks for the support given to CENSE by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through the strategic project UID/AMB/04085/2019. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

PurposeCross-cultural studies on differences in eating and consumer behavior have several limitations due to differences between countries, for example, in national health policies. Switzerland combines cultural diversity between the language regions, but with a common national health policy. Therefore, Switzerland provides an ideal framework to investigate cross-cultural eating and consumer behavior. The aim of this study was to combine food consumption, purchase data and sales data to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of cultural dietary differences.Design/methodology/approachSix national Swiss studies on food consumption, one study of food sales from the largest supermarket chain in Switzerland and one national study of food purchasing were included. The estimated marginal mean of each food category in each language region was calculated using linear regression and respective linear random effect models.FindingsIn the French- and Italian-speaking regions more fish was sold, bought and consumed than in the German-speaking region of Switzerland. In contrast, in the German-speaking region, more milk and dairy products were sold, bought and consumed. Language regions explained sales, purchase and consumption of foods, but the findings were only consistent for fish and milk and dairy products.Originality/valueIf possible limitations of cross-culture studies between countries are eliminated, cultural eating and consumer differences are still visible, even in a small country like Switzerland. For the first time, the complexity of studying food consumption, purchasing and sales is shown in one study. This indicates the importance of further studies which consider these three perspectives to better understand cultural differences in eating and consumption behavior.

Purpose Several researchers struggle with designing, writing-up and reviewing case study research, but constructing a template for describing and justifying methodological choices is – in contrast with quantitative research – undesirable due to the creative nature of qualitative research. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the multitude of paths to rigorous case study research and promote rigorous case study research in the service community. Design/methodology/approach Based upon a review of seminal articles and textbooks, different paths to rigorous case study research are identified. Subsequently, these paths are compared with existing practices in case studies in service research published between March 2017 and April 2019. Findings Seminal articles and textbooks detail different paths to achieve rigor with regard to research purpose, design, data, analyses and write-up. Overall, the most popular paths in the service community are those proposed by Eisenhardt and Yin. Meanwhile, service researchers increasingly challenge the dichotomy between the inductive and deductive logic by choosing an abductive logic. Transparency and reflexivity are the main points of attention among service researchers doing case study research. Originality/value By providing insight into the multitude of paths to rigorous case study research along with their popularity in the service community, this paper helps service researchers to balance rigor and creativity when engaging in case study research. Additionally, this paper offers a framework for reviewing case study research in terms of rigor and creativity.

Community renewable energy initiatives are increasingly recognized as important actors to trigger citizen investments in renewable energy facilities. Little is known, however, about the factors that determine the size of financial investments made by community renewable energy members. To address this gap, this paper presents a multivariate econometric analysis of the economic, social, environmental and institutional determinants of the size of investments in community renewable energy. It relies on a large-scale survey of 4061 members of two renewable energy cooperatives located in Flanders, in the northern part of Belgium. Results show that the return on investment is the most important determinant for members of large communities of interest, while environmental, social and other non-economic drivers tend to dominate financial motives for members of smaller communities of place. The presence of other cooperative members in close social networks plays a particularly important role in the latter kind of communities, highlighting the strength of social interactions as a driver for investments. These results can help policy-makers to design more adapted policy measures for fostering financial investments at the community level, and project developers to tailor segmented communication strategies about the goals and benefits of projects.

PurposeThis two-part study aims to contribute to the body of knowledge on team development by examining the development of self-managing teams (SMTs) in healthcare. Based on an exploration of the team development literature, a perspective on SMT development was created, which suggested that SMTs develop along a non-sequential pattern of three processes–team management, task management and boundary management and improvement–that is largely the result of individual, team, organizational and environmental-level factors.Design/methodology/approachThe perspective on SMT development was assessed in a Dutch mental healthcare organization by conducting 13 observations of primary mental healthcare SMTs as well as 14 retrospective interviews with the self-management process facilitator and advisors of all 100 primary mental healthcare SMTs.FindingsEmpirical results supported the perspective on SMT development. SMTs were found to develop along each of the three defined processes in a variety or possible patterns or simultaneously over time, depending on many of the identified factors and three others. These factors included individual human capital, team member attitudes and perceived workload at the individual level, psychological safety, team turnover, team size, nature of the task and bureaucratic history at the team level, and management style and material and social support at the organizational level.Practical implicationsThis study provides a non-sequential model of SMT development in healthcare, which healthcare providers could use to understand and foster SMTs development. To foster SMT development, it is suggested that cultural change need to be secured alongside with structural change.Originality/valueEven though various team development models have been described in the literature, this study is the first to indicate how SMTs in the healthcare context develop toward effective functioning.

The government in British-ruled India established cooperative banks to compete with private moneylenders in the rural credit market. State officials expected greater competition to increase the supply of low-cost credit, thereby expanding investment potential for the rural poor. Cooperatives did increase credit supply but captured a small share of the credit market and reported net losses throughout the late colonial and early postcolonial period. The article asks why this experiment did not succeed and offers two explanations. First, low savings restricted the role of social capital and mutual supervision as methods of financial regulation in the cooperative sector. Second, a political-economic ideology that privileged equity over efficiency made for weak administrative regulation.

