As an environmentally friendly type of farm management and food production system, organic agriculture has experienced spectacular growth during the last 20 years, with Spain being the sixth largest producer in the world. However, organic farming faces important challenges that may jeopardize its future. First, yields per hectare may be significantly lower than in conventional farming, and second, in some contexts (as is the case for Spain), production growth is not matched by consumption growth. Therefore, significant innovation efforts should be made to solve these problems. Given the very small size of many organic farms, this paper analyses the specific types of relational capital that foster technological (both product/service and process-related) and non-technological innovativeness in Spanish organic farms. To address this research goal, survey data from a sample of 358 organically certified Spanish farmers with primary crop production has been analyzed by means of structural equation modelling (SEM) based on partial least squares (PLS). Three models have been run (one per type of innovativeness under study: product/service, process, and managerial) in which four types of external relational capital have been considered: knowledge generated through and embedded in vertical relationships, knowledge generated through and embedded in horizontal relationships, knowledge generated through and embedded in relationships with government institutions, and knowledge generated through and embedded in relationships with knowledge-intensive institutions. The results obtained show that even though external relational capital and innovativeness are clearly underdeveloped among Spanish organic farmers, knowledge generated through and embedded in relationships plays a substantial role in the promotion of innovativeness in organic agriculture. Moreover, depending on the type of innovation to be pursued, the type of external relational capital that plays a relevant role differs. In the case of product/service innovativeness, vertical relationships are the key, and more precisely, relationships with customers and consumers. In the case of process innovativeness, even though vertical relationships keep being extremely relevant (especially, relationships with suppliers), relationships with knowledge-intensive institutions also become very relevant (more precisely, relationships with advisory and consulting firms, as well as with research centers), followed by horizontal relationships (i.e., relationships with other producers, unions, and sectoral associations). Finally, in the case of managerial innovativeness (i.e., innovativeness regarding marketing and strategy), vertical relationships with customers and consumers play a leading role, followed by relationships with government institutions.

COVID-19 quickly pushed organizations towards challenges they could never have imagined. However, the crisis should represent a period of substantial business building and innovation. The immediate signs of this are already visible, including overnight digital transformation, making the most of data, and virtual customer engagement. In this current socio-economic context, in which organizations face growing innovation challenges, the ability of resilience is even more required, and it becomes more and more linked to the open collaborative innovation process, above all in digital platforms. In particular, organizations should leverage the ability to observe any change in the consumers’ collaborative attitude caused by the pandemic and to proceed with an adaptation of the platforms accordingly. This work aims to contribute to this literature gap. After reviewing existent literature developed in open innovation and digital platforms domains, a conceptual framework is elaborated. The proposed model suggests that any organization should monitor the impact that Covid-19 has had on the collaborative attitude of consumers, in order to foster open innovation process. In particular, it creates a link between the effects of the pandemic on the main reasons that push towards consumer participation and collaboration in digital platforms and the consequent and necessary remodelling of the platforms themselves.

This paper explores how business consultants play a role as knowledge drivers and gatekeepers in Green Business Model innovation processes and how they facilitate and helps sustain knowledge networks in these processes. It contributes to the literature on knowledge networks by unveiling the benefits and challenges of using intermediaries in projects such as Greenbizz to recruit businesses. With an outset in the EU Interreg Kask project, Greenbizz, we investigate how business consultants connect businesses and researchers, creating new knowledge networks that involved parties benefit from in the form of resources and information. Analysing data from particularly semi-structured interviews, the paper looks into the benefits and challenges that follow this particular setup and what experiences can be derived to support Green Business Model Innovation processes. Our findings suggest that business consultants play a double role as intermediaries since they, on the one hand, guide the businesses towards relevant networks that can support them in innovating their business models in this project to become greener. On the other hand, they expand the researchers’ access to a larger pool of potentially relevant actors to include in their research on green business model innovation processes. However, the findings also unveil some of the challenges of using intermediaries in projects like Greenbizz to recruit businesses.

