The purpose of the paper is to study human-centered knowledge management in start-ups, reveal challenges, its peculiarities, and framework. The technology start-up teams used experiential design thinking, agile and lean approaches to design and validate the hypotheses of minimal viable products and repeatable and scalable business models. The exploratory qualitative research was conducted with 27 cross-functional start-up teams in a period 2019-2023. The research reveals: (1) the necessary knowledge set for start-ups which facilitates entrepreneurial teams to launch new ventures, design products and business models by using human-centered knowledge management framework that includes social-based and technology-based parts for acquisition, creation, sharing/transferring, and application of tacit and explicit knowledge in start-ups; (2) specific set of peculiarities and challenges of KM in start-ups; (3) dominance of the mode “Socialization” in the discovered 3-mode SEI (socialization, externalization, and internalization) knowledge conversion model for early (fuzzy front end) stage of product/business development in start-ups; (4) evidence that conversion “explicit to tacit” knowledge in “Internalization” occurs effectively in combination of explicit knowledge obtained in exploratory prototyping inside of start-up and the knowledge generated by generative AI at the requests of a startup. Practical implication of the research is understanding of framework and challenges of KM in start-ups, and opportunity to use the research results in start-ups management at the fuzzy front-end stage.

The management of academic performance in higher education has become the management of gaming. All actors in academic publication – individual academics, editors, universities, publishers – game to create the metrics that will bring them most personal reward. Much gaming is – like the white lie – considered mild and is scarcely noticed: an author self-citing more than previously; an editor pleased when authors cite more of the journal’s own papers; a university congratulating employees for publishing in top journals; authors making the most of their research by spinning one paper into three or four; social and other media coverage emphasising the impact of a group’s research, new research collaborations bringing a proliferation of co-authors, each likely to self-cite their paper, and so on. But this amateur gaming is being overtaken by more sophisticated gaming. It has become normal for authors to cite themselves dozens of times; for editors to coerce authors into citing their journal’s papers on pain of rejection; for universities to pay publication bounties well in excess of salaries; and for authorship to be extended to any name that will contribute to a paper’s metrics. Journal papers have become formulaic, designed to fit citation requirements rather than to say anything new, or perhaps anything at all in that many are never intended to be read and some are quite unreadable. Vacuous ‘water is wet’ papers that can be cited just about anywhere in support of just about anything are highly valued. The editors of the BMJ and the Lancet are as one in declaring that most papers published in medical journals are disgraceful, and that the main task now facing medicine is erasing the rubbish from the record. The metrics used to measure academic performance do no such thing, in small part because achieving the measures has become an end in itself, and in large part because the metrics, being key to competition, are universally gamed. When no one knows who has written a paper except that it is unlikely to have been any of the paper’s listed authors – the situation encountered in many medical journals – this is extreme gaming, as it is when authorship slots are openly sold and bought, or when publishers sell tailoring services to fit papers to the requirements of their own journals. The public good is no longer served by castigating essay mills and predatory publishers when very similar services are provided by the ‘legitimate’ academic publishing industry. Nor is it served by relying on peer review to maintain standards; referees are reluctant to serve this system and are being replaced by editorial assistants who simply reject what is unlikely to be cited.

The development and diffusion of digital technologies (especially those supporting communication, collaboration and social networking), along with the pervasive dissemination of powerful and easy-to-use mobile devices, may encourage organisations to implement Smart Working (SW). The previous research suggests that an effective SW implementation is enabled by the availability of a certain set of resources, namely advanced ICT infrastructure and digital technologies, employees’ digital skills and acceptance, and a trust-based organizational culture and managerial style. Despite this, the existing studies neither empirically determine the role of enabling resources for an effective SW implementation nor explain the interplay of different SW enablers in the improvement of organization performance. This study investigates through an empirical study the relationship between the SW enabling resources and the organization performance. Furthermore, this study aims at analysing the mediating role of digital leadership on the relationship between the SW enabling resources and organization performance.

