No need to choose between innovation and internationalization: when pursuing two strategies at a time leads to firm superior performance

Whereas commonly innovation and internationalization have been studied disjointedly, many academics have recently questioned the relationship that there might be between these two strategic choices. The present study aims to determine whether businesses can concurrently attain internationalization and innovation instead of selecting for only one of the two strategies in pursuing superior performance. The paper tests the relationships between firm managerial capabilities, technological and marketing resources, innovation and internationalization strategies, and firm performance based on the assumptions of the resource-based view. The hypotheses are tested using the data from a survey on 169 Italian SMEs. The outcomes reveal that innovation and internationalization are complementary, and not alternative in the attainment of firm superior performance, both technological and marketing resources are positively associated with the business internationalization, whereas only technological resources contribute to the business innovativeness. Additionally, managerial capabilities are key for deploying the firm overall resource endowment

Blending “hard” and “soft” TQM for academic excellence: the University of Siena experience in the field of Life Sciences

Purpose – Focusing on the adoption of Total Quality Management (TQM) principles in universities, this research paper explores how the “soft” dimensions of TQM trigger its “hard” dimensions considering them at the individual (micro-) and the university (meso-), and eventually at cluster (system-), levels. Design/methodology/approach – Adopting a qualitative approach, this study presents an in-depth, longitudinal case study of University of Siena, one of the oldest Italian universities, that has been at the core of the research-based cluster on vaccines, today converged in the Tuscan Life Science Cluster. In particular, data were collected between 2018 and February 2022 and consists of archival data (press articles, websites, books), nine interviews to key informants, multiyear experience of the Life Sciences sector by two of the authors and other material put at disposal by university offices, and emails. Data analysis relied on a timeline, a coding procedure that considered three levels of analysis (individual, organization and cluster). Finally, the authors looked at the “how” and “why” the emerged themes have contributed to academic excellence. Findings – This paper unveils how “soft” and “hard” sides of TQM are blended across multiple levels for reaching academic excellence. The grounded model emerged enlightens the importance of an individual “soft” dimension, academic passion (composed by its three subdimensions of individual research, teaching and entrepreneurial passion) and also sheds light on the organizational “soft” and “hard” sides that the university has been able to design for encouraging research, teaching and third mission quality. Academic excellence has been possible thanks to the capitalization of the individual and organizational“soft” sides into real outcomes as represented by the organizational and individual “hard” sides. Practical implications – The paper suggests the importance of TQM principles applied at universities’ level, providing an in-depth description of “soft” and “hard” sides dimensions of TQM and their impact on all the three pillars of academic excellence. The study findings suggest implications for managers and professionals in the higher education domain as well as for policymakers emphasizing the importance of supporting the individual and organizational soft sides of TQM. The authors provide practical implications recommending universities to consider not only the organizational dimensions but also individual ones when pursuing higher education excellence. In particular, individual passion plays a crucial role and universities need to identify ways of nurturing it. The authors also recommend policymakers to think about new ways to sustain universities as crucial actors in boosting a cluster development, as well as to consider higher education institutions, especially in more rural areas, as a privileged player not only capable of nurturing academic excellence but also able of creating an internationally renowned cluster. Originality/value – TQM principles have been intensively analysed from an industrial perspective focusing on manufacturing and services, while this paper focuses on TQM in universities, presenting a grounded model that blends the individual and organizational “soft” and “hard” sides

Editorial: "Crises and resilience in family firms"

Purpose: In this editorial, the Guest Editors introduce the key themes of the Special Issue “Crises and resilience in family firms”. The five papers here presented provide theoretical and empirical contributions to the family business field, by analysing resilience in the context of the pandemic Covid-19. Specifically, resilience is explored at the firm level through the lenses of entrepreneurship, strategic management, and innovation management literature. Findings: Authors illustrate how family businesses managed the changes brought by the unexpected spread of the pandemic and underline how the specificities of family firms, like the preservation of SEW, a purpose driven orientation, the routinized capacity of being resilient, the care of customer relationships, the individual resilience of the entrepreneur and the specific female characteristics of successor represent a key competitive advantage of family businesses, especially if female-driven, over non-family firms

Le Scienze della Vita in Toscana. Il governo istituzionale e imprenditoriale dei processi di sviluppo

Un primo monitoraggio del distretto Life Sciences toscano è stato svolto nel 2012 (Pucci e Zanni, 2012); il presente rapporto di ricerca aggiorna la precedente indagine che ha costituito una delle basi informative di dati utilizzate per impostare il piano strategico del distretto nel periodo 2015-2017. L’attuale ricerca intende in particolare perseguire quattro obiettivi generali: A. Delineare i caratteri strutturali delle imprese attive nei diversi segmenti del settore Life Sciences, esaminando i modelli imprenditoriali adottati dagli attori coinvolti e le soluzioni organizzative utilizzate per rispondere alle sfide dell’innovazione e della crescita. B. Descrivere il ruolo delle Istituzioni toscane a supporto dei processi innovativi e di sviluppo delle imprese del settore. C. Indagare le modalità attraverso cui si implementano le strategie di sviluppo (innovative e di crescita) individuando: le specificità settoriali e i modelli di business adottati; le caratteristiche delle relazioni instaurate e le possibili relazioni tra strategie e performance. D. Approfondire il ruolo e le specificità delle imprese familiari all’interno del cluster. Sulla base dei suddetti obiettivi generali tenteremo di trarre alcune prime considerazioni di sintesi con riferimento ai seguenti interrogativi specifici di ricerca: 1. Emergono cambiamenti nei modelli di business del settore Life Sciences in Toscana? 2. Quale ruolo giocano le Istituzioni e gli altri fattori di contesto nei processi innovativi e di crescita delle imprese toscane? 3. Quali drivers contribuiscono a spiegare i processi innovativi e di sviluppo e le loro performance? 4. Le aziende familiari si differenziano dalle imprese non familiari

The virtuous cycle of stakeholder engagement in developing a sustainability culture: Salcheto winery

Stakeholder engagement in sustainability represents a powerful driver for value creation. Drawing from stakeholder theory, this paper explores how a firm with a proactive sustainable behaviour engages stakeholders in developing innovation and creating value. A longitudinal, single case study of the Salcheto winery was carried out. Since the late 1990s, Salcheto has been at the forefront of wine eco-innovation and it has played a key role in the development of Montepulciano (Tuscany, Italy) as one of the first sustainable wine clusters worldwide. The development of a sustainable wine culture is one of the firm's various innovations. In doing so, the firm has had to face three challenges - identity creation, legitimization and enhancement - and has engaged its stakeholders through three specific mechanisms (adoption and development; co-creation and diffusion; exploitation and contamination). This virtuous cycle of stakeholder engagement has resulted in value creation at a firm, stakeholder and local level