Karen Venturini, Guido Capaldo, Federica Palazzi, Chiara Amatori and Amos Capicchioni
This study aims to explore the effectiveness of action learning (AL) in PA education through the action research (AR). Public administration (PA) requires training paths for its…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the effectiveness of action learning (AL) in PA education through the action research (AR). Public administration (PA) requires training paths for its officials aimed at developing managerial skills. Training designers must construct pathways that identify goals and results to be obtained. Most importantly, they should adopt techniques that engage all stakeholders and measure training performance. This study uses the action research (AR) method to explore the effectiveness of action learning (AL) in PA education. It shows how a training project for officials of the PA can be designed and managed in a participatory and engaging manner.
Design/methodology/approach
The AR approach is particularly suited to long-term training interventions in PA because it offers a means of taking shared responsibility. AR aids in building a bridge between academia and practice and solving real problems with stakeholders, students and end-clients through cyclical interactions of construction, intervention and evaluation. It focuses on AL as an innovative educational tool that links knowledge and action and theory and practice.
Findings
The involvement of different stakeholders, such as teachers, students, administrators and politicians, in the design, management and evaluation process facilitates the identification of educational objectives and monitoring of outcomes in a changing public organizational context. AL is effective because it involves students as individuals and as a team, often as an organization, while trying to solve real problems.
Originality/value
AL through the AR approach has not been widely used in education, especially in PA, where teaching legal and administrative content combines traditional teaching methods. The case study shows the innovative potential of AL in a traditional context such as the PA.
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Gioconda Mele, Guido Capaldo, Giustina Secundo and Vincenzo Corvello
In the landscape created by digital transformation, developing the ability to adapt and innovate by absorbing and generating new knowledge has become a strategic priority for…
Abstract
Purpose
In the landscape created by digital transformation, developing the ability to adapt and innovate by absorbing and generating new knowledge has become a strategic priority for organizations. The theory of dynamic capabilities, especially from a knowledge-based perspective, has proven particularly useful in studying the phenomena of transformation and change. Moving from this premise, this paper aims to map the state of research and to define guidelines for the actualization of dynamic capabilities theory in the digital transformation era.
Design/methodology/approach
A structured literature review of 75 papers, using descriptive, bibliographic and content analysis, was performed to analyze the evolution of dynamic capabilities in the context of digital transformation.
Findings
Studies concerning knowledge-based dynamic capabilities for digital transformation have been clustered into five main research areas: the micro-foundation of dynamic capabilities for digital transformation; dynamic capabilities for value creation in digital transformation; dynamic capabilities for digital transition in specific industries; dynamic capabilities for “data-driven organizations”; and dynamic capabilities for digital transformation in SMEs and family firms. A future research agenda for scholars in strategic management is presented.
Practical implications
A conceptual framework and a future research agenda are presented to highlight directions for this promising research field concerning the renewal of dynamic capabilities in the context of digital transformation.
Originality/value
The originality of the paper lies in the conceptual framework aiming to systematize current research on knowledge-based dynamic capabilities for digital transformation and to provide a new conceptualization of digital dynamic capabilities, clarifying how organizations create and share knowledge in the era of digitalization.
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Guido Capaldo, Nicola Costantino, Roberta Pellegrino and Pierluigi Rippa
This paper aims to investigate factors and weaknesses influencing university–industry interactions diffusion and success by focusing on the research services initiatives because…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate factors and weaknesses influencing university–industry interactions diffusion and success by focusing on the research services initiatives because there are limited studies in literature focusing on this specific form of interaction between the two actors.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors carried an explorative research based on multiple case studies referring to research services experienced between two big Italian universities and small and medium-sized enterprises located in the same area.
Findings
By conducting a cross-case analysis, the authors highlight categories of data in terms of factors influencing interactions’ diffusion and success, as perceived by researchers and by firms; and weaknesses in the interactions process to identify suggestions for improving interactions’ diffusion and success, from researchers and firms.
Practical implications
The outcomes provide managerial implications useful for agencies supporting the diffusion of innovation among firms and firms’ systems for defining new policies and action plans aimed at making the university–industry interactions faster and more effective, improving the innovation processes within firms.
Originality/value
This paper gives new insight in the analysis of factors enhancing university–industry relationships with a focus on research services collaborations and focusing both on university and industry, where large contributions focus predominantly on both groups.
