Riccardo Tiscini, Silvia Testarmata, Mirella Ciaburri and Emanuele Ferrari
The purpose of this paper is to strive to close the current research gap pertaining to potential implications of the blockchain (BC) for sustainable business models (SBMs) in the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to strive to close the current research gap pertaining to potential implications of the blockchain (BC) for sustainable business models (SBMs) in the agri-food industry.
Design/methodology/approach
To answer the research question, the authors utilised the Value Triangle framework by Biloslavo et al. (2018) in order to explore the potential innovation of BC for SBMs in the agri-food industry. Then, the authors apply it to an in-depth exploratory case study of the Placido Volpone winery. The authors draw data from strategic plans, annual reports, corporate website and a semi-structured interview with the winery's founder.
Findings
The authors show how BC technology could be a source of SBM innovation in the agri-food industry.
Research limitations/implications
BC technology has the potential to significantly change SBMs. Given the huge set-up investments by the industry, academic research investigating potential implications and supporting companies in their application of BC is needed. This paper explores how the implications of BC as source of innovation on SBMs can be investigated.
Practical implications
The research results of this study can be used by company leaders and managers to support the development of SBMs through the introduction of BC technology in their business activities.
Originality/value
The paper is novel because it investigates the relationship between SBM innovation and BC providing theoretical justification to SBM technological innovation in an agri-food setting. Additionally, the paper provides an empirical application of the framework by Biloslavo et al. (2018) for understanding the development of SBM through BC in the agri-food industry.
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Emanuele Pontali and Franco Ferrari
Correctional facilities host a disproportionately high prevalence of HBV, HCV and HIV infection. We evaluated the prevalence of HBV and/or HCV co‐infection among HIV‐infected…
Abstract
Correctional facilities host a disproportionately high prevalence of HBV, HCV and HIV infection. We evaluated the prevalence of HBV and/or HCV co‐infection among HIV‐infected inmates entering our correctional facility. Over a 30‐month period, 173 consecutive HIV‐infected inmates entered our institution and were evaluated. HCV co‐infection was observed in more than 90% of the tested HIV‐infected inmates, past HBV infection in 77.4% and active HBV co‐infection in 6.7%; triple coinfection (HIV, HCV and HBs‐Ag positivity) was seen in 6.1% of them. Given the observed high prevalence of co‐infection, testing for HBV and HCV in all HIV‐infected inmates at entry in any correctional system is recommended to identify those in need of specific care and/or preventing interventions.
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Emanuele Invernizzi, Stefania Romenti and Michela Fumagalli
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of strategic communication during a change management process within the internationally famous Ferrari corporation. The aim…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of strategic communication during a change management process within the internationally famous Ferrari corporation. The aim is to show that strategic communication, through its main components, can be a pivotal lever that supports continuous improvement and helps drive organizational success.
Design/methodology/approach
The change management process at Ferrari is described and interpreted through the framework of the entrepreneurial organization theory (EOT), from which the four components of strategic communication are derived.
Findings
The paper explores the case of Ferrari, which started a reorganization process in which the main actors were employees and strategic communication represented the crucial component.
Research limitations/implications
This paper focuses on one single organization. Additional research is needed to generalize the effectiveness of the proposed strategic communication model.
Practical implications
The paper shows that the four strategic communication components (i.e. aligning, energizing, visioning, and constituting), if applied in an integrated manner, can give insightful stimulus for the management of important change programs.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the change management literature by linking strategic communication, continuous improvement and entrepreneurial theory.
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Valter Cantino, Elisa Giacosa and Damiano Cortese
The purpose of this paper is to analyse how sustainability is crucial in maintaining and assigning value to a common good. In particular, the paper identifies several…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse how sustainability is crucial in maintaining and assigning value to a common good. In particular, the paper identifies several characteristics of a business model that could be adopted to manage sustainable innovation strategies that respect the balance among environmental, social and commercial goals.
Design/methodology/approach
This case study involves Fontanafredda, an internationally recognised historical Italian wine company characterised by its highly innovative business approach and sustainable business model.
Findings
Fontanafredda’s approach is connected to the broader concept of the common good the winery has internalised to become an element of its competitive advantage and differentiation. The preservation of traditional values – primarily the respect and valuing of one’s own territory – is a key asset of the winery, which attaches great symbolic and concrete importance to these values.
