Organizational Challenges of Online Customer Co-Creation for Innovation: A Middle Managers’ Perspective in the Italian Food Context

In a nutshell, co-creation is described as a way to open up a company to the outside world, helping to generate product innovations and to update brand meanings. Drawing on the online community and co-creation literature, this paper aims at contributing to exploring the main intra-organizational challenges of online customer co-creation for innovation, from the viewpoint of middle managers. The intent is to broaden the existing conceptual understanding of the main internal factors hindering customer co-creation but also of the practices that could be adopted to best manage the related challenges. The study adopts a qualitative approach and is based on the results of eight in-depth, semi-structured interviews with digital and marketing managers, working closely with co-creation initiatives in the Italian food industry, with the aim of exploring intra-organizational challenges perceived by those who are directly involved in co-creation implementation. The results complement existing literature by 1) offering a more longitudinal vision of the implementation process—and the related internal hurdles, 2) identifying the most appropriate coping strategies and 3) formulating some hypothesis that could support an interpretative model of the capabilities needed to start the process and managing it in a strategic perspective

Assessing Young Consumers’ Responses to Sustainable Labels: Insights from a Factorial Experiment in Italy

This study provides insights into young consumers’ responses to sustainable labels. Drawing on signaling theory, the article studies how third-party labels (TPLs) act and interact with company-level claims, trying to better understand their impact on young consumers’ perceptions and willingness to buy (pay for) a chocolate bar. A between-subjects factorial experiment—conducted by manipulating third-party sustainable labels (presence/absence of the labels) and self-declared claims (absence of the claim, formal claim, and friendly claim)—was used to test: (a) the effect of TPLs and self-declared claims on consumers’ perceptions, purchase intention, and willingness to pay, (b) whether this effect was mediated through the perceived credibility of the sustainability message, and (c) what kind of tone-of-voice adopted in the company’s claim was more effective. Data were collected via an online survey among a sample of 315 consumers (age range: 18–39 years) in South Italy. We found that third-party labels, “alone” were not effective in influencing consumers’ perceptions and willingness to buy/pay, while a self-declared claim, especially if characterized by a formal tone of voice, had a much more relevant impact. The combination of TPLs and self-declaration affected most consumers’ willingness to pay when the copy claim was informal. The perceived credibility of the sustainability message mediated the relationships between self-declared claims and the majority of the dependent variables, while, with reference to the relationship between TPLs and dependent variables, it did not act as a mediator

Deficiency of the purinergic receptor 2X7 attenuates nonalcoholic steatohepatitis induced by high-fat diet. possible role of the NLRP3 Inflammasome

Molecular mechanisms driving transition from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a critical step in the progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) to cirrhosis, are poorly defined. This study aimed at investigating the role of the purinergic receptor 2X7 (PR2X7), through the NLRP3 inflammasome, in the development of NASH. To this end, mice knockout for the Pr2x7 gene (Pr2x7 −/−) and coeval wild-type (WT) mice were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) or normal-fat diet for 16 weeks. NAFLD grade and stage were lower in Pr2x7 −/− than WT mice, and only 1/7 Pr2x7 −/− animals showed evidence of NASH, as compared with 4/7 WT mice. Molecular markers of inflammation, oxidative stress, and fibrosis were markedly increased in WT-HFD mice, whereas no or significantly reduced increments were detected in Pr2x7 −/− animals, which showed also decreased modulation of genes of lipid metabolism. Deletion of Pr2x7 gene was associated with blunted or abolished activation of NLRP3 inflammasome and expression of its components, which were induced in liver sinusoidal endothelial cells challenged with appropriate stimuli. These data show that Pr2x7 gene deletion protects mice from HFD-induced NASH, possibly through blunted activation of NLRP3 inflammasome, suggesting that PR2X7 and NLRP3 may represent novel therapeutic targets

Archiving Interactive Narratives at the British Library

This paper describes the creation of the Interactive Narratives collection in the UK Web Archive, as part of the UK Legal Deposit Libraries Emerging Formats Project. The aim of the project is to identify, collect and preserve complex digital publications that are in scope for collection under UK Non-Print Legal Deposit Regulations. This article traces the process of building the Interactive Narratives collection, analysing the different tools and methods used and placing the collection within the wider context of Emerging Formats work and engagement activities at the British Library

Tracce floriane negli archivi svizzeri: documenti concernenti gli umanisti Michelangelo e John Florio conservati a Coira, Berna e Zurigo

Il contributo offerto dal lessicografo e traduttore John Florio e da suo padre Michelangelo alla cultura italiana in esilio nell’Inghilterra rinascimentale è stato particolarmente rilevante. Dopo un lungo peregrinare che lo portò dalle carceri di Tor di Nona sino a Londra, dove si trattenne per un tempo assai breve, parlando solo italiano e latino, poi a Strasburgo ed infine sui monti della Bregaglia, Michelangelo Florio si spense sicuramente a Soglio nel 1566, insieme alla propria moglie, lasciando tre figli in tenera età. Da «Soi», John partì, ancora adolescente, nuovamente alla volta dell’Inghilterra. Le indagini archivistiche condotte in primo luogo in Svizzera, ma anche in Italia, Francia, Germania e Inghilterra, hanno permesso di seguire le tracce dei due Florio, di cui si fornirà qui una breve panoramica. Keywords: Michelangelo Florio, John Florio, William Shakespeare

Interação entre os agentes da Biblioteca Universitária da UFSC: aplicação do Framework GC@BU

A caracterização da Biblioteca Universitária como um Sistema Adaptativo Complexo (SAC) na concepção do Framework GC@BU inclui a identificação de quatro processos: Reconhecimento, Variação, Interação e Seleção. Neste artigo será apresentado os aspectos relativos ao levantamento dos padrões de interação entre os agentes da Biblioteca Universitária da UFSC (BU/UFSC). Por meio do trabalho da Comissão de Gestão do Conhecimento da BU/UFSC, foi possível identificar, avaliar e registrar os elementos de interação. Foram mapeadas as principais formas de interação entre os agentes, o que influencia tais interações e as intervenções que poderiam mudar os padrões de interação para a melhoria do sistema. Conclui-se que a partir desta experiência foi factível visualizar ações, propor e aplicar melhorias. Apesar de não ter sido uma tarefa simples, o resultado foi considerando bastante positivo, não apenas para se ter consciência da complexidade da organização BU/UFSC, mas sobretudo para apLocalização do formato físico Banner na A12, fotografia na CAIXA no arquivo da Memória Documental. Artigo apenas em localização digital