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This study aims to investigate the perceptions of service providers in the travel and hospitality industry toward the adoption of blockchain technology (BCT), focusing on its impact on consumer experiences and expectations, especially in terms of trustworthiness and the management of privacy and security concerns.

The research used a quantitative methodology, collecting data from 135 industry practitioners across five tourism sectors (lodging, connected industries, entertainment, FandB, transportation) in Europe. This approach aimed to understand the diverse perspectives on the benefits and challenges of implementing BCT in their opera

The results indicate mixed perceptions regarding blockchain adoption. While there are positive views on BCT’s potential to enhance customer experience and service quality, there are significant concerns about its impact on trust and security. A consensus exists between customer and provider perspectives on BCT’s trustworthiness, but significant differences were observed in views on privacy and security enhancement.

This research contributes to the existing literature by providing insights into the service providers’ and customers’ perspectives on BCT within the travel and hospitality industry. It underscores the complexities of adopting new technologies and calls for more in-depth studies to address the identified concerns, thereby offering a novel viewpoint on the adoption of distributed ledger technologies in enhancing customer experience and service delivery.

本研究调查了旅游与酒店行业服务提供商对区块链技术（BCT）应用的看法, 重点关注其对消费者体验和期望的影响, 尤其是在可信度以及隐私和安全管理方面的影响。

本研究采用定量方法, 收集了来自欧洲五个旅游行业（住宿、相关产业、娱乐、餐饮、交通）的135位行业从业者的数据, 旨在了解他们对区块链技术在业务运营中的实施所带来的好处和挑战的不同看法。

结果表明, 关于区块链技术应用的看法存在分歧。虽然对BCT提升客户体验和服务质量的潜力持有正面看法, 但对其在信任和安全方面的影响仍存在重大担忧。客户和服务提供商在BCT的可信度方面达成了一致意见, 但在隐私和安全增强的看法上存在显著差异。

本研究为现有文献提供了关于旅游和酒店行业服务提供商与客户对区块链技术看法的见解, 强调了采用新技术的复杂性, 并呼吁进行更深入的研究以解决所发现的问题, 从而为分布式账本技术在提升客户体验和服务交付中的应用提供了新的视角。

This study addresses gender composition in universities. The purpose of this study is to define the vertical and horizontal gender segregation in both public and private universities. In particular, it measures the gender distribution throughout academic careers across levels and time, and among fields of science in Italian academia.

The authors adopted the framework of Blackburn et al. (2002) as a theoretical lens through which they examine and explain occupational gender segregation in the university context. A mixed methodology of both document analysis and examining some statistical indicators was used to create gender-disaggregated measures to help the authors answer their research questions. The data collected represent academia in Italy for the period 2010-2018. The data were obtained from the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research.

The authors show the gendered nature of academic institutions in Italy. In particular, the authors acknowledge that hierarchies of power exist that privilege men and the masculine and devalue women and the feminine within academic institutions.

This paper provides theoretical and practical findings that support the literature on gender issues in universities and other public and/or private institutions. The academic community, practitioners and policymakers can use the results to design measures to address gender inequality in academia.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is novel because it provides gender-relevant insights on the gender composition in universities in the Italian context. These insights are also relevant for academic institutions that operate in an international setting.

This paper aims to present a dual-perspective framework for maintenance service delivery that should be used by manufacturing companies to structure and manage their maintenance service delivery process, using aggregated historical and real-time data to improve operational decision-making. The framework, built for continuous improvement, allows the exploitation of maintenance data to improve the knowledge of service processes and machines.

The Dual-perspective, data-based decision-making process for maintenance delivery (D3M) framework development and test followed a qualitative approach based on literature reviews and semi-structured interviews. The pool of companies interviewed was expanded from the development to the test stage to increase its applicability and present additional perspectives.

The interviews confirmed that manufacturing companies are interested in exploiting the data generated in the use phase to improve operational decision-making in maintenance service delivery. Feedback to improve the framework methods and tools was collected, as well as suggestions for the introduction of new ones according to the companies' necessities.

The paper presents a novel framework addressing the data-based decision-making process for maintenance service delivery. The D3M framework can be used by manufacturing companies to structure their maintenance service delivery process and improve their knowledge of machines and service processes.

Nowadays manufacturers companies are increasingly compelled to navigate towards servitization. Different methods and approaches were proposed in literature to support them to switch from traditional product-based business model to product service systems (PSSs). However, new knowledge, capabilities and skills were needed to consistently develop PSSs, since they need a joint focus on both customer’s perspective and company’s internal performance and at the same time a proper support for the integration of product and service design. The purpose of this paper is to propose the Product Service System Lean Design Methodology (PSSLDM), a structured methodology to develop PSSs along their entire lifecycle.

Retrieving concepts from interpretative, interactive and system development research traditions, and strongly reminding the design research methodology framework, the adopted research methodology is composed of three main phases (observation and conceptualization, theory building and tool development, validation) and involved three heterogeneous companies.

This paper provides an overview of the PSSLDM, explaining how the different methods supporting its conduction should contribute to properly design an integrated PSS. Moreover, companies highlighted several benefits in the different stages along the PSS lifecycle deriving by the adoption of the PSSLDM.

The development of a platform based on the PSSLDM methodology raises a discussion on the possible changes needed by current Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) models and systems when they have to do with PSSs.

The PSSLDM enriches the already proposed SErvice Engineering Methodology, introducing new several components linked by lean rules in each of its phases (starting from customer analysis, going through solution concept and detailed design, until the offering analysis) and better supprting the deatil design of both prodcut and service components.

