In quest for a sustainable motorization: the CNG opportunity

This article aims at describing the opportunity deriving from the substitution of conventional fuels, as gasoline and diesel, with the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), frequently indicated as methane. The use of CNG systems in vehicles cannot be considered the ultimate solution to the problem of pollution generated by road transport, but the advantages of this fuel are: a) relevant, as it concerns consumer’s expenses and ecological aspect; b) rapidly achievable, waiting for availability of new technologies capable of more relevant advantages; c) close to hand for several countries: Europe and U.S. and those where the motorization is at the take-off stage, like the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China), and others like: Iran, Pakistan, Indonesia and so on. In fact, such countries in take-off stage on the one hand have extensive reserves of methane, and on the other hand need to cut emission urgently, specifically in areas with a high density of population. From the economic point of view CNG results a viable solution with few contraindication. The most important bottleneck is represented by a possible shortage in the distribution network. If a country is crossed by a gas pipeline this shortage could be overcome rapidly and without relevant costs. In the others the solution could be achieved either through gas carriers ships or through local production of biomethane by the exploitation of biomasses.Sustainable motorization, CNG, car industry, low emission cars

Supply chain management in industrial production. A retrospective view

The article presents a retrospective review on key-issues about how the management discipline evolved up to the current view about supply-chain management (SCM) in industrial production. Specifically, the article resumes: a) the reasons that led to the transition from the traditional procurement policies to the SCM approach, b) the variables involved in the process of defining SCM relations and c) the key managerial principles underlying SCM policies and strategies. In the manufacturing industry the problem of organizing and managing firm’s relationships with supplier has recently become of an unprecedented complexity. The evolution of production systems started around the ‘80s, with the shift from the “flexible” paradigm to the “lean” one, has increased dramatically the intricacy of product and process architecture.. At the same time, the opportunities brought by the technological hybridization of products (that is: opportunities deriving from incorporating complementary technologies within products so to enhance its features and performance) gained a critical role as a competitive advantage. In our view supply chain management, as well as others managerial areas, has undergone a profound change; indeed, in the last 30 years the evolution of the industrial competitive environment has deeply modified the reference framework of supply-chain relationships even in common procurement and/or routine contracts. In the attempt to give an adequate response to changes in the competitive environment, supply policies evolve to become articulate relational strategies based on the strategic assessments of the role and the relevance of the various suppliers. The traditional approach to procurement management is combined with a perspective of value creation, a perspective that goes beyond the traditional “make-or-buy” criteria, since it introduces principles for the assessment of the strategic capability of the suppliers to create value for customer rather than to be able to fulfill its task for the firm. In such a view, firms operating in the same value-chain coordinate their strategies with a view to increase the overall value rather than compete for the allocation of the existing one. Firms’ network of suppliers and the relational capabilities assume a critical role in order to coordinate the value creation processes within the chain.Supply chain management, industrial management

Product-line variety and innovation along product life-cycle in car market: are carmakers’ policies really effective?

This paper presents some preliminary results of a research concerning the evolution of product variety and product innovation policies of carmakers in the European market. Three market segments are taken into consideration for the period 1984-2004; data concerning model sales and product characteristics of some of the main carmakers are examined and the aspects taken into consideration refers to Product Life-Cycle (PLC), price positioning, rough measures of Product Line Width (PLW) and Product Line Innovation (PLI). The aim of the research is to describe product replacement policies and timing pursued by carmakers within each segment to evaluate the effectiveness of carmakers PLC policies through inter-brand comparison mainly based upon: a) PLC extent for each model, b) PLW variation along the life-cycle, c) PLI effectiveness. Differences in brands policies, as well as evolutionary trends of persistence or of discontinuity within the same brand are investigated, as well as the relation between PLC trend and timing in new model introduction.Car Industry, Product Policy, Car Marketing

Old and new approaches to marketing. The quest of their epistemological roots

In recent years the marketing discipline faced a considerable increase in the number of approaches. Some of the new "labels" are probably just new names advertised to sell old products. But some may contain significant new issues that need to be identified and discussed. Do these new marketing denominations (viral, retro, vintage, postmodern, judo, tribal, buzz, and many more) identify distinctions on subjects being studied, without particular methodological implications, or rather, do new labels and new subjects imply orientations that start from different epistemological premises and involve different research methodologies? This paper try to investigate if the proliferation of labels related to alleged new methods of marketing analysis actually implies a distinctions of subjects being studied and different epistemological premises.marketing trends, marketing epistemology

Managing Information Flows in Supplier-Customer Relationships: Issues, Methods and Emerging Problems