PurposeThis article aims to clarify the role of social capital and social capital inequality embedded in bank ties in enabling and diversifying new firms' debt use.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopts a quantitative method, using an unbalanced longitudinal dataset covering three years–2011, 2013 and 2015–from a project on small manufacturing enterprises in Vietnam. The sample consists of 513 firm-year observations.FindingsNetwork extensity and network mobilisation increase new firms' debt use. Differences in ascribed and attained social statuses (i.e. gender, generation, business association membership and political affiliation) result in social capital inequality between entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs who are of a younger generation, have higher levels of education and are not members of the Communist Party benefit less from social capital than those who are older, have less education and are party members.Originality/valueThe effects of access to and the use of the social capital embedded in bank ties on new firms' debt use are both studied. The sources of social capital inequality are investigated at the individual level through distinguishing ascribed and attained social statuses and explained by two mechanisms: capital deficit and return deficit. The moderating effects of social capital inequality are also examined.

COVID 19 disrupted food supply chains worldwide. Existing problems, such as food and nutrition insecurity, increased exponentially. It has become imperative to move to a more sustainable and equitable food system. In this sense, the challenge in researching food losses and waste (FLW) and proposing solutions mobilizes transdisciplinary approaches and processes to transform food supply chains in an effective manner. Understanding how much food we produce and consume is no easy task. So many different geographical, cultural and societal contexts and levels of economic development and urbanization result in quantitative and qualitative limitations © RAE ;Sao Paulo

The goal of the present study is to examine the moderating role of resources at work or study in the relation between demands, vigor, and fatigue in academic life. Trying to replicate scarce research on both academic and student stress simultaneously, we tested the so-called triple-match principle in an academic context to study whether or not match between specific resources, demands and well-being/health outcomes does really matter. A cross-sectional survey study using online self-completion questionnaires was carried out among 96 academics and 221 engineering students from a technological university (n=317 in total). Findings showed a moderating, matching, role of resources in the association between demands, vigor, and particularly fatigue. Specifically, high cognitive resources strengthened the positive relation between cognitive demands and cognitive liveliness. In addition, high emotional resources buffered the positive association between emotional demands and successively emotional, cognitive and physical fatigue. This study reveals that matching resources are important in academic life. Therefore, it seems essential to create an appropriate equilibrium between specific resources and corresponding demands to promote academic well-being and health. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

PurposeDyadic interactions between customers and service providers rarely occur in isolation. Still, there is a lack of systematic knowledge about the roles that different types of nontechnological third parties – that is, other customers, pets, other employees and other firms – can adopt in relation to customers and service providers during encounters. The present study aims to unravel these roles and highlight their implications for customers, service providers and/or third parties.Design/methodology/approachThis research relies on a systematic review of literature in the Web of Science using a search string pertaining to the research study’s objectives. In total, 2,726 articles were screened by title and abstract using clear inclusion and exclusion criteria, thereby extracting 189 articles for full-text eligibility. The final sample consisted of 139 articles for coding and analysis.FindingsThe analyses reveal that other customers, pets, other employees and other firms can adopt five roles: bystander, connector, endorser, balancer and partner. Each role has different implications for customers, service providers and/or third parties. Additionally, the five roles are associated with distinct constellations of the customer, the service provider and the third party. These roles and constellations are dynamic and not mutually exclusive.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the service encounter literature by providing a thorough understanding of the various third-party roles and their implications for customers, service providers and/or third parties during encounters. As such, this research sheds light on the conditions under which third parties become “significant others” in service encounters and identifies avenues for future research.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine the innovative capabilities of biotech start-ups in relation to geographic proximity and knowledge sharing interaction in the R & D network of a major high-tech cluster.Design/methodology/approach– This study compares longitudinal informal communication networks of researchers at biotech start-ups with company patent applications in subsequent years. For a year, senior R & D staff members from over 70 biotech firms located in the Boston biotech cluster were polled and communication information about interaction with peers, universities and big pharmaceutical companies was collected, as well as their geolocation tags.Findings– Location influences the amount of communication between firms, but not their innovation success. Rather, what matters is communication intensity and recollection by others. In particular, there is evidence that rotating leadership – changing between a more active and passive communication style – is a predictor of innovative performance.Practical implications– Expensive real-estate investments can be replaced by maintaining social ties. A more dynamic communication style and more diverse social ties are beneficial to innovation.Originality/value– Compared to earlier work that has shown a connection between location, network and firm performance, this paper offers a more differentiated view; including a novel measure of communication style, using a unique data set and providing new insights for firms who want to shape their communication patterns to improve innovation, independently of their location.