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Pierluigi Rippa, Cristina Ponsiglione, Anca Bocanet, Guido Capaldo and Giuseppe Zollo
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate on exploration–exploitation trade-off in the context of new ventures creation, where, particularly at the empirical level…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate on exploration–exploitation trade-off in the context of new ventures creation, where, particularly at the empirical level, there is a limited understanding of whether and how this trade-off is achieved and how start-ups performances are affected by the way in which they face the exploration–exploitation dilemma.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative case study approach has been adopted as a methodology to conduct the research. Six Italian innovative start-ups were selected and analyzed through in-depth interviews with founders and data collection to understand whether and how start-ups adopt exploration and exploitation solutions to face critical events in their business lives.
Findings
The most evident result of this study is that start-ups adopt more frequently a temporal separation of exploration and exploitation activities as the preferred mode for balancing learning and innovation tension. They do not seem to exhibit a defined or a common path in the way they realize the temporal separation between exploration and exploitation. Instead, they mostly oscillate. The ambidextrous solution is selected in only a few cases and not consecutively. The pre-entry knowledge profile seems to influence the choice of start-ups at the beginning of their lives.
Practical implications
This research has implications for the whole start-up’s ecosystem, comprising incubators/accelerators, advisors, intermediaries, venture capitalists, new venture founders and policymakers. For example, by knowing the typology of knowledge and competence gaps start-ups usually aim to fill when they face particular events, intermediaries (such as incubators) could better plan initiatives and strategies supporting new ventures in the process of growth and stabilization. Furthermore, the venture capitalists can benefit from this research, by planning specific interventions for each critical event based on specific resources and competencies gaps and guiding for more promising start-ups.
Originality/value
This paper presents a novel application of entrepreneurial learning approach in the context of new venture creation. To reach this aim, a classification of exploration/exploitation solutions has been developed.
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Guido Capaldo, Marco Depolo, Pierluigi Rippa and Domenico Schiattone
The aim of this paper is to present a study performed in conjunction with a branch of the Italian Public Italian Administration, the ISSP (Istituto Superiore di Studi Penitenziari…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to present a study performed in conjunction with a branch of the Italian Public Italian Administration, the ISSP (Istituto Superiore di Studi Penitenziari – the Higher Institute of Penitentiary Studies). The study aimed to develop a Transfer of Training (ToT) evaluation methodology that would be both scientifically robust and practitioner-friendly, in an attempt to build a bridge between researchers and practitioners on the topic of ToT process evaluation.
Design/methodology/approach
The ToT evaluation system was built using an action research approach, taking into account workplace specifics and stakeholder needs. An “action research” (with the researchers involved throughout the ToT system building phases) and a “Focus Group” (to identify factors influencing ToT and to define items and grids for behavioural assessment) were used.
Findings
This study showed that the active engagement of stakeholders (trainees and their supervisors and colleagues) is useful in designing context-adapted tools for ToT evaluation and can help organizations improve the fit between their training activities and organizational goals.
Research limitations/implications
The generalizability of the proposed ToT evaluation methodology is not guaranteed, and the procedure needs to be replicated and monitored in different organizational settings and cultures.
Practical implications
The organization decided to implement the ToT evaluation methodology developed during the course of the study for all future training programmes.
Originality/value
In this study, a ToT evaluation methodology was built that will be both scientifically robust and practitioner-friendly.
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Guido Capaldo, Luca Iandoli, Mario Raffa and Guiseppe Zollo
In this paper the authors address the issue of the management of the marketing/entrepreneurship interface in small entrepreneurial knowledge‐based firms (EKFs). According to the…
Abstract
In this paper the authors address the issue of the management of the marketing/entrepreneurship interface in small entrepreneurial knowledge‐based firms (EKFs). According to the perspective presented in this work, in such firms, the management of the interface is strictly related to ensuring a suitable balance of market and technological innovation capabilities throughout each phase of firm’s life. In order to contribute to the debate in this research area, the authors propose a theoretical framework based on both organizational configuration and resource‐based theories. Within this theoretical framework, a methodology to evaluate firm’s innovation capabilities based on the use of fuzzy logic is described. The proposed methodology was tested in a field analysis whose results are presented in the paper. On the basis of these empirical results, some useful indications and practical lessons concerning the relationships between marketing/entrepreneurship and innovation in small innovative firms are discussed.
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Guido Capaldo and Pierluigi Rippa
The purpose of this paper is to propose a methodological approach aimed at identifying technical and organizational capabilities firms should have before the ERP implementation…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a methodological approach aimed at identifying technical and organizational capabilities firms should have before the ERP implementation process starts, in order to select the more appropriate implementation strategy and the change management interventions to support the selected strategy.