Innovation has significantly contributed to the growth and development of society in the 20th century. In addition to innovation, sustainability is another topic widely recognized as fundamental for a company’s competitiveness, regardless of the industry it belongs to. Even if sustainability has often focused on environmental concerns, it is a three dimensions concept, namely: environmental, economic and social (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). Thus, also in developing innovation, companies have to take into account the three above-mentioned dimensions. Moreover, innovation is often considered a comprehensive system that interacts closely with the surrounding environment, and the literature refers to this system with the term “innovation ecosystem”. A new challenge for innovation ecosystems is represented by the demands for sustainable development in environmental, economic and social dimensions. Notwithstanding the growing interest in these topics, the extant literature is still fragmented, and a comprehensive analysis is missed. To address this gap, this paper aims to propose a conceptual framework. In order to reach this objective, we adopted a two-steps methodology (i.e., a literature review based on a bibliometric and a keywords analysis approach, and exploratory case studies). The results of the first phase showed that companies’ investments in R&D, the type of innovation developed, the issue of sustainability and the degree of “openness” are closed linked elements. These theoretic findings have been validated by a multiple case study conducted on a sample of 26 companies operating in different industries. As a further result, several research avenues are reported as distilled from the analysis.

The Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) and knowledge workers play a fundamental role in setting and implementing the university’s knowledge agenda, but they are not a relevant subject for discussion in the scientific community. In order to try to reduce this gap, the aim of the research was to verify the existence or not within the Italian universities of the CKO figure. The purpose, specifically, is to examine, through a survey through the institutional sites of a sample of Italian universities, the existence or otherwise of the CKO figure and how it carries out its activities. The survey was carried out through the acquisition of documentary information found on the internet. The activities carried out by the various universities were taken into consideration through the analysis of their websites. The analysis, in particular, was conducted by examining the first no. 39 state universities present in the Censis ranking of Italian universities. The main results showed that the figure of the Chief Knowledge Officer is not present in the survey sample studied, consisting of 39 universities. Although it was possible to find, within these analyzed universities, the presence of two offices in two different universities that deal with knowledge management, it is not well understood, specifically, whether their activities are attributable or not to those of the CKO.

This paper contributes to the academic literature on the platform society in two ways: Theoretically, we bridge the literature on the platform society with the literature on sensemaking. In particular, we take a processual approach to platform resilience as the outcome of sensemaking processes. Empirically we look at the process whereby platforms generate self-sustained users’ interest and self-promoting content in the long run. Thus, platform resilience is understood as the outcome of a sensemaking process. We frame this outcome strategically as market-place persistence and durability (attracting/maintaining users and complementors) and socially as persistence and replication of generated content, social outcomes and the narratives that platform participants may promote. New social structures in turn may reshape the platform. Such a dual sensemaking outcome shapes platform market strategy and re-shapes social structures. The two outcomes are connected but not necessarily convergent. A platform might not be strategically resilient but the narratives that platform participants may promote might resist and shape the societal debate in the long run and vice versa. We set out our argument by assessing evidence from two case studies, namely Facebook and Airbnb.

In recent years, sustainability has become a priority on governments’ agendas due to the need to reconcile economic growth with environmental and social sustainability objectives. The United Nations has identified 17 fundamental objectives to be achieved by 2030 to orient the action of governments and society. Regarding the role of the private sector in achieving sustainability goals, scientific literature suggests that through Open Innovation and Sustainability Oriented Innovation practices, companies can successfully develop sustainable innovations. Despite the efforts of researchers, however, the contribution that the private sector can play in achieving these goals remains unclear. Referring to the 17 UN goals, this study aims to help to bridge this research gap, analyzing how OI and SOI practices implemented by companies are utilized to achieve sustainability objectives. Furthermore, this study aims to identify the themes and areas on which companies’ efforts are concentrated and to analyze how the involvement of different stakeholders leads to the achievement of multiple sustainability objectives. To summarize the contributions of different disciplines and provide comprehensive results, a thorough literature review has been performed. Results show that business efforts are focused on a few key areas. In terms of the 17 UN development goals, the contribution of businesses is mainly about goal no. 7,8,9,12 and revolves around three main themes. The first concerns economic sustainability and includes investments in R&D activities, the development of new products, and better management of energy resources. OI and SOI practices are used to involve supply chain partners and users and reduce the risks and costs of such projects. The second theme concerns environmental sustainability, in terms of waste and emissions reduction through the use of recyclable materials and renewable energy sources. Engaging government entities and research organizations through OI practices can help businesses comply with laws and regulations. The third theme concern social sustainability: through the involvement of external actors’ companies can help define more sustainable production and consumption patterns. Ultimately, this study advances the understanding of how OI and SOI practices are used by companies to pursue sustainability objectives. From a practical perspective, it is suggested that companies could play a more central role and achieve better results by adopting a broader and long-term perspective, including sustainability objectives in their strategy.

