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1 – 10 of 36Omar Enzo Santangelo, Sandro Provenzano, Domiziana Giordano, Enrico Alagna, Francesco Armetta, Claudia Gliubizzi, Antonio Terranova, Giuseppe D'Anna, Dalila Barresi, Dimple Grigis, Cristina Genovese, Raffaele Squeri and Alberto Firenze
Depression is a common and serious medical illness, considered as a public health issue because it interferes with the interpersonal, social and professional functioning of the…
Abstract
Purpose
Depression is a common and serious medical illness, considered as a public health issue because it interferes with the interpersonal, social and professional functioning of the individual, and its frequency is constantly increasing. According to a recent review, approximately 34 per cent of nursing students had experienced depression worldwide. The university period may represent a moment in which the mental well-being of students is subjected to stress with a relative predisposition to the development of diseases related to mood disorders. The purpose of this study is to estimate the prevalence and examine the socio-demographic correlates of depressive symptomatology.
Design/methodology/approach
In April 2019, a questionnaire was administered to all the nursing students of University of Palermo of the three years of course, accompanied by informed consent. Multivariable logistic regression was performed. The statistical significance level chosen for all analyses was 0.05. The results were analyzed using the STATA statistical software version 14. Results are expressed as adjusted odds ratio (aOR) with 95 per cent confidence intervals.
Findings
The sample consists of 493 students who completed the questionnaire, and the average age of the sample participants is 21.88 years. The multivariable logistic regression model shows that the risk to have depressive symptomatology is significantly associated with the following independent variables: female gender (aOR 1.91), being single (aOR 1.87), second year of study (aOR 1.94), third year of study (aOR 1.92), not performing regular physical activity (aOR 1.78) and perceived low health status (aOR 3.08).
Originality/value
This study shows that belonging to the female gender, being further along in the years of study, having a chronic illness and perceiving a low state of health are all factors that can increase the risk of developing the symptoms of depression; rather, regular physical activity, friendship and romantic relationships can be considered factors protecting them from the risk of falling into depression that can undermine both the study and work performance. Certainly, it is important to analyze all the involved variables to improve the global health not only of the nursing students but of all the students.
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David D’Acunto, Serena Volo and Raffaele Filieri
This study aims to explore US hotel guests’ privacy concerns with a twofold aim as follows: to investigate the privacy categories, themes and attributes most commonly discussed by…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore US hotel guests’ privacy concerns with a twofold aim as follows: to investigate the privacy categories, themes and attributes most commonly discussed by guests in their reviews and to examine the influence of cultural proximity on privacy concerns.
Design/methodology/approach
This study combined automated text analytics with content analysis. The database consisted of 68,000 hotel reviews written by US guests lodged in different types of hotels in five European cities. Linguistic Inquiry Word Count, Leximancer and SPSS software were used for data analysis. Automated text analytics and a validated privacy dictionary were used to investigate the reviews by exploring the categories, themes and attributes of privacy concerns. Content analysis was used to analyze the narratives and select representative snippets.
Findings
The findings revealed various categories, themes and concepts related to privacy concerns. The two most commonly discussed categories were privacy restriction and outcome state. The main themes discussed in association with privacy were “room,” “hotel,” “breakfast” and several concepts within each of these themes were identified. Furthermore, US guests showed the lowest levels of privacy concerns when staying at American hotel chains as opposed to non-American chains or independent hotels, highlighting the role of cultural proximity in privacy concerns.
Practical implications
Hotel managers can benefit from the results by improving their understanding of hotel and service attributes mostly associated with privacy concerns. Specific suggestions are provided to hoteliers on how to increase guests’ privacy and on how to manage issues related to cultural distance with guests.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the hospitality literature by investigating a neglected issue: on-site hotel guests’ privacy concerns. Using an unobtrusive method of data collection and text analytics, this study offers valuable insights into the categories of privacy, the most recurrent themes in hotel guests’ reviews and the potential relationship between cultural proximity and privacy concerns.
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Raffaele Fiorentino, Sergio Longobardi and Alessandro Scaletti
Despite the relevance of innovation in entrepreneurship literature, empirical research on the innovation-performance relationship in start-ups is underdeveloped and shows…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the relevance of innovation in entrepreneurship literature, empirical research on the innovation-performance relationship in start-ups is underdeveloped and shows controversial results. To bridge this gap, the aim of this paper is to investigate the role of innovativeness on new venture performance in the early stage of the life cycle.
Design/methodology/approach
Regression modelling and propensity score matching are used to reveal systematic differences in growth between innovative start-ups (ISUPs) and non-innovative start-ups. We use an ad hoc dataset obtained through merging the financial database AIDA with data from administrative sources (Italian Chambers of Commerce and the Italian Ministry for Economic Development).
