Is this time different?: how Industry 4.0 affects firms' labor productivity

Does Industry 4.0 technology adoption push firms’ labor productivity? We contribute to the literature debate—mainly focused on robotics and large firms—by analyzing adopters’ labor productivity returns when micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) are concerned. We employ original survey data on Italian MSMEs’ adoption investments related to a multiplicity of technologies and rely on a difference-in-differences estimation strategy. Results highlight that Industry 4.0 technology adoption leads to a 7% increase in labor productivity. However, this effect decreases over time and is highly heterogeneous with respect to the type, the number, and the variety of technologies adopted. We also identify potential channels explaining the labor productivity returns of technology adoption: cost-related efficiency, new knowledge creation, and greater integration/collaboration both within the firm and with suppliers

Le emozioni suscitate dall’inglese come lingua franca nella comunicazione dei prodotti di lusso “made in Puglia”: l’influenza del contesto culturale

Abstract – Recent studies have cast light on how companies communicate in an international context using English as a “Lingua Franca” (ELF – English as a Lingua Franca). The use of English in the marketing strategy of advertising campaigns is based on the assumption that ELF has the status of a “neutral language” and of a “non culturally-marked” communication tool. Despite these beliefs, ELF can be considered as a means of communicating the speakers’ cultures. This chapter aims to identify the different emotions triggered by ELF in the marketing communication of “Made in Puglia” luxury products in different cultural contexts. In particular, it highlights how in high-context (vs. low) cultures, ELF communication of luxury brands triggers an emotional response of high (vs. low) intensity producing, in addition, a high intensity of external (vs. internal) emotions

Industry 4.0 Adoption In Manufacturing Smes: Exploring The Role of Industry and Regional Scale In Northern Italy

Industry 4.0 highlights the advantages for manufacturing firms of advancing business processes and creating new sources of value creation. However, industry specificity may influence the paths of adoption due to the variety of processes considered. Moreover, regional studies stress the link between regional embeddedness, the organization of manufacturing activities and innovation dynamics. This paper explores such relationships based on an original survey of 205 SMEs operating in the Made in Italy sectors and located in Northern Italy. The results reveal the role of both industry and the region in which the firm is located in explaining the differences in terms of Industry 4.0 adoption

INDUSTRY 4.0: A MARKET-ORIENTED REVOLUTION

The recent fourth industrial revolutions (Industry 4.0) is transforming the world economic system. The new technologies allow firms obtaining advances in the production process as well as the way they interact with the market along the value chain, especially with their customers. Through a survey on a Italian manufacturing firms located in the North Italy operating in Made in Italy industries, the research explores the relationships between motivations of adoption, two different groups of technologies 4.0, manufacturing-oriented and market-oriented, and the results firms achieved through the technologies adopted. Results highlights that market-oriented technologies have a central role in generating firm\u2019s growth in terms of marketing as well as of production efficiency