Inventory management represents one of the main criticalities that companies have to deal with, since it contributes to determine the match between supply and demand; an efficient and optimal system surely represents a competitive advantage in today’s dynamic market. This issue, however, is further complicated when products to be managed are perishable (e.g., food, beverages, medicines, flowers etc.), meaning they can be deteriorated or become obsolete. This peculiarity generates a niche segment of inventory management research, which is that of inventory management for perishable products, characterized by a limited period during which the products can be sold or consumed with profit, which corresponds to their shelf-life. This is the topic of the present manuscript, whose aim is to provide a literature review of 164 scientific documents published between 2017 and 2020 and targeting this issue. Both descriptive (i.e., temporal and geographical distributions and type of research) and contents-related (i.e., keywords analysis) parameters are investigated for this sample of papers, showing a growing trend with a prevalence of analytic models developed. Issues related to sustainability turned out to be emergent topics.

Lean and digital strategies are increasingly being applied to the healthcare context. To explore the potential of using lean principles to improve healthcare management, this paper defines two frameworks for applying lean and digital strategies to improve healthcare organizations. The chosen research methodology for deriving these frameworks is the literature review, carried out on the Scopus database. Furthermore, given the critical role of knowledge management in healthcare organizations, this paper can help improve knowledge about the way hospitals can be managed in pandemic periods and more in general, on how to improve efficiency of healthcare facilities. Propositions for future research directions are suggested.

Sustainability and Circular Economy (CE) concepts have acquired a crucial role in the global economy. In addition, climate change has become one of the dominant issues today, and companies are under pressure to comply with national governments regulations. Studies, that examine the role of digital technologies that supports companies in the transition from a linear economy to the CE are therefore, highly needed. However, while contributions in both fields have increased, there is a scarcity of research that systematizes the literature and clarifies the relationship between the Industry 4.0/Industry 5.0 technologies and CE. To achieve this aim, we perform a systematic literature review of a sample of 98 articles and define a categorization of technologies supporting CE and taxonomy of barriers to the adoption of technologies in circular models.

Beginning with the first industrial revolution, the rise of cities determined the transition from the Anthropocene to a new epoch: the “Urbanocene”. Understanding key trends in urbanisation in the coming years is crucial for implementing SDG 11 of the UN2030 Agenda (Making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable). Cities are becoming laboratories of ideas, innovation, social cooperation and wealth creation, but they are also largely responsible for steadily increasing environmental pressures and consequent health impacts. Policymakers are called upon to make crucial decisions for developing sustainable and resilient cities able to cope with the Urbanocene challenges. It is not an easy undertaking: it requires collaboration across all policy areas and levels (i.e. policy coherence) and a synergistic approach to the problem. Moving from these premises, the paper contributes to the stream of research on resilient cities and sustainable urban management models by providing a conceptual framework helpful for policymakers. In particular, after a pervasive literature review on resilient and sustainable cities and the analysis of the Copenhagen case study, the work proposes an urban management model based on three strategic helices whose synergistic interaction acts as a catalytic force for the emergence of sustainable and resilient cities.

