The need for requisite variety to support growth: an organizational life cycle perspective

Purpose: Drawing on the “Giffoni Experience” case study, this study aims to establish a conceptual link between requisite variety and organizational life cycle. The law of requisite variety states that – to be viable – a system should be able to achieve the minimum number of states which are required to deal with environmental uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach: A descriptive case study approach was taken, which allowed a holistic analysis of the subject being investigated. Multiple sources and different techniques were used to collect relevant data, including: document analysis, unstructured interviews with key informants, and participant observation. Findings: The development of requisite variety is intended to fill the gap between the increased environmental complexity and organizational adaptability. The process of requisite variety generation is influenced by the organizational life cycle stages, turning out to be reactive in the early stages of life and proactive in the maturity ones. Ultimately, the development of requisite variety makes the organization able to establish a co-evolving relationship with the environment, which paves the way for greater organizational adaptability and effectiveness. Research limitations/implications: The research findings are not generalizable; besides, the exploratory nature of this study did not allow to point out a consistent relationship between requisite variety and the organizational life cycle. Originality/value: To the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first attempts to examine requisite variety adopting the conceptual lenses of organizational life cycle. Empirical researches dealing with requisite variety are uncommon and generally overlooked by management scholars and practitioners

The art of orienteering small firms' innovation: Illuminating the link between innovation and strategy making

Purposes. This paper aims at investigating the link between inter-organizational relationships and innovation, discussing whether the probability to detect a greater innovation propensity of organizations increases with or without collaborative partnerships. Design/methodology/approach. Drawing on secondary data provided by the Italian Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) about a representative sample of 8,967 Italian firms, three multinomial logit models and four logit models have been estimated, in an attempt to examine the effects of inter-organizational relationships on different types of organizational innovation. Findings. A positive and statistically significant relationship between inter-organizational relationships and organizational innovation emerged from all the models which were arranged for the purpose of this study. Several categories of partners, including suppliers, universities and firms belonging to the same holding group, were found to be more effective in fostering the probability of organizational innovation. Interestingly, geographical proximity did not seem to influence the organizational propensity to innovate. Practice implications. Even though further developments are needed to disentangle the complex link between inter-organizational relationships and organizational innovation, the former are likely to positively affect the innovation ability of or ganizations. From this point of view, it could be argued that partners perform as catalysts, which boost the knowledge creation process underlying the emergence of organizational innovation. Originality/value. This is one of the first attempts to exploit the potential of multinomial logit models and logit models to investigate the effects of inter-organizational relationships on the propensity of organizations to innovat

Innovation at the crossroads: An investigation of the link between inter-organizational relationships and innovation

Purposes: This paper aims at investigating the link between inter-organizational relationships and innovation, discussing whether the probability to detect a greater innovation propensity of organizations increases with or without collaborative partnerships. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on secondary data provided by the Italian Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) about a representative sample of 8,967 Italian firms, three multinomial logit models and four logit models have been estimated, in an attempt to examine the effects of inter-organizational relationships on different types of organizational innovation. Findings: A positive and statistically significant relationship between inter-organizational relationships and organizational innovation emerged from all the models which were arranged for the purpose of this study. Several categories of partners, including suppliers, universities and firms belonging to the same holding group, were found to be more effective in fostering the probability of organizational innovation. Interestingly, geographical proximity did not seem to influence the organizational propensity to innovate. Practice implications: Even though further developments are needed to disentangle the complex link between inter-organizational relationships and organizational innovation, the former are likely to positively affect the innovation ability of organizations. From this point of view, it could be argued that partners perform as catalysts, which boost the knowledge creation process underlying the emergence of organizational innovation. Originality/value: This is one of the first attempts to exploit the potential of multinomial logit models and logit models to investigate the effects of inter-organizational relationships on the propensity of organizations to innovate

What if things go wrong in co-producing health services? Exploring the implementation problems of health care co-production

Patient-centered care and health services’ co-production are the cornerstones of the health care system of the future. These constructs rely on the reconceptualization of the patient as a co-deliverer of care. While studies about the intrinsic value-added of health services’ co-production are prominent, the risks of value co-destruction attached to patient involvement have been widely neglected. In an attempt to fill this gap, this paper draws on the ‘health literacy’ perspective to conceptually explore the ‘dark side’ of health services’ co-production. Value co-destruction is understood as a two-way street, where both the health care professionals and the patients are likely to walk, either intentionally or unintentionally. Individual and organizational health literacy are proposed as two essential ingredients of the recipe for effective health services’ co-production, reducing the risks of value co-destruction in health services’ provision

Regression-based approaches for the decomposition of income inequality in Italy, 1998-2008

Decompositions by population subgroups and by income sources represent the traditional techniques for decomposing income inequality. Compared with the classical methodologies, the regression-based method gives the opportunity of quantifying the contribution to the inequality of a set of factors, while taking the correlations among them into account. In this framework, two regression-based decomposition methodologies are used: the Fields method and the Shapley value approach, with the aim of measuring the relative contributions of individual as well as household factors to inequality in individual disposable incomes. The factors are introduced as explanatory variables in an income generating model that is estimated through a panel data regression model with timeinvariant unobserved random effects. The results suggest that the most relevant factors in explaining the observed income inequality are gender, human capital as well as non-human capital whereas the work status and the area of residence only affect income differentials in a marginal way

Toward a socially-distributed mode of knowledge production: Framing the contribution of lay people to scientific research

