Prelims

Title Page

Rethinking Decision-Making Strategies and Tools

Half Title Page

Rethinking Decision-Making Strategies and Tools: Emerging Research and Opportunities

BY

MARIA PALAZZO

Universitas Mercatorum, Italy

AND

ALESSANDRA MICOZZI

Universitas Mercatorum, Italy

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Emerald Publishing, Floor 5, Northspring, 21-23 Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 4DL.

First edition 2024

Copyright © 2024 Maria Palazzo and Alessandra Micozzi.

Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited.

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-83797-205-0 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-83797-204-3 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-83797-206-7 (Epub)

Dedication Page

To Giulio Maria and Giuseppe Maria.

“All grown-ups were once children… but only few of them remember it”.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry – The Little Prince.

Maria

To my Angel on Earth SARA

Thanks for coming to foster my awakening.

To Andrea, thanks for your precious soul assists.^*

Alessandra

Contents

List of Figures and Tables

About the Authors

Maria Palazzo (PhD, AFHEA, FHEA, MSc (Honours), MA, BA (Honours)) is Associate Professor, Universitas Mercatorum (Italy). She is a Member of the ‘Sustainability Communication Centre’ (SCC) at the University of Salerno (http://dsc.unisa.it/scc/). She was Lecturer at the University of Salerno and at the University of Bedfordshire, School of Business (London, Luton, UK), Visiting Scholar at the University of Granada (Granada, Spain) and Visiting Lecturer at the Universidad del Norte, Escuela de Negocios (Barranquilla, Colombia). Her articles have been published in the Journal of Cleaner Production, Current Issues in Tourism, Corporate Social Responsibility & Environmental Management, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing, Journal of Brand Management, and in other academic outlets.

Alessandra Micozzi (PhD) is Full Professor of Applied Economics at the Universitas Mercatorum and Dean of the Faculty of Social and Communication Sciences (since July 2023). Since 2021, she has been a Visiting Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Ostrava, Czech Republic. From January 2021 to December 2021, she was Technical Consultant for the Smart Specialization Strategy of the Marche Region. She has co-founded five innovative start-ups, one of which is a university spin-off. Concerning the projects, she was Senior Researcher in the European project POREEN (Partnering Opportunities Between Europe and China in the Renewable Energies and Environmental industries) and WP LEADER economic area in the European project CHETCH (China and Europe Taking Care of Healthcare Solutions) both funded by actions PEOPLE MARIE CURIE. From April 2022 she is the Coordinator of the AGRIFOTOI project. Since January, she has been the Coordinator of the Italy Unit of the GEM (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor) project, funded by Universitas Mercatorum. In June 2023, she was awarded the Prin 2022 as substitute PI for an entrepreneurship project, coordinating the research unit of Universitas Mercatorum. She is the Coordinator of the PhD in ‘Sustainability and the ESG Agenda’, 39th cycle.

Foreword

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in assisting managers and practitioners in finding effective decision-making strategies and tools. This interest stems from the increasing challenges that organisations face due to both external and internal factors. The significance of this matter is evident from the numerous articles and books dedicated to the topic, with notable contributions from authors Maria Palazzo and Alessandra Micozzi.

Their book, titled Rethinking Decision-Making Strategies and Tools: Emerging Research and Opportunities, sheds light on the concept of ‘decision-making process’ and ‘strategy’ in marketing and management. In these contexts, a strategy refers to a carefully planned and systematic course of action designed to achieve specific goals and objectives. Strategies are closely tied to the decision-making process, as they enable companies to allocate resources effectively and ensure that their efforts align with the organisation’s overall mission. In the rapidly changing business landscape, developing and implementing a well-defined strategy is essential for organisations to navigate complexities and remain adaptable.

Therefore, the book explores the importance of decision-making strategies and tools in both marketing and management domains. The book challenges traditional frameworks by highlighting their limitations and obsolescence. It proposes a fresh approach to decision-making strategies and tools through the introduction of a new matrix, the dynamic SWOT analysis with eight quadrants, known as the APPNIE model. This revised matrix is applied to various case studies to provide a comprehensive understanding.

This book provides a useful addition to the literature on decision-making strategies and tools which is needed at this time. It makes for interesting reading, and I am pleased to see the incorporation of case studies which will prove valuable to scholars in these and related domains.

Palazzo and Micozzi’s work will find welcome space either in electronic or book copy form to scholars around the world. I welcome this new text and look forward to seeing it published.

Prof Maria Antonella Ferri,

Full Professor of Management,

Universitas Mercatorum, Rome (Italy).

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the whole community of academics and scholars who with their studies, deeply influenced our work. Our sincere appreciation goes to Prof Maria Antonella Ferri, Professor of Management at Universitas Mercatorum (Italy) and Prof Alberto Cusi, Adjunct Lecturer at Northwestern University (USA). Thanks to your research we fell in love with the complex topics of decision-making strategies and tools.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone we encountered throughout our academic voyage. Engaging in the realm of education and research may be demanding and arduous, yet the most gratifying aspect for us is the multitude of colleagues we have had the privilege to connect with and collaborate alongside from various corners of the globe.

Although the number of people whom we would like to thank is never-ending, a special acknowledgement goes to Prof Alfonso Siano, Professor of Marketing, Corporate Communication and Brand Management at University of Salerno (Italy) and to Prof Donato Iacovucci, Professor of Applied Economics at Università Politecnica delle Marche (Italy); for being supportive and helpful mentors over the years and for pushing us in writing this book.

Many thanks to Prof Giovanni Cannata, Chancellor of the Universitas Mercatorum (Italy) and to DG. Patrizia Tanzilli, Director of the Universitas Mercatorum (Italy), for helping and supporting our work.

Our gratitude goes to Sheena Reghunath and Nick Wallwork who have professionally assisted us during the development of this volume and to the anonymous reviewers who gave us important suggestions to improve the quality and academic rigour of the whole text.

A special mention goes to our kids and families. What we are today is because of you. We will always do our best if you will carry on believing in us.