According to recent literature, food production would need to double by 2050 to fulfil the predicted demand of the world’s growing population. To achieve this aim, agri-food firms have started applying various digital technologies to improve food production while using fewer resources, minimising the environmental effect of production operations. This study aims to review papers on Industry 4.0 and agri-food sustainability published in the last decade. Machine learning methods such as text classification and data extraction were employed to automate this research. Text classification was used to screen titles and abstracts, while data extraction was used to determine the key subjects covered by the articles. The results summarise the leading scientific journals in the research field, the most influential countries, and the research topic’s evolution over time. Furthermore, data extraction allowed for the grouping of references into ten research clusters, allowing for more in-depth discussions and perspectives on crucial topics for future field study avenues.

The traditional firms that survived the crisis have understood the necessity and urgency of change in a historical moment in which data on youth unemployment are dramatically rising (OECD, 2021); Truly, it has already been several years since many youngsters and non are becoming entrepreneurs through the launch of a new and innovative entrepreneurial venture, since it could be the only way to counteract the negative effects of a stagnant labor market and to secure their own future (Witt U ., 2016). The phenomenon of start-up companies, in particular, is growing more and more and for this reason it has become interesting for both practitioners and scholars. The high percentage of failure, on the one hand, as well as high possibility of great success on the other, make the phenomenon rather non-linear and complex, therefore interesting to analyze. In this contest, the tools to predict and plan innovative businesses are not enough for start-up founders, while Sharasvathy’s logical effectual (2009) as a boost for the success of startups is an approach that could be taken into consideration.

For an agricultural firm (AF), being sustainable is a complex challenge that requires both a strategic vision and a transition to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In a high-risk scenario, the adoption of sustainable business models (SBMs) can generate significant effects on the AFs’ economic performance. In particular, SBMs can stabilize production, reduce the default risk for AFs and, lastly, minimize the probability of credit rationing by the banking system. Firms’ difficulty in accessing credit lines arises from the new supervisory banking rules aimed at stimulating banks to adopt credit disbursement and monitoring procedures, inspired by the principles of soundness and prudence. Contextually, a new form of credit known as “microfinancing” is emerging in the agricultural sector. It is characterized by short-term loans and low transaction costs and it is practiced by Micro-Finance Institutions. Through a bibliometric and systematic review of the literature, this study aims to map the state of knowledge on the lending strategies adopted for AFs, focusing on the sustainable development perspective. Specifically, two complementary analyses were conducted based on a database search that followed the systematic review protocol, with support from VOSviewer and R softwares. From the keyword co-occurrence analysis, it emerged that the most debated topics are related to the AFs’ sustenance and are focused on developing countries. The findings highlight growing attention to the topic of sustainability in the ‘access to credit’ strategy for AFs, but also poor information about a potential indirect role that Political & Governmental Institutions can play in the spreading of sustainability practices in the agriculture sector. However, the literature is still mainly founded on the economic pillar of sustainability, focusing almost exclusively on the profile and performance potentials of AFs. In addition, there is scarce evidence of the impact that sustainable practices have on both profiling activities by financial intermediaries and the risk profiles of AFs. These topics could be explored in future research. Despite some limitations, the study illustrates the state of the art of the nexus between access to credit and sustainability in the agricultural sector, providing useful ideas to fill the gaps in the literature and discover future research trends. Lastly, the implications of this analysis could support researchers, policy makers, and managers to build suitable strategies for the whole agri-food supply chain, ensuring sector resilience.

The issue of gender inequalities and the contribution of women in companies is extensively debated in the literature. Instead, there are few contributions on the information relevance of women’s issues. The present investigation is situated in the conceptual framework of the legitimacy theory to verify the extent of the information provided by large companies about women before and after the national legislation application on non-financial disclosure. A qualitative research methodology based on multiple case studies is used to comply with the paper’s aims. The authors conduct a content analysis on the non-financial statement (NFS) – or similar documents – produced by Italian non-financial companies listed on the FTSE-MIB before and after the first application in Italy of the national legislation implementing the European Directive. Notably, the NFS concerning the years 2016 – 2019 – 2020 are examined to observe the changes in the information reporting on gender over time (e.g. gender inequalities, the contribution of the female presence in companies, etc.). A scoring model based on key disclosure parameters is used in conducting the research. The analysis reveals a growing interest in the topic. The directive impact on the quality and quantity of information produced by businesses is mainly positive. Still, it is not possible to assert that it is considered of primary importance since only a relatively small number of companies analyzed give relevance to the topic. No empirical evidence was found in NFS on the effect that COVID-19 has had on females working in the company. This study can contribute to the literature on gender studies by analyzing the relevance that companies attribute to information on gender issues regarding women. At the same time, the research conclusions offer insights to policymakers to measure the effectiveness of the rules on non-financial disclosure in the absence of a precise framework that requires companies to adopt uniform and universally accepted accounting standards or principles. The paper can also contribute to the ongoing reflection on updating the directive on the subject by the EU and European and international accounting bodies.