Design/methodology/approach
Capabilities to implement ERP system are selected on the basis of a literature review and through focus group session in collaboration with the company partner of the project. Then, a methodological approach is proposed on the basis of such capabilities. Scales of the capabilities are built, and an algorithm to analyze and evaluate firms' capabilities is proposed.
Findings
The methodological approach has been tested through a validation experiment with the company partner of the research project. Results reveal the usefulness of the methodology in estimating the capabilities that firms should have in order to select the more appropriate implementation strategy.
Research limitations/implications
Further research is under development in order to validate the methodological approach through a case study.
Practical implications
Starting from the methodological approach a useful tool could be developed to analyze technical and organizational capabilities of the firm, and to select the more appropriate ERP implementation strategy.
Originality/value
The methodological approach is the result of a research project based on tight collaboration between academic researchers and IT managers involved in ERP implementation processes. Thanks to such collaboration, tacit knowledge and expertise accumulated by IT managers during ERP implementation processes was explicated and evaluated in the proposed methodology. The result is a model that goes beyond descriptive analysis and offers prescriptive advice on how to address the potential challenges prior to and during the implementation processes.
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Lelio Raffa and Gianluca Esposito
E-Procurement (EP) can be defined as using the Internet in the purchasing process (de Boer, Harink & Heijboer, 2002). This paper focuses on the EP implementation process. Such…
Abstract
E-Procurement (EP) can be defined as using the Internet in the purchasing process (de Boer, Harink & Heijboer, 2002). This paper focuses on the EP implementation process. Such process is defined as the way new technologies are absorbed by organizations and become part of their routines (Capaldo, Raffa & Zollo, 1994; Leonard-Barton, 1988; Leonard & Spring, 2002). This paper illustrates the preliminary results of an explorative study focused on the implementation process of an e-procurement system in the Italian-public-health-care system. Drawing on the ICT implementation process literature, this research aims at contributing to the identification of a set of conditions under which different EP forms appear appropriate in different purchasing and organizational settings (Min & Galle, 1999; Emiliani, 2000).
Piera Centobelli, Roberto Cerchione, Eugenio Oropallo, Armando Papa and Stefano Palermo
Given the evolution that knowledge management (KM) has undergone since the advent of the digital transition, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate how KM processes have changed…
Abstract
Purpose
Given the evolution that knowledge management (KM) has undergone since the advent of the digital transition, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate how KM processes have changed as a result of agile organisations’ adoption of digital technologies.
Design/methodology/approach
Years have passed since the onset of the fourth industrial revolution, and the technologies unique to this revolution have permeated every organisation to varying degrees. Whether organisations have been at the forefront of technological innovation or have had to adapt to much more advanced digitised processes, they have had to change how they manage operations internally and with the remainder of the supply chain they serve. These changes have been much more significant for agile organisations, which rely heavily on digital systems and have strong supplier and customer interactions. Due to the large amount of data generated, these organisations are referred to as knowledge-intensive businesses, and as a result, their KM processes are of the utmost importance. For this reason, a multiple case study with a grounded theory approach has been implemented to carry out a field analysis.
Findings
The results show that Industry 4.0 technological advances can be included in the scientific debate on KM and agile innovation, given the effects that such technologies have on organisations.
Originality/value
In today’s increasingly connected world, these findings have the potential to generate significant economic value by improving coordination and collaboration in KM processes.
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Stefano Franco, Angelo Presenza, Antonio Messeni Petruzzelli and Enzo Peruffo
The purpose of this study is to explore how luxury companies can use knowledge embedded in tradition to set up effective business models.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore how luxury companies can use knowledge embedded in tradition to set up effective business models.
Design/methodology/approach
Given the limited coverage in previous literature regarding the manner in which tradition can be leveraged by companies to create and capture value, this paper adopts a qualitative approach, i.e. the exploratory analysis of a single case study, namely, that of the high-end Italian hotel Borgo Egnazia.
Findings
Within a focus on luxury firms, this paper conceptualizes the tradition-driven business model highlighting activities aimed at creating and capturing value by using knowledge embedded in tradition. Combining value creation and value capture with tacit and codified knowledge, the authors are able to highlight the components of a business model that uses tradition as its main distinctive resource.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to explore how companies use tradition to create and capture value.