Carlotta D’Alessandro, Giuseppe Ioppolo, Alberto Bongiorno, Giuseppe Caristi and Katarzyna Szopik-Depczyńska
Purpose/Objective: Recognising the urgency to safeguard the planet and foster resilience against climate-related health challenges, this study aligns with the 2030 Agenda and…
Abstract
Purpose/Objective: Recognising the urgency to safeguard the planet and foster resilience against climate-related health challenges, this study aligns with the 2030 Agenda and explores local initiatives, such as those by the local action group (LAG).
Design/Methodology/Approach: This analysis identified the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats faced by the Tirreno-Eolie LAG, providing a solid foundation for developing the Local Development Plan (LDP). Moreover, an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) analysis was employed to yield a prioritised ranking of the outlined LDP strategies based on the stakeholder input.
Findings: The analysis of the LDP for LAG revealed a comprehensive set of actions designed to promote sustainable development at the local level: 1. urban redevelopment projects, 2. preservation of historical buildings, 3. environmental awareness initiatives in Sicily, 4. biological diversity programmes and education, 5. promoting circular economy principles, 6. implementing sustainable corporate governance, 7. developing information systems for control and security, 8. establishing partnerships with local associations, 9. leveraging European initiatives, 10. deployment of newer and greener technologies, 11. redevelopment of infrastructure.
Significance/Implications/Conclusions: By strategically implementing the LDP’s recommendations, LAG can contribute to building a more sustainable, resilient, and culturally vibrant Sicily.
Limitations: Firstly, the available information on the LAG Tirreno-Eolie may be limited. Secondly, the complex and ever-changing nature of social and environmental systems can constrain the objective of the research.
Future Research: Future research may investigate the effectiveness of formulated actions and outcomes over time, conduct comparative analyses with regions implementing similar sustainability initiatives, and investigate the scalability and adaptability of the LDP framework to diverse contexts.
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Matthias Elser, Ronald Mies, Peter Altendorf, Alberto Messina, Fulvio Negro, Werner Bailer, Albert Hofmann and Georg Thallinger
This paper aims to propose a service-oriented framework for performing content annotation and search, adapted to the task context. Media production workflows are becoming…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose a service-oriented framework for performing content annotation and search, adapted to the task context. Media production workflows are becoming increasingly distributed and heterogeneous.The tasks of professionals in media production can be supported by automatic content analysis and search and retrieval services.
Design/methodology/approach
The processes of the framework are derived top-down, starting from business goals and scenarios in audiovisual media production. Formal models of tasks in the production workflow are defined, and business processes are derived from the task models. A software framework enabling the orchestrated execution of these models is developed.
Findings
This paper presents a framework that implements the proposed approach called Metadata Production Management Framework (MPMF). The authors show how a media production workflow for a real-world scenario is implemented using the MPMF.
Research limitations/implications
The authors have demonstrated the feasibility of a model-based approach for media processing. In the reification step, there is still information that needs to be provided in addition to the task models to obtain executable processes. Future research should target the further automation of this process.
Practical implications
By means of this approach, the implementation of the business process defines the workflow, whereas the services that are actually used are defined by the configuration. Thus, the processes are stable and, at the same time, the services can be managed very flexibly. If necessary, service implementations can also be completely replaced by others without changing the business process implementation.
Originality/value
The authors introduce a model-based approach to media processing and define a reification process from business-driven task models to executable workflows. This enables a more task-oriented design of media processing workflows and adaptive use of automatic information extraction tools.
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Alfonsina Iona, Marco Alberto De Benedetto, Dawit Zerihun Assefa and Michele Limosani
Using a sample of US firms more likely to be affected by agency problems, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between corporate value and financial…
Abstract
Purpose
Using a sample of US firms more likely to be affected by agency problems, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between corporate value and financial policies and to study whether credit market freedom (CMF) affects this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors identify a sub-sample of non-financial US firms potentially affected by agency problems using a joint criterion of over-investment and high cash-holdings. A generalized method of moment econometric framework is then used to estimate the impact of cash-holdings and leverage policies on firm value for this sub-sample. This exercise is also performed by taking into account the level of CMF of the state where the firm operates.
Findings
The results show that the relationship between cash-holdings – or leverage – and firm value is “U-shaped.” In addition, when the authors focus on the role played by the level of CMF, the authors find a number of interesting facts: CMF facilitates the firms’ access to external finance, thereby relaxing the need of internal funds for investing; the relationship between cash-holdings and firm value is “U-shaped” only in states enjoying high levels of CMF; the probability of observing firms more likely to be affected by agency problems is higher in states with high levels of CMF.
