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Article
Publication date: 3 February 2020

Laura Michelini, Cecilia Grieco, Francesca Ciulli and Alessio Di Leo

The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential impact of food sharing platform business models and to identify the limits and barriers in measuring the impact. Using the…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential impact of food sharing platform business models and to identify the limits and barriers in measuring the impact. Using the “theory of change” (ToC) approach, this paper develops a theoretical framework that captures the activities, outputs and outcomes of food sharing platforms and links them to indicators.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employs a two-step methodology, which includes a website content analysis followed by two focus groups. The purpose of the website content analysis was to list a set of activities that are performed by food sharing platforms. The focus groups allow to design the ToC and to discuss limits and barriers in measuring the impact of food sharing platforms.

Findings

The study provides an overview of the main areas of impact of food sharing platforms (environmental, social, economic and political) and identifies the related outcomes. Furthermore, the paper highlights the need for the platform to manage the multifaceted tensions of food waste recovery vs prevention and the benefits of food recovery to helping hungry people vs the actual need to eradicate poverty by addressing social injustices and inequalities.

Research limitations/implications

The selected sample involved in the focus group comprised a wide but not comprehensive set of stakeholders. Indeed, the obtained information cannot be generalized. In addition, the ToC approach requires a certain discretion of the facilitator and introduces the potential for partiality in conducting the analysis.

Practical implications

The framework helps to unbundle the complex challenge of measuring the impact of food sharing platforms and it provides managers, practitioners and policy makers with a practical tool to direct their activities toward a better impact.

Originality/value

From a theoretical perspective the study advances the literature on (food) sharing platforms and contributes to research on the sustainability in the food sector. It indicates the impacts a novel actor relying on digital technology can have in the food sector and points out the tensions between food recovery and prevention and the impact on poverty. The proposed framework could be a useful tool to support practitioners in understanding the trade-offs among the outcomes they aim to attain, and to identify the proper strategies to manage them.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 122 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 February 2024

Cecilia Grieco and Chiara Palagonia

The impact of the sharing economy on traditional businesses has largely been analysed from both company and consumer perspectives. In the case of the latter, scholars have…

Abstract

Purpose

The impact of the sharing economy on traditional businesses has largely been analysed from both company and consumer perspectives. In the case of the latter, scholars have produced a rich field of research into different aspects of consumer behaviour and the way it is reshaped in these alternative consumption patterns. This study aims to provide a systematization of these studies and to develop a model for consumer behaviour in the sharing economy.

Design/methodology/approach

Following a three-step approach, a systematic literature review has been performed to analyse and classify 108 scientific papers about consumer behaviour in the sharing economy.

Findings

Four main research topics came up from the analysis: sharing approach, consumption pattern, post-purchase behaviour and sustainability. Basing on these clusters, the double-loop model of consumer behaviour in the sharing economy is presented and discussed.

Originality/value

The research allows to provide scholars and practitioners with the state of the art on consumer behaviour in sharing economy and to draft future research avenues to orient research and practice in the field.

Details

Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 41 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0736-3761

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 August 2023

Laura Michelini, Cecilia Grieco and Nikolay Dentchev

The purpose of the paper is to explore how collaborations can increase the impact of food sharing platforms, which offer the potential to reduce food waste by facilitating contact…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to explore how collaborations can increase the impact of food sharing platforms, which offer the potential to reduce food waste by facilitating contact between suppliers and consumers. With this comes the need to address the twofold challenge of being digital and having an economic and social-environmental mission. Thus, adopting a system perspective and recognizing stakeholders as part of a value network can maximize the generated impact.

Design/methodology/approach

A multiple case study analysis has been conducted on 12 food sharing platforms. Data have been collected through semi-structured interviews, triangulated with internal and external documents and content analysed.

Findings

The research outlines the systems of collaboration found in food sharing platforms characterized by two levels of actors (platform players and business players) and five different types of collaboration that can help platforms maximize their impact (boosting the network effect; capturing value; enhancing the business model; extending the type of impact; and scaling up).