Findings
The results show that differences in growth can be explained by the different levels of innovativeness in new ventures. Moreover, unlike in prior studies, the innovation inputs matter more than innovation outputs. Indeed, the results support the idea that innovation policies can contribute to maximising the potential of start-ups.
Practical implications
The findings provide suggestions for policy makers and entrepreneurs to help firms configure ex ante appropriate actions to support the growth of new ventures in the start-up stage.
Originality/value
This study is the first to use the new objective measure of start-up innovation, available from the Italian LD 221 register. Second, different types of innovation are investigated as antecedents of firm growth. Third, we employ propensity score matching, which favours revealing systematic differences in growth between ISUPs and non-innovative start-ups. Fourth, the results of our study are the first to offer evidence on the effectiveness of the new Italian sustaining ISUPs policy.
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Giuseppe Di Vita, Raffaele Zanchini, Giovanni Gulisano, Teresina Mancuso, Gaetano Chinnici and Mario D'Amico
Urban metropolitan consumers react to the different qualitative categorizations of the product thus creating homogeneous market segments. The aim of this paper is to identify…
Abstract
Purpose
Urban metropolitan consumers react to the different qualitative categorizations of the product thus creating homogeneous market segments. The aim of this paper is to identify specific market segments which allow for the definition of homogeneous olive oil consumer targets.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was based on the stated preferences of consumers and emphasizes the role that different quality scales of olive oil have in the eye of the consumer. The data, collected through a questionnaire, were analysed by means of inferential and multivariate statistics techniques, that is, the study specifically entailed a factorial and cluster analysis.
Findings
This paper explores olive oil market segments broken down by the different quality levels of existing products, thus trying to identify main consumer preferences. Our outcomes suggest the existence of three main quality classes of olive oil consumer: basic, popular and premium.
Research limitations/implications
Even though we gathered data and information from a broad sample, the study does not fully reflect the average Italian population since we based our study on a convenience sample of northern Italian consumers. A more extended sample is needed to test our hypothesis in other regional areas.
Practical implications
The outcomes derived from this study provide useful insights both for marketers and olive oil producers by allowing more efficient strategic decisions in terms of product segmentation.
Originality/value
This study, aimed at matching olive oil market segments and consumer preferences, shows the existence of three well-defined quality classes of olive oil consumer: basic, popular and premium. In addition, this study ascertains for the first time how the attitude towards local products is positively influenced by family origin as a result of an inter-generational attitude.
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Raffaele Barretta, Luciano Feo, Raimondo Luciano, Francesco Marotti de Sciarra and Rosa Penna
This study aims to model scale effects in nano-beams under torsion.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to model scale effects in nano-beams under torsion.
Design/methodology/approach
The elastostatic problem of a nano-beam is formulated by a novel stress-driven nonlocal approach.
Findings
Unlike the standard strain-driven nonlocal methodology, the proposed stress-driven nonlocal model is mathematically and mechanically consistent. The contributed results are useful for the design of modern devices at nanoscale.
Originality/value
The innovative stress-driven integral nonlocal model, recently proposed in literature for inflected nano-beams, is formulated in the present submission to study size-dependent torsional behavior of nano-beams.
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Rosita Capurro, Raffaele Fiorentino, Stefano Garzella and Rosa Lombardi
The aim of this paper is to investigate the role of boundary management when firms should implement open innovation.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to investigate the role of boundary management when firms should implement open innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
The relevant literature on strategic management, firm boundaries and open innovation fields is revised and critically assessed. An interpretive-qualitative methodology is applied to analyse empirical data obtained from a questionnaire and subsequent interviews of a sample of Italian listed firms. By critically integrating literature review and empirical analysis, a framework is provided with the objective of supporting open innovation implementation.
Findings
The study shows that on the one hand, open innovation and many modern paths of growth are connected to a firm's boundaries and that on the other hand, boundary management plays a key role in the implementation of open innovation.
Practical implications
The paper has implications for practitioners by driving them to shift the focus of open innovation implementation towards the management of boundaries, in which boundary capabilities and activities play a key role.
Originality/value
This paper sheds light on the advantages and risks that can jeopardize a successful opening up innovation processes without the effective management of boundary studies. Thus, the authors identify and propose causes for reflection and tools maximizing potentiality and reducing risks in the implementation of such processes.
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Rosita Capurro, Raffaele Fiorentino, Stefano Garzella and Alessandro Giudici
The purpose of this paper is to analyze, from a dynamic capabilities perspective, the role of big data analytics in supporting firms' innovation processes.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze, from a dynamic capabilities perspective, the role of big data analytics in supporting firms' innovation processes.