Research limitations/implications
The empirical findings provide important insights to policymakers, shareholders and practitioners. To policymakers, the results suggest that providing institutional environments with greater CMF can enhance the firm access to external finance, the level of corporate investment and the economic growth. To shareholders, the findings highlight that the conflicts of interest between managers and shareholders may be more severe in states with higher CMF; therefore, adequate financing policies and corporate governance mechanisms must be used to mitigate these conflicts and maximize the firm value. Finally, to practitioners, the evidence suggests that, in valuing a firm, they must take into consideration whether the economic environment provides managers with more freedom to stockpile cash and invest sub-optimally.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the corporate finance and governance literature in two respects. First, it provides new evidence on the shape of the relationship between cash holdings and firm value for firms affected by empire-building managers. Second, at the best of the knowledge, it is the first corporate finance study, which analyzes the role played by the CMF at the state level on the capital structure and the level of investment of the firms.
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Omar Enzo Santangelo, Sandro Provenzano, Domiziana Giordano, Enrico Alagna, Francesco Armetta, Claudia Gliubizzi, Antonio Terranova, Giuseppe D'Anna, Dalila Barresi, Dimple Grigis, Cristina Genovese, Raffaele Squeri and Alberto Firenze
Depression is a common and serious medical illness, considered as a public health issue because it interferes with the interpersonal, social and professional functioning of the…
Abstract
Purpose
Depression is a common and serious medical illness, considered as a public health issue because it interferes with the interpersonal, social and professional functioning of the individual, and its frequency is constantly increasing. According to a recent review, approximately 34 per cent of nursing students had experienced depression worldwide. The university period may represent a moment in which the mental well-being of students is subjected to stress with a relative predisposition to the development of diseases related to mood disorders. The purpose of this study is to estimate the prevalence and examine the socio-demographic correlates of depressive symptomatology.
Design/methodology/approach
In April 2019, a questionnaire was administered to all the nursing students of University of Palermo of the three years of course, accompanied by informed consent. Multivariable logistic regression was performed. The statistical significance level chosen for all analyses was 0.05. The results were analyzed using the STATA statistical software version 14. Results are expressed as adjusted odds ratio (aOR) with 95 per cent confidence intervals.
Findings
The sample consists of 493 students who completed the questionnaire, and the average age of the sample participants is 21.88 years. The multivariable logistic regression model shows that the risk to have depressive symptomatology is significantly associated with the following independent variables: female gender (aOR 1.91), being single (aOR 1.87), second year of study (aOR 1.94), third year of study (aOR 1.92), not performing regular physical activity (aOR 1.78) and perceived low health status (aOR 3.08).
Originality/value
This study shows that belonging to the female gender, being further along in the years of study, having a chronic illness and perceiving a low state of health are all factors that can increase the risk of developing the symptoms of depression; rather, regular physical activity, friendship and romantic relationships can be considered factors protecting them from the risk of falling into depression that can undermine both the study and work performance. Certainly, it is important to analyze all the involved variables to improve the global health not only of the nursing students but of all the students.
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Antonio Crupi, Fabrizio Cesaroni and Alberto Di Minin
The present paper aims to explore and map the development of the intellectual capital (IC)-related studies by answering the following research questions: (1) what are the…
Abstract
Purpose
The present paper aims to explore and map the development of the intellectual capital (IC)-related studies by answering the following research questions: (1) what are the theoretical pillars on which prior literature focusing on the IC–entrepreneurship relationship has grown and expanded?; (2) what are the main research areas covered by past literature focused on the IC–entrepreneurship relationship?; (3) which areas of research should be explored in the future?
Design/methodology/approach
The study relied on the co-citation analysis and bibliographic coupling techniques to investigate a complete data set of IC–entrepreneurship publications.
Findings
Findings indicated that scholars' attention had increased, starting from the beginning of the 2000s due to the widespread recognition of the importance of knowledge for firms' competitive advantage. Results of the co-citation clustering analysis have identified five main theoretical building blocks of the IC–entrepreneurship literature, which addressed both the basics of IC foundations and more specific aspects related to IC (family firms and the measurement of IC). Results of the bibliographic coupling analysis indicated that future studies should consider the existence of interactions and synergies among the different components of IC. Furthermore, attention should be devoted to the management practices of IC.
Originality/value
The present study represents the contributions offered by IC to studies about entrepreneurship strategies. Building on findings emerging from a qualitative content analysis on clustered prior publications, the authors discuss a research agenda that is expected to inspire future studies to continue the exploration of the crucial characteristics of IC in contributing to entrepreneurial and managerial studies.
