Peace treaties and trade between the Kingdom of Naples and Tripoli in the eighteenth century

Tractats de pau i de comerç entre el Regne de Nàpols i Trípoli al segle XVIIIL’article analitza els tractats comercials entre el Regne de Nàpols i la Regència de Trípoli al llarg del segle XVIII. S’evidencien els continguts específics de les relacions econòmiques entre el Regne i la potència barbaresca en el mar Mediterrani en diferents moments de la història del sud d’Itàlia. El primer tractat va ser signat l’any 1729 durant el virregnat austríac, mentre que el segon és de 1741, sota el govern de Carles de Borbó. L’últim tractat va ser estipulat el 1785, durant el regnat de Ferran IV. Mitjançant la lectura d’aquests documents, l’article mostra la vivacitat dels intercanvis comercials i de les relacions diplomàtiques al Mediterrani del segle XVIII.The purpose of this paper is to analyse the trade agreements that the Kingdom of Naples stipulated with the Regency of Tripoli during the eighteenth century, focusing on the specific contents of trade relations between the Kingdom and the Barbary State in the Mediterranean, at different historical times in Mezzogiorno (Southern Italy). The first treaty was signed in 1729, during Austrian rule in Naples; the second dates to 1741, during the Regency of Charles of Bourbon. The last trade treaty of the eighteenth century was stipulated in 1785, under the government of Ferdinand IV. The study of those agreements has allowed some further insights into the relations between the Kingdom of Naples and the Regency of Tripoli in the Mediterranean of the eighteenth century, an important crossroads of trade, diplomatic relations and disputes between states.Tratados de paz y comercio entre el Reino de Nápoles y Trípoli en el siglo XVIIIEste artículo analiza los tratados comerciales entre el Reino de Nápoles y la Regencia de Trípoli en el siglo XVIII. Se subrayan los aspectos específicos de las relaciones económicas entre el Reino de Nápoles y la potencia berberisca en el Mediterráneo en momentos diferentes de la historia del sur de Italia. El primer tratado fue firmado durante el virreinato austriaco, en 1729, el segundo es de 1741 y tuvo lugar durante el reinado de Carlos de Borbón, y el último fue estipulado en 1785 por Fernando IV. Con la lectura de estas fuentes, el artículo muestra la vivacidad de los intercambios comerciales y de las relaciones diplomáticas en el Mediterráneo del siglo XVIII

L’evoluzione del Concetto di Social Capital: dalla Prospettiva Sociologica a quella Economico-Aziendale

Il lavoro è stato finalizzato ad indagare il processo di trasformazione e valorizzazione economica delle relazioni sociali detenute dall’impresa, operante in contesti locali geograficamente circoscritti. La scelta di tale argomento deriva dal riconoscimento che la letteratura nazionale e internazionale ha da tempo assegnato alle risorse immateriali nella formazione e nel mantenimento di posizioni di vantaggio competitivo sostenibile per le imprese. In particolare, l’ottica di studio è stata focalizzata su di una specifica categoria di risorse immateriali, costituita dalle risorse relazionali. Ciò equivale ad affermare che le relazioni detenute da un’impresa con altri attori possono costituire la base del raggiungimento di performance migliori per l’impresa stessa. Tali considerazioni portano ad indagare sulle caratteristiche di cui tali risorse devono essere dotate. Nello specifico, occorre quindi studiare il complesso dei legami che le imprese intrattengono con attori localizzati all’interno di un medesimo sistema locale. La strumentazione impiegata a tal fine è quella che deriva dalla teoria del social capital. Il concetto di capitale sociale è stato sviluppato negli studi di matrice sociologica per identificare l’insieme delle risorse – attuali e potenziali – che il singolo individuo può derivare dal fatto di appartenere ad un network stabile di legami con altri attori; successivamente, lo strumento è stato anche negli studi di management, dove è stato posto al pari di altre forme di capitale, quali ad esempio il capitale intellettuale e quello relazionale. L’elemento di innovatività che l’applicazione del concetto di capitale sociale apporta ai fini della presente analisi attiene, quindi, al fatto che tutte le risorse relazionali dell’impresa (e quindi non solo quelle economiche) possono essere da questa sfruttate per fini personali, ossia per l’ottenimento di performance migliori

