Compiti e capacità dei lavoratori nella nuova organizzazione della produzione

Le pagine che seguono hanno due obiettivi: offrire un ritratto professionale dei lavoratori oggi impegnati nei contesti produttivi internazionali più dinamici, evidenziandone compiti e ruoli; avanzare alcune ipotesi e domande sulle capacità e le caratteristiche che possono favorire in giovani e meno giovani un impegno lavorativo utile e creativo. A questo fine, la prima parte del contributo illustra gli elementi principali dell’attuale organizzazione della produzione, dal superamento del Fordismo, alla diffusione delle tecnologie dell’informazione, all’internazionalizzazione dei rapporti di fornitura, del processo produttivo e dei mercati di sbocco. Il saggio si concentra poi sulle implicazioni di tali cambiamenti per i compiti e i ruoli richiesti ai lavoratori, per giungere infine a discutere dell’obsolescenza di alcune capacità lavorative e dell’accresciuta importanza di altre

The impact of M&A on the R&D process. An empirical analysis of the role of technological and market relatedness.

While the impact of M&A on R&D and innovation examined at the aggregate level left inconclusive evidence, we find that at the level of the R&D process both the technological and market relatedness between the target and acquirer are helpful dimensions to identify effects. Using information on 31 in-depth cases of individual M&A deals we show that technological relatedness between M&A partners directly affects the inputs and organizational structure of the R&D process. M&A partners that operate in the same technological fields tend to reduce their R&D effort and rationalize the R&D process after the M&A compared to firms active in complementary technological fields that merge. These firms will furthermore face less technological competition in the technology market, but risk creating a more bureaucratic R&D process with a less motivated workforce. Market relatedness between partners, while having comparable aggregate effects on the R&D process, operates on different dimensions of the R&D process. Former rivals that engage in a M&A are significantly less likely to expand into new R&D fields or leverage their technological competences across the products and markets of the new entity. Non-rival firms that join forces, on the contrary, significantly increase R&D output and productivity through these activities.Competition; Effects; Field; Firms; Information; Innovation; International; M&A; Market; Market relatedness; Markets; Organizational structure; Processes; Product; R&D; Risk; Scale and scope; Structure; Subsidiaries; Technolocal relatedness; Technology diffusion;

Are Geographical Indication products environmentally sound? The case of pears in North of Italy

The sustainability of Geographical Indication (GI) products has been investigated from social and economic standpoints, but their environmental sustainability is not yet well understood. This gap is especially problematic for food products because their production processes have significant impacts on the environment and at the same time are highly affected by climate change. This research is aimed to investigate the environmental performances of an Italian GI pear, by comparing its impacts with those of the corresponding conventional production, and to identify the most important improvement strategies. The case of “Pera Mantovana” is assessed through a life cycle assessment. Primary data are collected through extensive in-person interviews across a local sample of four on-field farms and two post-harvest organizations. The environmental impacts are not found to differ between GI and conventional productions. Moreover, the main hotspots are identified, and improvement strategies are evaluated. It is recommended to use the existing GI specification as a vehicle of environmental standards, also profiting from the new European regulation on GIs

Adoption of circular economy practices in agriculture. A case study of Italian fruit and vegetables producers

Current production systems are generating huge pressures on soil, water and atmosphere ecosystems, compromising their long-term capability to sustain agricultural activities. CE is argued to reduce environmental degradation while enhancing the economic health of farms. Nevertheless, overall CE implications for agriculture are still an open question. Most studies concentrate on CE processes and single value chains, but we need a better understanding of CE determinants and effects at farm level, where decisions to adopt CE are made. The paper leans on literature that positions the use of scarce natural resources and its uncertainty in the frame of Socio-Ecological Systems (SES), under the Resource Dependency lens. Our SES model of the farm includes the farmer, farm ecosystem and secondary stakeholders (formal and informal institutions). The farm ecosystem provides soil resources to the farmer. The latter activity impacts on ecosystems’ supporting services. A farm-level exploration is necessary to understand which CE practices farmers have adopted and how they are making the relationship between agriculture and nature more sustainable. 2. Methodology The analysis is based on multiple case studies performed on a sample of 13 Italian fruit and vegetables producers. Farms are all located in Pianura Padana region, and produce melon (5 cases), radicchio (3), pear (5). Multiple cases belonging to the same value chains and same-region ecosystems make results more reliable, the use of different value chains makes them more generalizable. A semi-structured approach is used in interviews and visits, with a questionnaire addressing farm state, waste streams, adopted practices, drivers. Interviews were transcribed and coded through a mixed inductive and deductive approach. 3. Results A first result is the development of a framework that connects the types of adopted CE practices with types of in-farm wastes. Identification of the main determinants of farmers’ decision to implement CE practices is still ongoing, with preliminary evidence about the role of secondary stakeholders and the state of farm ecosystem. 4. Conclusions The main implications of results for research are the identification of CE adoption antecedents, and the potential of integrating literature on strategic drivers of CE (e.g. stakeholders’ actions) with literature looking at operational dimensions (as waste management). An expected benefit for farmers will be the availability of a framework to guide their decisions on CE adoption