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Carlos Alberto Soares da Costa
This paper aims to describe the likely positive effects of alpha-linolenic acid supplementation on the lung and the negative effects of it on the adipose tissue of COVID-19…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to describe the likely positive effects of alpha-linolenic acid supplementation on the lung and the negative effects of it on the adipose tissue of COVID-19 patients.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper focuses on investigating the effects of alpha-linolenic (ALA) on the respiratory system and adipose tissue of COVID-19 patients.
Findings
ALA can help human respiratory system by improving lung damage. On the other hand, when it comes to adipose tissue, it can induce the overexpression of glucose transporter-4 gene and impair COVID-19 prognosis.
Originality/value
Despite the inconclusive pieces of evidence, improving the quality of patients’ diet may help mitigating their risk of developing severe COVID-19 infection. Further research studies are necessary to help finding a safe ALA recommendation focused on preventing and improving lung damage, as well as on stopping adipose cells from working as COVID-19 reservoirs.
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Antonio Cimino, Alberto Michele Felicetti, Vincenzo Corvello, Valentina Ndou and Francesco Longo
Using AI to strengthen creativity and problem-solving capabilities of professionals involved in innovation management holds huge potential for improving organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
Using AI to strengthen creativity and problem-solving capabilities of professionals involved in innovation management holds huge potential for improving organizational decision-making. However, there is a lack of research on the use of AI technologies by innovation managers. The study uses the theory of appropriation to explore how specific factors – agile leadership (AL), innovation orientation (IO) and individual creativity (IC) – impact innovation managers' use of generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT (CGA).
Design/methodology/approach
The research model is tested through a large-scale survey of 222 Italian innovation managers. Data have been analyzed using structural equation modeling following a two-step approach. First, the measurement model was assessed to ensure the constructs reliability. Subsequently, the structural model was analyzed to draw the conclusions on theorized model relationships and their statistical significance.
Findings
The research findings reveal positive associations between IO and IC with CGA, demonstrating that innovation managers who exhibit strong innovation orientations and higher Individual Creativity are more likely to adopt and personalize ChatGPT. However, the study did not confirm a significant association between AL and CGA.
Originality/value
Our findings have important implications for organizations seeking to maximize the potential of generative AI in innovation management. Understanding the factors that drive the adoption and customization of generative AI tools can inform strategies for better integration into the innovation process, thereby leading to enhanced innovation outcomes and improved decision-making processes.
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Antonio Crupi, Nicola Del Sarto, Alberto Di Minin, Gian Luca Gregori, Dominique Lepore, Luca Marinelli and Francesca Spigarelli
This study aims to understand if and how European digital innovation hubs (DIHs) filling the role of knowledge brokers (KBs) can support the digital transformation (DX) of small…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to understand if and how European digital innovation hubs (DIHs) filling the role of knowledge brokers (KBs) can support the digital transformation (DX) of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by triggering open innovation (OI) practices.
Design/methodology/approach
After presenting a conceptual model of reference, a survey and a subsequent in-depth interview were conducted to capture evidence from Italian DIHs. These structures were selected for their growing importance, as confirmed by the National Plan for Industry 4.0.
Findings
The findings highlight that Italian DIHs act not only as KBs but also as knowledge sources that give rise to a digital imprinting process that is able to shape the DX of SMEs.
Originality/value
Research on knowledge sharing and OI has mainly focused on large firms. The study covers the gaps identified in the literature by considering the role of KBs in enabling SMEs to embrace DX.
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Giuseppe Galassi and Richard Mattessich
The paper offers a survey of major Italian accounting scholars and their work for the period from 1900 to 1950. Apart from the late works of Rossi and Besta, the main focus is on…
Abstract
The paper offers a survey of major Italian accounting scholars and their work for the period from 1900 to 1950. Apart from the late works of Rossi and Besta, the main focus is on the contributions by Zappa, who undoubtedly dominated the scene. In this period, as well as later, most Italian accountants and “aziendalisti” adopted the so‐called “income system”. Although its premises originated with Fabio Besta, master of the so‐called “patrimonial or proprietorship system”, the Italian School under Zappa gave this system a new theoretical basis that differed fundamentally from that of Besta. Zappa also developed the dynamic aspect of accounting and business economics that still prevails in Italy. The paper also devotes attention to other Italian scholars, less well‐known abroad. In the area of cost accounting it concentrates on the views of De Minico and his disciple Amodeo, but also mentions other contributors. The final Section deals with Italian contributions to accounting history during this period