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Article
Publication date: 21 February 2018

Gema Albort-Morant, Antonio L. Leal-Rodríguez and Valentina De Marchi

This paper aims to explore in depth how internal and external knowledge-based drivers actually affect the firms’ green innovation performance. Subsequently, this study analyzes…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore in depth how internal and external knowledge-based drivers actually affect the firms’ green innovation performance. Subsequently, this study analyzes the relationships between absorptive capacity (internal knowledge-based driver), relationship learning (external knowledge-based driver) and green innovation performance.

Design/methodology/approach

This study relies on a sample of 112 firms belonging to the Spanish automotive components manufacturing sector (ACMS) and uses partial least squares path modeling to test the hypotheses proposed.

Findings

The empirical results show that both absorptive capacity and relationship learning exert a significant positive effect on the dependent variable and that relationship learning moderates the link between absorptive capacity and green innovation performance.

Research limitations/implications

This paper presents some limitations with respect to the particular sector (i.e. the ACMS) and geographical context (Spain). For this reason, researchers must be thoughtful while generalizing these results to distinct scenarios.

Practical implications

Managers should devote more time and resources to reinforce their absorptive capacity as an important strategic tool to generate new knowledge and hence foster green innovation performance in manufacturing industries.

Social implications

The paper shows the importance of encouraging decision-makers to cultivate and rely on relationship learning mechanisms with their main stakeholders and to acquire the necessary information and knowledge that might be valuable in the maturity of green innovations.

Originality/value

This study proposes that relationship learning plays a moderating role in the relationship between absorptive capacity and green innovation performance.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 22 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 August 2019

Eleonora Di Maria, Valentina De Marchi and Katharina Spraul

This paper aims to analyze the characteristics and performance of university–industry (U-I) collaboration for knowledge transfer in relation to environmental sustainability…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to analyze the characteristics and performance of university–industry (U-I) collaboration for knowledge transfer in relation to environmental sustainability, considering for both parties of the collaborations.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is explorative in nature, based on an original data set of more than 350 U-I research and consultancy contracts signed by more than 70 professors specializing in environmental sustainability-related academic disciplines at the University of Padova (Italy) for the period 2008-2012. A mixed-method approach is adopted. Social network analysis and regressions are used to explore the impact of U-I on performance considering for characteristics of the firms, the professors and the collaboration. Interviews with key informants at University of Padova is used to complement and validate the emerging evidence.

Findings

Results suggest that U-I positively impacts the performance of firms, but not of professors. Indeed, the hypothesis that professors’ performance (measures in terms of academic publications) is positively associated with academic engagement is not supported. On the contrary, firms’ financial performance is positively associated with U-I collaboration focused on knowledge transfer for environmental innovation; the higher the contracts activated the better the economic performance.

Originality/value

While most previous research has focused either on the university or the firm side of U-I, this study looks at both sides and focuses specifically on engagement in green contracts. The analysis of the geographical scope of U-I collaborations contributes to the growing body of literature by outlining geography’s role in U-I collaborations related to sustainability.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 20 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 21 May 2020

Marco Bettiol, Mauro Capestro, Valentina De Marchi, Eleonora Di Maria and Silvia Rita Sedita

This paper aims to explore if firms located in industrial districts (IDs) have different adoption paths concerning Industry 4.0 technologies and get different results with respect…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore if firms located in industrial districts (IDs) have different adoption paths concerning Industry 4.0 technologies and get different results with respect to other similar firms located outside IDs.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on a quantitative analysis related to an original data set of 206 Italian manufacturing firms specializing in made in Italy industries and adopting Industry 4.0 technologies. A case study of a district firm is also presented to explain the rationale of investment strategies and results obtained.

Findings

The analysis shows that there are differences between district and non-district firms when Industry 4.0 technology investments are concerned (higher investment rate in big data/cloud and augmented reality for district firms than non-district ones). In contrast to a breakthrough view of the fourth industrial revolution, the study suggests that 4.0 technologies emphasize the peculiarities and competitiveness factors typical of the district model in terms of customization and flexibility. There are differences in the motivations of adoption (product diversification for district firms vs productivity enhancement for non-district firms) and in the results achieved.

Originality/value

The paper is one of the first attempts to empirically explore the technological innovation paths related to Industry 4.0 within IDs, therefore, contributing to the debate on the possible evolution of the district model

Details

Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal , vol. 31 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1059-5422

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 16 September 2022

Valentina De Marchi, Maria A. Pineda-Escobar, Rachel Howell, Michelle Verheij and Peter Knorringa

Advance the state-of-the-art on how frugal innovation links to sustainability outcomes and based on content analysis of empirical publications in the field of frugal innovation…

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Abstract

Purpose

Advance the state-of-the-art on how frugal innovation links to sustainability outcomes and based on content analysis of empirical publications in the field of frugal innovation, analyzing when and how FI is connected with social, environmental and economic outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

Quantitative content analysis on empirical papers published on frugal innovation, using data visualization techniques to disclose relationships among the constructs adopted. Materials were collected following a step-wise methodology. In total, 130 articles were identified, read in depth and coded according to five main categories: context; development; implementation, adoption, diffusion; characteristics; and impacts.

