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The purpose of this paper is to verify and improve the framework assessing the evolution and importance of the technological, human, social and financial resources of an Indian research-based spin-off (RBSO) throughout its four stages of development by Vohora et al. (2004).

The open innovation (OI) phenomenon is spreading among public organizations. One of the OI practices used by the public research centers to market their technologies is to set up new business entities called RBSOs. Many studies have focused on spin-offs but there are still some gaps. To overcome the existing limitations, the authors built a framework which they tested on three previous case studies.

The results obtained show how a parent organization and its incubator can play fundamental roles in creating and developing a successful RBSO. This is done by supplying managerial staff and providing access to skills, funds and other material and immaterial resources.

The limitations of this study are related to the sectoral and geopolitical factors of the single case analyzed. For this reason, the observations that emerge should be supported by other empirical analyses.

The findings of this study can offer a better understanding of the spin-off life to managers, researchers, public organizations and government agencies. They can learn how to improve policies and practices of technology transfer and strengthen the national industrial system.

This study aims to empirically investigate the impact of operational risk (i.e. supply, manufacturing and demand risks) on supply chain performance and the moderating role of integration (i.e. supplier, internal and customer integrations) in mitigating the impact of these risks, respectively.

A research framework of hypotheses is tested by structural equation modeling with data collected from the fourth round of the high-performance manufacturing project.

It is revealed that manufacturing and demand risks negatively impact operational performance, and more importantly, internal and customer integrations help to reduce the impact of these two risks. Additionally, the effects of both supply risk and supplier integration are only significant for large firms.

Supply chain managers need to appropriately develop the levels of integration to mitigate the adverse impact of operational risk.

Operational performance is always threatened by different types of risk that adversely affect the supply, production and demand sides of manufacturing firms. Despite this fact, large-scale data-based empirical research on the impact of operational risk on the performance of supply chains has been scarce. This study aims to fill this literature gap.

In a context where healthcare systems have to face multiple challenges, the development of a methodology that combines new managerial approaches could contribute to pursue and achieve multiple objectives. Inside the research stream that intends to combine health lean management (HLM) and clinical risk management (CRM), the purpose of this paper is to study the significant features that characterize HLM projects obtaining patient safety improvements (L&S projects).

The novelty of the research implies to adopt qualitative research methodology, analyzing in-depth case studies. L&S projects at different organizational levels have been selected from the same hospital. Following a research protocol, data have been collected through semi-structured interviews and they have been triangulated studying reports and archival documentation.

Comparing the three cases, it emerges that HLM can be a support for CRM since safety improvements can be achieved solving organizational issues. Analyzing the significant features of the three cases, relevant differences have been highlighted among them. At the end, first indications useful for achieving safety improvements from lean project implementation have been grasped.

This research provides a preliminary contribution to a new research stream that aims to develop a synergic methodology combining HLM and CRM. The first provided indications can be followed by hospital managers who wish to learn how to implement projects achieving patient safety improvements besides efficiency enhancement. After testing and exploiting the obtained results, a new methodology should be developed moving toward a safer and more sustainable healthcare system.

Despite the emergence and strategic importance of project risk management (PRM), its diffusion is limited mainly to large companies, leaving a lack of empirical evidence addressing SMEs. Given the socio-economic importance of SMEs and their need to manage risks to ensure the success of their strategic and innovative projects, this research aims to investigate how to adopt PRM in SMEs with a positive cost–benefit ratio.

This study presents an exploratory and explanatory research conducted through multiple-case studies involving 10 projects performed in Spanish and Italian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The results obtained highlight how project features (commitment type, innovativeness, strategic relevance and managerial complexity) and firms' characteristics (sector of activity, production system and access to public incentives) influence PRM adoption, leading to different levels and types of benefits.

The paper offers practical indications about PRM phases, activities, tools and organizational aspects to be considered in different contexts to ensure the project's success and, ultimately, the company's growth and sustainability. Such indications could not be found in the literature.

The paper aims at enriching the knowledge of the application of lean management (LM) in emergency department (ED), structuring the methodology for implementing LM projects and summarizing the relevant dimensions of LM adoption in ED.

In accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement, a systematic literature review has been performed, extracting a database of 34 papers. To answer the research purpose, a descriptive and content analyses have been carried out.

The descriptive analysis demonstrates that the dealt topic is worldwide emerging and multidisciplinary as it arouses interest by medical and engineering communities. Despite the heterogeneity in the adopted methodology, a framework can be grasped from the literature review. It points out the phases and activities, the tools and techniques and the enablers to be considered for guiding the developing of LM project in ED.

This paper provides a comprehensive overview on how to adopt LM in ED, contributing to fill in the gap emerged in the literature. From a practical perspective, this paper provides healthcare managers with a synthesis of the best managerial practices and guidelines in developing a LM project in ED.