The family firm is a type of firm in which family owners “exercise substantial influence on the firm’s affairs”. Family businesses dominate the economic landscape. According to the latest statistics from the Family Firm Institute, family firms account for two thirds of all businesses around the world, generate around 70-90 percent of annual global GDP, and create 50-80 percent of jobs in the majority of countries worldwide. Sustainability practices are critical for family firms, as they relate directly to the continuity of the business and relationships with important stakeholders, such as members of the local community. evertheless, not all family firms wish to adopt sustainability practices. The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyse the main areas of research related to sustainability practices in family firms. The study proposed here is part of an ongoing research project in the field of family business studies and is also part of a broader interdisciplinary investigation. In order to identify the topics dealt with and the investigation methods used, a structured literature review (SLR) was carried out. Specifically, 87 international contributions on the selected SCOPUS database were analysed. This paper stems from the need to provide an overview of varied literature on the topic in order to understand the different approaches to sustainability that family businesses have. The literature review shows that the gaps in knowledge about family businesses’ (FF) approach to socially responsible initiatives persist. FFs present unique perspectives on socially responsible behaviour, as they recognise an undoubted priority to actions related to emotions and goals such as reputation, identity, image and environmental performance.

Innovation represents a key factor for sustainable growth and long-term success. However, despite most firms recognize its importance, only few of them are equipped and prepared to innovate. Previous studies have shown that various characteristics of the board, such as networks, behaviors, gender, and composition, influence a firm’s decision to innovate. Even though recent transformations like the digital one and the Covid-19 pandemic emphasized the need for including directors with digital expertise to understand new technologies that affect business decisions, this role is still underexplored. Our study addresses this gap in the literature by exploring the impact of the digital expertise of the board on corporate innovation. Using data from 2527 U.S. listed large firms, our preliminary results show that the presence of at least one director with digital expertise significantly increases the likelihood that firms implement high-quality innovation strategies. The study sheds light on how specific professional expertise of directors matters for firms that decide to innovate and adds new evidence to the role of corporate governance in high quality innovation activities.

This research investigates the impact of smart city projects and initiatives on public value. A narrative literature review is performed, which leads to the proposed framework of measurement and evaluation. The model represents a useful information system to better understand the complexity of the process studied, to support policy-makers in defining winning strategies, and to make them accountable, ensuring public value creation and urban resilience. The study is preliminary, but provides broad insights for further research and application.

Can FinTech companies close the gender gap in access to financial services? In order to answer this question, the present research in the first part analyzes the literature that has been expressed on the diffusion of FinTech platforms and their approach to an inclusive financial system aimed at supporting and sustainable development of companies with greater difficulties in accessing credit, including women’s businesses. The research is inspired by a study by the Bank of Italy on the analysis of FinTech platforms operating in the world and in Italy and then analyzes the specific data of a FinTech platform, through direct contact. The example of the research is the absence of comparable official data, while the originality of the work lies precisely in the desire to draw scientific attention to a well-known topic, but still little explored in terms of data and literature.

The European Union has been advocating for Gender Equality Plans in academic and research organisations since 2015, recognising them as a criterion for eligibility in Horizon Europe calls for research and innovation. The European Commission defines GEPs as a set of commitments and actions that aim to promote gender equality in an organisation through a process of structural change. Italian universities are now required to adopt GEPs in compliance with Decree No. 2/2019 and EU-COM No.152/2020. While most Italian universities have implemented their first GEPs, studies on their implementation and content are still limited. This study aims to explore the state of GEPs in Italian universities by analysing the extent of information disclosure in terms of actions planned. Special attention has been devoted to the area of work-life balance and organisational culture. Our study has found that universities are acknowledging the significance of promoting work-life balance and providing family care assistance. However, universities have not planned enough measures to address workplace well-being and mitigate threats to diversity and inclusion.

In this study, we focus on the modeling of the judicial system through a suite of System Dynamics. More specifically, employing a participatory modeling approach (GMB – Group Model Building) based on the System Thinking methodology, we have developed Causal Loop Diagrams, which we have then transformed into quantitative models through the modeling and simulation methodology known as System dynamics. The System Dynamics approach allows the development of context and scenario analysis aimed at identifying bottlenecks and high-leverage strategies for improving the judicial system’s performance. We carried out 50 interviews and 200 hours of participatory observation in shadowing the human resources working within the Italian courts, and the present paper relates to our main findings.

The study applies Habermas’ Theory of Communicative Action (TCA) to expand research on public sector communication about the Circular Economy (CE). Theory guides the analysis of a case study of an Italian region ranked among the most advanced in terms of CE legislation. A qualitative study was conducted, with in-depth interviews with officials, communicators and information workers. The research is based on a narrative enquiry approach and uses guidelines to increase methodological accuracy. The study is relevant from theoretical and practical perspectives. The conceptualisation of CE communication can provide analytical leverage and guide the operationalisation of social change programmes required by the CE paradigm, suggesting the benefits of incorporating the concept of interaction to promote circularity principles. From a practical point of view, the study identifies limitations and enabling factors of the current communication model and generates a set of indications that policymakers and communication/information professionals can use. The study lies at the intersection between communication and CE and fills a gap in the literature, particularly in the public sector.