Findings

The potential of frugal innovation to drive sustainability outcomes is influenced by the type of actors developing the innovation, regarding their organizational form (large firms, small firms, non-firm actors), their geographical origin (foreign or local) or motivations (mostly profit-motivated or socially-oriented). Collaboration plays a key role along the various stages of the frugal innovation cycle and is thus relevant for its potential to drive sustainability outcomes. The results reaffirm the need for greater attention to where and when sustainability-enhancing outcomes of frugal innovation are more likely to occur.

Originality/value

This study provides a qualitative study based on content analysis of empirical studies to explore the associations between frugal innovations and improved economic, environmental and social sustainability outcomes. The key novelty of this study lies in the systematic coding of each paper regarding the features of the innovation, the innovators, and the outcomes achieved. This allows taking stock of the evidence emerging in such a scattered literature, quantifying the extent to which insights take place in the empirical literature, looking for correlations, and highlight research gaps to understand to what extent frugal innovation can contribute to sustainable development.

Details

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

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 May 2022

Wojciech Dyba and Valentina De Marchi

This paper aims to explore the role of business support organisations (BSO) in overcoming barriers to the adoption of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies, especially in disseminating…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the role of business support organisations (BSO) in overcoming barriers to the adoption of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies, especially in disseminating knowledge on such technologies among cluster firms.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on in-depth interviews conducted in 2021 with representatives of BSO in three manufacturing clusters (furniture, metal and automotive) in the Wielkopolska region in Poland.

Findings

Companies in clusters face important barriers impeding the adoption of I4.0 technologies, in particular, the unawareness of the characteristics and potential of those technologies. BSO might be particularly helpful in overcoming this barrier by supporting knowledge dissemination among companies. This study’s analyses suggest they can do so in three roles: as knowledge gatekeepers, as brokers of purposeful knowledge transfer and as facilitators of spontaneous knowledge diffusion. Evidence suggests that different types of organisations are more likely to be associated with each of these three roles, despite such a combination of the three often being in one place: public agencies are gatekeeping, selecting and passing on certain knowledge on I4.0; research-oriented organisations (such as technology parks) play a knowledge transfer brokerage role; industry associations and cluster initiatives are actively facilitating spontaneous knowledge diffusion.

Originality/value

This paper is a contribution to the emerging literature on digital transformations of clusters by investigating the difficulties preventing firms from adopting I4.0 technologies and the roles BSO can take on to support overcoming them.

Details

Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal , vol. 32 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1059-5422

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 July 2020

Denada Lica, Eleonora Di Maria and Valentina De Marchi

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how important is co-location of R&D and production for firms originated from high-cost countries and to provide evidence of the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how important is co-location of R&D and production for firms originated from high-cost countries and to provide evidence of the relationship between the different strategies of location choices and co-location.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to investigate the relationship between R&D/design-production co-location and strategies of location choices for production, this paper uses a cluster analysis of 37 Italian firms that operate in fashion industry.

Findings

This article finds that co-location results in a dominant strategy for firms under the following conditions: high level of product customization, coordination difficulties between R&D and production, rapid change in production process technologies and product complexity difficult to be coded.

Research limitations/implications

This paper presents some limitations in that it focuses only on fashion industry without considering other sectors.

Practical implications

This paper has some managerial implication in that offers some insight on decision making in organization. In particular offers some insights of how important is having an internal R&D/design function rather than collaborating with external designers in order to achieve competitive advantage in terms of product quality, product design and also brand name reputation.

Originality/value

This paper suggests that the co-location of R&D and production may improve the firms' performance considering the need for constant interaction between the two units. Moreover, it suggests that the co-location of R&D and production both within and external (within the firms' region and/or within the country) to the firms might be important. Furthermore, larger firms in terms of turnover have a greater preference to locate the R&D function close to the production function.

Details

Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, vol. 25 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1361-2026

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 July 2013

Valentina De Marchi and Roberto Grandinetti

This paper aims at investigating the rather unexplored issue of how green innovators address the knowledge needs emerging when initiating a sustainability path, comparing their

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims at investigating the rather unexplored issue of how green innovators address the knowledge needs emerging when initiating a sustainability path, comparing their knowledge strategies with those of non‐green innovators.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors investigate this issue using data from the 2008 Italian Community Innovation Survey (CIS). Focusing on manufacturing firms, they identify the main characteristics and knowledge assets of firms introducing environmental innovations (EIs) as opposed to those of other innovators.

Findings

The authors' results suggest that the development of EIs entails a higher recourse to external knowledge, in the form of use of external sources of information, acquiring R&D from external firms and cooperation. Relationships with partners that do not belong to the supply chain – including KIBS, universities, research institutions and competitors – are far more important than for other innovations. On the contrary, differences between the two categories are less marked when it comes to investments in internal knowledge resources. Finally, proactive environmental innovators have very different knowledge strategies than reactive ones, which resemble non‐green innovators.