Die COVID-19-Pandemie hat die Fragilität des Gesundheitssystems, der Gesellschaft und der Wirtschaft beim Auftreten von weltweiten Krisen deutlich gemacht. Um auf die nächste Krise besser vorbereitet zu sein, stellen sich gesundheitspolitische, wirtschaftliche, rechtliche, ethische und politische Fragen. Zu diesem Thema veranstaltete die Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (BBAW) am 29. Juni 2021 ein Symposium. Gibt es bessere Strategien für mehr Resilienz, Effektivität und Gerechtigkeit? Was kann man dem Markt überlassen, was ist Sache des Staates? Wie sortiert man Finanzierung, Verantwortlichkeiten und Entscheidungsrechte innerhalb eines Landes und über die (europäischen) Ländergrenzen hinweg. Ausgewählte Beiträge zum Symposium werden in diesem Wirtschaftsdienst-Zeitgespräch zusammengefasst. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the fragility of the health system, society and economy when global crises occur. In order to be better prepared for the next crisis, health policy, economic, legal, ethical and political questions must be answered. The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BBAW) organised a symposium on this topic on 29 June 2021. Are there better strategies for more resilience, effectiveness and justice? What can be left to the market, and what is a matter for the state? How should funding, responsibilities and decisionmaking rights be sorted within a country and across (European) national borders? Selected contributions to the symposium are summarised in this Wirtschaftsdienst-Zeitgespräch.

PurposeUsing financial incentives has been criticised for putting too much focus on things that can be measured. Value-based reimbursement may better align professional values with financial incentives. However, professional values may differ between actor groups. In this article, the authors identify institutional logics within healthcare-providing organisations. Further, the authors analyse how the centrality and compatibility of the identified logics affect the institutionalisation of external demands.Design/methodology/approach41 semi-structured interviews were conducted with representatives from healthcare providers within spine surgery in Sweden, where a value-based reimbursement programme was introduced. Data were analysed using thematic content analysis with an abductive approach, and a conceptual framework based on neo-institutional theory.FindingsAfter the introduction of the value-based reimbursement programme, the centrality and compatibility of the institutional logics within healthcare-providing organisations changed. The logic of spine surgeons was dominating whereas physiotherapists struggled to motivate a higher cost for high quality physiotherapy. The institutional logic of nurses was aligned with spine surgeons, however as a peripheral logic facilitating spine surgery. To attain holistic and interdisciplinary healthcare, dominating institutional logics within healthcare-providing organisations need to allow peripheral institutional logics to attain a higher centrality for higher compatibility. Thus, allowing other occupations to take responsibility for quality and attain the feeling of professional pride.Originality/valueInterviewing spine surgeons, physiotherapists, nurses, managers and administrators allows us to deepen the understanding of micro-level behaviour as a reaction (or lack thereof) to macro-level decisions.

PurposeAll firms' business models are based on their interdependencies with other parties in their ecosystems. The Internet of Things (IoT) is beginning to fundamentally disrupt the agri-food industry, forcing the ecosystem to change. When an ecosystem is transforming, the interdependencies among its actors can create friction. Technology providers and core actors should consider these interdependencies as they update their strategies for value creation and capture. The purpose of the present research is to consider what it might take for agri-food firms to capitalize on these interdependencies by moving from traditional business models to business models based on collaboration and open innovation.Design/methodology/approachThe present paper draws on data from four online focus groups that we created to discuss how to co-create the business models agri-food firms need in a constantly changing environment. The paper presents an application of phenomenon-driven research (PDR), an engaged methodology. The study method enables novel pathways to develop and implement innovative solutions. This study draws on the interaction of theory and practice and involves multiple stakeholders with varying roles in the agri-food ecosystem.FindingsThe authors found that any open innovation setup in agri-food needs to constantly reconfigure itself to balance the needs of farmers and the needs of the market. This interplay can only support the IoT-enabled ecosystem if continuous interaction and negotiation occur among various stakeholders of the food system. When the farmers' needs and the market's needs are aligned, the space for developing a collaborative and open business model is prepared.Originality/valueThe insights gained from this study inspire action and commitment to common goals when developing collaboration-based business models (CBMs). The paper offers insights for players in the agri-food industry who are considering CBMs in the course of digital transformation.

