Valeria Cavalloro – Gabriele Fichera – Damiano Frasca – Francesca Ippoliti – Alessandra Reccia – Maria Vittoria Tirinato (eds.), Scuola, la posta in gioco

Review of the issue Scuola, la posta in gioco edited by Valeria Cavalloro, Gabriele Fichera, Damiano Frasca, Francesca Ippoliti, Alessandra Reccia, Maria Vittoria Tirinato (L’ospite ingrato, n° 9, 2021).  Critique de L’ospite ingrato, n° 9 (janvier-juin 2021).Recensione del numero monografico Scuola, la posta in gioco a cura di Valeria Cavalloro, Gabriele Fichera, Damiano Frasca, Francesca Ippoliti, Alessandra Reccia, Maria Vittoria Tirinato (in L'ospite ingrato, n° 9, 2021). &nbsp

Argumentation and Defeasible Reasoning in the Law

Different formalisms for defeasible reasoning have been used to represent knowledge and reason in the legal field. In this work, we provide an overview of the following logic-based approaches to defeasible reasoning: defeasible logic, Answer Set Programming, ABA+, ASPIC+, and DeLP. We compare features of these approaches under three perspectives: the logical model (knowledge representation), the method (computational mechanisms), and the technology (available software resources). On top of that, two real examples in the legal domain are designed and implemented in ASPIC+ to showcase the benefit of an argumentation approach in real-world domains. The CrossJustice and Interlex projects are taken as a testbed, and experiments are conducted with the Arg2P technology

reshoring does home country matter

Abstract The role of the country, either home or host, in firms' internationalization has been widely analysed in the International Business field. A large number of studies have shown that home country shapes many aspects of firms' internationalization processes such as investment decisions, location selections, and entry modes. However, these studies mainly focus on the firms' foreign expansion. Little is known about the relations between firms' home country and reshoring processes. This paper aims to analyse whether and how reshoring projects are different across countries, thereby further exploring the underlying home country-related factors contributing to reshoring peculiarities. By using a dataset including 529 cross-industry reshoring projects developed by companies headquartered in five countries (i.e., US, Germany, UK, France, and Italy), the study shows that these projects differ in terms of industry, entry mode, firm size and motivations. Thus, reshoring turns out to be a phenomenon where each country has its own peculiarities. The research further sheds light on the possible institutional, cultural/cognitive and industry/resource-related factors underlying these specificities. This study contributes to both reshoring and international business literature by highlighting how reshoring differs across countries. It also provides policy and managerial implications, at a time when several governments are considering the economic and employment potential of this phenomenon

The ISO/IEC 27001 information security management standard: literature review and theory-based research agenda

Purpose \u2013 After 15 years of research, this paper aims to present a review of the academic literature on the ISO/ IEC 27001, the most renowned standard for information security and the third most widespread ISO certification. Emerging issues are reframed through the lenses of social systems thinking, deriving a theorybased research agenda to inspire interdisciplinary studies in the field. Design/methodology/approach \u2013 The study is structured as a systematic literature review. Findings \u2013 Research themes and sub-themes are identified on five broad research foci: relation with other standards, motivations, issues in the implementation, possible outcomes and contextual factors. Originality/value \u2013The study presents a structured overview of the academic body of knowledge on ISO/IEC 27001, providing solid foundations for future research on the topic. A set of research opportunities is outlined, with the aim to inspire future interdisciplinary studies at the crossroad between information security and quality management. Managers interested in the implementation of the standard and policymakers can find an overview of academic knowledge useful to inform their decisions related to implementation and regulatory activities

Offshoring and backshoring: A multiple case study analysis

Abstract Motivations underscoring offshoring and backshoring are typically investigated as separate entities in the academic literature. This separation undermines a deeper comprehension of the two phenomena, and implicitly denies the conceptualization of backshoring as a possible step of the firm internationalization process. Our paper seeks to fill this gap by (1) understanding the relations (if any) among offshoring and backshoring motivations at firm level; (2) exploring whether backshoring is a "failure" of the offshoring initiative, or rather the evolution of the firm's competitive and location strategies. A content-based literature review provides the base for the identification of the key motives for offshoring and backshoring, which are then organised using a theory-grounded framework. Next, we conduct a multiple case study analysis based on four companies, searching for common patterns in offshoring and subsequent backshoring initiatives. Cases allow understanding how the motivations (Why) connect with the governance modes (How), and the location choice (Where). Building on the case findings, the paper presents some propositions for future empirical research