Healthcare organizations have been facing challenges due to high costs and low efficiency in health services. The growth of costs and losses caused by avoidable mistakes lead to the search for solutions, and Health Lean Management appears as a potential solution to help in solving service quality problems, as well as reducing risks. This study aims to analyse the state of the art in the literature centred on the Lean approach in the context of risk management in healthcare organizations, and to identify new research opportunities, highlighting possible lines of future research.

Following a systematic literature review approach, 51 papers were considered relevant for this research, and reviewed to explore the development of literature in this area.

Based on the results, five main research streams were identified: (1) risk management oriented towards patient safety; (2) risk management oriented towards employee safety; (3) importance of attitudes and behaviours in risk reduction projects; (4) Lean tools used in healthcare risk management and (5) Integration of approaches. Moreover, several shortcomings were identified in literature.

Identified shortcomings represent significant opportunities for further research development.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the Italian state of art of Health Lean Management (HLM) and to analyze the Italian projects that connect this approach with clinical risk management (CRM).

After introducing Italian healthcare system and its main challenges, relevant Italian experiences have been searched investigating regional health plans (RHPs), managerial reports, books, workshops, conference proceedings and hospital web sites. The degree of experience of each Italian region has been first studied. Further, field of applicability, objectives, tools, practices and results of the projects with first signs of HLM and CRM integration have been analyzed.

Although interest in new managerial approaches is spreading in almost all the territory and new managerial solutions are fostered in many RHPs, HLM projects are implemented patchy in Italy. For what regards HLM projects with CRM connections, the Italian context seems aligned with the international one, apart from few features. First indications for the implementation of HLM projects with CRM connections emerged.

Healthcare systems are facing multiple challenges in a context where public funds decrease but quality of care must be guaranteed. Combining different managerial approaches could solve these issues. In this research, for the first time, a map about Italian HLM adoption has been drawn, and Italian HLM projects with CRM connections have been analyzed. The results constitute one of the first contributions useful to develop guidelines for the implementation of projects pursuing efficiency, quality and safety objectives.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the significant features that characterize these projects: organizational aspects, phases and activities, tools, techniques, practices and key factors for successful implementation. No studies in the academic literature have yet focused on the relation between healthcare lean management (HLM) and clinical risk management (CRM) to enhance multiple aspects of performance, although the possibility of implementing “lean & safety” projects has been highlighted.

Two significant projects have been selected from the same Italian hospital in two different fields of application. Within- and cross-case analyses have been performed to obtain useful findings.

The results suggest that HLM can provide support for CRM, and an integrated methodology should be considered. The first indications concerning how this new synergistic methodology may be developed are provided and these should stimulate future research, testing and exploiting the methodology in other contexts.

From the results of this paper, guidelines for the implementation of a “lean & safety” project could be developed to improve the management of clinical processes pursuing multiple objectives. This study could contribute to the development of safer and more sustainable health care systems for the benefit of the entire community.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the linkages between company’s strategy, open innovation and innovation performance, focusing on small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In more detail, the aim is to investigate the influence of firm strategy on the level of openness adopted and then the impact of open innovation on firm performance. Finally, the influence of context-specific variables (such as firm size, technology intensity, geographical area, experience of the company and technology turbulence) on the relations mentioned above will be verified.

A survey has been conducted in the Italian manufacturing context and a database of 107 responses was obtained. The constructs of the research framework were created and validated using factor analysis; further, structural equation modeling was performed to verify the hypothesis about the studied relations.

The obtained model confirmed most of the relations hypothesized, giving useful indications on how to define competitive strategy and coherent level of open innovation to pursue improved firm performance. Results highlight that firms, which pursue an innovative strategy are those who invest more on technical skills and core competencies. Companies who choose a strategy of diversification are likely to use, exclusively, managerial practices of open innovation, while firms focused on a strategy of efficiency are inclined toward open innovation practices and, to a lesser extent, to the development of core competencies.

The main original contribution is the development of an integrated model that links company’s strategy, open innovation and innovation performance in SMEs.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate connections and overlaps between health lean management (HLM) and clinical risk management (CRM) understanding whether and how these two approaches can be combined together to pursue efficiency and patient safety improvements simultaneously.

A systematic literature review has been carried out. Searching in academic databases, papers that focus not only on HLM, but also on clinical errors and risk reduction, were included. The general characteristics of the selected papers were analysed and a content analysis was conducted.

In most of the papers, pursing objectives of HLM and CRM and adopting tools and practices of both approaches, results of quality and, particularly, of safety improvements were obtained. A two-way arrow between HLM and CRM emerged but so far, none of the studies has been focused on the relationship between HLM and CRM.

Results highlight an emerging research stream, with many useful theoretical and practical implications and opportunities for further research.