In the last decades, a broad scientific debate – which involves the fields of engineering, psychology and ecology among the others – has been developed on the concept of resilience. The broadness of the debate highlights the need to define new models for the management and development of cities and territories in a holistic perspective. Many models and tools developed to improve the resilience of cities converge in recognizing the fundamental role of stakeholder engagement in developing more resilient communities. However, initiatives launched by local, regional, national, and international governments and organizations often fail to involve urban stakeholders, who are the first to suffer the risks of living in fragile systems. In the study, by using a systematic literature analysis protocol, the authors explore the domain of urban resilience initiatives, with a particular focus on resilience dimensions and goals, addressed threats, involved stakeholders, and employed stakeholder engagement practices. The content analysis conducted on 57 initiatives has highlighted the centrality of water management as one of the main objectives in urban resilience initiatives. The analysis showed that the initiatives are mainly designed to manage chronic stresses. Additionally, the results highlight that local governments, citizens and public and private companies constitute the main involved stakeholders, whereas workshops and interviews represent the most adopted stakeholder engagement practices. From a theoretical point of view, the research contributes to enriching the state of the art on the concept of resilience by collecting knowledge about real-world initiatives. Furthermore, the paper presents some policy implications: it contributes to creating structured knowledge about urban resilience initiatives with a focus on stakeholder engagement so as to inspire and support policymakers interested in increasing stakeholder participation.

Collaboration with external innovation drivers is one of the opportunities that companies, especially if belonging to more traditional sectors, can seize to embark on a twofold path oriented towards both a sustainable horizon and a Digital Transformation goal. This is the case of the Palescandolo Lavorazioni Siderurgiche, which works in the traditional sector of shipbuilding, in particular, providing steel beams and sub-assemblies to shipbuilders of the calibre of Fincantieri. In this context, the company developed a project (METROPOLIS) in partnership with the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Naples Federico II in order to exploit the potentiality of Digital Transformation to improve efficiency and reduce environmental impact. Once described the production system of the company and the main steps of the project, the aim of this paper is to show how the implementation of a Digitalization Plan represents a fundamental premise in order to allow the development of optimization-oriented approaches for operations management and the collection of data related to the environmental impact, making the latter become a new aspect that can guide decision-makers. In particular, we will analyse the opportunity provided by a DSS solution in managing objectives oriented on one side on efficiency and on the other side on sustainability, letting emerge the need for multicriteria approaches able to capture and drive the complexity of systems in which these objectives conflict.

The UNESCO Chair on “Mediterranean Cultural Landscapes and Communities of Knowledge”, University of Basilicata, research and experiment among others the concept of “Communities of Knowledge” inside the UNESCO site of the Sassi of Matera, contributing to the creation of the Permanent Observatory for the Management of the UNESCO site. The Management Plan (MP) for the UNESCO site of the Sassi was elaborated from a participatory process developed around the concept of “Community of Knowledge”. Inside the MP, the strategical regeneration of the testimonial value and use of the UNESCO site -conceived as a cultural landscape of sustainability and harmony between human settlements and nature-, is to understand and operationalize the power of knowledge for the valorization of the Sassi’s world heritage, make it also a Mediterranean laboratory and a model too. The Observatory was conceived to work as a laboratory of sustainable development, declined on the topic of valorization of a territory, understood as a universal cultural heritage. The entire design process of the UNESCO Site Management Plan was interpreted as ‘process of processes’ with methodological and operational value. An analogue approach, principles and procedures will contribute to the creation of the Observatory. With the idea of ‘process of processes’, attention is drawn to the different logical levels to which actions belong, from attention to the object of investigation and project, to attention to the process itself. This attention develops effective cognitive and awareness processes to implement responsible and participative strategies for the heritage management, conceived as ‘common’. The Sassi Observatory project also proposes an autopoietic organization, embracing through its strategies, tools and methods, the way life develops and evolves, i.e., learning from the process itself. Lastly, concerning the actualization of the UNESCO site’s values, inside the Observatory, the dynamic process of Sassi’s identity building- interpreted as a complex relationship between place, community and universal value- has been read through the concepts of “Community of knowledge” and “Generative narration of the landscape.”

