Universities and multi-stakeholder engagement for sustainable development: a research and technology perspective

If we have any hope of achieving sustainability, we, as researchers, need to develop a new perspective on universities and multistakeholder engagement. Stakeholder theory teaches us that engaging stakeholders in specific transactions and interactions can foster the sustainable development. But solving the grand challenge of sustainability requires more. Universities need to see themselves as part of a great network of stakeholders where interactions, knowledge, and data management go beyond the entrepreneurial university paradigm. Hence, in this article, we present Oztel's concept of a fourth-generation university as a launch-point for broadening the discourse on higher education's third mission. We establish a new stream of inquiry through four main propositions for research and technology management. Further, we call for interested scholars to pioneer this field with an inexhaustive list of potential avenues for future research. University managers, researchers, and policymakers should find great insights into the future evolution of sustainable development and its soon-to-be intrinsic place in the fabric of teaching, research, and society

Turnover Variances Analysis-Determinants for a Managerial and Competitive Analysis

The decision-making processes and the consequent managerial actions feed on timely knowledge. The analysis of variances is at the same time a logical process and a fundamental technique to know in real time the economic impact of the determinants of management performance and it drives actions in terms of skills, resources/processes, priorities. This article, focused on the analysis of turnover variances highlights the differences between current and past performance as concerns volumes sold, mix of products sold, bonuses granted to customers and selling prices recognized by the customer, consists of two methodological sections: 1. Turnover Variances Analysis. From an algebraic difference to a managerial analysis: how much did impact the single determinants on the turnover change? 2. Benchmark Turnover Variances Analysis. From an internal to a competitive analysis: what was the company performance compared to the market one

Modelli di misura delle performance competitive

L’obiettivo dell’impresa è creare valore economico per i propri azionisti attraverso la competizione ed è necessario determinare quanto di tale valore è attribuibile alla “raccolta” dei risultati nel presente e quanto alla “semina” per il futuro. Il valore dell’impresa è correlato alla qualità dell’impresa e la qualità dell’impresa è legata alla qualità della strategia operativa. La ricerca sviluppata durante il percorso di Dottorato ha l’obiettivo di analizzare uno dei principali modelli classici di valutazione delle performance aziendali in termini economico finanziari, creare un nuovo modello di valutazione delle performance aziendali economico/finanziarie/competitivo/strategiche utile a determinare la qualità competitiva dell’impresa, applicare tale modello ad un determinato settore dell’economia italiana con l’ambizione di diventare il riferimento scientifico nazionale ed internazionale, confrontare i risultati del nuovo modello con i risultati ottenuti dal modello classico e contribuire al trasferimento della conoscenza sia agli esperti di valutazione delle performance aziendali sia a non addetti ai lavori ma operativi nel business in esame. Il nuovo modello di valutazione delle performance economico/finanziarie/competitivo/strategiche denominato “EFCS 2” che si propone per il calcolo della qualità dell’impresa è basato sull’analisi delle informazioni contenute nel bilancio (Stato Patrimoniale, Conto Economico e Flussi di Cassa) rese pubbliche dalle società di capitali e messe in relazione con la conoscenza approfondita del modello di business e organizzativo dell’azienda, conoscenza maturata dalla forte collaborazione con molte aziende del settore oggetto dell’analisi. La qualità competitiva dell’impresa è pari alla somma dei punteggi ottenuti da cinque parametri: Dimensione/Sviluppo, Profittabilità, Patrimonializzazione, Flussi di Cassa Operativi e Strategia Competitiva. Il punteggio è compreso in una scala da 0 a 110 e tramite la suddivisione dell’intervallo in cinque categorie è possibile assegnare un giudizio alla qualità competitiva dell’impresa compresa tra Forte (qualità elevata), Consistente, Normale, Mediocre e Debole (qualità molto bassa). In particolare per il driver della Profittabilità è utilizzata la metodologia della creazione di valore economico per tanto sono esplicitati i modelli per il calcolo delle variabili che la compongono. Questo nuovo modello di valutazione delle performance competitive ha l’obiettivo di fornire ai proprietari delle imprese e ai manager delle stesse uno strumento per l’analisi dello stato di salute della propria impresa, per l’analisi dei propri clienti e fornitori in modo da distinguere quali sono i clienti e fornitori strategici da quelli tattici e infine, per lo studio dei propri competitori con il fine di analizzare i loro punti di forza e di debolezza e ottenere un vantaggio competitivo. Il settore economico oggetto di studio è l’Automotive Independent After Market (IAM), ovvero la filiera che produce e distribuisce fino al consumatore finale i pezzi di ricambio di qualità equivalente all’originale per le autovetture, i motocicli e i veicoli industriali. In particolare, il modello EFCS 2 è applicato ai 160 Distributori IAM Automotive Italia per il periodo dal 2012 al 2015

