Entrepreneurs and New Ideas

We study how early-stage new ideas are turned into successful businesses. Even promising ideas can be unprofitable if they fail on one dimension, such as technical feasibility, correspondence to market demand, legality, or patentability. To screen good ideas, the entrepreneur needs to hire experts who evaluate the idea along their dimensions of expertise. Sharing the idea, however, creates the risk that the expert would steal it. Yet, the idea-thief cannot contact any other expert, lest he should in turn steal the idea. Thus, stealing leads to incomplete screening and is unattractive if the information of the other expert is critical and highly complementary. In such cases, the entrepreneur can form a partnership with the experts, thus granting them the advantage of accessing each other's information. Yet, very valuable ideas cannot be shared because it is too tempting to steal them

A call to action: a stakeholder analysis of green logistics practices

Purpose – There is a growing body of literature discussing the green logistics practices (GLPs) that companies could introduce to reduce the logistics environmental impact. Current approaches also identify several influencing factors within firms that could serve as barriers to, or enablers of, GLPs. However, less is known about the role of extra-firm stakeholders, even though these are crucial to operationalizing green logistics effectively. This study merges current theoretical understanding with empirical evidence to provide a detailed stakeholder analysis of GLPs. Design/methodology/approach – Using stakeholder theory as a theoretical lens, we aimed at offering a mid-range contribution by conducting multiple embedded case studies examining Italian logistics service providers and shippers. GLPs and the related influencing factors were examined as sub-units of analysis within broader companies’ environmental sustainability strategies. Findings – We identified cascading effects among factors influencing the adoption of GLPs (e.g., key economic factors are affected by external factors which also influence organizational and collaboration factors). These effects are moderated by interdependencies between primary and secondary stakeholders, and the study highlights the prominent involvement of secondary stakeholders, such as final consumers. Originality/value – Our paper contributes to better understanding how and why companies adopt GLPs, emphasizing the wide set of stakeholders involved and illustrating how different stakeholders impact on GLPs adoption by affecting a set of influencing factors. By combining insights from the available literature with contemporary empirical data, we emphasize how Logistics Service Providers and shippers can no longer address the adoption of GLPs as “focal companies”, but only as part of a “focal network of interconnected stakeholders”, all of them influencing GLPs adoption

Splenic hamartoma associated with abdominal discomfort and pain. Case report

Hamartomas are benign splenic neoplasms asymptomatic in most of the cases. Symptoms, when present, may either be related to the growth of the mass with abdominal discomfort and pain or be related to a hypersplenism syndrome. Certain preoperative diagnosis cannot be made with current diagnostic imaging. Splenectomy is therefore indicated in order to obtain histological diagnosis, rule out malignancy or achieve regression of symptoms. We report the case of a 39-year-old woman referred for a splenic hamartoma causing pain located on the upper abdominal quadrant. She underwent splenectomy through a left subcostal access followed by complete resolution of symptoms. Resection of splenic masses is indicated to complete diagnosis, achieve cure and, when present, relieve symptoms

Sutureless repair for open treatment of inguinal hernia. Three techniques in comparison

: Currently, groin hernia repair is mostly performed with application of mesh prostheses fixed with or without suture. However, views on safety and efficacy of different surgical approaches are still partly discordant. In this multicentre retrospective study, three sutureless procedures, i.e., mesh fixation with glue, application of self-gripping mesh, and Trabucco's technique, were compared in 1034 patients with primary unilateral non-complicated inguinal hernia subjected to open anterior surgery. Patient-related features, comorbidities, and drugs potentially affecting the intervention outcomes were also examined. The incidence of postoperative complications, acute and chronic pain, and time until discharge were assessed. A multivariate logistic regression was used to compare the odds ratio of the surgical techniques adjusting for other risk factors. The application of standard/heavy mesh, performed in the Trabucco's technique, was found to significantly increase the odds ratio of hematomas (p = 0.014) and, most notably, of acute postoperative pain (p < 0.001). Among the clinical parameters, antithrombotic therapy and large hernia size were independent risk factors for hematomas and longer hospital stay, whilst small hernias were an independent predictor of pain. Overall, our findings suggest that the Trabucco's technique should not be preferred in patients with a large hernia and on antithrombotic therapy