In international markets, territoriality increasingly represents a decisive success factor for companies, particularly Italian ones, which, thanks to their intellectual capital, manage to be competitive in the era of globalisation in which we find ourselves, despite strong competition at world level. In fact, with particular reference to industrial companies, Italy has managed to make the concept of ‘Made in Italy’ perceived as a guarantee of quality and luxury throughout the world, creating a brand under which all Italian companies are recognised. The reputation of the Italian manufacturing company is, in fact, known worldwide and is a hallmark of creativity and quality. This paper aims to investigate the propensity of Italian SMEs to self-finance and invest in research, development, and innovation. The research is conducted by analysing the findings of a company case study. The results for the three-year period 2019-2021 of a medium-sized Italian company belonging to the manufacturing sector were analysed to examine how a medium-sized family business can implement a growth project through the predominant use of internal financial resources. The results show how, through self-financing, the company was able to increase its value and market share, especially abroad. This was done by investing heavily in innovation and research, despite the economic crisis resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2015, member countries of the United Nations developed 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, 2019) that focus on social and environmental issues. To meet the newly introduced requirements, it is crucial to innovate the current system by combining the different dimensions of sustainability, namely social sustainability, economic sustainability, and environmental sustainability. The scientific literature identifies six macro trends, in the area of sustainability, among which the concept of Circular Economy (CE) emerges (Gaudig et al., 2021). To date, CE represents a topic of utmost interest to both the research and business worlds; indeed, CE emphasizes the conscious use of natural resources, promoting their reuse and recycling (Geissdoerfer et al., 2017). In this regard, stakeholders’ attention has focused on understanding which are the main facilitators for the adoption and implementation of sustainable business strategies. Recent years have witnessed the emergence and significant growth of a new category of companies: startups. In this regard, the literature points out that this new generation of firms is, at present, the largest producer of radical innovations (Hekker et al., 2007). However, to date, research has mainly focused on the circular approaches adopted by mature firms, while contributions related to startups have been little investigated. The present study aims to focus on the relationship between startups and sustainability, with particular attention to the role of CE on innovative strategies. Indeed, startups, being unstructured business entities, have the opportunity to develop from scratch a new organizational culture that integrates the dimensions of sustainability (Nunes et al., 2022). Startups have the opportunity to build a sustainable business from the beginning by proposing a circular business model or integrating sustainability practices into business operations. The underlying hypothesis is that startups are more open to new ideas because they lack an organizational culture, consequently it is easier to establish sustainable thinking unlike established companies (Pizzi et al., 2021). To achieve this goal, the study was structured in two main phases. First, a review of existing scientific literature was conducted through the methodology of keyword analysis (Fadalla and Amani, 2015). Starting from the results obtained in the literature review phase, the main points to be investigated and then included in the questionnaire were defined. Finally, in the second phase of the study a multiple case study was conducted on a sample of 13 startups,.

The controversial topic must be led out of fixed patterns of thought, as it has ceased to be simply the continuous representation of an image, instead shifting the paradigm towards a new construction of history. The ever-present idea and practice of re-presenting again what is missing must be seen in the new perspective of “re-construction”, stressing the attention on the prefix “re-”, linked to the possibility of repetition of actions, in same or opposite way, moving expected results from precise copy to broader quote of invention. The basic principle of any cognitive structure is repetition. If intended as the action of performing again something that already occurred, it allows the formation in the subconscious of an image in which users can recognise specific values. Reconstruction, in the action of building again and filling gaps, supports the desire for continuity of a constructed memory that is also part of contemporary cultural self-construction. The concept of reconstruction weaves relationships concerning ontological, ethical and pragmatic aspects. Reconstruction tackles the dichotomy between complete form and ruins, a condition in which architecture, although reduced to minimum formal terms, still manages to exist through an image that constantly lies in collective memory. It opens questions on the ratio between original contents and replicas and on its social and political legitimacy and investigates building techniques involved and the innovation impressed on the remains by the rehabilitation project. This contribution aims to clarify how a reconstructive approach to heritage intervention can play, in multiple fields, a significant role in the transmission of memory and value, and also to broaden the spectrum of investigation onto various reconstructive models, which provide the theoretical basis for a subsequent practical approach for the heritage.