Originality/value

The research offers important contributions for the advancement of the field, adding evidence on the opportunities offered by collaborations to generate impact for business and society in the context of the sharing economy and food industry. The research allows to identify the concept of “sustainability-oriented sharing platforms” as a subset of sharing economy platforms characterized by a dual mission and related challenges. From a managerial point of view, the study highlights how designing and implementing collaborations with the stakeholders can increase platforms' impact consistently with the life cycle and short- and long-term perspectives.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 125 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 September 2017

Cecilia Grieco and Gennaro Iasevoli

Co-marketing strategies play an important role in enabling firms to improve their competitive position. However, despite its increasing implementation, it remains a topic that is…

2497

Abstract

Purpose

Co-marketing strategies play an important role in enabling firms to improve their competitive position. However, despite its increasing implementation, it remains a topic that is largely not researched. The purpose of this paper is to analyze existing contributions to the field of co-marketing research and the different perspectives scholars have adopted in analyzing the topic.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review has been developed, as its lack seems to be a major hindrance to the development of related studies. A specific focus has been made on the adopted approaches. Five approaches have been identified, and multidimensional scaling (MDS) has been used to analyze the differences among them.

Findings

First, the analysis of the typologies of studies on co-marketing alliances is made. Also, the identified approaches are strategic-based, consumer-based, relational-based, specificity-based and evaluation-based. What emerges from the MDS is that there are two perspectives of analysis of the alliance that characterize them: the inside–outside and the wide–narrow points of view.

Research limitations/implications

Limitations are mostly referred to the methodologies and the level of subjectivity they imply. For example, they are not only the choices made concerning keywords to be used and, consequently, the articles included in the analysis, but also the MDS that offers broad autonomy to the researchers in interpreting the data.

Originality/value

The originality of this research is that it fills an emerged gap concerning a literature review on co-marketing alliances, supporting future research in this field of study. The identification of the approaches underlines what may be lacking, providing interesting insights on possible avenues for future research.

Details

Management Research Review, vol. 40 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-8269

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 June 2022

Cecilia Grieco

The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 has led in a very short time to a worldwide pandemic that has had severe effects on both businesses and daily lives. In a scenario characterised by…

Abstract

Purpose

The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 has led in a very short time to a worldwide pandemic that has had severe effects on both businesses and daily lives. In a scenario characterised by the social distancing imperative, the sharing economy found itself struggling to survive, deprived of its core asset, namely, peer (human) relationships. The purpose of this paper is to reveal the coping strategies that have been implemented by sharing economy platforms to navigate the pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

An explorative empirical investigation of 20 sharing economy platforms was carried out during the first lockdown phase (March–June 2020). To drive the analysis, a theoretical framework was developed by merging the literature on the business model and crisis management strategies.

Findings

The answers provided by sharing economy platforms to the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have been classified into nine typologies of intervention according to the developed framework, with illustrative examples.

Originality/value

This paper provides an empirical investigation into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sharing economy field and it offers evidence about the immediate reactions of sharing platforms to the health crisis effects. The paper also introduces a framework about business model and crisis management strategies as a conceptual tool that could be adopted by firms from other industries.

Details

Journal of Strategy and Management, vol. 16 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-425X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 18 March 2021

Ernesto Tavoletti, Niloofar Kazemargi, Corrado Cerruti, Cecilia Grieco and Andrea Appolloni

This paper contains an exploratory analysis of the business model innovations (BMIs) that management consulting firms (MCFs) undertake to remain competitive during digital…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper contains an exploratory analysis of the business model innovations (BMIs) that management consulting firms (MCFs) undertake to remain competitive during digital transformation.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses data from a longitudinal multiple case study of the European practices of major global MCFs to provide an overview of how they reconfigure their business model (BM) to gain competitive advantages. It maps BMIs in MCFs through value creation innovation, value proposition innovation and value capturing innovation.

Findings

There is a shift in value proposition from solely giving advice or supporting information technology (IT) implementation to providing end-to-end digital solutions. To materialize value propositions, MCFs acquire new knowledge and digital assets through talent scouting, and mergers and acquisitions (M&As). MCFs rely heavily on complementary knowledge and capabilities of actors within ecosystems; thus, they focus on expanding, creating their ecosystems and adopting platforms' configuration and characteristics.

Research limitations/implications

Inductively, the authors reached an analytical generalization through six propositions and a theoretical frame that embeds propositions in the previous literature. Future research should test them across the overall management consulting industry.

Practical implications

MCFs are recognized as drivers of innovation and BMIs in most client firms. However, MCFs are rarely analyzed with respect to their BMIs. Understanding how MCFs innovate their business models (BMs) to provide digital transformation (DT) consulting services is relevant for delivering management innovation across industries.

