Processi di internazionalizzazione e sistemi di PMI nell'Economia della conoscenza : un'esplorazione empirica integrata a livello regionale

The analysis of the main theories on the process of internationalization of SMEs highlights multiple perspectives of interpretation. Each one focuses on what it believes to be a key determinant of international involvement, form resources/skills availability to relationships, from management capabilities to the risk appetite of the entrepreneur, and assesses the implications for the process of expanding into foreign markets, the benefits in terms of competitiveness and its chances of success. However, what you can easily find out by literature review is that a more or less complex learning and organizational process existence represents the base of the growth path of SMEs. A knowledge based perspective allows to model the path of business growth based on the capacity to exploit the knowledge within the organization and the ability to acquire and manage knowledge outside the company through a systematic process of exploration, associated with positive externalities resulting from an increased international involvement. The empirical analysis on a sample of micro and small enterprises in Emilia Romagna is developed at the macro level, in order to study the relationship between internationalization, knowledge and performance by assessing the cause and effect link and at the micro level, with the aim to identify policy recommendations that allow improve the approach of SME to internationalization process and define the role of other actors of the territory (banks, private and public associations, region and State

The influence of foreigners’ buzzing on TripAdvisor ranking of restaurants in Venice: implications for the sustainability of over-touristed heritage cities

Local and global coexist in any tourist destination, and the challenge of tourism sustainability is what remains in the balance between these two dimensions. Social and consumer-generated media are changing how local and global are coming together in the local system. These media\u2019s effects are even more important in overtouristed places, where a significant imbalance between local and tourist development already exists. In this paper, the effects from foreigners\u2019 reviews in crowd-based ranking systems in overtouristed cities are investigated. Based on a case study of TripAdvisor\u2019s restaurant rankings in Venice, our findings suggest that foreigners\u2019 reviews systematically rate tourist experiences\u2019 quality higher than non-foreigners\u2019 reviews, and that their attitude significantly affects the ranking of these experiences. This discloses these systems\u2019 limited reliability in overtouristed cities when it comes to rank quality, as well as the potential risks deriving from their large and uncontrolled adoption. The study concludes that a governance system is needed that is more respectful and inclusive of these places\u2019 specific requirements

Knowledge utilisation drivers in technological M&As

Several contributions look at the effect of technological M&As on the acquirer's technological performance. The knowledge-based perspective highlights the critical role that the acquirer's target's knowledge absorption plays as the main driver in enhancing post-M&A technological performance. However, absorptive capacity is a rather complex construct, which includes assimilation, utilisation and transformation of the acquired knowledge. In this paper, we focus on knowledge utilisation and investigate two factors whose effects on post-M&A technological performance have been extensively highlighted: technological relatedness and managerial experience. We contribute to the existing literature with a better understanding of the factors underlying the utilisation of the knowledge acquired in M&As. This should help managers to enhance their capacity to manage integration process post-M&As. Our results are based on a cross-sectional data set of 152 biopharmaceutical acquirers that completed at least one M&A between 2001 and 2005

Sensitive determination of lysinoalanine for distinguishing natural from imitation Mozzarella cheese

Abstract A new method of reverse-phase HPLC was used to determine the crosslinked amino acid lysinoalanine in natural Mozzarella cheese, dairy-based substitutes, and related ingredients. Commercial samples manufactured under known conditions or collected at the market were analyzed. The acid-hydrolyzed sample derivatized by 9-fluorenyl-methylchloro-formate was submitted to solid-phase extraction on an amino cartridge to extract selectively the lysinoalanine derivatives that were chromatographed under fluorescence detection. Lysinoalanine was not found ( X ¯ = 1.7 ; n=30) were present in natural Mozzarella cheese. Because of the ingredient characteristics and the more severe thermal processing conditions, the different types of processed cheese and imitation Mozzarella cheese exhibited much higher lysinoalanine contents, ranging from 15 to 421ppm ( X ¯ = 54 ; n=29). Hence, a highly significant distinction between natural Mozzarella cheese and imitations, even those that did not contain added milk protein, could be achieved by the lysinoalanine index. Conversely, the furosine index distinguished the imitation products only when the quantity of reducing sugars allowed the early Maillard reaction to be extensive