The traditional concept of heritage, which focuses mainly on physical, architectural and urban aspects, no longer allows adequate conservation strategies. New approaches need to integrate notions of the socio-economic context and sustainable development as well as factors related to social and cultural representations and intangible heritage. Reconstruction is the activity of building again something that has been damaged, bringing it into the state it was before; nevertheless, deeper studies, focused on what reconstruction is, show how it doesn’t only describe a project but it also sums an attitude of mind in the face of lack of form, defined by scientific, ideological and political strategies, economic interests, aesthetic demands

A shift toward more sustainable production and consumption patterns is crucial. The fashion industry is responsible for negative environmental and social impacts along the value chain. Thereby, the fashion industry is one of the priority areas of intervention in the sustainability agenda. Recently, the literature has devoted much space to the analysis of sustainable fashion consumption. Some literature reviews on sustainable fashion have been published recently. However, these focused on a specific consumption stage. Multiple alternatives to make, use, and dispose of fashion products sustainably are available among all consumption stages and an analysis of the determinants of consumer behavior for each option is missing so far. Such knowledge would be useful for a deeper understanding of sustainable consumption in the fashion industry, to define a holistic picture of the reasons that favor or discourage the adoption of sustainable behaviors for each phase of consumption. This study aims to fill this gap by systematically reviewing the literature related to sustainable consumer behavior in the fashion industry. A product life cycle approach is adopted by analyzing consumers’ perceptions and the influencing factors of consumer behavior towards the sustainable options existing for each stage (i.e., production, use, and disposal). Specifically, these sustainable options can belong to the phase of garment choice (i.e., before consumer usage), the garment usage (i.e., during consumer usage), and when the consumer ceases to use the garment (i.e., after consumer usage). The research string used to collect articles was created by mixing keywords related to three main domains: consumer behavior, sustainability, and the fashion industry. The research string was launched on Scopus and Web of Science databases on 31st December 2022. After a series of screening following exclusion criteria, a final sample of 216 articles was included in the review. Results show many factors driving or hindering sustainable consumer behavior. The main barriers to sustainable consumption are high price, skepticism, stereotypes, lack of knowledge, availability, and efforts to access product/service. Furthermore, consumers’ environmental concerns and awareness seem to play a secondary role in the decision process. Conversely, high-quality, comfort, and style of garments, together with new emerging technologies and services, can positively contribute to sustainable consumption. Social media can help shift toward sustainable consumption practices, favoring the spread of sustainable knowledge and awareness among consumers. A future research agenda and several implications for managers are provided.

A firm can improve its innovation processes by accessing useful external knowledge, profiting from the Open Innovation outside-in process. However, to benefit from the flow of knowledge from the firm’s outside boundary, the firm’s Absorptive Capacity – the ability to correctly acquire, assimilate, transform, and exploit external knowledge according to the innovation needs – plays a pivotal role. So, firms must equip themselves with relevant tools to support all Absorptive Capacity activities. Despite digital technologies seem to be very promising tools, currently, their supportive role in firms’ Absorptive Capacity activities is understudied, hence generating a literature gap related to a very rising topic. This work aims to contribute to filling this gap by proposing a structured literature review of academic research papers from the Scopus database. The main results of this research are three: i. the recognition of the most studied digital tools in supporting Absorptive Capacity activities; ii. the explanation of how the identified digital tools support Absorptive Capacity activities; iii. the impact of using digital tools for supporting Absorptive Capacity activities on firm performance. Contributions are both theoretical and practical. Theoretically, this work is a first step in linking Open Innovation, Absorptive Capacity, and Information and Communication Technologies theories, often studied separately. In addition, the proposed literature review highlights new possible topics to be researched to improve the scientific knowledge about the phenomenon under investigation. Practically, the results of this work lead firms’ innovation managers to select the most appropriate digital tools to support Absorptive Capacity activities to enhance firms’ performance.

Knowledge workers are central actors for organizational performance and also widely in societies. Specifically, they are central sources, producers and orchestrators of knowledge, in which work creativity plays an important role. The goal of this paper is to shed light on determinants of knowledge worker creativity. We investigate resilience and self-efficacy as predictors of knowledge worker creativity by suggesting that effect of resilience is both direct and indirect, that is self-efficacy works as a partial mediator between knowledge worker resilience and creativity. We collected data from 419 knowledge workers in Finland to test the research model. The model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings supported our hypotheses. This study contributes to research on knowledge worker creativity and individual resilience in organizations.