Alessio Monti, Luca Scorrano, Simone Tricarico, Filiberto Bilotti, Alessandro Toscano and Lucio Vegni
The purpose of this paper is to show how metamaterials with extreme values of permittivity and permeability, may be effectively used to design artificial magnetic conductors (AMC…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to show how metamaterials with extreme values of permittivity and permeability, may be effectively used to design artificial magnetic conductors (AMC) at a given frequency. In particular, this paper theoretically determines, for the different polarizations of the incidence field, the conditions under which metamaterials can behave as an AMC.
Design/methodology/approach
In order to find out the required values of the constitutive parameters, this paper has done a theoretical analysis based on the transmission-line theory. The obtained analytical reflection coefficient has been particularized for the different possible polarizations of the incidence field in order to find the constitutive parameters values that this paper needs for the AMC behavior.
Findings
Depending on the polarization of the field, it is shown that different values of the constitutive parameters are needed to get AMCs. In particular, it is shown that in the case of TEM and TE polarizations, a large value of the permeability is enough to obtain an AMC boundary condition. In the case of the TM polarization, instead, the AMC boundary condition is effectively achieved by using a material with vanishing permittivity. The role of the permittivity in the three polarizations is discussed. Finally, possible implementations and applications at microwave and optical frequencies are presented.
Originality/value
The idea of using miniaturized inclusions to obtain AMCs is not completely new. However, to the authors' best knowledge, a complete and rigorous theoretical analysis showing the capabilities and the limits of this approach has not yet been presented in the open technical literature.
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Silvia Ranfagni and Massimo Rosati
The chapter proposes to investigate online reputation of hospitality brands and its measurements. Brand reputation is generally defined as an overall appraisal of a company by its…
Abstract
The chapter proposes to investigate online reputation of hospitality brands and its measurements. Brand reputation is generally defined as an overall appraisal of a company by its stakeholders, which is the result of the company's past actions and predictions about the company's future (Ferguson, Deephouse, & Ferguson, 2000). Being viewed as the opinion shared among a group of stakeholders (Dowling, 2008), it plays an important role in the tourism industry. With the progress of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs), reviews and user-generated contents of destinations and of hospitality companies together with the related emerging brand reputation can influence consumers' behaviors and choices. Brand reputation analysis could be more useful in the hospitality brand management when integrated with brand image and brand identity analysis, mainly because in tourism businesses and destinations, brands are typically affected by an inherent fragility determined by the service nature of products (Casarin, 1996). According to Biel (1991), the meanings that consumers assign to a brand are synthesized into brand associations formed by the components perceived to underlie the brand's image. As well as brand reputation, strong, positive and unique associations reinforce a brand and increase its equity that requires significant internal brand identity efforts, which should create a corresponding brand image through integration in overall marketing programmes (Keller, 2003). It makes sense to develop an analytical research approach that compares online brand reputation (OBR) with brand association matching as a measure of the alignment between brand identity and brand image in hospitality companies. This comparative analysis emerging from brand reputation, brand image and brand identity analysis can reveal divergent situations (i.e., high brand reputation and low brand association matching) and orient brand managers in reviewing online brand communication. Brand reputation and brand image analysis will be contextualized in an online community as a social setting that is considered to be a new type of market (Muniz & O'Guinn, 2001). We focus on hospitality online communities populated by consumers and other actors such as influencers and bloggers: their brand perception could be separately compared with brand identity that we will extract from company communications including presentational information and brand-related press releases found on websites, nonfinancial narrative from annual reports, and interviews with managers published in mainstream media sources. In our analysis we will focalize on a cluster of luxury hospitality companies integrating a netnographic and text-mining techniques. We will use both the techniques in order to (1) extract and study brand associations in terms of brand reputation, brand image, and brand identity; (2) develop indicators of brand reputation and brand association matching; and (3) discuss their utility in the management of the hospitality company brands.
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Lea Iaia, Amedeo Maizza, Monica Fait and Paola Scorrano
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the experiential dimension of certain Italian agrofood products’ websites, which are seen as exemplifying best practices in the terms…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the experiential dimension of certain Italian agrofood products’ websites, which are seen as exemplifying best practices in the terms of the representation of the brand-land relationship, including their link with the territory of origin in the sense of terroir.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted after the conception and experimentation of a model (called SObER), the fruit of detailed studies of experiential marketing (Schmitt, 1999a, b). The model was tested using the user-based focus group technique (Mich, 2007) and verified with reference to certain consortia brands considered to reflect best practices in communication of the brand-land connection.
Findings
The analysis made it possible to identify the key elements for expressing both the experiential dimension and the brand-land relationship of traditional agrofood products, ensuring their effective online communication.
