The drivers of Corporate Social Responsibility in the supply chain. A case study.

Purpose: The paper studies the way in which a SME integrates CSR into its corporate strategy, the practices it puts in place and how its CSR strategies reflect on its suppliers and customers relations. Methodology/Research limitations: A qualitative case study methodology is used. The use of a single case study limits the generalizing capacity of these findings. Findings: The entrepreneur’s ethical beliefs and value system play a fundamental role in shaping sustainable corporate strategy. Furthermore, the type of competitive strategy selected based on innovation, quality and responsibility clearly emerges both in terms of well defined management procedures and supply chain relations as a whole aimed at involving partners in the process of sustainable innovation. Originality/value: The paper presents a SME that has devised an original innovative business model. The study pivots on the issues of innovation and eco-sustainability in a context of drivers for CRS and business ethics. These values are considered fundamental at International level; the United Nations has declared 2011 the “International Year of Forestry”

The Creation of sustainable Value in SMEs. A case study.

Purpose: The paper studies the way in which a small-medium size enterprise (SME) in Campania (Italy) creates sustainability into its corporate strategy, the practices it puts in place and how its CS strategies reflect on accumulating and enhancing intangible assets. Methodology/Research limitations: A qualitative case study methodology is used. The use of a single case study, as always, limits the generalizing of these findings. Findings: Entrepreneurs‟ ethical beliefs and value systems play a fundamental role in shaping sustainable corporate strategy. Furthermore, the type of competitive strategy selected based on innovation, quality and responsibility emerges both in terms of well defined management procedures and supply network system as a whole in order to involve partners in the process of sustainable innovation. In this context, such value creation is extended to the sustainability of the intellectual capital. Research Implications: The link between the creation of sustainable value and intangible assets is analyzed in depth with reference to SMEs. Practical Implications: Entrepreneurs and managers can benefit from the study in order to build a network organization capable of achieving effective and sustainable development. Originality/value: The proposed process of creation of sustainable value based on sharing and the co-creation of knowledge emerges fully in the case study analyzed. The study pivots on the issues of innovation and eco-sustainability in a context of drivers for CS and business ethics

Surfing across industrial revolutions. A resilient sensemaking perspective on innovation

Employing the sensemaking perspective, this paper aims to study the relationship between social innovation and resilience. The study highlights how sensemaking of social innovation is a process that takes place within existing social and economic representations. This study has a qualitative nature and is based on multiple case studies, which is the methodology best suited to highlight the drivers of social phenomena in specific socioeconomic contexts and which characteristics they manifest. The paper contributes to the literature along three different lines. First, it describes social innovation as the resilient outcome of sensemaking or the result of a capacity for collective reorganization following environmental, political, economic, and social disruptions. Second, it provides policymakers with a model to use to establish the intensity of social pressure and the openness of baseline social representations to change. Third, it allows policymakers to jointly observe and analyze the relationship between social representation and economic representation, highlighting the central role of firms in achieving social innovation. Although this paper presents the findings of a wide theoretical analysis, the developed model needs to be empirically tested by firms and policymakers

An open innovation approach to co-produce scientific knowledge: an examination of citizen science in the healthcare ecosystem

Purpose The article applies the citizen science phenomenon - i.e. lay people involvement in research endeavours aimed at pushing forward scientific knowledge - to healthcare. Attention is paid to initiatives intended to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic as an illustrative case to exemplify the contribution of citizen science to system-wide innovation in healthcare. Design/methodology/approach A mixed methodology consisting of three sequential steps was developed. Firstly, a realist literature review was carried out to contextualize citizen science to healthcare. Then, an account of successfully completed large-scale, online citizen science projects dealing with healthcare and medicine has been conducted in order to obtain preliminary information about distinguishing features of citizen science in healthcare. Thirdly, a broad search of citizen science initiatives targeted to tackling the COVID-19 pandemic has been performed. A comparative case study approach has been undertaken to examine the attributes of such projects and to unravel their peculiarities. Findings Citizen science enacts the development of a lively healthcare ecosystem, which takes its nourishment from the voluntary contribution of lay people. Citizen scientists play different roles in accomplishing citizen science initiatives, ranging from data collectors to data analysts. Alongside enabling big data management, citizen science contributes to lay people's education and empowerment, soliciting their active involvement in service co-production and value co-creation. Practical implications Citizen science is still underexplored in healthcare. Even though further evidence is needed to emphasize the value of lay people's involvement in scientific research applied to healthcare, citizen science is expected to revolutionize the way innovation is pursued and achieved in the healthcare ecosystem. Engaging lay people in a co-creating partnership with expert scientist can help us to address unprecedented health-related challenges and to shape the future of healthcare. Tailored health policy and management interventions are required to empower lay people and to stimulate their active engagement in value co-creation. Originality/value Citizen science relies on the wisdom of the crowd to address major issues faced by healthcare organizations. The article comes up with a state of the art investigation of citizen science in healthcare, shedding light on its attributes and envisioning avenues for further development