IMVP, Working Pape

Supply Chain Management in Industrial Production: A Retrospective View

The article presents a retrospective review on key-issues about how the management discipline evolved up to the current view about supply-chain management (SCM) in industrial production. Specifically, the article resumes: a) the reasons that led to the transition from the traditional procurement policies to the SCM approach, b) the variables involved in the process of defining SCM relations and c) the key managerial principles underlying SCM policies and strategies. In the manufacturing industry the problem of organizing and managing firm’s relationships with supplier has recently become of an unprecedented complexity. The evolution of production systems started around the ‘80s, with the shift from the “flexible” paradigm to the “lean” one, has increased dramatically the intricacy of product and process architecture.. At the same time, the opportunities brought by the technological hybridization of products (that is: opportunities deriving from incorporating complementary technologies within products so to enhance its features and performance) gained a critical role as a competitive advantage. In our view supply chain management, as well as others managerial areas, has undergone a profound change; indeed, in the last 30 years the evolution of the industrial competitive environment has deeply modified the reference framework of supply-chain relationships even in common procurement and/or routine contracts. In the attempt to give an adequate response to changes in the competitive environment, supply policies evolve to become articulate relational strategies based on the strategic assessments of the role and the relevance of the various suppliers. The traditional approach to procurement management is combined with a perspective of value creation, a perspective that goes beyond the traditional “make-or-buy” criteria, since it introduces principles for the assessment of the strategic capability of the suppliers to create value for customer rather than to be able to fulfill its task for the firm. In such a view, firms operating in the same value-chain coordinate their strategies with a view to increase the overall value rather than compete for the allocation of the existing one. Firms’ network of suppliers and the relational capabilities assume a critical role in order to coordinate the value creation processes within the chain

Tratti evolutivi di una transizione necessaria

L'industria automobilistica è esposta ad una serie di cambiamenti apportati da diverse fonti di innovazioni, tutte potenzialmente dirompenti, tra le quali spiccano in particolare il progressivo abbandono dei tradizionali motori a combustione a favore dei propulsori elettrificati, la sempre più ampia applicazione di funzioni di guida autonoma e assistita e le tecnologie di connettività. L’impatto di questi cambiamenti tecnologici non è circoscritto allo sviluppo dei prodotti ma sta già mostrando impatti significativi sulla struttura del settore e sulla catena del valore. In questo contesto, l’elettrificazione sta avendo un ruolo più ampio rispetto alla semplice innovazione del powertrain. È una transizione tecnologica alla quale corrisponde una transizione strategica. Le case automobilistiche hanno l’opportunità di rimodellare i propri business model, apportando nuove proposte di valore, sostenute da nuovi modelli di ricavi, sfruttando nuove forme di possesso dell’auto e diverse strutture di costo, che a loro volta sono determinate da nuove geometrie di integrazione sia verticale che orizzontale In questo capitolo si cerca di dare una lettura sistemica alla transizione verso la trazione elettrica, cioè una lettura che metta in luce come l’aspetto tecnologico e quello strategico contribuiscano insieme a rimodellare il settore automotive in modo ben più radicale di quanto non avverrebbe se l’innovazione avesse impatti esclusivamente sulla tecnologia di prodotto. L’ipotesi di partenza è che sebbene il cambiamento di paradigma che il settore automobilistico sta vivendo non sia solo un effetto dell'innovazione nei propulsori, ciononostante quest’ultima rappresenta l’elemento catalizzatore di una opportunità strategica, e cioè il poter ripensare radicalmente sia il concetto di veicolo sia il modello di business complessivo, ben oltre la semplice elettrificazione del gruppo propulsore. In questa chiave di lettura il passaggio dell’elettrico da soluzione di nicchia a tecnologia di massa è una esperienza dalla quale, a parere di chi scrive, si possono trarre nuovi insegnamenti in merito ai processi di diffusione delle innovazioni

Identifying Travel Demand Priorities in Maritime Transport - A Behavioural Approach

This chapter deals with the analysis of hidden aspects of travellers’ behav- iour that are the key determinant of the sustainability and efficiency of sustainable mobil- ity policies. We propose to complement the typically descriptive approach of flow-based and/or time-series analysis with techniques for analysing perceptions and intentions that can provide insights on travellers’, such as the behavioural determinants or the perceived priorities. Together with the general description of two models, we will present an ap- plication concerning travellers between Italy and Croatia, an interesting case in which travellers can choose between maritime, air and land alternatives

The sustainable firm: from principles to practice

This article whishes to contribute at filling the gap between the theoretical perspective on business sustainability and the actual need for procedures of preliminary evaluation and control for sustainability performances. A framework for the implementation of a sustainability-oriented approach in firm’s management is proposed. The frame work assigns a crucial role to the involvement of middle management and to the definition of a control system that emphasizes interdependencies between firm’s processes. A specific attention is dedicated to the complexity triggered by relationships with external and internal stakeholders. The impact of identified initiatives is assessed with an importance-performance criterion that weight the effects of planned actions with the importance assigned by the process leader (or process owner) to each specific issue. Finally, the feasibility of the various actions is investigated on the basis of a combination of the financial and organizational effort required, together with the potential impact on overall firm’s sustainability assessed in the previous stage

Managing product life-cycle in the auto industry: evaluating carmakers effectiveness

The article analyzes the evolution of product life-cycle policies of main carmakers in the three main European markets (Germany, Italy and France). Sales data regarding 212 models of 13 major carmakers are taken into consideration for the period 1970-2006. A sub-sample including more detailed data (sales and features) of 125 car models along the period 1984-2005 has been investigated with the aim of evaluating effectiveness of product innovation and product line extension. The aim of the study is to describe product replacement policies and timing pursued by carmakers within each segment and to evaluate the effectiveness of carmakers PLC policies through inter-brand comparison. According to our results, PLC is getting dramatically shorter, but the reduction does not apply to maturity and saturation phases. Generally speaking, companies seem not effective in timing for new products, with few exceptions. Moreover, carmakers tend to support sales with a policy of product line extension, while no evidence of effectiveness of such policies emerges. Product innovation seems related to increase in sales, although the introduction of new models and versions is generally delayed with respect to the optimal life-cycle timing. Results from this exploratory research are used to fromulate hypotheses to be verified in further research based on more detailed data