Lay people involvement is arising as a viable alternative to conventional modes of knowledge generation and dissemination. However, little is known about the roles that lay people may play in scientific research; moreover, management and organisational challenges characterise the implementation of a socially-distributed mode of knowledge production. To shed light into this issue, we performed a realist literature review that involved 81 papers. The study findings suggested that lay people may variously contribute in knowledge co-production; their role depends on the degree of autonomy they have and on the type of relationship they establish with expert scientists. The propensity of expert scientists and lay people to bring diverging inputs in knowledge co-production should be acknowledged and carefully addressed, in order to avoid drawbacks on the knowledge production ability of research institutions. The outcomes of citizen science projects should be assessed from both an economic and a societal point of view

Putting higher education services’ quality at work: The employability of Italian doctors of philosophy

Purpose of the paper: Doctoral degree programs (PhDs) are the highest level of education delivered by universities in most of world countries. Even though PhD courses provide students with high level competences, it has been argued that doctors of philosophy meet some barriers in getting a job outside of the university system. This paper sheds light on this issue, investigating the employability of a sample of people who achieved a doctoral degree in Italy. Methodology: Secondary data was collected from the Italian Institute of Statistics’ (ISTAT) study on the employability of doctors of philosophy in Italy. First, a descriptive statistical analysis illuminated the socio-demographic characteristics of doctoral degree holders who were successful in getting a job; second, a regression analysis allowed to identify the factors which influenced the employability of doctors of philosophy. Main Findings: More than 7 in 10 doctors of philosophy (70.9%) were employed; about 5% of the sample revealed that they had a job and concomitantly benefitted from a research fellowship or a post-doc grant. Less than 10% of the interviewees declared that they were unemployed. Unemployment was especially common among those who achieved a PhD degree in humanities. Doctors of philosophy who maintained to be involved in research activities during their PhD courses were more likely to get a job; whilst the quantity of educational activities delivered to students was not found to influence the interviewees’ employability, the quality of learning experience performed as a significant trigger of students’ ability to get a job. Practical implications: Tailored interventions are needed to increase the employability of doctors of philosophy. Inter alia, the learners’ active engagement in scientific research engenders excellence in the higher education context, paving the way for greater opportunities of employment. Originality/value: The article relates the excellence of higher education to the employability of doctors of philosophy, envisioning several avenues for further development

Income inequality between overlapping and stratification: A longitudinal analysis of personal earnings in France and Italy

The aim of this paper is to gain new insights into the generation process of personal income in France and Italy, two countries that are in close geographical proximity but have a large disparity in terms of income growth and distribution. In the first step, the potential of EU-SILC balanced panel (2004–2007) is exploited by random effects models, which also make it possible to explore the primary factors that are likely to explain differences in generating personal labour earnings. In the second step, the ANOGI (Analysis of Gini) decomposition enables one to assess the contribution of each subpopulation to overall income inequality and the degree to which each subgroup is stratified. A joint evaluation of income determinants gives evidence of the high complexity of inequality process and throws light on the role of gender, skill levels and job characteristics in determining different degrees of income stratification. Indeed, although the high heterogeneity among members of a same subgroup (within-group inequality) explains a large share of overall income inequality, the between-group inequality becomes significant in explaining the income differentials between employment status and occupation types

Education, Income inequality and Stratification: Insight into Europe in the Years of Economic Crisis

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the role of formal education in generating personal earnings and the relationship between income inequality and returns to education in Europe. The comparative analysis, carried out in a longitudinal perspective, involves 26 countries in the light of the main characteristics of their schooling systems, labour markets and redistributive policies. The potential of balanced micro-panel is exploited by random effect models through which returns are estimated for different educational levels; then, the analysis of Gini (ANOGI) assesses the contribution of each educational group to the overall income inequality and the degree to which each sub-population is stratified. It emerges a large distance between returns to investment associated to different levels of education, mainly for the more-unequal countries of Southern and Eastern Europe. Higher returns are usually associated with greater income inequalities, even though this association is not causation. The quite high share of within-level inequality for the most countries and the low degree of overlapping for each educational group confirm the heterogeneity in the effects of education on earnings disparities

The managerialization of museums and art institutions: perspectives from an empirical analysis

Purpose – Managerialization – i.e. the institutional and organizational transformation of cultural institutions acknowledging the need for a managerial action to address their value propositions – is radically reshaping the way museums interact with relevant stakeholders and arrange their service offering. The paper aims at making sense out of the manifold implications of managerialization on museum activities. Design/methodology/approach – Secondary data were collected from a sample of 4,073 Italian museums and art institutions. A logit regression model was designed to investigate the implications of museums’ managerialization on pricing strategies, service offering, organizational and marketing policies, inter-organizational relationships and digitalization. Findings – Managerialization triggered an evolution in museums’ service offering and organizational practices. Institutions that underwent a managerial development were more likely to innovate their policies and strategies. However, managerialization may undermine the way museums focus on disadvantaged people, nurturing inequalities in the access to their service offering. Practical implications – The managerialization of museums should be handled as a double-edged sword. Although it contributes in enriching the museums’ service offering and in differentiating their activities, it may generate drawbacks on the art institutions’ ability to address the demands of underprivileged groups. Tailored correctives are needed to avoid the side effects of managerialization. Originality/value – This is one of the first attempts to investigate the implications of managerialization on museums’ practices and inter-organizational relationships. The research findings provide some insights into the challenges that are related to the managerialization of museums and art institutions