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The success of early-stage start-ups is strongly dependent on founders’ education. Yet, while scholars maintain that investors should consider founders' education an important signal of start-ups' prospects, mixed empirical findings suggest that more education does not always trigger positive investor reactions. Scholars have thus urged the development of new theoretical insights that may explain why and when education is beneficial to start-ups' emergence. Based on cognitive and social psychology literature, in this article, we evidence that different configurations of founders' education affect the ability of founding teams to obtain funding. The empirical support that we obtained from a sample of 1078 start-ups helps reconcile the contradictory findings of past research through a joint examination of two dimensions of founders' education that were previously only investigated separately—the level of education and the heterogeneity of educational backgrounds. Our focus on the group dynamics founding teams advances our understanding of the contribution of founders’ education onto early-stage start-ups' fund raising. In greater detail, educational level and educational heterogeneity positively affect the amount of funds raised, but their joint presence negatively moderates such a relationship. In doing so, we also provide start-uppers and policymakers with important information regarding how cofounders should group together when launching a start-up.

This article explores the impact of different types of products and rewards on the amount of funds raised in reward-based crowdfunding (RBCF). Specifically, we have analyzed two different product types, i.e., based on individual ownership or temporary use, and four types of rewards, i.e., prototype, branded promotional item, special edition, and discount. Results of a within-subject survey-based experiment indicate that individual ownership products obtain more funds than temporary use products. In addition, depending on the product type, some rewards are more effective in attracting funds from backers. These outcomes extend the application of Signaling Theory in the context of RBCF, as backers respond to multiple signals connected to both product and reward types because they are related to the likelihood of project realization, and of Self-Determination Theory, as backers are nonprofessionals and contribute their money mainly for the satisfaction of supporting what they consider valuable entrepreneurial projects. The findings of this article advance the scientific understanding of RBCF and provide advice for entrepreneurs on how to properly craft their call for money depending on the type of product proposed to the crowd.

PurposeTechnological platforms encourage the exchange of knowledge and creation of new ideas that create new value for participating members who pool and combine their knowledge, facilities, tools and skills, thus contributing to the development of innovative solutions. This paper focuses on hackathon platforms, working as open innovation intermediaries, investigating their role and functions and exploring how they encourage the collaboration and the innovativeness among participants in order to boost their innovative new ideas.Design/methodology/approachThe research method is a qualitative design that includes in-depth interviews of ten stakeholders that play different roles in “Hack for Travel,” the case under analysis. It is a hackathon organized entirely online, as a response to the crisis generated by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).FindingsFindings revealed six processes developed by the hackathon platform used to effectively organize the event and facilitate participants to cooperate and share knowledge in order to boost the spread of innovative ideas. Results identify how hackathons should be organized and through which processes they work as innovation platforms.Originality/valueThis is one of the first attempts to study the increasing phenomenon of hackathons, providing theoretical contribution and practical implications about their role in developing innovation.

Start-ups need investor funding to overcome the early stages of their life, during which they are more vulnerable and exposed to failure. They need to convince investors to fund their business ideas by signaling the potential success of their entrepreneurial venture, through a demonstration of cohesion, shared views, and determination. The educational background of the founders of start-ups can be a strong driver of start-up performance, as it is a visible signal for investors. However, education is composed of two different dimensions (i.e., its depth and its heterogeneity), and their configurations should be carefully considered. To clarify this aspect, in this article, we discuss the impact that these two education dimensions have on funds raised by start-ups in the early stages of their life. Results show that highly educated cofounders have improved access to external funding as long as they do not have highly heterogeneous educational backgrounds; in a parallel fashion, cofounders educated in different disciplines also have improved access to funding, as long as they have less advanced levels of education. These findings are relevant to start-up founders and indicate the best team configurations to guarantee better access to capital in the initial stages of their life.

Purpose of the paper: This paper aims to understand whether a hotel’s commitment to sustainability practices is a factor that influences a tourist’s intention to book a hotel room. Methodology: For the purposes of the study a between-subjects experimental approach was applied to a sample of 451 Italians. A t-test and a multiple regression analysis were then adopted to measure whether sustainability affects customers’ intentions to book. Findings: Findings show that, ceteris paribus, customers are more willing to book rooms at hotels committed to sustainability practices than at those that are not. Research limits: The research is framed to capture how consumers react to sustainability-driven practices at hotels and specifically in the upscale hotel market. Consequently, it should be replicated across other hotel categories. Practical implications: Findings suggest that hotel marketers should undertake sustainability practices to inspire consumer intentions to make hotel reservations, thus sustaining hotel performance and local community wellbeing. Originality of the paper: This study contributes to deepening the scientific debate on consumer interest in making reservations that favor hotels that undertake sustainable actions and practices. This research strand has thus far attracted limited attention in the existing literature if compared to similar studies primarily devoted to analyzing the environmental dimension of hotel sustainability and its impact on tourist choices.