An analytical approach to reveal the addition of heat-denatured whey proteins in lab-scale cheese making

A simple analytical procedure for the detection of self-aggregated heat-denatured whey proteins (HDWP) in model cheeses was developed. The principle of the approach lies in the solubilization of the cheese matrix by a sodium citrate solution (0.2 M, pH 7.0) resulting in the dissociation of the casein micelles and the insolubilization of HDWP aggregates, which are collected in the pellet after a centrifugation step. The reliability of the procedure was tested in lab-scale cheeses from peroxidase-positive pasteurized milk with different protein-based ingredients (microparticulated whey protein concentrate, milk protein concentrate, whey protein isolate and Ricotta cheese) at concentrations ranging from 0.2 to 1.2% protein (w/v on cheese milk). A linear relationship between the amount of the HDWP added to cheese milk and that recovered from model cheeses was observed. Heat-damage indicators, furosine and lysinoalanine, showed levels in the experimental cheese samples not related with added HDWP, but represented a source of information on the ingredients other than liquid milk. Overall, in the model cheeses, the proposed method was an easy-to-apply and reliable tool for the evaluation of the presence of HDWP-based products. Further investigation is required for the application to real cheeses and for the evaluation of possible interferences from proteolysis during ripening

Effect of the grape must extraction steps on the content of varietal thiol precursors

The varietal thiols 3-sulfanyl-3-methylpentan-2-one, 3-sulfanylhexan-1-ol and its acetyl ester are the main responsible for boxwood, grapefruit and passion fruit notes of many white wines. These compounds occur in grape only as non-volatile precursors bound to S-glutathionyl- or S-cysteinyl- moieties but they are released by the yeast over the fermentation. However, the amount of these volatile compounds in wine is seldom related to the amount of their precursors in grape [1] because the lyase activity of yeast is a strain-dependent characteristic [2] and the probable contribution of hydrogen sulphide to the neoformation of the volatile thiols [3]. Fracassetti et al. [4, 5] reported massive loss of glutathione and glutathionyl- bounded varietal thiols as result of the grape juice extraction under production in industrial-scale conditions. Particularly, more than 60% of the precursors S-glutathionyl-3-sulfanylhexan-1-ol (GSH-3MH) and its aldehyde form (S-glutathionyl-3-sulfanylhexanal, GSH-3MHAl) got lost from Grillo and Catarratto bianco grape cultivars, the main Sicilian white grape cultivars, as result of the juice extraction. Such a behaviour can seriously detrimentally affect the flavouring properties of the final wine and it points out a further source of the lacking correlation between the amount of precursors in grape and volatile thiols in wine. The reasons for such behaviour were investigated in Grillo grape pressed under industrial-scale production. Must samples were collected after crashing, at draining, at pressing yield of 20%, 40%, 60% and 70%, during transfer in clarification tank, in the clarification tank and after clarification. The must was either air-exposed or air-free during the pre-fermentative steps. Thiol precursors were determined in SPE-purified must samples by UPLC-HRMS [5]. The concentration of thiol precursors detected following the crushing was comparable to the value found in grape, but it dramatically decreases (< 95%) in the must from the press loading. The concentration of thiol precursors increased as the must yield increased, and eventually equals the levels in the grape when a must yield of 60% was achieved. The final loss of thiol precursors was about 80% and 95% for GSH-3MH and GSH-3MHAl, respectively, in the must sampled at the clarification vat (the last juice fraction was excluded). Higher loss of thiol precursors was observed when the must was produced under air-free condition, whereas higher amounts were recorded in laboratory-made must, especially when sodium fluoride or EDTA were added prior the pressing. The results show that the contact of must with the grape skin leads to a loss of thiol precursors. Oxygen seems to be not involved in the oxidative loss of thiol precursor The protective behaviour of the cation-binding compounds suggests that the cations occurring on the grape skin can be responsible for the loss of thiol precursors during the pre-fermentative steps