Customer Portfolio Mapping. How to identify strategic and tactical customers and evaluate the customer reciprocity relationship

“Each company has the customers it deserves” said one day a Ceo to his management. This is a very strict statement that forces companies to question the reasons why they have a specific customer portfolio and to distinguish strategic customers from tactical ones. The mapping of the customers, focus of this article, has the dual objective to measure objectively the level of “strategicity” of the customer portfolio and the level of business reciprocity between the company and its customers, in order to appropriately orient the decision processes of the company. In order to achieve the aforementioned dual objective, three sets of information are required: the economic and financial quality of the client, the level of utility of the client for the company and the level of utility of the company for the client. The combination of the two first set of information allows to evaluate the level of “strategicity” of each single customer, that is if the customer is strategic or tactical ad why. The questions to be answered are: how much competitive are the strategic customers for the company? How many customers are at the same time competitive but tactical for the company? The company’s goal is to select strategic customers that are at the same time competitive and useful for the company over time. A second combination between the above strategic level of the customer and the level of utility of the company for the client allows to measures the degree of business reciprocity of the customer relationship. The questions to answer are: how much is strategic the company for the strategic customers? How many are the strategic customers for whom the company is considered tactical? The company’s goal is to be strategic for strategic customers. Each set of information is based on key performance indicators that allow not only to map the customer portfolio in terms of customer strategicity and business reciprocity of the customers, but above all to identify the priority business figures in terms of management decisions and actions and therefore to plan and control the customer portfolio quality and through the latter the economic value creation

An integration of theoretical knowledge, day by day experience and multicriteria methods to support the entrepreneurial learning process

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide to the entrepreneurs, and propose to the scientific community, a newly structured knowledge system that includes the quality of customers and suppliers, to facilitate learning processes about the current state of the enterprise and new strategic approaches. Design/methodology/approach – The knowledge system is elaborated combining a long day-by-day experience in a specific Italian field [the independent after market (IAM)] with the theoretical knowledge of both economic and financial issues and multiple criteria (MC) methods of decision aid. The economic and financial key performance indicators are generated ad hoc for a specific sector and created with the concept that a company is in the center of a network composed of its suppliers, customers, competitors and the State. An MC model easily and consistently includes aspects that are different in terms of source and formal language. An MC method transparently synthesizes all these elements in relation to a specific decision problem. Integrating the potential of MC models and methods with economic and financial issues and context experience facilitates an effective knowledge transfer to the operators of the sector. Findings – This methodology is oriented to the companies involved in the IAM and in particular to the manufacture, distributor and spare parts dealer categories (in Italy, almost 500 manufacturers, 150 distributors and 5,000 dealers). Manufacturers can use the methodology and its results to know the economic and financial performances of their customers, distributors can identify their strengths and weaknesses and the situation of their competitors and dealers can identify the most reliable future partners. Also, foreign manufacturers may be interested in this analysis, before selling in Italy, and banks and financiers could consult our knowledge frameworks to analyze the risk default. Originality/value – The added value of this approach is to allow even small and medium enterprises, without an internal know-how for economic analyses, to use tools that clarify their relations with the interested parties of the macroeconomic system and facilitate the quality assessment of their portfolio of customers/suppliers

A stakeholder engagement case for rusting away the university-territory link: engineering local sustainable Car Body Shops

Nothing could seem more at odds than to think of a connection between a prestigious university institution, what was once critically labelled as an ivory tower and a car body shop. What could have in common an institution of high culture, and, those places, which, according to the collective imagination are associated with rust, burnt oil, and perhaps, a little spreading level of ignorance? This is undoubtedly the case of rethinking stakeholder engagement of a public university (Politecnico di Torino) at its margin through a project intensively tighten with the local territory. Conducted by the Research Group “Competitiveness and Business Value”, the case herein explored involves a multi-stakeholder network of local actors operating in the business sector of car body shops. The exogenous variables affecting the local area are crucial, especially for the historical background of the local economy grounded in the automotive sector. In this research, the multistakeholder network is composed by ten local Car Body Shops, a few dozen of their suppliers as well as, two Regional Chapter of Italian associations of handcrafts and Small and Medium Enterprises. The research project aims to drive the sector of car body shops towards the adoption of a sustainable business model among a real competitive leap with new keys to accessing the competitive-strategic, social and environmental, and economic-financial balance. Recurring to a case study (Yazan, 2015; Yin, 2003), the dialogue between the Politecnico and the car body shops is investigated using the lens of their sustainable business model. Key performance indicators are identified. Therefore it allows to apply the most appropriate statistical analysis models and to identify the market trends, the areas of managerial tension, the structure of investments and loans, the level of professional skills, the employment dynamics, the best practices, etc. and to disseminate, also through managerial and technical-professional training courses, information and knowledge to the entire national system of car body shops