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The purpose of this paper is to define and describe how consumers may constitute an integral part of small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) value co-creation process in the food and beverage (F&B) industry, and to provide practicable implementation recommendations to firms in the Piedmont region that are important and prominent in this sector.

The research methodology rests on a multiple case study design, applied to three F&B Piedmont SMEs that produce beer, water and starters: Baladin, Lurisia and Galfré.

Results show an increasing awareness by firms of the important role played by customers in value co-creation, though limited to specific roles in the case of SMEs.

The research is limited by its exploratory nature, though the findings and conclusions drawn provide a solid foundation for further development and testing on the subject.

The case studies’ results allow the reader to understand the importance of the increasing awareness of the role played by customers in value co-creation, especially on the WWB, where costs are minimizing.

The research’s value stems from fact that there are few existing studies on the ways to engage customers in value co-creation. Moreover, these studies, contrary to the present research, are largely theoretical and either have no direct applicability or are limited to a single case.

The authors’ aim is to investigate if entrepreneurial orientation (EO) has a role in interpreting an external crisis, such as COVID-19, as an opportunity for investing in digital transformation.

The authors undertook multiple case study research on the digital transformation of seven “Made in Italy” SMEs and proposed a conceptual framework that sees an external stimulus (e.g. the pandemic) as a driver of the digitalisation, filtered by the entrepreneurial orientation of SMEs.

The authors’ results show how EO deals with the changing environment and helps address the market opportunities related to digitalisation.

This study contributes to the existing literature on EO and digital transformation of SMEs, creating a new model for forthcoming studies on this topic. In addition, interesting insights are offered on the role of EO to promote the introduction of digital transformation in SMEs operating in the “Made in Italy” sectors.

This study shows the role of EO as a reactive characteristic during a crisis. Thus, the authors’ suggestion to SMEs is to develop their EO as a part of the strategic orientation. In addition, this work encourages policymakers to invest in the promotion of specific interventions aimed at supporting entrepreneurs in enhancing their capacity to effectively manage digital transformation.

Identifying the most important triggers of digitalisation in times of crisis remains an underexplored area of research. Thus, this study adds value to both digital transformation and entrepreneurial orientation topics.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to investigate the effects of the digitalization process on the demand and supply side in the sports world through the advent of mobile apps and online services, such as YouTube, which provide free (or almost) real fitness courses; and second, to investigate how technological innovation is managed in the sports sector.

Drawing on a survey research approach, this study collected 150 questionnaires from consumers in the North of Italy.

Based on a descriptive analysis of the data, the findings show that the digital channel becomes significant at an exponential rate and takes on a leading role in today’s era, especially among young people. However, the results also show that the traditional channel of use of the sports service (gyms/fitness centers) is privileged by consumers under the age of 35, even though there is a weak penetration of innovative tools offered by the innovation technology (mobile app and video tutorials on social networks such as YouTube) in the sports sector.

The study provides an exhaustive overview of academic literature on technology and innovation management, and provides the contact point between the physical and digital world in the sports sector, and adds a significant scholarly and practical value in the exercise at home perspective of consumers. This research also contributes to the discussion on the competitiveness between the two channels (physical and digital one) in the sports sector, thus giving rise to further research concerning the offer of the type of sports service.

This study is among the few that connect the technological advancements and management within the sports industry and provides the ground and theoretical basis for the scholar community to further build on.