The rediscovery of the pig: zootechnical aspects and management problems of pig farming in Italy between the 19th and 20th centuries

The transition from the wild to the sedentary state represents the first change in farming practice which was followed by the dissemination of the practices of breeders on the improvement of breeds and specific studies in the zootechnical field for a better yield of pig meat productivity. The family-run breeding was gradually replaced by the industrial and intensive one. The demand for meat with an increasingly low-fat content has also pushed farmers to recover the ancient system of free grazing in the woods with a diet based on chestnuts and acorns to obtain a genuine and quality. Sector studies are crucial for the development of the sector and to reflect on the typical problems of the meat farming and processing sector. The focus then shifts to the deepening of national and European legislation to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the sector with a look at the environmental impact and the opportunity of livestock companies to adopt specific plants for the transformation and use of animal manure in biogas with great advantages in terms of energy and environment

Tratados de paz y comercio entre el Reino de Nápoles y Trípoli en el siglo xviii

L’article analitza els tractats comercials entre el Regne de Nàpols i la Regència de Trípoli al llarg del segle xviii. S’evidencien els continguts específics de les relacions econòmiques entre el Regne i la potència barbaresca en el mar Mediterrani en diferents moments de la història del sud d’Itàlia. El primer tractat va ser signat l’any 1729 durant el virregnat austríac, mentre que el segon és de 1741, sota el govern de Carles de Borbó. L’últim tractat va ser estipulat el 1785, durant el regnat de Ferran IV. Mitjançant la lectura d’aquests documents, l’article mostra la vivacitat dels intercanvis comercials i de les relacions diplomàtiques al Mediterrani del segle xviii. Paraules claus: tractats de pau, pirateria, Regne de Nàpols, Regència de Trípoli, tractat comercial.The purpose of this paper is to analyse the trade agreements that the Kingdom of Naples stipulated with the Regency of Tripoli during the eighteenth century, focusing on the specific contents of trade relations between the Kingdom and the Barbary State in the Mediterranean, at different historical times in Mezzogiorno (Southern Italy). The first treaty was signed in 1729, during Austrian rule in Naples; the second dates to 1741, during the Regency of Charles of Bourbon. The last trade treaty of the eighteenth century was stipulated in 1785, under the government of Ferdinand IV. The study of those agreements has allowed some further insights into the relations between the Kingdom of Naples and the Regency of Tripoli in the Mediterranean of the eighteenth century, an important crossroads of trade, diplomatic relations and disputes between statesEste artículo analiza los tratados comerciales entre el Reino de Nápoles y la Regencia de Trípoli en el siglo xviii. Se subrayan los aspectos específicos de las relaciones económicas entre el Reino de Nápoles y la potencia berberisca en el Mediterráneo en momentos diferentes de la historia del sur de Italia. El primer tratado fue firmado durante el virreinato austriaco, en 1729, el segundo es de 1741 y tuvo lugar durante el reinado de Carlos de Borbón, y el último fue estipulado en 1785 por Fernando IV. Con la lectura de estas fuentes, el artículo muestra la vivacidad de los intercambios comerciales y de las relaciones diplomáticas en el Mediterráneo del siglo xvii

Crowdsourcing in the Fashion Industry

In today’s cutthroat competitive world of fashion, flexibility and adaptability are essential elements for a company to survive in this industry. As such, there is a growing interest for open innovation and crowdsourcing as tools that might boost the competitiveness in the industry. By embracing open innovation, the use of external knowledge to emphasize internal creativity and expand market influence, industries can reach beyond their own internal resources and develop better ideas, faster and at a lower cost. The fashion industry is no exception. Specifically, crowdsourcing is lowering the fashion industry’s barriers to entry and giving the public an opportunity to not just shape a brand but also determine the trends of an entire sector. This chapter aims at analyzing the features, the pros, and the cons of crowdsourcing in the fashion industry focusing on the perspectives of both the companies and the customers