Given the challenges that Industry 4.0 poses, the purpose of this paper is to propose a comprehensive assessment model suitable for evaluating small- and medium-size enterprises’ (SMEs) digital readiness levels, discuss the results of an assessment of 20 manufacturing SMEs using the proposed model and highlight priorities needed to undertake a successful journey towards Industry 4.0.

The research adopts an empirical approach using multiple case studies. Starting with a literature review about maturity and readiness-assessment models for Industry 4.0, the study’s model has been built and validated through two pilot case studies, with the final model used in an extensive case studies research with 20 enterprises.

The SMEs used in this research present an intermediate readiness level with respect to Industry 4.0. They are aware of the phenomenon, but management is still taking the first steps towards identifying the most appropriate strategy to approach this Fourth Industrial Revolution. Companies need to exploit all opportunities that data availability provides in terms of knowledge creation and decision-making support, in all forms, through investments in people skills and expertise and through an infrastructure that can support data gathering, analysis and sharing.

The Italian industrial landscape comprises mainly SMEs, mostly needing support to understand their path towards Industry 4.0. Therefore, the proposed model specifically focuses on SMEs, given its modularity, ease of understanding and fit to SMEs’ organisational structure. Furthermore, insights from 20 Italian SMEs are examined, and a list of priorities is highlighted.

The organizations need to use strategic drivers such as market orientation (MO) and knowledge management (KM) for the development of product and process innovations, which can become a major source of sustainable competitive advantage (SCA). However, there is a gap in the use of these precepts, specifically in Brazilian companies. The purpose of this paper is to measure the relationship among MO, KM orientation, innovation (product and process), SCA and organizational performance (OP).

The research was developed through a survey in 1,072 companies from the industrial manufacturing, commerce and services activity sectors. For the analysis of data, the study used the structural equation modeling method.

This study contributes to managerial decisions in the choice of investment in strategic drivers and innovation, to obtain competitive advantages and economic gains. The results highlight that companies that use market information have formal structures to support innovation processes achieving more successful results.

The framework proposed in this research can be used for different industries and segments.

The theoretical value of this paper is the contribution to the literature with the provision of a framework to analyze the strategic drivers, which are antecedents of innovation in different sectors of activity and in different sizes of companies. It is highlighted as managerial contributions, that the study identified evidence that organizations seek a superior OP to the competitor, creating competitive differentials that result in SCA.

This paper aims to examine how competitive intelligence (CI) relates to the strategy formulation process of firms.

Due to the novelty of the phenomenon and to the depth of the investigation required to grasp the mechanisms and logics of CI, a multiple case study has been performed related to four companies located in Brazil that adopted CI practices within dedicated business units to inform and support strategic decision-making.

The authors provide detailed empirical evidence on the connection and use of CI practices throughout each stage of the strategy formulation process. Moreover, the study suggests that CI practices, despite their strategic relevance and diffusion, are still extensively adopted for tactical use.

This study sheds light on how CI practices may inform, support, and be integrated in the strategy formulation process, as few studies have done before.

We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in the construction of hegemonies in SEA research in Brazil. In particular, we examine the role of hegemony in relation to the co-option of SEA literature and sustainability in the Brazilian context by the logic of development for economic growth in emerging economies. The methodological approach adopts a post-structural perspective that reflects Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory. The study employs a hermeneutical, rhetorical approach to understand and classify 352 Brazilian research articles on SEA. We employ Brown and Fraser’s (2006) categorizations of SEA literature to help in our analysis: the business case, the stakeholder–accountability approach, and the critical case. We argue that the business case is prominent in Brazilian studies. Second-stage analysis suggests that the major themes under discussion include measurement, consulting, and descriptive approach. We argue that these themes illustrate the degree of influence of the hegemonic politics relevant to emerging economics, as these themes predominantly concern economic growth and a capitalist context. This paper discusses trends and practices in the Brazilian literature on SEA and argues that the focus means that SEA avoids critical debates of the role of capitalist logics in an emerging economy concerning sustainability. We urge the Brazilian academy to understand the implications of its reifying agenda and engage, counter-hegemonically, in a social and political agenda beyond the hegemonic support of a particular set of capitalist interests.

This study comprehensively reviews the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which refers to Industry 4.0 (IR 4.0) applications in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Multinational companies and big corporations have the capacity and resources to implement IR 4.0, but SMEs are limited due to financial constraints, expertise and lack of resources. Even so, IR 4.0 is required as technologies evolve and market demand has changed how firms do business.

To uncover the potential of IR 4.0 and critical determinants of SMEs’ adoption of IR 4.0, this study presents a bibliometric analysis to evaluate the current research streams in IR 4.0 adoption among SMEs through bibliographic coupling. Furthermore, this review provides a glimpse of the future by analyzing prospective trends on IR 4.0 in SMEs.

Bibliographic coupling produces five clusters: (1) challenges and barriers in IR 4.0 implementation among SMEs, (2) technological adoption of IR 4.0, (3) opportunities and benefits of IR 4.0, (4) business model innovation and (5) implication of IR 4.0 on SMEs technologies. On the contrary, co-word analysis produces three clusters: (1) technologies in IR 4.0, (2) strategy and management of IR 4.0 among SMEs and (3) IR 4.0 model for SMEs.

Implications are directly related to business owners, policymakers and technology developers meeting the needs of the industry and SMEs, which are the focus of this review.

The findings contribute significantly to the body of knowledge by presenting a state-of-the-art science mapping approach to uncover the knowledge structure and intellectual linkage of IR 4.0 adoption within SMEs.