PurposeThe knowledge transfer plays a key role in the firm’s capability to develop and to maintain a strategic competitive advantage over time. The capability of the firm to develop an efficient and effective process of knowledge transfer increases the internal skills and then the capability to compete in the business with positive effects on the performance. In order to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of the knowledge transfer process it must be consider two main variables: the amount of knowledge to be transferred and the speed of the process. In this contest, the purpose of this paper is to developed a theoretical model, defined the knowledge transfer curve, able to evaluate the knowledge transfer process on the basis of its speed.Design/methodology/approachThe curve of the knowledge transfer is based on the methodology of the learning curve. The curve of the knowledge transfer process can be evaluated on the basis of two main variables: the first is the content of knowledge to be transferred. It refers to the quality and quantity of the information to be transferred within the firm; and the second is the speed of the knowledge transfer process. It refers to the time in which the knowledge transfer can be realized. The function of the knowledge transfer is defined using ordinary differential equation.FindingsThere is an inverse relationship between timetand the variation rater. The higher the variabler, the faster the knowledge transfer toward the levelK. Therefore, the variablermeasures the efficiency and effectiveness of the knowledge transfer process. On the basis of these considerations, manager must evaluate their policies about the knowledge transfer on the basis of their effects on the variabler: only the policy that increases its value can be considered effective for the knowledge transfer process.Originality/valueThe originality resides in the development of a theoretical model that is able to capture and measure the effectiveness and efficiency of the knowledge transfer. It is possible to define a curve of knowledge transfer on the basis of these two variables: content of the knowledge to be transferred and the time of the transfer process, by using an ordinary differential equation.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the country of origin (COO) effect on wine purchase in China by considering a sample from an e-commerce website. The paper contribute to the literature on hedonic pricing by applying this model to the Chinese market and including COO as product attribute. Design/methodology/approach A hedonic price model is adopted to measure the effect of search attributes on wine sales in China. A reduced form of the classical hedonic analysis is used as in Nerlove (1995), given the assumption that prices and attributes are taken as exogenous to consumers. Findings Results show that the COO represents the attribute that most influences wine sales in China. Protected indicators of origin, which denote wine with recognised certificates, are also significant, reinforcing the importance of the production area. Vintage attribute does not impact sales, suggesting a low level of consumer experience with wine. Research limitations/implications The study suffers from the limitations of results’ generalisability, given the size and characteristics of the sample. In the future research, the model should be tested on a larger sample. Moreover, it can be applied on other products, in which COO represents an information and quality cue. Practical implications Firms operating in sectors where COO implies specific characteristics of quality should enhance this attribute in their marketing strategies to increase their competitive advantage. Also policy implications with respect to the governmental actions to support wine producers are discussed. Originality/value Hedonic price analysis represents a well-established model; however, to the best of the authors’ knowledge it has never been used in China before. This study also highlights the primary role of COO as search attribute in wine purchase.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the influence that adopting open innovation (OI) has on the innovativeness and performance of specialized small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This paper also examines the adoption of OI within a firm’s practices and models, and within the three dimensions of firm sustainability.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data from 48 specialized SMEs manufacturing supercars were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. SmartPLS software was used to conduct a path analysis and test the proposed framework.FindingsThe findings suggest that high adoption of OI models tends to increase firm innovativeness. Similarly, the adoption of OI practices has a positive effect on innovativeness but to a lesser extent than OI models. The moderation results of innovativeness further show that OI models and practices can benefit the performance of SMEs. Specifically, two dimensions of performance – environmental and social performance – were found to be greatly influenced by OI.Research limitations/implicationsDue to parsimony in the investigated model, this study only focuses on OI adoption as practices and models without considering its drivers or other contingency factors.Practical implicationsThis paper could help practitioners in SMEs better understand the benefits of adopting OI to be more innovative but also more sustainable.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature on the role of OI practices and models regarding the dimensions of firm sustainability performance by being the first paper to investigate this relationship in the context of small and medium manufacturers of supercars.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how an adequate mix of technological, organisational and managerial tools might support Open Innovation (OI) processes achieved by contests in the food sector. Design/methodology/approach The methodology of this paper is exploratory in nature. Data have been gathered about the 140 innovation contests launched by the best global food brands (2013 BusinessWeek/Interbrand Best Global Brands) over the last decade. Findings The research highlights the main changes that have occurred over the last decade, showing that the choice of platform type for contest launches is often neglected or considered as an ancillary element. Indeed, it is a choice that embeds another set of technological, organisational and managerial tools that strongly influence the collaborative behaviour (and the participation itself) of partners throughout the innovation process. Research limitations/implications Companies investigated in this paper consist exclusively of top brands in the sector. Future research should strive to obtain larger samples, develop a set of fine-grained hypotheses, and test them by using appropriate statistical techniques. Originality/value This paper fills an inexplicable gap in academic literature due to the fact that food companies are those that mainly use contests in order to implement OI but they are scarcely researched regarding this issue.