Originality/value

The main contribution of this paper is that it investigates the unexplored issue of how firms assess and develop the knowledge needed to develop EIs. By comparing them with the strategies of non‐green innovators, the analysis performed in the paper allows understanding the peculiarities of such innovations. Furthermore, the authors contribute to the literature by verifying how knowledge management strategies vary according to the differential importance that sustainability has for the firm's innovative strategy.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 17 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 July 2013

Karim Moustaghfir and Giovanni Schiuma

This introduction paper to the special issue on “The twenty‐first century knowledge‐based value drivers of innovation and sustainable development” aims to focus on such

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Abstract

Purpose

This introduction paper to the special issue on “The twenty‐first century knowledge‐based value drivers of innovation and sustainable development” aims to focus on such relationships between knowledge, learning, capabilities, innovation and competitive advantage in different forms of organization: businesses, clusters and regions. The purpose is to point out the conceptual pillars and contribute to the ongoing debate on: how knowledge assets impact organizational performance, what are the characteristics of such value‐generating processes, what factors affect the process of building organizational capabilities and distinctive competences, and how organizations translate specific capabilities into sustainable competitive advantages.

Design/methodology/approach

The article is based on a thorough analysis of the management literature addressing the nature, role and relevance of knowledge, organizational capabilities, learning and knowledge management for organization competitiveness. The conceptual background sets the foundations for a better understanding of the strategic importance of knowledge‐based value drivers for innovation and sustainable organizational value creation.

Findings

As knowledge management is establishing itself as a research discipline, it is fundamental to define the conceptual pillars grounding the application of knowledge management initiatives for innovation and business performance improvements. This paper provides a framework summarizing the key assumptions at the basis of understanding the strategic relevance of knowledge‐based value drivers for growth and competitiveness.

Research limitations/implications

In addressing some of the questions posed, this article provides some implications for future research that build on different perspectives and emphasize the importance of adopting multi‐disciplinary approaches to disentangle the complexities of how organizations convert knowledge resources to a long‐lasting competitive advantage.

Originality/value

This editorial presents the key conceptual pillars explicating the role of knowledge resources as building blocks of organizational capabilities and how firms can develop and maintain their competences by promoting and nurturing learning processes. The value of this paper is the definition of a conceptual framework outlining the relationships between knowledge management, organizational capabilities, organizational learning and competitiveness.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 17 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 September 2021

Giovanna Afeltra, Sayed Alireza Alerasoul and Fernanda Strozzi

Over the last few decades, more emphasis has been placed on those innovations that can reconcile economic, social and environmental goals in order to achieve a “win-win-win”…

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Abstract

Purpose

Over the last few decades, more emphasis has been placed on those innovations that can reconcile economic, social and environmental goals in order to achieve a “win-win-win” situation. This paper aims to systematise the scientific literature on Sustainable Innovation as a broad field in order to identify the most relevant scholars and their significant contributions as well as existing lines of research. Finally, future research directions are suggested.

Design/methodology/approach

A novel methodology, the Systematic Literature Network Analysis, has been applied. By using a dynamic approach to the traditional Systematic Literature Review, the present review investigates the creation, transfer, and development of knowledge throughout the epistemic community of Sustainable Innovation.

Findings

Starting from a sample of 1,108 articles, the critical assessment of the results detected five main themes: (1) “the role of Regulation, Market and Technology”; (2) “Eco-Innovation determinants and firm specific factors and the debate between corporate environmental performance and corporate financial performance”; (3) “Green innovation and internal and external drivers”; (4) “The strategic determinants of green (non-green) innovation”; (5) “The interplay between policy, regulations and the green innovation”.

Practical implications

From a practitioner's perspective, this study provides an objective view on the current internal, external drivers and strategic determinants of sustainability-oriented innovations and relevant studies that can guide managers in their decision-making processes and enhance sustainable innovation performance.

Originality/value

This study is a first attempt to unveil the evolution of knowledge in the field of sustainable innovation by utilizing bibliometric tools.

Details

European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. 26 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-1060

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 13 December 2022

Silvia Fissi, Elena Gori, Valentina Marchi and Alberto Romolini

The purpose of this study is to analyse the brand communication on social media (SM) made by two- and three-starred restaurants and the customer reaction in terms of engagement…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to analyse the brand communication on social media (SM) made by two- and three-starred restaurants and the customer reaction in terms of engagement effects during a crisis. The research highlights the connections between brand communication and engagement dynamics on Instagram by looking for differences in the strategies of two and three-starred restaurants and by highlighting the changes in the background engagement drivers.

Design/methodology/approach

Using data collected from 5,666 Instagram posts by 34 Italian Michelin-starred restaurants, the authors analysed the crisis-driven changes in online communication and customer engagement comparing three phases of the COVID-19 pandemic by applying a linear regression model with fixed effects.

Findings

Michelin-starred restaurants changed their strategies of brand communication to overcome the effects of the crisis. The findings highlight the importance of SM as a tool to stay in touch with consumers and the pivotal role of customers in engagement, especially during a pandemic.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is among the first studies to investigate the changes in brand communication and the effects on customer engagement during a pandemic, with a focus on Instagram. It contributes to understanding the role of platform and the main drivers of engagement on Instagram, as well as suggesting how managers can improve brand value using SM.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 125 no. 13
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

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