Role of extraction procedures on the concentration of varietal thiol precursors in Grillo white grape must

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Effect of pre-fermentative steps on thiol precursors in Grillo must

The varietal thiols, namely 3-mercaptohexan-1-ol (3MH), 3-mercaptohexylacetate (3MHA), and 4-mercapto-4-methylpentan-2-one (4MMP), are sulphur-containing aromas associated with the typical flavour of several white wines, such as Sauvignon blanc wine, conferring guava, citrus and passion fruit notes. These compounds occur as non-volatile sulphide precursors in grape berry, where they share their sulphur atom with a cysteine residue. 3MH bound with cysteine (Cys-3MH), glutathione (GSH-3MH) and also cysteine-glycine (CysGly-3MH) has been described, while 4MMP occurs as cysteine (Cys-4MMP) and glutathione (GSH-4MMP) conjugates. S-3-(hexan-1-al)-glutathione (GSH-3MHAl) was also identified, and it can be considered as a thiol precursor. Recently, the presence of thiol precursors was reported in the Italian autochthonous variety Grillo, and their concentrations strongly decreased when must was produced under commercial conditions. This study investigated the influence of pre-fermentative operations on thiol precursor concentrations. Grillo grape was pressed under industrial conditions; must samples were collected after crashing, at draining, at pressing yield of 20%, 40% and 60%, at the end of pressing, during transfer in clarification tank, in a clarification tank and after clarification. The must was either air-exposed or air-free during the pre-fermentative steps. Thiol precursors were determined in SPE-purified must samples by UPLC-HRMS. Cys-3MH, GSH-3MH and GSH-3MHAl strongly decreased after crashing, and small concentrations were found in drained must samples independently of the presence of air. In particular, the crashing played a major role on GSH-3MHAl content; a further decrease of both Cys-3MH and GSH-3MH was found due to the must transfer in clarification tank. In general, precursor amounts were lower in must samples produced in air-free condition, except for clarified musts where the precursor contents were comparable in both air-exposed and air-free conditions. For the must production at industrial conditions particular attention should be given to the grape pressing for limiting the loss of thiol precursors. The air-exposure of must has a limited positive influence on thiol precursors, since the removal of solid parts with the clarification is responsible for their further loss. The proper management of these winemaking steps could allow to preserve major levels of thiol precursors

In vitro antioxidant properties of digests of hydrolyzed casein and caseinophosphopeptide preparations in cell models of human intestine and osteoblasts

Three commercial samples consisting of enriched calcium-free caseinophosphopeptides (CPP), enriched calcium-bound caseinophosphopeptides (Ca-CPP) and an enzymatically hydrolyzed casein (hCN) were in vitro digested according to COST-Infogest protocol. As assessed by UPLC-HR-MS/MS, the digests contained 207\u2013235 unique caseinophosphopeptides, and the species presenting the cluster sssEE were more abundant in CPP digest. The antioxidant activity at three different doses of each digest was firstly evaluated on human intestinal Caco-2/HT-29 70/30 co-culture. In presence of AAPH, hCN and CPP digests displayed a dose-dependent antioxidant activity equal or even greater than Vitamin C. In presence of Fe2+, the digests exerted an antioxidant activity mainly at the highest dose. Antioxidant activities of the intestinal metabolized digests was then evaluated on human osteoblast (Saos-2) cells. The digests exerted an antioxidant activity in presence of AAPH, but not in presence of Fe2+. These results highlight milk-derived peptides as potential dietary supplements for gut and bone health