Purpose This paper examines if gender diversity on corporate boards promotes corporate social performance (CSP) across industries and across countries. Design/methodology/approach Fixed-effect panel models are estimated using Europe-wide data from 2002 through 2013. Instrumental variable estimation and propensity score matching are also used to control for potential endogeneity. Findings Board gender diversity (BGD) improves environmental and social performance and consequently the CSP. Although the positive effect of gender diversity is prevalent across industries, the effect is more pronounced for firms in emerging markets. Practical implications The findings suggest that gender law that fosters gender diversity can promote CSP in firms, and the benefit can be enjoyed with just an introduction of one female director to the board. Promotion of gender diversity in Europe is most beneficial in emerging markets. Originality/value The results provide new insights to the literature, as we find that a critical mass of female directors on boards is not required to promote CSP. The research also highlights that BGD enhances CSP irrespective of the industry, and the effect on CSP is more pronounced in emerging markets where regulations regarding CSR are not so clear-cut.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how the quality of change information influences employees’ attitude toward organizational change and turnover intention. Additionally, the role of engagement, psychological contract fulfillment and trust in the relationship between change information and attitude toward change is assessed. Design/methodology/approach In a technology services organization that was implementing a “new way of working,” questionnaire data of 669 employees were gathered. The organizational change in question sought to increase employees’ autonomy by increasing management support and improving IT support to facilitate working at other locations (e.g. at home) or at hours outside of regular working hours (e.g. in evening). Findings The results showed that change information was positively related to psychological contract fulfillment and attitude toward change. Engagement and psychological contract fulfillment were positively related to attitude toward change and negatively related to turnover intention. Contrary to what was expected, trust did not influence attitude toward change but was negatively related to turnover intention. Practical implications The study presents a model that can help management to foster positive affective, behavioral, and cognitive responses to change, as well as to reduce employee turnover. Fulfilling employees’ psychological contracts and cultivating engagement is important in this respect, as well as continuously considering whether information about the organizational change is received in good time, is useful, is adequate and satisfies employees’ questions about the change. Originality/value As one of the first studies in its field, attitude toward change was conceptualized and operationalized as a multidimensional construct, comprising an affective, a behavioral and a cognitive dimension.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the hypothesis that the university context may partially determine the growth of university spin-offs (USOs), with a cross-national analysis and using an “interactionist” approach.Design/methodology/approachTwo samples of USOs, from Spain and Italy (531 and 952 firms, respectively), were examined over the 2005-2013 period. Multilevel modelling was applied to empirically test the hypotheses.FindingsThe results confirmed that the university context is a critical and effective element for explaining USOs’ growth. The university context affected USOs’ growth only for the Spanish firms, while for the Italian spin-offs the evidence does not report a significant determining influence of the university context. This finding may be interpreted as the localization externalities, determined by the Spanish universities, have a more effective impact at firm level compared with those generated by the Italian universities.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper provides evidence that the university context has a significant role in supporting USOs’ growth in Spain, but not in Italy. This finding, together with the fact that the Italian USOs showed lower growth rates over the period of analysis, may suggest that greater involvement by the Italian parent universities is needed to foster USOs’ growth. The main point to be underlined to decision makers is that policies aimed at fostering USOs need the active involvement of the parent university in the whole growth process of the nascent firm, rather than just in the USO creation process.Originality/valueA multilevel approach provides both methodological and theoretical contributions to the study of USOs’ growth, which was adopted as an “interactionist” approach is recommended by literature. In addition, a cross-national approach allows for exploration of the actual effect of the university on the growth of USOs, taking into account international differences.

There is an increasing interest in psychological research on shame experiences and their associations with other aspects of psychological functioning and well-being, as well as with possible maladaptive outcomes. In an attempt to confirm and extend previous knowledge on this topic, we investigated the nomological network of shame experiences in a large community sample (N = 380; 66.1% females), adopting a multidimensional conceptualization of shame. Females reported higher levels of shame (in particular, bodily and behavioral shame), guilt, psychological distress, emotional reappraisal, and hostility. Males had higher levels of self-esteem, emotional suppression, and physical aggression. Shame feelings were associated with low self-esteem, hostility, and psychological distress in a consistent way across gender. Associations between characterological shame and emotional suppression, as well as between bodily shame and anger occurred only among females. Moreover, characterological and bodily shame added to the prediction of low self-esteem, hostility, and psychological distress above and beyond the influence of trait shame. Finally, among females, emotional suppression mediated the influence of characterological shame on hostility and psychological distress. These findings extend current knowledge on the nomological net surrounding shame experiences in everyday life, supporting the added value of a multidimensional conceptualization of shame feelings.

Background. COMMUTER BRIDGE is a n-person social dilemma game that allows participants to experience situations in which individual rationality leads to collective disaster. Aim. Participants are asked to imagine they are commuters who must every day reach a place in the shortest possible time. Method. The game is divided in two phases: in the first phase, participants can choose between two routes whereas in the second phase they are given a third possibility by the construction of a bridge that, paradoxically, increases traffic. Results and conclusion. Participating in this activity will enhance understanding of social dilemmas, help discover the limitations of communications, and develop insights about personal fallacies in strategic reasoning.