Research limitations/implications
Although the research uses a benchmarking technique, it focuses on specific case studies; thus, the outcomes can be generalised by means of an extension of the analysis.
Originality/value
The value of the analysis carried out lies in the creation of a model aimed at the assessment of agrofood products and, more generally, their link with the territory of origin in the online context. In addition, the marketing literature on the experiential dimension applied to website tools is still limited. For this reason, this work may stimulate future in-depth analysis with reference to the proposed model.
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Andreia de Bem Machado, Gabriel Osório de Barros, João Rodrigues dos Santos, Silvana Secinaro, Davide Calandra and Maria José Sousa
Humans now enjoy a better life because of Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI has a significant impact on the creation of smart cities. Modern applications based on big data…
Abstract
Humans now enjoy a better life because of Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI has a significant impact on the creation of smart cities. Modern applications based on big data, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, and deep learning require extensive use of complex computational solutions. Thus, the following problems arise: (1) what are smart cities? (2) what is AI? (3) How is AI used in smart cities? To respond to this problem, the following objective was set: to map how AI is used in smart cities. For this purpose, a qualitative methodology based on a narrative analysis of the literature was used. It is concluded that AI and smart cities are complementary technologies that can assist cities in tackling difficult issues including public safety, transportation, energy management, environmental monitoring, and predictive maintenance. This chapter’s findings, while broadly applicable, offer valuable insights into the Gulf region’s unique context, where rapid urbanization and technological adoption intersect with cultural and environmental considerations. The integration of AI in smart cities presents a promising avenue for the Gulf region to address its specific challenges and leverage its economic and infrastructural strengths, thereby contributing to the broader goals of innovation, development, prosperity, and well-being as envisioned in the region’s Vision 2040 initiatives.
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Maria Attard and Corinne Mulley
Transport and pandemics are interlinked given the ubiquitous nature of modern transport systems. The COVID-19 pandemic has provided much evidence for both virus contagion but also…
Abstract
Transport and pandemics are interlinked given the ubiquitous nature of modern transport systems. The COVID-19 pandemic has provided much evidence for both virus contagion but also containment and how transport plays a role in both. As the world and its cities experienced lockdowns, there were travel restrictions, physical social distancing rules, transport systems shut down, changed operations, a re-opening with lower demands in some sectors (e.g., air transport and urban public transport services) and an increased demand in others (e.g., freight and home deliveries). These changes brought about a series of reactions at all levels, from governments and local authorities, operators of all transport modes but also personal and individual behaviour. This volume provides evidence on an array of transport and pandemic experiences through a collection of works from around the world, each chapter discussing a mode, a region and possible future outcomes. This introductory chapter provides the context for this volume with an overview of literature that looks at transport and pandemics, a timeline of events that marked the COVID-19 pandemic developments across different parts of the world, and finally an overview of the chapters in the volume. It concludes with some insights from the editors on the future of transport in a post-COVID world.
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Marzia Ingrassia, Luca Altamore, Pietro Columba, Simona Bacarella and Stefania Chironi
This paper aims to examine how Pantelleria’s wineries communicate the extreme territory of Pantelleria through its passito wine and whether this may be a value added for…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine how Pantelleria’s wineries communicate the extreme territory of Pantelleria through its passito wine and whether this may be a value added for consumers. Specifically examines which dimensions of communication are effectively used by wineries to stimulate, in wine consumers, emotions that link passito wine with the territory of Pantelleria.
Design/methodology/approach
All websites of wineries producing passito wine in Pantelleria were analyzed using the adaptation, goal-attainment, integration and latent pattern maintenance (AGIL) scheme for measuring communication dimensions.
Findings
Results suggest that wineries and stakeholders should apply territory-based marketing strategies to add value to passito wine, the symbol of the island. Synergistically, Pantelleria, through the use of its symbolic product, may enhance its touristic activities. This approach provides useful elements to evaluate the potential of communication in other regions with extreme agriculture, with other agro-food products to promote, due to the replicability of the method.
Research limitations/implications
A limitation of this study is the application of the AGIL method to a population of wineries located in a small wine region; however, regions where heroic agriculture is practiced are generally small.
Practical implications
The findings demonstrate a unique approach that provides an alternative form of wine communication strategy, in which the extreme territory becomes the communication tool of the product linked to it, adding value, regardless of the brand, while, simultaneously, the product becomes the symbol of the territory.
Originality/value
It contributes to the literature by providing the first application of the AGIL scheme to the wine sector, and it shows a new approach for communication strategies in wine marketing.
