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The study investigated which variables and family dynamics influence the entrepreneurship and succession process in the Italian ice cream sector. In light of the consequences of Covid-19, the research has identified the elements on which female leadership is based.

Data were collected using the qualitative approach by conducting semi-structured interviews at a homemade ice cream production organization.

Findings highlight that to pursue business longevity, one must maintain one’s family identity and values and, therefore, offer quality products. However, the company must know how to innovate to remain competitive and optimize its processes. All this is possible by creating a dialogue and transferring knowledge within the family business to strengthen and prepare future successors. The analysis of the family structure highlights how cultural family identity has privileged gender identity as a factor that has guided the development process since the first generation, in this case, allowing for expansion in terms of size and family. In addition, the results of the analysis highlighted two distinct scenarios within the same case study: the first emphasises the limits of the lack of management of a succession process; the second shows the openness of the organization to the introduction of innovations, expansion strategies and the entry of new partners outside the family.

This study contributes to the knowledge and understanding of how, in light of the pandemic, the resilience of these family businesses contributes to redesigning their internal governance system in favour of the second generation and effectively accelerating the succession process.

This study aims to present a comprehensive review of the scientific literature on gig work and the social responsibility towards them; the study highlights the evolving nature of work, career and organisation, focussing on their social responsibility towards gig work.

A systematic review of 186 selected articles published since the beginning of the gig economy research. Quantitative bibliometric and framework-based review techniques were used to analyse theoretical nuances, themes, antecedents and contextual factors.

Factors responsible for the social responsibility towards gig work were identified. The factors were categorised into individual, organisational and social-related attributes. Overall, the contextual factors, top articles, authors and journals suggested that gig work research is increasing exponentially across the globe.

The understanding of the factors influencing the gig work explored, the long-term implications of disruptions or gig workers’ well-being and exploring the impact of social and cultural aspects of the gig work research.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies to analyse the factors influencing social responsibility towards gig work in the changing nature of work, career and organisation. The study provides future directions for expanding the scholarship, resulting in the sustainability of this form of employment.

Despite wide awareness of the importance of digital transformation (DT) for emerging market firms, we have limited understanding of the drivers, the process or the outcomes of DT in emerging market firms.

We conducted a qualitative study on 24 case companies in Thailand and embraced thematic analysis to generate our research findings.

The framework shows that the DT process in emerging market firms proceeds over three stages—market-opportunity sensing, digital technology acquisition and leading DT—which are driven by technological dynamism, business ties and institutional support. Once DT is successfully implemented, emerging market firms can improve their operational efficiency, customer relationship management, business model innovation and human resources management.

This study thus contributes to the DT literature by offering a three-stage model of DT and identifying important antecedents and consequences of DT, which together specify how emerging market firms transform themselves digitally.

This paper aims to introduce a sensorized surgical grasper with a novel flexible capacitive tactile force sensor integrated within the surgical grasper for minimally invasive surgery (MIS) and robot-assisted MIS (RMIS) procedures.

The proposed sensor offers a unique configuration of sensing electrodes with one top excitation electrode and three bottom electrodes enabling the measurement of normal and shear forces without incorporating any complex decoupling algorithms. The design of the sensor is optimized using finite-element method simulations, ensuring efficiency and reliability.

Experimental validation, real-time sensor response and application in lump detection through stiffness assessment demonstrate the decoupled force response (0–5 N normal range and 0–2 N shear range) with high sensitivity 0.0124/N, repeatability and hysteresis response with 5.65% and 4.7% errors respectively.

The compact design of the sensor makes it compliant with surgical graspers and therefore enhances the overall efficiency of robotic surgical procedures. The sensorized surgical grasper is fabricated using conventional machining and rapid prototyping techniques, presenting a cost-effective solution for adoption.