A Design Thinking Approach for Museum Institutions

In these recent years, museum institutions are facing challenges such as deepening diversity among audiences and within the workforce, shifting authority and keeping pace with the creation of a digital offering to be provided in the new shared economy. Additionally, museums cannot just deliver knowledge as information anymore. They are forced to seek to be relevant and meaningful for the audiences and the society. Thus, a visitor-centered approach needs to be developed. The design thinking framework can help museum professionals to face the challenges they handle in today’s world. Indeed, this approach is focused on people and not on a specific product or service. The goal is to understand the needs of customers, their wishes and, based on this information, find the best solution to respond to the type of problem identified or the strategy to be developed. For this reason, the ratio of this discipline provides that people are stimulated to find alternative, creative, and innovative solutions designed and built on the reality of the facts and not dictated by instinct. The aim of this chapter is to investigate the characteristics of the design thinking approach and to analyze if this framework is suitable for museum institutions

Business outcomes of outsourcing: lessons from management research

Outsourcing has been broadly recognized as an important strategic choice made by companies and other organizations to achieve a wide variety of goals. Many studies have focused on the economic and financial impacts and on the relationship between outsourcers and outsourcees. This chapter offers a comprehensive overview of actual outsourcing outcomes found in management research, including impacts on human capital. Analysis of the evidence on outsourcing in the OECD STAN database (OECD 2011: 1970-2009) shows that both the number of transactions (deals) and their scope (activities involved) have increased constantly during the last 20 years. Over time, outsourcing popularity peaks have coincided with certain trends, such as business process reengineering, strategic focusing on core business, outsourcing/offshoring strategies, shared services and corporate downsizing (e.g. Brunetta and Peruffo 2014). Furthermore, as recent research shows, companies are expeditiously outsourcing non-core business processes and functions in order to maximize their profits. Business profits can be increased through reducing costs and/or via acquiring external sources of strategic differentiation (e.g. higher-quality raw materials or distinctive expertise/competences able to improve the overall quality of products and services, enabling companies to sell them at higher prices) (De Fontenay and Gans 2008; Gospel and Sako 2010; Angeli and Grimaldi 2010; Doellgast and Gospel 2012; Giustiniano et al. 2014). In such a scenario, multinational companies (MNCs) have a wider range of opportunities for outsourcing and offshoring activities due to their scope and international presence. On the other hand, MNCs are exposed to possible changes in employee relations models in the diverse labour markets in which they operate (Marginson and Meardi 2006; Sippola 2011). At company level, the decision to outsource activities is linked to expected structural and strategic changes which can be assessed through the adoption of a long-term perspective. While immediate results are related to purely economic assessments, long-term effects are more strategic and made up of opportunities (e.g. focus on core competencies and pursuit of greater higher specialization) and drawbacks (e.g. less strategic flexibility). Nevertheless, in a company\u2019s strategic plans, management focus is generally on the short-term results due to the (shorter, expected) timespan of their individual assignments and the contingent pressures of shareholders and financial markets. The short-term nature of outsourcing assessments is also a traditional argument used by trade unions and emphasized by the widening geographic scope of outsourcing and offshoring. While unions have been traditionally considered as opposing outsourcing and offshoring (e.g. Lommerud, Meland and Straume 2009), more recent studies have detected a significant shift from resistance to proactive strategies (Ramioul and De Bruyn 2006). Similarly, MNCs embracing outsourcing are better able to interpret the differences existing in national cultures, business practices, workplace representation systems and collective bargaining structures (Anner et al. 2006; Doellgast and Gospel 2012; Pulignano and Doerflinger 2013), contributing to a better local strategic responsiveness in their local subsidiaries (Almond et al. 2005; Arrowsmith and Marginson 2006; Bartlett and Ghoshal 1992). The aim of this chapter is to illustrate the main findings on the expected outcomes as reported in management and financial literature. To achieve this, the chapter explains a number of management paradoxes related to outsourcing, as well as how companies relate to their stakeholders. Management paradoxes referred to include: a) the paradox of financial and economic vs. strategic and organizational outcomes; and b) the time paradox. The chapter draws on previous research conducted on outsourcing antecedents, processes and outcomes, both in general (Marchegiani et al., 2012) and applied to specific activities within the value chain (Gospel and Sako 2010; Doellgast and Gospel 2012; Giustiniano et al. 2014; Brunetta, Giustiniano and Marchegiani 2014; Sorrentino et al. 2015). The focus is on analysing the \u2018lessons learned\u2019 reported in management and financial literature to nurture implementation strategies, for use by workers representatives (e.g., Benassi 2011). Among these lessons, it seems useful to affirm that in order to maximise the positive outcomes of outsourcing strategies, organizations have to take into account all the human implications of outsourcing, such as the effects on workers and their representatives. To illustrate this, the investigation on the outsourcing outcomes will be complemented by an analysis of certain aspects related to organizational design (i.e. company boundaries, coordination mechanisms) and labour issues (i.e. human reactions: resistance to change, hidden costs and the loss of competences and competitive advantage)

