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Article
Publication date: 23 August 2022

Roberta Stefanini, Giovanni Paolo Carlo Tancredi, Giuseppe Vignali and Luigi Monica

In the context of the Industry 4.0, this paper aims to investigate the state of the art of Italian manufacturing, focusing the attention on the implementation of intelligent…

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Abstract

Purpose

In the context of the Industry 4.0, this paper aims to investigate the state of the art of Italian manufacturing, focusing the attention on the implementation of intelligent predictive maintenance (IPdM) and 4.0 key enabling technologies (KETs), analyzing advantages and limitations encountered by companies.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey has been developed by the University of Parma in cooperation with the Italian Workers' Compensation Authority (INAIL) and was submitted to a sample of Italian companies. Overall, 70 answers were collected and analyzed.

Findings

Results show that the 54% of companies implemented smart technologies, increasing quality and safety, reducing the operating costs and sometimes improving the process' sustainability. However, IPdM was implemented only by the 37% of respondents: thanks to big data collection and analytics, Internet of Things, machine learning and collaborative robots, they reduced downtime and maintenance costs. These changes were implemented mainly by large companies, located in northern Italy. To spread the use of IPdM in Italian manufacturing, the high initial investment, lack of skilled labor and difficulties in the integration of new digital technologies with the existing infrastructure are the main obstacles to overcome.

Originality/value

The article gives an overview on the current state of the art of 4.0 technologies implementation in Italy: it is useful not only for companies that want to discover the implementations' advantages but also for institutions or research centres that could help them to solve the encountered obstacles.

Details

Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering, vol. 29 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2511

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Article
Publication date: 6 May 2014

Eleonora Bottani, Gino Ferretti, Roberto Montanari and Giuseppe Vignali

– The purpose of this paper is to propose an empirical investigation targeting companies operating in Northern Italy and focusing on some main topics of maintenance.

389

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose an empirical investigation targeting companies operating in Northern Italy and focusing on some main topics of maintenance.

Design/methodology/approach

Through a combined application of factor analysis and cluster analysis, the paper first identified the main approaches implemented by Italian companies with the purpose of preventing failures and reducing their consequences. Then, the paper grouped companies on the basis of such approaches, and derived the profile of each cluster, in terms of both the company's characteristics and some key maintenance elements, including the maintenance policy or the use of advanced techniques to make maintenance interventions more effective.

Findings

Results of this study suggest that the approach to maintenance management could be related to the implementation of specific maintenance policies, as well as to other topics, such as the company characteristics, the use of advanced techniques for enhancing maintenance effectiveness and the criteria used for selecting the maintenance policy.

Research limitations/implications

The sample of companies investigated in this study is quite limited, and prevented the possibility of providing statistical evidence of all outcomes.

Practical implications

The outcomes of this study can be useful for practitioners to understand the positioning of companies towards the implementation of maintenance policies, as a function of their approach to maintenance management.

Originality/value

This study complements previous empirical works on maintenance by exploring the relationships between maintenance management, maintenance policies, the application of different tools and techniques for maintenance management, and the criteria adopted for the maintenance policy selection.

Details

Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2511

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Article
Publication date: 7 May 2024

Michela Piccarozzi, Cecilia Silvestri, Fabrizio Rossi, Katarzyna Szopik-Depczyńska and Giuseppe Ioppolo

This study aims to provide a systemic and integrated view of how Industry 4.0 and its enabling technologies affect companies' internal and external environments. It offers a…

311

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to provide a systemic and integrated view of how Industry 4.0 and its enabling technologies affect companies' internal and external environments. It offers a comprehensive view of the contribution about ten years after the start of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Design/methodology/approach

The study performs a systematic literature review based on Industry 4.0 management literature. Analyzing the results of the 308 final papers in the sample made it possible to build a theoretical model to explain the contribution of Industry 4.0 to the internal and external environment of the company.

Findings

The results highlight the contribution of Industry 4.0 to the processes and environment of the company by providing a systemic and integrated view, highlighting the most applied enabling technologies and their internal, external, and combined usefulness in business processes.

Research limitations/implications

Finally, the paper provides a broad view of the Industry 4.0 topic ten years after its origin through an extensive literature analysis that allows us to highlight the significant studies and the areas still under-researched by researchers and opens the debate on the Industry 5.0 scenario.

Originality/value

The model makes it possible to appreciate the role of Industry 4.0 and its enabling technologies in companies in a broad and systemic view and to understand, from a managerial point of view, the interactions, synergies, and possibilities within processes and the reflection on the external environment.