Research limitations/implications
The study uses a single case study approach and a qualitative method without quantifying the impact of every business choice. For theoretical implications, the study emphasises the strong connection between sustainability and innovation in the management of the common good.
Practical implications
Numerous practical implications are identified regarding several stakeholder groups, such as the management, owners, investors and the various entities linked to the regional promotion and tourism sectors.
Originality/value
This research explores how and why Fontanafredda amounts to more than simply wine production by focusing on the characteristics of its business model, which efficiently handles the link between innovation and heritage for common-good development.
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Emanuele Pontali, Nicoletta Bobbio, Marilena Zaccardi and Renato Urciuoli
– The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the prevalence of HBV and/or HCV co-infection among HIV-infected inmates entering the correctional facility.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the prevalence of HBV and/or HCV co-infection among HIV-infected inmates entering the correctional facility.
Design/methodology/approach
Prospective collection of data of HIV-infected inmates entered the institution over a ten-year period.
Findings
During study period 365 consecutive different inmates were evaluated. HCV co-infection was observed in more than 80 per cent of the tested HIV-infected inmates, past HBV infection in 71.6 per cent and active HBV co-infection was detected in 7.1 per cent; triple coinfection (HIV, HCV and HBs-Ag positivity) was present in 6 per cent of the total.
Originality/value
This study confirms high prevalence of co-infections among HIV-infected inmates. Testing for HBV and HCV in all HIV-infected inmates at entry in any correctional system is recommended to identify those in need of specific care and/or preventing interventions.
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Giovanni Aiello, Salvatore Alfonzetti, Giuseppe Borzì, Emanuele Dilettoso and Nunzio Salerno
This paper aims to extend an efficient method to solve the global system of linear algebraic equations in the hybrid finite element method – boundary element method (FEM‐BEM…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to extend an efficient method to solve the global system of linear algebraic equations in the hybrid finite element method – boundary element method (FEM‐BEM) solution of open‐boundary skin effect problems. The extension covers the cases in which the skin effect problem is set in a truncated domain in which no homogeneous Dirichlet conditions are imposed.
Design/methodology/approach
The extended method is based on use of the generalized minimal residual (GMRES) solver, which is applied virtually to the reduced system of equations in which the unknowns are the nodal values of the normal derivative of the magnetic vector potential on the fictitious truncation boundary. In each step of the GMRES algorithm the FEM equations are solved by means of the standard complex conjugate gradient solver, whereas the BEM equations are not solved but used to perform fast matrix‐by‐vector multiplications. The BEM equations are written in a non‐conventional way, by making the nodes for the potential non‐coinciding with the nodes for its normal derivative.
Findings
The paper shows that the method proposed is very competitive with respect to other methods to solve open‐boundary skin effect problems.
Originality/value
The paper illustrates a new method to solve efficiently skin effect problems in open boundary domains by means of the hybrid FEM‐BEM method.
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This article on Messedaglia might start with Schumpeter's words: “I have chosen him for mention because of the strategic position he holds in the history of Italian economics and…
Abstract
This article on Messedaglia might start with Schumpeter's words: “I have chosen him for mention because of the strategic position he holds in the history of Italian economics and statistics”. In fact the Italian history of economics in the nineteenth century is populated by many authors who were rather famous during their lifetime but less and less appreciated later. Generally speaking it can be said, again with Schumpeter, that “the economic research which was done during this period in the various centres of national life … was not on the same level with the achievements of either the earlier times of Beccaria and Verri or the later times of Pantaleoni and Pareto…. And if it is true that “the political and administrative structure of every nation reflects itself in the organisation of its scientific work” (ibid.) the difficulties faced by Italy, trying first to get rid of foreign domination and, secondly, to build national unity, can explain the trouble Italian economists have had in disentangling themselves from foreign influence and in avoiding divisions into regional schools of thought. Angelo Messedaglia is one of the few able to be original and not provincial, as will be shown later; instead, at this point it would seem useful to give a brief account of the historical situation of Italy in the nineteenth century.