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Luca Dezi, Paola Pisano, Marco Pironti and Armando Papa
The purpose of this paper is to satisfy a clear gap in the main field of open innovation research whereabouts a very little scholarship try to analyze the mechanisms of innovative…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to satisfy a clear gap in the main field of open innovation research whereabouts a very little scholarship try to analyze the mechanisms of innovative milieu down smart cities environments by applying through innovative projects that seem to support efficiently the entry of private firms and citizens in public collaborations.
Design/methodology/approach
The research performed an exploratory and qualitative evaluation based on the case study method built on the evaluation of organizational behavior and urban boosting innovation through smart city initiatives. In doing so, after a literature review in smart city as well in lean methodology fields, the case of Turin Smart City follows.
Findings
As acknowledged by international literature, the paper shows how a lean approach enables local government to define and realize smart projects and initiatives in a faster and more effective way. Particularly, the government in one of the main cities in Italy, id est Turin, combines a lean methodology with the job-to-be done approach, according a new concept of smart initiatives involving a startup mentality for the lead users which enables interesting predictions relating the human aspects of open collaborations.
Research limitations/implications
The specificity of this inquiry highlights valuable insights from double-gate smart cities’ innovation, social and urban as well. The research is largely interpretative and exploratory and while this provides a solid scientific foundation for further research, it does not, itself, subject any hypothesis to statistical testing and validation.
Originality/value
Since the city approached the smart city subject in a lean way, it was able to realize some projects in a faster way. Through specific initiatives, the city acquires the ability to involve more and better all its stakeholders such as citizens, companies, and public employees, among others. In this regard, the paper invigorates managerial debates concerning the urban and social aspects of open innovation ecosystems which represent in our minds a superior level of open innovation, testbeds of positive knowledge, and stimulus of knowledge dissemination process around the city.
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Antonio Iazzi, Lorenzo Ligorio, Demetris Vrontis and Oronzo Trio
The objective of the paper is to assess food and beverage companies' levels of communication about their activities and sustainability performances, in terms of their compliance…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of the paper is to assess food and beverage companies' levels of communication about their activities and sustainability performances, in terms of their compliance with the requirements of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards and the consistency of the contents of the sustainability reports they publish on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Design/methodology/approach
To this end, a content analysis of the non-financial reports published by 102 food and beverage companies in the year 2018 has been conducted to identify the most adopted GRI guideline and the nature of the communicated SDGs. Finally, three t-tests have been used to understand how the presence on a listed market, the geographical settlement and nature of the company affects the corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication.
Findings
The study has revealed how the transition to the more recent GRI Standards guidelines is still on going. Also, it has emerged how food and beverage companies are supporting the pursuit of the SDGs through the reduction of work inequalities. At last, the analysis has showed how the presence on a listed market is a driver of CSR communication.
Originality/value
The findings of the present study provide a picture of the current CSR practices in the food and beverage sector and allow companies to effectively choose the most suitable non-financial indicators and GRI guidelines. Also, the present contribution has revealed the key SDGs considered by food and beverage companies.
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In this study, the moderator effect of the use of big data by Turkish banks on the innovation performance of the intellectual capital components, human capital, structural…
Abstract
Purpose
In this study, the moderator effect of the use of big data by Turkish banks on the innovation performance of the intellectual capital components, human capital, structural capital, and relational capital is discussed.
Design/methodology/approach
In the research, 618 survey data applied to bank employees and weighted according to population in seven regions were used. The data were analyzed through the structural equation model.
Findings
According to the empirical results, intellectual capital components and big data usage explain 65% of the variance in innovation performance. It has been determined that the other two components of intellectual capital, except structural capital, have a statistically significant effect on innovation performance. According to the Standardized Regression Weights, one unit change in human capital affects innovation performance by 0.162, and one unit change in relational capital affects innovation performance by 0.244. In addition, a one-unit change in big data usage affects innovation performance by 0.480. It has been understood that the use of big data significantly affects the innovation performance of banks with a rate of 0.480.
Research limitations/implications
Although this study is important, it could have been done with senior managers instead of being based on a survey. Instead of a survey, it could have been done with a data set taken from banks' balance sheets and tables. Additionally, the use of big data has been considered as a moderator but can be reconsidered as a mediator or external construct. Moreover, this study was conducted on a sample of participants working in the developing Turkish commercial banking sector. Therefore, the results of the study can be done in different countries and at different development levels.
Originality/value
The study is one of the first studies to examine the moderating effect of intellectual capital by considering its subcomponents in a developing country. In addition, it is thought that the results will contribute to managers, policy makers and researchers who want to increase competition and market share in the sector, as well as filling the gap in the literature.