Lamin B. Ceesay, Cecilia Rossignoli and Raj V. Mahto
This study examines the collaborative value practices of cause-based social entrepreneurship alliances. We investigate key drivers of value creation in such alliances.
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the collaborative value practices of cause-based social entrepreneurship alliances. We investigate key drivers of value creation in such alliances.
Design/methodology/approach
The study utilizes a longitudinal case study design approach involving four northern Italian businesses for investigating the cause-based social alliances.
Findings
The study findings suggest that cause-based alliance differ from other business relationships due to social mission of the alliance and orientation of partners to a specific social cause. However, over time involved firm may pursue commercial interests.
Research limitations/implications
The study utilizes a qualitative case study approach to examine the issues. This may have implications on generalizability of study findings. Further, the sample is limited to small firms, which limit its relevance for large firms.
Practical implications
Managers can utilize the study findings to guide the organizing process of a successful cause-based alliance and can implement it with positive outcomes for their firm.
Originality/value
This is one of the first study on the emerging phenomenon of cause-based social alliance. It contributes to the literature on social entrepreneurship. It informs and guides practitioners about motivations and drivers of such alliances.
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Alessandro Zardini, Lamin B. Ceesay, Cecilia Rossignoli and Raj Mahto
To further extend the understanding of the aggregating functions of an entrepreneurial business network, this paper attempts to explore the antecedents enabling the organisation…
Abstract
Purpose
To further extend the understanding of the aggregating functions of an entrepreneurial business network, this paper attempts to explore the antecedents enabling the organisation of diverse entrepreneurs to engage in a collaborative inter-firm business network project. This paper also elucidates the development of the relational capabilities and performance of entrepreneurial business networks.
Design/methodology/approach
An explorative, longitudinal case study design is employed to analyse an Italian agricultural business network, which comprised a group of local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Using the network as the focus of analysis, the case study draws insights from key informants comprising the network management team and the entrepreneurs who make up the membership of the business network.
Findings
The results of the study provide critical factors for successful organisation of inter-firm engagement. Although these factors are not mutually exclusive, the results show that organising for inter-firm engagement in an entrepreneurial business network context positively influenced the network relational performance and entrepreneurs' innovation capabilities.
Originality/value
The paper extends current understanding of inter-organisational engagement and illuminates the antecedents enabling the development of network relational dynamics capabilities. The empirical results provide unusual insights into the aggregating roles of an entrepreneurial business network, giving practitioners practical insights into managing a successful inter-organisational collaborative project. Using the relevant theoretical frameworks, the study empirically tests the organisation solutions relevant to literature on inter-firm engagement in a business network context and addresses the organisation solutions' interrelationship and linkages to entrepreneurial network relational performance in terms of knowledge practice, information and resources sharing and innovation.
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Alessia Zoppelletto, Ludovico Bullini Orlandi and Cecilia Rossignoli
This article aims to understand whether and how a digital transformation strategy (DTS) can strengthen the relationship between network organizations and the…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to understand whether and how a digital transformation strategy (DTS) can strengthen the relationship between network organizations and the generation/regeneration of their business network commons (BNC). Further, it investigates the role of the DTS in managing the BNC, a critical source of business network success.
Design/methodology/approach
A two-year longitudinal case study of an Italian business network operating in the wine sector was conducted.
Findings
This study provides theoretical insights into the digital, sustainable shift of a business network. On combining a network's business strategy and its DTS, digital resources are a key driver to promote BNC regeneration. A DTS undertaken to manage, regenerate and preserve the BNC can positively affect organizational variables, such as participatory architecture, and the network-level organizational integration and can help in preventing opportunistic behaviors affecting the BNC. Moreover, the DTS supports quality and social responsibility.
Research limitations/implications
This study focuses on an Italian case and its findings are hence not generalizable. It would be interesting to study sustainable business networks' digital shift in different socioeconomic contexts as well as in different industry settings.
Practical implications
Network SMEs and other stakeholders (institutions, competitors and consumers) can foster the transition from a “business-as-usual” strategy to a long-term strategy for digitalized management of common resources.
Originality/value
The study is at the intersection of, and contributes to, several research streams. It contributes to the digital transformation literature by adding information on the positive externalities of digitalization in the social and economic environment. It also contributes to the early streams of organizational and managerial literature on the BNC.
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Sabrina Bonomi, Francesca Ricciardi, Cecilia Rossignoli and Alessandro Zardini
This study investigates (1) the processes through which social enterprises develop resilient organizational logics and (2) the key resilience factors in the organizational logics…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates (1) the processes through which social enterprises develop resilient organizational logics and (2) the key resilience factors in the organizational logics of successful social enterprises. The organizational logic is conceptualized here as the dynamic system of roles, rules and social expectations that result from the organization's business model, impact model and organizational form.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts an inductive approach to identify emerging resilience factors and processes in an exemplary case of social entrepreneurship (a work integration venture). The longitudinal data collection on this case took place from 2011 to 2016, based on approximately 440 h of participant observation and 10 semi-structured interviews.