Originality/value

This is the first exploratory study on BMI inside global MCFs during DT.

Details

European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. 25 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-1060

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 May 2019

Corrado Cerruti, Ernesto Tavoletti and Cecilia Grieco

Academic research on management consulting or having management consultancy as the main research field is huge as the sector is a strategic one for management innovation, but a…

6857

Abstract

Purpose

Academic research on management consulting or having management consultancy as the main research field is huge as the sector is a strategic one for management innovation, but a systematic and updated literature review is missing. This paper aims to fill this gap by providing a comprehensive systematic review of scholarly peer reviewed journals looking at the ambivalent roles of consultants in driving management innovation as well as management fashions.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review has been performed.

Findings

This paper provides a systematization of existing literature, where the state of the art is assessed and future research paths are highlighted.

Originality/value

The proposed research fills the gap concerning a review of literature on this topic and provides an analysis of 50 years of scholarly research, highlighting both the bright and dark sides of management consulting.

Article
Publication date: 2 May 2023

Cevdet Bulut and Philip Fei Wu

Agriculture is one sector where the Internet of things (IoT) is expected to make a major impact. Yet, its adoption in the sector falls behind expectations. The purpose of this…

Abstract

Purpose

Agriculture is one sector where the Internet of things (IoT) is expected to make a major impact. Yet, its adoption in the sector falls behind expectations. The purpose of this paper is to present the state-of-the-art of IoT in agriculture and investigate its slow adoption in the sector.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors have undertaken a systematic review and a synthesis of 1355 relevant publications over the last decade.

Findings

This literature review reveals that the “big three” barriers for the overall sector are cost, skills and standardization. The lack of connectivity and data governance are two key reasons why most of the proposed IoT solutions are standalone systems of limited scope, while the majority of commercial IoT efforts focus on practices in the protected indoor environment. Lastly, the analysis of past research along the five layers of the IoT system architecture reveals limited attention to barriers and solutions at the business layer, which represents a research opportunity for information systems scholars.

Research limitations/implications

It is possible that some of relevant publications were missed in the literature search, although the search queries were kept as broad as possible to avoid the exclusion of any relevant work. Any publication written in any other language other than English was excluded from the review. Given the geographical distribution of the reviewed English publications (see section 4.1), it is highly likely that important works written by Chinese and European scholars in their native language were overlooked.

Practical implications

This study provides practical insights into the technical and organisational challenges on the ground. It is the hope that this literature review lays the groundwork for IS researchers who are well positioned to investigate technology adoption challenges in the relatively understudied agriculture sector.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first comprehensive review of adoption barriers and solutions across all five layers of the IoT system architecture.

Details

Internet Research, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1066-2243

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 November 2022

Ernesto Tavoletti and Vas Taras

This study aims to offer a bibliometric analysis of the already substantial and growing literature on global virtual teams (GVTs).

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to offer a bibliometric analysis of the already substantial and growing literature on global virtual teams (GVTs).

Design/methodology/approach

Using a systematic literature review approach, it identifies all articles in the Web of Science from 1999 to 2021 that include the term GVTs (in the title, the abstract or keywords) and finds 175 articles. The VOSviewer software was applied to analyze the bibliometric data.

Findings

The analysis revealed three dialogizing research clusters in the GVTs literature: a pioneering management information systems and organizational cluster, a general management cluster and a growing international management and behavioural studies cluster. Furthermore, it highlights the most cited articles, authors, journals and nations, and the network of strong and weak links regarding co-authorships and co-citations. Additionally, this study shows a change in research patterns regarding topics, journals and disciplinary approaches from 1999 to 2021. Finally, the analysis illustrates the position and centrality in the network of the most relevant actors.

Practical implications

The findings can guide management practitioners, educators and researchers to the most meaningful clusters of publications on GVTs, and help navigate and make sense of the vast body of the available literature. The importance of GVTs has been growing in the past two decades, and Covid-19 has accelerated the trend.

Originality/value

This study provides an updated and comprehensive systematic literature review on GVTs. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is also the first systematic literature review and bibliometry on GVTs. It concludes by suggesting future research paths.

Details

Management Research Review, vol. 46 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-8269

Keywords

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