Lucrezia Sgambaro, Davide Chiaroni, Emanuele Lettieri and Francesco Paolone
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the most recurrent variables characterizing the collaborative relationships of industrial symbiosis (IS) (hereinafter also referred to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the most recurrent variables characterizing the collaborative relationships of industrial symbiosis (IS) (hereinafter also referred to as “anatomic” variables) established in the attempt to adopt circular economy (CE) by collecting evidence from a rich empirical set of implementation cases in Italy.
Design/methodology/approach
The current literature on IS was reviewed, and a content analysis was performed to identify and define the “anatomic” variables affecting its adoption in the circular economy. We followed a multiple-case study methodology investigating 50 cases of IS in Italy and performed a content analysis of the “anatomic” variables characterizing each case.
Findings
This research proposes the “anatomic” variables (i.e. industrial sectors involved, public actors involvement, governmental support, facilitator involvement and geographical proximity) explaining the cases of IS in the circular economy. Each “anatomic” variable is discussed at length based on the empirical evidence collected, with a particular reference to the impact on the different development strategies (i.e. “bottom-up” and “top-down”) in the cases observed.
Originality/value
Current literature on IS focuses on a sub-set of variables characterizing collaboration in IS. This research builds on extant literature to define a new framework of five purposeful “anatomic” variables defining IS in the circular economy. Moreover, we also collect and discuss a broad variety of empirical evidence in what is a still under-investigated context (i.e. Italy).
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Andrea Sestino, Emanuele Leoni and Luca Gastaldi
This paper sheds light on the factors facilitating the digital transformation (DT) of companies, examining the empirical evidence according to a new and original dual lens: the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper sheds light on the factors facilitating the digital transformation (DT) of companies, examining the empirical evidence according to a new and original dual lens: the internal and external marketing management perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
Through an explorative research design based on semi-structured interviews, we investigate the perceptions of some managers involved in managing the DT of their own companies.
Findings
The findings, organized from an internal and external marketing perspective, show how DT requires efforts in nurturing: (1) its organizational and cultural nature; (2) new managerial skills and e-leadership. These factors activate DT as an accelerator of (3) production processes and service provision and (4) competitive strategies.
Practical implications
Our findings underscore critical practical implications for organizations embarking on a DT journey. Firstly, managers should prioritize creating a culture that encourages employees to embrace change and technology. Secondly, recognizing the importance of new managerial skills and e-leadership, managers need to invest in developing the expertise to effectively lead DT efforts. The related skills encompass digital literacy, change management and the ability to inspire and guide teams through the complexities of a DT.
Originality/value
This paper suggests that organizations should holistically approach DT, focusing on culture, leadership and strategic deployment of digital tools. The proposed dual lens offers a valuable and simple answer for academics and practitioners to effectively frame the internal dynamics and external factors shaping DT.
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Parisa Sabbagh, Maria Crescimanno, Demetris Vrontis, Emanuele Schimmenti, Mariantonietta Fiore and Antonino Galati
The present study aims to identify the antecedents and consequences of blockchain adoption in the wine industry from the absorptive capacity perspective through a multiple case…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study aims to identify the antecedents and consequences of blockchain adoption in the wine industry from the absorptive capacity perspective through a multiple case study approach.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiple case study approach was utilized, wherein data was gathered through semi-structured interviews and secondary sources of information from the five Italian innovative wineries.
Findings
The results show that the dynamic capabilities of wineries and the creation of strategic partnerships are common conditions for the adoption of blockchain technology (BCT). In addition, findings reveal that creating value for all supply chain stakeholders and preventing counterfeit products are the most important consequences of BCT adoption.
Research limitations/implications
This study fills a gap in the literature by investigating the drivers of BCT technology adoption under two theoretical lenses, Absorptive capacity and Dynamic capability theories, confirming the usefulness of these two theories in explaining the process of innovation adoption.
Originality/value
The originality of our research study lies in its investigation of the antecedents and consequences of BCT adoption in the wine supply chain, focusing specifically on the role of dynamic capabilities, knowledge acquisition and assimilation, strategic partnerships and open interactions with external actors in driving technological innovation and the successful implementation of BCT in the wine industry. By offering empirical data on the drivers and impacts of BCT adoption, as well as theoretical implications for technological innovation and value creation in the wine sector, our study contributes to filling gaps in the existing literature and provides practical insights for wineries and AgTechs seeking to integrate BCT into their business models.