Findings
The inductive analysis suggests that social enterprises develop resilient organizational logics through multi-level recursive processes of bridging institutional work. These processes enable the development of an organizational logic that is internally robust while linking distant practices, needs and expectations. The authors conceptualize these characteristics into a novel construct, the organizational logic's bridging power, which is operationalizable through two dimensions (hybridity-based and cocreation-based bridging power) and five sub-dimensions.
Research limitations/implications
Like in all inductive studies, further research is needed to validate the proposed model. The new proposed construct “organizational logic's bridging power” is, interestingly, a meta-theoretical concept encouraging cross-fertilization between the literature on institutional logics and that on value cocreation.
Originality/value
The process development model proposed by this study highlights the importance of network-level institutional work for developing cocreation-based resilience. Furthermore, this study shows how institutional theories could be complemented with other bodies of knowledge in order to understand social enterprise resilience.
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Giulio Caldarelli, Alessandro Zardini and Cecilia Rossignoli
This paper aims to examine and overcome the barriers to the widespread adoption of blockchain technology, introducing a novel concept of sustainability in the fashion supply chain.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine and overcome the barriers to the widespread adoption of blockchain technology, introducing a novel concept of sustainability in the fashion supply chain.
Design/methodology/approach
This work is an exploratory study of a well-known fashion company operating in the Veneto region (Italy). Data extracted from interviews and focus groups are coded using the (CAQDAS) software AQUAD. The outcome is then organized according to an adapted TOE view.
Findings
This exploration study's findings support the idea that the blockchain solution could be a valuable add-on in sustainable supply chains. However, a high understanding of technology and extensive communication with clients is required for successful integration.
Research limitations/implications
Being the outcome of qualitative analysis, the findings require further investigation to be inferable at a broader scale. As the project is still incomplete, some managerial choices are always subject to change.
Practical implications
Focused on a practitioner approach, this paper should guide managers in the process of successfully implementing blockchain technology. Arguably, similar companies may opt for similar choices.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper to contextualize and address the blockchain adoption barriers in the fashion supply chain. Furthermore, it offers an overview of how blockchain affects sustainable production.
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Alessandro Zardini, Francesca Ricciardi and Cecilia Rossignoli
The purpose of this paper is to shed light on how the relational capital of the information technology (IT) department creates value in organizations. In addition, the paper…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to shed light on how the relational capital of the information technology (IT) department creates value in organizations. In addition, the paper presents a multi-dimensional scale to measure and manage relational capital in the IT department.
Design/methodology/approach
In the first, explorative phase of the study, interviews and focus groups were conducted in order to develop a new measurement scale, which was subsequently tested through a survey questionnaire (212 respondents).
Findings
This research suggests that the relational capital of the IT department is a very important resource for the creation of strategic value. The statistical analysis conducted for this study confirmed the validity and reliability of the novel scale developed to measure this resource. Finally, thanks to factor analysis, five dimensions for the scale were identified.
Research limitations/implications
Data were collected in northern Italy only. Further studies are advisable to confirm the validity of the constructs and scale.
Practical implications
The questionnaire presented in this study can be used to monitor the effectiveness of the interactions between the IT department and the other key actors involved in IT-enabled innovation. The adoption of this scale and its possible adaptation to specific, evolving business contexts may enhance the practitioner’s understanding of the role of relational capital in the value creation process.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the “third stage” of intellectual capital research by concentrating on an intra-organizational level of analysis, which has been overlooked in the literature to date.
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This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Design/methodology/approach
This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.
Findings
Sustainable supply chains in the fashion industry are under pressure to become more resilient and ubiquitous. Blockchain technology may be the key to implementing transparency on a global scale.
Originality/value
The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.
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Cecilia Woon Chien Teng, Raymond Boon Tar Lim, Dana Wai Shin Chow, Suganthi Narayanasamy, Chee Hsiang Liow and Jeannette Jen-Mai Lee
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a contingent shift to remote working and learning worldwide. However, little is known regarding the impact of this shift on internships…
Abstract
Purpose
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a contingent shift to remote working and learning worldwide. However, little is known regarding the impact of this shift on internships. Moreover, much of the available literature studies on internships are focused largely on perceptions by students, less so by supervisors. This paper describes the impact of COVID-19 on public health (PH) internships and examines interns' and supervisors' perspectives on their experiences in internships before and during the pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional study design was conducted on two cohorts of undergraduate students and their supervisors in Singapore. Participants were surveyed using questionnaires with both close-ended and open-ended questions about various aspects of the internship experience. Data were triangulated from these surveys and module evaluation reports, and analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively.
Findings
COVID-19 disrupted internships significantly, with a reduction in the number of placements offered and necessary changes to the internship scope. Overall, the internship experience has been positive. Supervisors and e-interns reported high levels of satisfaction and documented learning gains such as the development of technical skills and soft skills unique to remote work.
Originality/value
The study findings fill current gaps in the literature on supervisor perceptions and internship experiences during COVID-19. Recommendations are proposed to optimize e-internships, a potentially authentic workplace in the post-COVID era.