Design/methodology/approach
Relevant literature is reviewed and critically assessed. An interpretive methodology is used to analyze empirical data from interviews of big data analytics experts at firms within digitally related sectors.
Findings
This study shows how firms leverage big data to gain “richer” and “deeper” data at the inter-sections between the digital and physical worlds. The authors provide evidence for the importance of counterintuitive strategies aimed at developing innovative products, services or solutions with characteristics that may initially diverge, even significantly, from established customer/user needs.
Practical implications
The authors’ findings offer insights to help practitioners manage innovation processes in the physical world while taking investments in big data analytics into account.
Originality/value
The authors provide insights into the evolution of scholarly research on innovation directed toward opportunities to create a competitive advantage by offering new products, services or solutions diverging, even significantly, from established customer demand.
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Savino Santovito, Raffaele Campo, Pierfelice Rosato and Long Dai Khuc
The aim of this manuscript is to study the current scientific literature on food marketing and religion, by giving an overview of current knowledge and the possible future…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this manuscript is to study the current scientific literature on food marketing and religion, by giving an overview of current knowledge and the possible future research opportunities once found the gaps.
Design/methodology/approach
This a classic literature review carried on by considering marketing, consumer behaviour and management journals as well as religion-focused ones.
Findings
Current literature highlights how faith impacts on food marketing and religious consumers choices (and not only). Most of the papers focus on Islam. Considering the globalised economy, the authors’ findings highlight also the relevance of religious certifications for less/not religious people, because of certified food is considered safe and healthy.
Originality/value
The paper joins and reviews two research fields whose connection is growing, so it is relevant to know the current status of scientific literature, which is updated compared to recent literature.
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Chiara Franciosi, Valentina Di Pasquale, Raffaele Iannone and Salvatore Miranda
Poor maintenance management leads to non-negligible economic, environmental and social impacts and obstacles to the sustainable manufacturing paradigm. Studies evaluating…
Abstract
Purpose
Poor maintenance management leads to non-negligible economic, environmental and social impacts and obstacles to the sustainable manufacturing paradigm. Studies evaluating maintenance impacts on sustainability underline growing interest in the topic, but reports on the industrial field are lacking. Therefore, this paper investigates the industrial environment and the indicators that manufacturing companies use for measuring their maintenance impacts.
Design/methodology/approach
In this pilot survey study, several stakeholders of production enterprises in the south of Italy were interviewed to unveil the spread of the measurement of maintenance impacts on sustainability and the indicators used by those companies.
Findings
The interview results showed a low level of awareness among stakeholders about maintenance impacts on sustainability. Maintenance stakeholders are mainly focused on technical and economic factors, whereas environmental, quality and safety stakeholders are becoming more aware of maintenance impacts on environmental and social factors. However, both groups need guidelines to define sustainability indicators to assess such impacts.
Originality/value
This exploratory study allowed us to investigate the current situation in industrial organisations and achieve the first variegated and diversified vision of the awareness of company stakeholders on maintenance impacts on the sustainability of several business functions. This paper provides a valuable contribution to “maintenance and sustainability” research area in production contexts and sheds light on non-negligible maintenance impacts on sustainability, providing preliminary insights on the topic and an effective basis for defining future research opportunities. Moreover, this study enables increased awareness among internal and external manufacturing company stakeholders on the role of maintenance in sustainable production.
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Anna Marrucci, Riccardo Rialti, Raffaele Donvito and Faheem Uddin Syed
This study seeks to explore the importance of digital platforms in restoring global supply chains interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. Specifically, the research focuses on…
Abstract
Purpose
This study seeks to explore the importance of digital platforms in restoring global supply chains interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. Specifically, the research focuses on internally developed digital platforms and their potential to ensure supply chain continuity between developed and emerging markets.
Design/methodology/approach
Multiple comparative case studies have been selected for the research methodology. Eight cases concerning digital platform implementation for global SC management – four from developed countries and four from emerging markets – have been selected. The four pairs of cases represent four global supply chain mechanisms.
Findings
The results revealed that the use of internally developed digital platforms serves as a quick solution for immediate problems caused by ripple effects in global supply chain and negative environmental conditions. Digital platforms could therefore facilitate reciprocal monitoring and information exchanges between SC partners in different countries.
Originality/value
The digital platform research stream is in its early stages. Research thus far has mostly focused on externally developed digital platforms managed by an orchestrator. The platforms' usefulness in the dialogue between developed and emerging markets requires further exploration.
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