Baksylyk: A Muslim Declination of Shamanism

It was in Central Asia that the shamanism of the Turko-Mongolians and the Islam of the Arabo-Persians were to meet. This zone is bordered by the Caspian Sea, Afghan Turkestan to the south, Hindu Kouch, the Pamirs, the Tian Chan and Altai to the east, and southern Siberia to the north. Today, several states, in part or in whole, are found in this quadrilateral: Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tadjikistan and Afghanistan. The ancestral shamanism of the Central Asians had to, after the Muslim take-over (8th century), progressively compromise with Islam. The result was an Islamized shamanism generally known as baksylyk

Multinational enterprises and the provision of collective goods under formal and informal institutional voids. The case of electricity in sub-Saharan Africa

Despite their unprecedented growth, developing countries still face severe problems in the provision of collective goods. Electricity, whose provision is scarce or unreliable in most developing regions, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, is an emblematic case. The reason for this shortage is not only imputable to the lack of effective formal institutions, but also to the inefficacy of informal institutions in enabling alternative solutions for the production, transmission and distribution of electricity. In this context of “double institutional void”, multinational enterprises (MNEs) can play a decisive role. However, we claim that their effectiveness depends on both the formal and informal institutional proximity that exists between the country of origin and the destination of the multinational company. Our econometric analysis relies on a sample of pairs of home-host countries, the latter of which are all from sub-Saharan Africa, observed from 2005 to 2011. Our findings confirm our expectations

Synthesis, characterization, and catalytic properties of AlPO4-40, CoAPO-40, and ZnAPO-40

The experimental conditions leading to the synthesis of pure and highly crystalline AlPO,-40, CoAPO-40, and ZnAPO-40 have been optimized. Although the preparation of these phases is favored by the presence of TMA+ in the synthesis gel, these ions have not been found incorporated in the final AFR structures. All materials have been characterized by powder XRD, t.g./d.s.c., SEM, EDX, 13C, 27AI, and 3’P solid-state n.m.r., diffuse reflectance u.v.-vis spectroscopy, FTi.r., and catalytic tests using the n-t-xylene isomerization as a model reaction. This multitechnique approach provides strong evidence for the framework incorporation of cobalt and zinc. The acid sites generated by the framework insertion of cobalt and zinc are stronger than those generated by the incorporation of silicon

Corporate food donations: altruism, strategy or cost saving?

Purpose This paper is aimed at enhancing our understanding of motives behind corporate giving and finding out whether and when operational efficiency plays a major role in the case of surplus food donations by food supply chain companies. Design/methodology/approach A multiple case study methodology has been applied considering a sample of 16 food sector companies operating in Italy. Three cases have been analysed in depth to highlight the contextual factors that make cost savings possible and donations sizeable and regular. Findings The results show that the willingness of companies to reduce operational costs plays a relevant role in managerial decisions concerning the recovery and donation of unsold food, although to different degrees across the supply chain stages. Originality/value The paper shows that not only strategic and moral motives, but also economic efficiency concern plays an important role in the managerial decision making process pertaining to surplus food donations

Seasonal H1N1 2007 influenza virus infection is associated with elevated pre‐exposure antibody titers to the 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus

AbstractThe new influenza strain detected in humans in April 2009 has caused the first influenza pandemic of the 21st century. A cross‐reactive antibody response, in which antibodies against seasonal H1N1 viruses neutralized the 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus (2009 pH1N1), was detected among individuals aged >60 years. However, factors other than age associated with such a cross‐reactive antibody response are poorly documented. Our objective was to examine factors potentially associated with elevated pre‐exposure viro‐neutralization and hemagglutination‐inhibition antibody titers against the 2009 pH1N1. We also studied factors associated with antibody titers against the 2007 seasonal H1N1 virus. One hundred subjects participating in an influenza cohort were selected. Sera collected in 2008 were analysed using hemagglutination inhibition and viro‐neutralization assays for the 2009 pH1N1 virus and the 2007 seasonal H1N1 virus. Viro‐neutralization results were explored using a linear mixed‐effect model and hemagglutination‐inhibition results using linear‐regression models for interval‐censored data. Elevated antibody titers against 2009 pH1N1 were associated with seasonal 2007 H1N1 infection (viro‐neutralization, p 0.006; hemagglutination‐inhibition, p 0.018). Elevated antibody titers were also associated with age in the viro‐neutralization assay (p <0.0001). Seasonal 2007 H1N1 infection is an independent predictor of elevated pre‐exposure antibody titers against 2009 pH1N1 and may have contributed to lowering the burden of the 2009 pH1N1 pandemic