This paper analyses corporate sustainability (CS) in multinational enterprises (MNEs) and, in particular, the way the commitment of subsidiaries depends on different configurations of internal and external influence exerted by stakeholders, institutions and corporate headquarters. The study is based on primary data collected through surveys sent to subsidiary managers in the hotel industry in 19 different countries in the world. The findings of a principal component analysis and a cluster analysis show four different clusters of firm behaviors, depending on the external stimuli and the internal obstacles subsidiaries face when implementing CS. These may actually facilitate or hinder its implementation. Results show that some subsidiaries act proactively towards CS, overcoming objective difficulties, whereas others appear to be sluggish, since they feel no pressure to implement such activities, even though they are increasingly important in the current scenario. This paper contributes to the literature on CS in international business and also provides practical recommendations to help MNEs achieve better CS results through a more effective implementation of sustainability activities by their subsidiaries.

Based on Signaling Theory, in this research we have analyze the effect of product types, i.e., based on individual ownership or temporary use, and types of rewards, i.e., prototype, branded promoti...

Hospitality firms are increasingly investing in corporate social responsibility (CSR) to generate strong relationships with stakeholders while aiming to benefit their own performance. However, CSR may bring both costs and benefits to the focal firm. We analyze how corporate financial performance (CFP) is affected by CSR, finding that the impact of CSR on CFP has a U-shaped form, where CSR is a cost that translates into higher benefits only when it generates solid relationships between firms and their stakeholders. Furthermore, we adopt a contingency approach, assessing the role of quality management (QM) on the CSR-CFP relationship. We find that the simultaneous implementation of CSR and QM is less beneficial to CFP than the isolated implementation of CSR due to the redundancy of different activities aimed at similar goals, i.e., stakeholders’ satisfaction. In doing so, we advance academic understanding of the impact of CSR and QM on CFP.

The consequences of climate change urges researchers to investigate the issues of environmental sustainability, and the definition of policies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions has become more urgent. In this context, urban areas play a significant role since here, economic, productive and social activities are concentrated and, therefore, the majority of the GHG emissions are produced. For these reasons, many cities worldwide are making big efforts to improve their level of environmental sustainability, but is this a worthy investment in terms of territorial competitiveness? In the era of globalization, indeed, countries, regions and cities cannot underestimate the competition against each other to attract firms, people and skills. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to identify the type of relationship between environmental sustainability and territorial competitiveness at city level in order to verify whether or not it is possible to positively affect competitiveness by investing on green initiatives. The study measures the level of environmental sustainability and competitiveness of 103 Italian capital cities by constructing two composite indicators and it compares the two performances using a statistical approach, showing that being green also means being more competitive and this positive relationship increases proportionally with the population. In other words, strategies designed to make a city more environmentally sustainable positively affect its level of competitiveness, and this correlation is stronger for bigger cities.

An electronic nose based system, which employs an array of inexpensive commercial tin-oxide odour sensors, has been used to analyse the state of ripeness of bananas. Readings were taken from the headspace of three sets of bananas during ripening over a period of 8-14 days. A principal-components analysis and investigatory techniques were used to define seven distinct regions in multisensor space according to the state of ripeness of the bananas, predicted from a classification of banana-skin colours. Then three supervised classifiers, namely Fuzzy ARTMAP, LVQ and MLP, were used to classify the samples into the observed seven states of ripeness. It was found that the Fuzzy ARTMAP and LVQ classifiers outperformed the MLP classifier, with accuracies of 90.3% and 92%, respectively, compared with 83.4%. Furthermore, these methods were able to predict accurately the state of ripeness of unknown sets of bananas with almost the same accuracy, i.e. 90%. Finally, it is shown that the Fuzzy ARTMAP classifier, unlike LVQ and MLP, is able to perform efficient on-line learning in this application without forgetting previously learnt knowledge. All of these characteristics make the Fuzzy-ARTMAP-based electronic nose a very attractive instrument with which to determine non-destructively the state of ripeness of fruit.

This thesis aims to analyze the issue of sustainability, with particular attention to sustainable tourism and the various certifications that accommodation facilities can receive, following different sustainable criteria, which are voluntary and mandatory. In addition, this paper will explore the existence or otherwise of discrepancies between the theoretical framework dictated by ecolabeling practices and the actions undertaken daily by the main players in the world of tourism. This paper will be divided into three different chapters: FIRST CHAPTER: The first chapter deals with sustainable tourism. In fact, after an introductory paragraph devoted to presenting the broader concept of sustainability, the chapter will focus main lyon sustainable tourism, defined by the UN as "tourism that meets the needs of today's tourists and host regions while foreseeing and enhancing opportunities for the future". This type of tourism will be examined from its creation to its scale. SECOND CHAPTER: In the second chapter several themes will be addressed; in fact, we will analyze the issue of corporate environmental management, and certified sustainable brands, with a careful analysis of the sustainable and ecological labels that accommodation facilities can receive following various criteria. The labels mentioned in this chapter are EU Ecolabel; Luxury Eco Certification Standard; Eco Bio Tourism ICEA; Leg ambiente Turismo. THIRD CHAPTER: The last chapter will focus on a case study centered on an interview with Ciro Verrocchi, General Manager of Palazzo Fiuggi, a hotel belonging to the Forte Village group, and Manager of the Year in 2016, who will talk to us about sustainability in the hospitality sector, particularly in luxury hospitality. With him, I will also try to deepen what have been the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic on the tourism sector and more specifically on sustainable tourism practices.