Purpose – Alternative corporate governance systems (CGSs) have attracted a significant bulk of research recently. While the connection between the adoption of an alternative system (one tier board or two tier board system) and firms’ performances has not been fully analysed yet, the purpose of this paper is to analyse whether companies which have turned into an alternative board system have eventually improved their performance over time. Design/methodology/approach – Using a sample of more than 15,000 Italian unlisted joint stock companies, the authors compare performance outcomes in 2009 of firms adopting alternative systems with performances of firms that maintained the system in force before the 2003 Corporate Law Reform (defined as “traditional”). Because of the choice of an alternative system (one tier or two tier board) instead of a traditional one is not random, the authors reduce selection bias implementing matching methods and comparing firms that are close in terms of propensity score measured in 2003 (the year before the new CGSs have been introduced by a corporate law reform). Findings – The authors do not find evidence of a significant improvement of performances in 2009 concerning those firms that have adopted a one tier or two tier board systems with respect to those which maintained a traditional one. Originality/value – The novelty of the study concerns the application of propensity score matching for the evaluation of the impact of the change of the CGS that is possible in presence of two conditions that are all verified in our setting: first, to have a country where corporate law allows for choosing among different systems; in this case Italy is a good laboratory, because it allows for the choice among three different systems; and second, to have the opportunity to evaluate the effect of the change in light of a relatively recent “pre-treatment” condition; this is made possible by the fact that before the 2003 Reform of corporate law all the companies had a traditional system.

Currently, one of the main instruments of Socially Responsible Investment is mutual funds. Their growth in the financial market has been remarkable over the past few years, which has also paralleled the growth in the business ethics literature.The aim of the present work is to present a methodology useful to define a portfolio selection model for measuring the attractiveness of socially responsible asset investments. The result is the definition of a non-financial ranking to complete financial information about mutual funds for investors demanding Corporate Social Responsibility. The methodology focuses on social responsibility decision-making criteria and their weights agreed by the main stakeholders. The research, based on a well-known multi-criteria method, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), proves that the methodology is feasible and gives useful results for investors demanding social responsibility.

Purpose – In the last years global economy has become more integrated and multidirectional. Thus, in a world characterized by multiples center of economic power, firms need to define multipolar strategies based on geographical diversification in several countries that makes them able to compete with everyone, from everywhere and for everything. Despite of the relevance of such strategies, literature on this topic is almost absent. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Considering the exploratory nature of the research objectives, the authors present a case study for highlighting the main challenges of cross-border M & A under multipolar-world pressures. Findings – The paper evidences new trends in economic geography and multipolar strategies. Originality/value – The paper offers a new perspective on multipolar strategies.

Purpose – An empirical testing on IBM smart cities projects was applied so as to demonstrate that the combination between the use of Internet of Things (IoT) and the implementation of the Open Innovation (OI) model within smart cities which has been changed the development of urban areas and effected firms’ innovativeness. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – A case study methodology on a leading multinational firms deeply involved in smart cities projects has been chosen. Findings – From this study it emerged how IBM: has a clear vision of smart cities and IoT; adopt a worldwide OI approach to smart cities; delineate-specific strategies and create OI units ad hoc for smart cities’ projects. Research limitations/implications – The major limitation of this work is that the analysis presented has been developed only on one case of multinational firm that operate in smart cities contexts. Practical implications – Recommendations will be made both to public and private actor in order to plan and implement efficient strategies to improve their performances. Originality/value – The concept of smart city has become quite popular between scholars and practitioners in the era of digital economy. Cities become smart developing new urban area using new Information and Communication Technologies such as mobile devices, the semantic web, cloud computing, and the IoT. Smart cities make innovation ecosystem, joining together different forces like knowledge-intensive activities, institutions for cooperation and learning, and web-based applications collective intelligence. This research is of importance and significance to scholars, government, and firms who need to understand the relevance of smart cities in the current economy.

Leopoldo Pirelli was the third generation to run the family firm and a key character of Italian capitalism. He played a major role in Italy’s biggest merger and served as Head of the Committee for Reforms of the Italian Confederation of Industrialists. As head of Pirelli, he was appreciated by shareholders and by management. Though intent on internationalisation, he failed twice (the ‘Union’ with Dunlop and later with Continental). After this second failure he resigned. A respected leader of the international business community, Pirelli failed at his most important task – transforming a family firm into a public company.

Authenticity at work refers to the extent to which a worker feels in touch with their true self while at work. At first sight this concept seems to overlap with the concept of person-environment (P-E) fit, that is, the degree to which an individual experiences good fit with their work environment. Drawing on a sample of 867 Dutch gifted workers, structural equation modeling was used to investigate (i) whether authenticity at work and P-E fit can be distinguished, and (ii) how authenticity at work and P-E fit were associated with employee well-being. As expected, confirmatory factor analysis revealed that authenticity at work and P-E fit were distinct from each other. Moreover, the mediated effect of authenticity at work was stronger for two negative forms of well-being (burnout and boredom) than for two positive forms of well-being (work engagement and job satisfaction). The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed, especially focusing on the distinction between authenticity and P-E fit. ispartof: JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY vol:153 issue:2 pages:247-266 ispartof: location:United States status: published