Details

European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-1060

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Article
Publication date: 1 March 1998

Gennaro Cuomo and Maria Vignali

This case study sets out the strategic options available to the Massone Group for its possible entry into the UK catering market. It outlines and summarises the contract catering…

1682

Abstract

This case study sets out the strategic options available to the Massone Group for its possible entry into the UK catering market. It outlines and summarises the contract catering market including an analysis of the major players in the industry. There is little consolidation across the manufacturing and catering sectors and so it is necessary to examine the food manufacturing sector separately. With this background, we describe and illustrate the grants available from both the UK and EU to any potential investment. This section outlines the funds applicable to each strategic category (greenfield, premises or acquisition) described later in the case study. Included within the analysis of greenfield sites are two examples from nearby Merseyside and a specific evaluation of the specific grants or assistance available for such sites.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 100 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 3 April 2020

Monica Palladino

Focussing on the links among people, places and traditions, this study aims to present the reflections derived from five in-depth personal interviews on traditions regarding wine…

372

Abstract

Purpose

Focussing on the links among people, places and traditions, this study aims to present the reflections derived from five in-depth personal interviews on traditions regarding wine, fish, cheese making and rural hospitality, collected in a journey across the province of Reggio Calabria in southern Italy. It provides an original view of the “stories” behind the places and the products, useful to inform local development strategies centred on traditional food products.

Design/methodology/approach

The article presents a novel approach in conducting research that involves collecting information via empathetic interviews and presenting the findings in a reflexive, narrative storytelling style.

Findings

Empathetic personal interviewing is key to elicit information useful to frame the links among people, places and traditions. The economic motivation is not the main one for people to remain engaged in the production of traditional food products in the province of Reggio Calabria. Pride in linking their activities and the products they make to the territory, its traditions and the culture embedded therein, clearly contribute to define a sense of place that might be further drawn upon in participatory, rural development initiatives.

Research limitations/implications

Due to the way in which the interviewees have been selected, not all findings can be generalized as applicable to the entire Province or beyond.

Practical implications

Recognizing the people and the stories behind a product may offer insights on how to design effective, socially sustainable policies that would preserve important traditions. Personal food narratives might contribute, in a unique way, to an effective branding of the products and the territory.

Social implications

Doing more empathetically participatory research, rather than taking a “neutral” stance in data collection and data crunching, which has traditionally characterized the work of agricultural economists, may help in making the institutions being perceived as less distant by the ultimate beneficiary of development policies and make participatory planning much more effective.

Originality/value

The article contributes to an emerging area of research at the intersection between agricultural economics and rural development policy. How to highlight and protect the people and their stories as fundamental aspects of the “places”, “products” and “traditions”, remains an area of research that has not yet been fully explored, at least in the rhetoric and discourse on integrated rural development in Italy.

Details

Journal of Place Management and Development, vol. 13 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8335

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 14 December 2023

Michele Oppioli, Maria José Sousa, Miguel Sousa and Elbano de Nuccio

The topic of artificial intelligence (AI) has been expanding rapidly in recent years, gaining the attention of academics and practitioners. This study provides a structured…

1135

Abstract

Purpose

The topic of artificial intelligence (AI) has been expanding rapidly in recent years, gaining the attention of academics and practitioners. This study provides a structured literature review (SLR) on AI and management decisions (MDs) by analysing the scientific output and defining new research topics.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a rigorous methodological approach to summarise the state of the art of the past literature. The authors used Scopus as the database for data collection and utilised the Bibliometrix R package. In total, 204 peer-reviewed English articles were collected and analysed.

Findings

The results showed that literature in this field is emerging. Studies are focused on using AI as forecasting and classification for management decision-making, AI as a tool to improve knowledge management in organisations and extract information. The cluster analysis revealed the presence of five thematic clusters of studies on the topic.

Originality/value

The study’s originality lies in providing a new perspective on AI for MDs. In particular, the analysis reveals a new classification of research streams and provides fruitful research questions to continue research on the topic.

Details

Management Decision, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 1 August 2016

Demetris Vrontis, Stefano Bresciani and Elisa Giacosa

The purpose of this paper is to analyse how a strategy based on the combination of tradition and innovation can offer a competitive advantage to a medium-sized family firm…

3214

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse how a strategy based on the combination of tradition and innovation can offer a competitive advantage to a medium-sized family firm operating in the wine sector.

Design/methodology/approach

This research focuses on one case study. The subject of the case study under analysis is Pio Cesare, an internationally recognized fine wine Italian company.

Findings

Pio Cesare is characterized by a strong combination of tradition and innovation in terms of products and processes. Innovation and tradition are not opposites; on the contrary, a blend of the two has been crucial in achieving and maintaining a sustainable competitive advantage.

Research limitations/implications

The formalization of an effective blend of tradition and innovation, especially in a family business, and an effective dissemination of the company philosophy to future generations, calls for a more in-depth study. This study has some limitations, which determined by the applied methodology. Multiple case study method would be useful. In relation to the interview technique, the authors would set out to increase the number of interviews, by also questioning managers and employees working, as opposed to family members.

Practical implications

Practical implications relate to different groups of stakeholders: for owners and management, for investors, for organizations and institutions working on a territory promotion and in the tourism sector, and for politicians and local authorities.

Originality/value

It identifies which business model a family winery business could be adopted in order to manage such strategies of innovation in respect to traditions, filling the gap in the literature.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 118 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

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