With the development of the voice-controlled AI, new communication channels have opened up, whereby the AI is perceived more and more as human-like. Against this background, we investigate a concrete and particular communication situation – that of knowledge transfer in the university learning context. We conducted an experiment with students in which we investigated their questioning behavior in three experimental settings. They could ask questions directly in the lecture, via an app, or to Alexa as a voice assistant. The questions were addressed either to Alexa or to the lecturer. We found that the intensity of the question and the character of the questions varied enormously depending on the setting. In particular, two results are significant: 1) The anonymity of the question via Alexa and the app leads to an increase in the number of questions asked. 2) While questioning Alexa, students searched for information and the lecturer questions for expert knowledge and personal backgrounds.

In the recent years, companies are called upon to greater information transparency, and accountability and to disclose information relating to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues to stakeholders. Particularly, female companies are devoted to report and disclose such information highlighting non-financial results among which human rights results and disclosure assumed a relevant role. Through a qualitative approach, we propose to contribute literature proposing the intersection of SGDs, corporate disclosure and female entrepreneurship. This is a primary study to enrich in the next step of our research.

Sustainability is one of the most debated topics of the 21st century, especially regarding innovation. This study analyzes the role of policy-makers in two innovation ecosystems to study how they address sustainability objectives at regional levels. We conduct a comparative case study analysis on two innovative regions, Stockholm (Sweden) and Hovedstaden (Denmark), where sustainability goals are a priority in both countries’ policy strategies. The main results suggest that while the Stockholm region prioritizes the increase of competitiveness and attractiveness level of the region, Hovedstaden focuses mainly on SMEs’ growth and innovation output at the organizational level.

In the Industry 4.0 framework, manufacturing companies often fail in investing on priority technologies risking to not fully exploit their value. Considering the limitation of both human and financial resources, due also to the Covid-19 pandemic, they need to accurately identify the right directions of investment. Particularly, aerospace manufacturers need to address their resources for resetting their competitive advantage. The paper aims to explore both trends and technologies that are shaping the engineering field of manufacturing industries. Specifically, an aerospace company case study is carried out to qualitatively explore current use, preferences and insights for the near future. Twenty-two interviews were executed with first- and second-level profiles of the aerospace company. Findings have been organized in a comprehensive framework and ranked for leading future research activities and internal assessments. Among the most important technologies, the IoT and the consequent data management are identified as some important key drivers leading the digital transformation of the aerospace industry. Both practical and theoretical implications are provided.

Not all black swans are black in the same way: they may be unpredictable events in kind, or they may simply be unpredicted by certain actors in a certain context. In this line, a case is the COVID-19 pandemic where previous experiences of virus diffusion had been scientifically studied and a protocol of emergency action even produced by the World Health Organization. Then, why do these events were not detected? This implies a distinction between improbable but imaginable events and unimaginable events. When facing deep changes, socio-economic systems orient their response towards the normative sediment that constitutes social genotypic memory. While this reduces uncertainty, it also activates constraints that normalize change. This normalization does not have an unambiguous outcome: crazy systems may be resilient as well. This premised, is still possible to assign to resilience the role in the creation and spreading of new knowledge it had? By drawing on the literature on resilience, crazy systems and robust-yet- fragile systems and analyzing the “Italian Civil Protection” case, this work is an attempt to respond to this question.