Paolo Avogadro, Silvia Calegari and Matteo Alessandro Dominoni
A social learning management system (social LMS) is a tool which favors social interactions and allows scholastic institutions to supervise and guide the learning process. The…
Abstract
Purpose
A social learning management system (social LMS) is a tool which favors social interactions and allows scholastic institutions to supervise and guide the learning process. The inclusion of the social feature to a “normal” LMS leads to the creation of educational social networks (EduSN), where the students interact and learn. The advantages derived from an augmented student-student interaction are counterbalanced by the difficulty to control the quality of the information. For this reason, the purpose of this study is to understand who is a source of reliable and high quality knowledge among the students.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors suggest to categorize the actions of the students within roles where the most natural formal role regards the academic performance of a student. Within the EduSN, a student can produce information − social contribution role − and evaluate the contents provided by other peers − social judge role. Aside from the free production, it provides a publication workflow which allows to certify and improve the quality of the material created by the peers. The publication workflow naturally leads to the definition of two additional roles – the editorial and leader roles.
Findings
The paper provides a new definition of expertise within a social LMS, where the key feature of an expert in an EduSN is to improve the quality and quantity of the knowledge flow in the network. The indicators which stem from the roles naturally lead to the definition of the figure of the anti-expert.
Originality/value
At variance with the spectrum of values usually associated with expertise (which ranges from novice to expert), in a social LMS, it becomes clear the need of the definition of a new figure – the anti-expert, who has a negative impact on the overall knowledge flow of the EduSN.
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Keywords
Paolo Gaiardelli and Lucrezia Songini
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the fit between the strategy of service centres and their business model (BM) and to identify the BM components' characteristics and links…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the fit between the strategy of service centres and their business model (BM) and to identify the BM components' characteristics and links that allow it to stand out in terms of service delivery and business performance.
Design/methodology/approach
This study applies an inductive qualitative multiple case study approach through the empirical analysis of top-performing Italian service centres operating in the Medium–Heavy Commercial Vehicle sector.
Findings
Research findings underline that the BM components of top performers are consistent amongst each other and with the adopted strategy and make a positive impact on the firm's performance. In particular, top performers are characterised by a solid financial structure based on equity, formalised and flexible organisational structures and processes, clarity in strategic direction and long-term orientation, grounded capabilities, competences and skills, trustful relationships with main service partners and a comprehensive set of managerial mechanisms.
Research limitations/implications
This paper presents some limitations, typical of qualitative research based on case studies. Future works may include other dimensions of performance for identifying top performers, and extend the empirical analysis to different sectors and national contexts.
Originality/value
This paper supports the relevance of contingency theory – particularly the strategy-structure-performance paradigm – in the analysis of the role of a BM in successful servitization strategies of service centres. It highlights that the BMs of the top-performing companies are characterised by some common elements. From a practical perspective, the authors provide insights that can be useful for designing successful service-based BMs for service networks.