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reshape and interpret the essence of marketing–supply chain management (M–SCM) interface in the glance of the dramatic changes occurring in competition and market relationships. Design/methodology/approach By reviewing relevant literature and analyzing evolutions in the different phases of the marketing funnel, the author develops an evolutionary pattern for M–SCM interface. Findings As the markets evolve to an always-on, service-dominant logic, being market-driving becomes a necessary condition, and as such marketing strategies must be capable of reconfiguring supply chains to reshape the value for customers. This implies a dramatic organizational change, even beyond mere technological issues. Originality/value The paper aims at setting some research directions for business process management and organizational patterns to govern M–SCM interface.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the role of the entrepreneur in the knowledge transfer (KT) process of a start-up enterprise and the ways that role should change during the development phase to ensure mid-term business survival and growth.Design/methodology/approachAn in-depth, qualitative case study of Birra Flea, an Italian Craft Brewery, is presented and analysed using Liyanageet al.’s (2009) framework to identify the key components of the KT process, including relevant knowledge, key actors, transfer steps and the criteria for assessing its effectiveness and success.FindingsThe entrepreneur played a fundamental and crucial role in the start-up process, acting as a selective and passionate broker for the KT process. As Birra Flea matures and moves into the development phase, the role of the entrepreneur as KT’s champion needs to be integrated and distributed throughout the organisation, with the entrepreneur serving as a performance controller.Research limitations/implicationsThis study enriches the knowledge management literature by applying a framework designed to provide a general description of KT, with some modifications, to a single case study to demonstrate its effectiveness in differentiating types of knowledge and outlining how KT can be configured to support essential business functions in an SME.Practical implicationsThe analysis systematises the KT mechanisms that govern the start-up phase of an award-winning SME, with suggestions for how to manage KT during the development phase. Seldom are practitioners given insight into the mechanics of a successful SME start-up; this analysis serves as a practical guide for those wishing to implement effective KT strategies to emulate Birra Flea’s success.Originality/valueThe world’s economy thrives on SMEs, yet many fail as start-ups before they even have a chance to reach the development phase, presenting a motivation to study the early stages of SMEs. This study addresses that gap with an in-depth theoretical analysis of successful, effective KT processes in an SME, along with practical implications to enhance the knowledge, experience and skills of the actors that sustain these vital economic enterprises.

The CoMetS track aims to bring together leading researchers and practitioners from both the modeling and simulation (M&S) community and the collaborative environments community, in order to focus on innovative research contributions that address both the use of collaborative technologies in the field of M&S and the use of M&S methodologies and tools to address the design of collaborative systems. This paper reports on the motivations of the track and the organization of its sixth edition.

The 16th edition of the "Adaptive Computing (and Agents) for Enhanced Collaboration" (ACEC) track at WETICE 2018 focuses mostly on the area of adaptive agent-based techniques for the enterprise. The objective of the track is to bring together researches from the fields of software agents and adaptive computing to present results and discuss in the context of adaptive techniques and enterprise collaboration. This report briefly reports on the content of accepted papers.

This study investigates the correlation of self-report accuracy with academic performance. The sample was composed of 289 undergraduate students (96 senior and 193 junior) enrolled in two engineering classes. Age ranged between 22 and 24 years, with a slight over representation of male students (53%). Academic performance was calculated based on students' final grades in each class. The tendency to report inaccurate information was measured at the end of the Raven Progressive Matrices Test, by asking students to report their exact finishing times. We controlled for gender, age, personality traits, intelligence, and past academic performance. We also included measures of centrality in their friendship, advice and trust networks. Correlation and multiple regression analyses results indicate that lower achieving students were significantly less accurate in self-reporting data. We also found that being more central in the advice network was correlated with higher performance (r = .20, p < .001). The results are aligned with existing literature emphasizing the individual and relational factors associated with academic performance and, pending future studies, may be utilized to include a new metric of self-report accuracy that is not dependent on academic records.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a method for analysing and improving the operational performance of business processes (BPs). Design/methodology/approach – The method employs two standards, Business Process Modelling Notation (BPMN 2.0) and Business Processes Simulation (BPSim 1.0), to measure key performance indicators (KPIs) of BPs and test for potential improvements. The BP is first modelled in BPMN 2.0. Operational performance can then be measured using BPSim 1.0. The process simulation also enables execution of reliable “what-if” analysis, allowing improvements of the actual processes under study. To confirm the validity of the method the authors provide an application to the healthcare domain, in which the authors conduct several simulation experiments. The case study examines a standardised patient arrival and treatment process in an orthopaedic-emergency room of a public hospital. Findings – The method permits detection of process criticalities, as well as identifying the best corrective actions by means of the “what-if” analysis. The paper discusses both management and research implications of the method. Originality/value – The study responds to current calls for holistic and sustainable approaches to business process management (BPM). It provides step-by-step process modelling and simulation that serve as a “virtual laboratory” to test potential improvements and verify their impact on operational performance, without the risk of error that would be involved in ex-novo simulation programming.

This paper analyzes the presence of different managerial approaches in a public organization, the Tuscany Region of Italy. In particular, it highlights the phenomenon of the plurality of frameworks working in the organization, namely Old Public Administration (OPA), New Public Management (NPM) and Public Governance (PG). The transformation and coexistence of the above-mentioned models is tested with a content analysis based on the perspectives of policy makers and top-level managers expressed in interviews and on the context of administration planning and control systems found in documents. Each managerial logic has a different relevance in the organization.