Diversity in Boardrooms and Firm Performance: The Role of Tenure and Educational Level of Board Members

Diversity on corporate boards has been studied from different perspectives in recent decades. The present study aims at investigating the impact on firm performance of two demographic diversity traits in boardrooms: tenure and educational diversity. The extant literature does not provide aligned findings on this topic, thus further research is still needed. The authors hypothesize that both tenure and educational diversity of board members have a positive effect on firm performance. To measure firm performance two dependent variables are used, applying two models for each hypothesis investigated Tobin\u2019s Q and return on assets. The study is conducted using sample data of 187 listed firms within the European area, covering a 9-year period, from 2010 to 2018. Diversity dimensions are measured through indexes constructed on the basis of the mix among the directors in terms of educational level and tenure. The outcomes highlight a significant and positive relationship between tenure diversity on corporate boards and firm performance. In terms of the impact of educational diversity, no evidence indicating a positive effect on firm performance is found. The research carried out is unique because it considers two personal attributes of diversity calculating diversity indexes and measuring their impact on the firm\u2019s performance. The econometric approach used has not been extensively applied in previous research. In fact, the majority of previous empirical studies have measured diversity through percentages or dummy variables, depending on the type of diversity aspect being analyzed, and then used it as the independent variable

Real-practice thromboprophylaxis in atrial fibrillation

This retrospective observational study was based on databases of the Local Health Authority of Treviso, Italy. It evaluated the prevalence and the effectiveness of oral anticoagulation treatment (OAT) for the management of nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) in everyday clinical practice. Out of 6,138 NVAF patients, only 3,024 received Vitamin K antagonist (VKA). Potential barriers decreasing the probability of being treated with VKA were female sex, older age, antiplatelet treatment and history of bleeding. In addition, VKA-treatment was not in line with current ESC and AIAC guidelines, since the patients at high or low risk of stroke were under-or over-treated, resp. Among VKAtreated patients, 73 % of subjects were not at target with anticoagulation. OAT resulted to be effective in reducing stroke risk. However, stroke events were significantly influenced also by previous stroke or transient ischemic attack (hazard ratio, HR = 2.99, p < 0.001) and by previous bleeding events (HR = 1.60, p < 0.001)

The Impact of Exogenous Shocks on Business Models and Business Relationships: An Empirical Analysis of the Italian Music Industry

Purpose: Scholars have been increasingly interested in understanding business models. However, little attention has been paid to how business models change in reaction to exogenous circumstances and how business relationships alter be-cause of business model changes. This paper investigates how the business model paradigm of the Italian music industry altered in response to two major exogenous influences that impacted the sector: the digital revolution and the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: As the purpose of this study is to investigate phenomena in a real-world setting, qualitative research methodology has been selected as the most appropriate one. It was decided to conduct sixteen semi-structured interviews with professionals active in the Italian music business, selected through a combination of snowball and convenience sampling. Findings: The empirical findings indicate that the digital revolution and COVID-19 pushed Italian music companies to revise their business models by either reducing or adding the number of linkages to the existing ones. This was done in order for the companies to remain competitive in an environment that is constantly changing and to outcompete rivals. Originality/value: Few studies have evaluated how business relationships alter in response to the many business models emerging in the music industry due to external causes. This research is one of the first to examine music companies’ reactions to exogenous events such as crises or disruptive advances that affect the competitive landscap