An integrated learning framework of corporate training system. A grounded theory approach

Purpose – Rooting in literature on training and laying on Kirkpatrick model, this paper aims to explore key drivers of corporate training to identify how they can be combined into an integrated framework of learning for human capital development. Design/methodology/approach – By adopting the constructivist grounded theory, this contribution analyses the experience carried out in the last 10 years by Virvelle, an Italian corporate training firm. Findings – Results show the rise of five core categories, giving rise to an integrated model of Kirkpatrick. Their dynamic interplay led to a new orientation of Kirkpatrick model giving rise to a metalearning ecosystem. Research limitations/implications – Concerning managerial implications, key factors on which build and implement appropriate corporate training programs capable of triggering co-generative processes of value creation are identified. Particularly, the essential role of learning quality culture, digital technology, and personalization are detected in integrating not only hard but furthermore soft shades of learning. Concerning theoretical implications, the emergence of key structural and systems enabling dimensions for learning, and contextual mechanisms involved in reshaping training effectiveness and achieving integrated learning outcomes are detected. The main limitation of this study lies in the need to generalize results: the conceptualized framework needs to be empirically tested. Originality/value – The value of this research is built along three main points. The first is the integration among the core categories that an integrated learning system can be built on, promoting learning quality culture by positive feedback loops. The second is represented by the chance to enhance an integrated mutual knowledge development among engaged actors, thereby shaping a more holistic and multidimensional learning models. The third is related to the transversal role that digital technology plays in all phases of the training process as it integrates and enriches them

How sustainable is smart farming? The contribution of service platforms to innovate Italian agribusinesses

Framing of the research. The agrifood industry needs to embrace digitalization by strategically innovating toward ecological transition and sustainable growth. A conceptual framework, empirically informed, is proposed, and a mixed-methods approach in the Italian wineries’ context is adopted. Purpose of the paper. This paper aims to analyze how the sustainability of agribusinesses, especially wine producers, could be improved by implementing precision agricultural systems in place of conventional ones with the support of a digital service provider. Methodology. A sequential mixed methods approach based on both secondary and primary data was conducted. The quantitative analysis focused on a cost-benefit comparison between conventional versus 4.0 wineries. The qualitative analysis was performed through a multiple case study, focusing on the interplay between the service provider and the wineries. Ten interviews were conducted with both actors. Results. The results contribute to the literature by enriching the conceptual framework proposed and updated with empirical evidence. It describes dimensions and relationships that enable the actors involved in reaching higher sustainability outcomes at the firm and network levels. Research limitations. The limited investigated sample, based on a low number of interviews, does not allow a consistent generalization of the results. Managerial implications. Evidence from the case studies can inform both practitioners and policymakers about best practices and process innovation activities, which can increase shared value creation in the agrifood ecosystem. Originality of the paper. This is one of the first studies to take into consideration a relevant topic, still poorly investigated, by deepening how a digital service provider supports the wineries’ innovation toward sustainable outcomes

When Digitalization Meets Omnichannel in International Markets: A Case Study from the Agri-Food Industry

Digitalization is prompting small and medium-sized enterprises to structural and strategic transformations, also providing new opportunities to expand and succeed in foreign markets. However, relatively few studies have investigated emergent digital technologies in international business management. Contextually, there is still a dearth of research on the multi-faceted impacts of digitalization on omnichannel strategy characterizing most of the global business environment today. This paper, therefore, aims to examine the impact of digitalization on omnichannel choices adopted by internationalized SMEs. A qualitative approach, based on a single case study methodology, is adopted. An Italian agri-food SME is chosen as this industry is considered a key and distinctive pillar of Made in Italy in the international markets. Findings reveal the potential of digital technologies’ applications in an omnichannel environment, blurring the boundaries between channels, through a synergetic integration of them. This evidence contributes to the existing literature on technology management and omnichannel strategies in the international context by rereading these phenomena through a smart ecosystem lens. In addition, this study provides practical insights on how multiple channels adopted by Made in Italy SMEs can be integrated, managed, and operated synergistically on international markets to sustain a digitalized value creation

Curiosity as Brazilian tourist motivation in visiting Europe

Although the theme of push and pull motivations has received increasing attention in tourist behavior literature, little attention has been devoted to the investigation of the interaction between single push motivations and visitor loyalty and other relevant variables influencing tourist behavior. Given its undoubtable relevance in motivating human behavior, we propose curiosity as a single push motive by examining its causal relationships with destination attributes (evaluated in holistic way), attitude toward destination, and loyalty. In particular, we tested a new research model on a sample of 273 potential Brazilian travelers to Europe by using a structural equation modeling approach. Sample size is in line with the state-of-the-art in literature (Ciasullo et al., 2017). The data moderately well fitted the "curiosity model" and the findings highlighted that curiosity plays a crucial role in shaping attitude and pull motivation, and in influencing tourist loyalty. Consequently, destination managers or European Union institutions should magnify the role of curiosity, attitude towards destination, and pull motivations in terms of marketing policies