International purchasing offices in China: a dynamic evolution model

“NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in International Business Review. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in International Business Review 23, 580-593. DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2013.09.006”The salience of the international purchasing office (IPO) in the management of international sourcing activities of multinational corporations (MNCs) has steadily increased, in developed and emerging economies, since the first adoption of this supply chain strategy in the 1980s. The aim of this paper is to develop an activity/role-based evolution model for IPOs, employing multiple case studies: 14 MNCs’ IPOs in China, studied by British, Italian, and Chinese scholars. Applying role theory in a global purchasing context, we identify eight routine roles and four strategic roles played by IPOs and propose that IPOs could lead an MNC's global sourcing in a geographical region. We challenge the unilinear and sequential nature of existing global sourcing process models and propose a dynamic evolution model, consisting of five stages differentiated by number, depth, and breadth of roles, in which IPOs could leapfrog some stages, re-trench (move back to lower stages) and be potentially withdrawn. Finally, we conclude that the stage of an IPO is determined by the strategic importance of China to its parent company

Global purchasing strategy and International Purchasing Offices: Evidence from case studies

“NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in International Journal of Production Economics. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in International Journal of Production Economics, 154, 284-298. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2013.09.007”Setting up an International Purchasing Office (IPO) is one of the key steps for firms doing global sourcing. This paper aims to explore the relationship between strategy and structure in a contemporary global purchasing context. We build a theory of IPOs, employing a case study method to address two research questions - what types of IPOs exist in China? And how may an IPO become strategic to its parent's global purchasing? We identify three types or clusters of IPOs along four dimensions: motives for sourcing from China; global purchasing strategy for China; IPO structure and IPO followership. We present a causal model and associated propositions to explain how an IPO may become more strategic for its parent company. In the model we identify that, in addition to the direct link of 'structure follows strategy', IPO followership can be an underlying construct, linking IPO structure and global purchasing strategy for China. The paper opens up new avenues for global sourcing research and provides new insights for managers on global purchasing strategy, specifically with respect to IPO organisational design and capabilities

International purchasing offices in China: roles and resource/capability requirements

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Emerald via the DOI in this record.Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to address global sourcing organisational design through the following research questions: how do the roles performed by International Purchasing Offices (IPOs) change over time?; what are the resources/capabilities required by an IPO for an effective performance and how do they change over time?; and what are the contingent factors affecting such changes? Design/methodology/approach - The authors employed an exploratory multiple case study approach and analysed 14 Western IPOs located in China for a period between 2007 and 2012. The data were primarily collected through 34 direct, semi-structured interviews of IPO heads and sourcing managers or senior buyers. Findings - The authors identify and discuss the importance of ten roles played by IPOs and 12 required resources/capabilities. Furthermore, considering the changes that occurred to these IPOs over a five-year period (2007-2012), the authors observe three distinct evolutionary behaviours (i.e. "overall development", "selective development", and "stable configuration") and highlight three contingent factors that jointly affect these behaviours (i.e. the architectural and technological complexity of the sourced items, annual volume sourced abroad, and experience in the foreign context). Originality/value - This paper contributes to the resource-based view of the firm in a global sourcing context by highlighting the resources/capabilities required by IPOs and discussing their characteristics. Furthermore, it proposes a typology of IPO micro-organisational evolutionary behaviours. Finally, it applies contingency theory and identifies three factors that might affect the evolutionary behaviours

Entry modes in reshoring strategies: An empirical analysis

Abstract The Entry Mode (EM) choice is a fundamental issue in reshoring initiatives. Despite several authors have studied the determinants of offshoring EM, no study has investigated so far the factors affecting the reshoring EM and its relation with the offshoring EM. The purpose of this paper is to examine which factors influence entry mode choice in reshoring initiatives. We develop a conceptual framework that explains the reshoring EM in terms of country-, industry-, firm- and project-specific factors, in addition to the offshoring EM choice. Next, we test this model by using a sample of 677 cross-industry and cross-country reshoring projects. Based on the results, we find that offshoring EM significantly constrains the subsequent reshoring EM. More in detail, firms adopting offshore insourcing entry modes tend to retain these modes in reshoring. Furthermore, reshoring EM is explained by industry- and project-specific factors, while offshoring EM is influenced by a broader set of industry-, country-, and firm-specific factors. This study fills a gap in the reshoring literature by analysing influential factors in EM choice and by offering a comparison between the determinants of offshoring and reshoring EM

Unsupervised Factor Extraction from Pretrial Detention Decisions by Italian and Brazilian Supreme Courts

Pretrial detention is a debated and controversial measure since it is an exception to the principle of the presumption of innocence. To determine whether and to what extent legal systems make exces- sive use of pretrial detention, an empirical analysis of judicial practice is needed. The paper presents some preliminary results of experimental re- search aimed at identifying the relevant factors on the basis of which Ital- ian and Brazilian Supreme Courts impose the measure. To analyze and extract the relevant predictive-features, we rely on unsupervised learn- ing approaches, in particular association and clustering methods. As a result, we found common factors between the two legal systems in terms of crime, location, grounds for appeal, and judge’s reasoning