In the aftermath of the crisis, Europe is becoming more polarised in terms of employment, competitiveness and industrial specialisation. A 'German-centred core' which maintained employment and production - has emerged, contrasted by a 'Southern periphery', where major economic losses have occurred. Such geographical divergence is associated with a further polarisation in terms of skills. A new European industrial policy is needed to reverse this polarisation process and its dangerous implications for trade balances and cohesion.

Design has recently gained much attention among practitioners and scholars as a source of innovation. Firms are increasingly investing in design and involving design firms in their innovation processes. This research is based on an ongoing research project that consists in a complete range of training courses focused on design and has the objective to discover how design-driven innovation can become the key to improve European SMEs competitiveness, efficiency and sustainability. In the meanwhile, focusing on the project data, the main aim of the paper is to take a picture of the trends at European level with respect to the main design phases, looking at the modules proposed by the course. Accordingly, this work will allow understanding which is the knowledge (in terms of design) most requested by European SMEs. In order to perform a first complete analysis, we focus on hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), which is a statistical method able to build a hierarchy of clusters. The goal of the statistical analysis is to try to discover some hidden patterns existing in the dataset, which connect Modules and Countries, in order to understand if some specific relationships exist.

Purpose Analyzing how and what the local multi-utility AIMAG learned through the 2012 Northern Italy earthquakes, the purpose of this paper is to “normalize” the organizational learning (OL) triggered by disasters. Design/methodology/approach Seven managers who experienced the earthquakes were interviewed. The collected data are supplemented by archival materials. The analysis was conducted based on the 4I model (Crossan et al., 1999), using the qualitative data analysis tool “NVivo.” Findings The earthquakes audited AIMAG’s knowledge repositories, revealing its weakness and strength. When the earthquakes struck, individuals intuited the situations based on their previous experience, interpreting the need to respond to the interruptions and begin recovery immediately. The collective interpretation formed the basis for joint actions, which integrated the group learning at the organizational level. The effective cognition and behavior were instituted to the organization, and the new knowledge was absorbed into the organization’s knowledge repositories awaiting the next audit. Originality/value The concept of “learning through disasters” is advocated. By perceiving disasters as a series of interruptions that may have happened before and may re-occur, the learning is connected to organizations’ past and future through knowledge repositories. In addition, by analyzing data based on the multi-level OL model, the learning triggered by disasters was observed to occur throughout the organization at individual, group and organizational levels, in which routines played a critical linking role.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how sustainable entrepreneurs (SEs) address the regulative, normative and cultural-cognitive institutional pillars when operating in conservative contexts. It aims to study in depth the use of sustainable innovation (SI) as a means of increasing legitimacy within the institutions, thus triggering an institutional change. Design/methodology/approach The paper opted for an exploratory study on the Tuscan geothermal heat pumps market, which presents a promising but still largely unexploited sustainability potential despite its low institutional support, using the open-ended approach of grounded theory. The data include interviews and archive data, such as newspapers, magazines. Findings The paper provides empirical insights on how sustainable institutional entrepreneurs (SIEs) have developed innovative business models based on direct relationship with the final customers and strategic partnerships as a means of increasing legitimacy within the normative and cultural-cognitive institutions, and subsequently in the regulative institutions, through: innovative value propositions aimed at changing industry norms and social beliefs; increasing the private benefit of innovative sustainable business models in order to trigger imitation dynamics; inter-sector strategic partnerships sharing the same sustainability objectives; the inclusion of the relevant actors in relation to the social norms and cultural-cognitive barriers in a value proposition. On the basis of these findings a model has been developed. Research limitations/implications The study enriches the sustainable entrepreneurship research stream by providing empirical evidence on how SEs foster changes in the three institutional pillars with SI. It also contributes to the institutional entrepreneurship research by extending the results of previous studies regarding institutional tactics. Practical implications The paper could help SIEs prioritizing changes in value propositions and strategic partnerships to create market-based coalitions, as a means of institutional legitimization for SI. Originality/value The study illustrates the relationship between the sustainable institutional entrepreneurial practices and each institutional pillar, including the cultural-cognitive institutions, which have been neglected in previous research. This allows formulating five key propositions that guide SEs in succeeding as both sustainable and institutional entrepreneurs.

The international standard ISO 22400 has defined a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to evaluate the performance of manufacturing operation. However, the defined KPIs seem to be inspired from the discrete production context, and hence do not automatically fit the process industry context. The process industry is defined as the industry in which the raw material undergoes conversion during a continuous process in order to become finished products. To make the defined KPIs more suitable for evaluating the operational performance in process industry, this paper analyzes the different characteristics of process industry and discrete industry, and proposes a new framework for organizing KPIs in process industry. Some modifications are discussed to make the proposed ISO 22400 KPIs fit to the process industry. Such a study can provide useful ideas for manufacturing engineers and decision-makers to define and measure suitable KPIs for performance evaluation in process industry.