New technologies are being integrated into the urban space of cities and we are progressively talking about smart cities and smart tourism. Tourism is one of the production sectors with the greatest economic impact internationally, as it directly influences cities, the provision of their services and the way people live together. It is therefore from this that the smart and sustainable tourism destination approach is conceived, influencing city dwellers and the environmental footprint of the tourism experience. In the belief that combining digital intelligence with spatial systems can improve the standard of living and raise the quality of services, the aim of the research is to explore places where the environment and the technological system are closely related, creating a greater dialogue between the various social components of these spaces, with interesting effects also in terms of relational cohesion. Spatiality is not only a physical concept, but it is linked to notions of digital geography, which we define as Phygital, in which the physical and virtual environment are combined to enhance the tourist experience. Considering the strategic axes of innovation, digitisation, accessibility and sustainability, the resulting positive impacts are distributed among economic, social and technological actors, enhancing tourist sites with improved physical and digital accessibility, and generating a competitive and inclusive type of tourism. There are many virtuous examples of STD in the world to take inspiration from, and the article takes the case study of the city of Càceres as a reference to make some reflections on smart tourism.

In recent times, there has been a surge in demands for transparency and accountability worldwide, particularly concerning information on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects due to increasing stakeholder pressures. This demand is particularly important in high-tech sectors, where economic activities can have adverse impacts. However, the quality of ESG disclosure can vary widely across companies. Hence, this study aims to investigate how board characteristics, such as diversity, independence, size, average age, frequency of meetings, tenure, and membership in high-tech sectors, impact the quality of ESG disclosure, using agency theory as a foundation. The study utilizes the ESG disclosure score acquired from Bloomberg to measure the scope of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and comprises a sample of 864 international companies. A multiple linear regression model is used for cross-sectional analysis. The results show that diversity, independence, and size joined to high-tech industry membership have a positive impact on ESG disclosure quality. This study expands the scope of agency theory, by identifying additional determinants, and tests the influence of high-tech sectors on the quality of ESG disclosure. The results have significant implications for policymakers, regulators, and organizations seeking to promote sustainability and social responsibility.

Well-conducted requirements engineering (RE) activities account for a significant share of success in IT projects (Wiegers and Beatty, 2013). The RE process starts with identifying business objectives that define a context for eliciting business requirements. Because RE is considered a social interaction (Serna et al., 2017), a share of knowledge about business requirements is stored as unarticulated tacit knowledge possessed by individuals within an organization (Boyer and Mili, 2011). This personalization of tacit knowledge causes barriers to gathering valid requirements (Serna et al., 2017). Moreover, intra-organization knowledge sharing is often complicated by knowledge hiding (Connelly et al., 2012), resulting from a lack of interpersonal trust between employees and (external) analysts (Holste and Fields, 2010). In Knowledge Management (KM) literature, tacit knowledge sharing is mainly discussed from the cultural and psychological perspectives (Chen et al., 2018; Holste and Fields, 2010), which are out of the control of an external business analyst. However, some publications suggested specific methods and tools that business analysts can use to foster requirements elicitation, such as creating engaging environments (Nakano et al., 2013) and utilizing social web-based tools (Panahi et al., 2016, 2013). Although a large amount of focus in KM and RE was dedicated to knowledge and requirements elicitation, we see little integration of KM-based tools and techniques in RE. Therefore, in this paper, we draw on our experience facilitating a co-creation workshop to help other facilitators effectively deal with collecting tacit knowledge about the business requirements in organizations. We started with a systematic literature search in two areas (knowledge and requirements elicitation) and identified one review for each area that lists elicitation methods (Anwar et al., 2022; Gavrilova and Andreeva, 2012). We used conceptualization of the identified methods to design a workshop. After the workshop facilitation, we reflected on our data from participatory observation and suggested recommendations for similar workshops. We addressed several issues that emerged during the workshop, namely (i) insufficient domain knowledge before the workshop, (ii) lack of validation, and (iii) issues with capturing tacit knowledge during the workshop. European Union’s Horizon Europe program supported this research, grant agreement No 101091536, Digitalised Value Management for Unlocking the potential of the Circular Manufacturing Systems with integrated digital solutions.

Videos are increasingly used for learning both in higher education and in organizational knowledge exchange. Though this tool enables flexible and effective individual learning, its effectiveness largely depends on its ability to maintain viewers’ attention. Studies of learner attitudes towards video presentations show that they feel less engaged with digital pieces of training than before the pandemic and L&D professionals consider their virtual training experiences ineffective. As the production of instructional videos is time and resource intensive, it is essential to have a clear understanding of the factors and principles that should be taken into account when making and using this genre specifically. Our research aims to contribute to this goal with research findings and practical suggestions. Since, to the best of our knowledge, only a little research has so far investigated the factors that influence the effectiveness of instructional videos for workplace learning (see one of these in Section 2.1.1), the current study presents some of the significant findings in the literature on the principles of the effectiveness of instructional videos supported by empirical research in different educational sectors (such as higher education, adult education, vocational training, professional or self-paced online learning). It also presents the findings of an empirical mixed-methods study on the effectiveness and engaging capacity of instructional videos in higher education. Learner emotions (N=25) were identified by self-report questionnaires Due to the high degree of similarity between the two learning environments, these conclusions are worth being considered for workplace-based instructional videos as well.

Saudi Arabia opened its doors to tourists in September 2019 and unveiled ambitious tourism plans during its G20 presidency in April 2020. The cultural heritage is remarkable, given the rich history of Saudi Arabia. With the Saudi Vision 2030 built around three themes “a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation,” tourism figures prominently as one of the primary sources of diversification of the Kingdom. This strategic framework aims to enrich the journeys of Makkah-bound pilgrims while in the Kingdom and establish tourist and historical sites and cultural venues to enhance the pilgrimage experience. The paper concerns one of the five pillars of Islam: the annual Islamic pilgrimage (Hajj) to the Holy City of Makkah, considered one of the most important and ancient in the world. The pilgrimage routes were religious and commercial axes that crossed the Arabian desert, favouring movement throughout the ancient world and creating a “heritage route.” The research study focuses on Darb Zubaydah, the main historic Hajj pilgrimage route connecting Kufa in Iraq to Makkah in Saudi Arabia. This 1,300 km route has 13 heritage sites, four in Iraq and nine in Saudi Arabia. The Dar Zubaydah is a historical, cultural route of exceptional universal value, and since 2 January 2022, it has been included in the Saudi Heritage Tentative List of UNESCO. The research aims to promote and bring to light the cultural heritage along Darb Zubaydah by developing sustainable cultural tourism. The paper defines guidelines enhancing services near the historical sites and between one pilgrim station and another to reduce distances. Fayd Oasis, one of the most important and strategically located stations in Darb Zubaydah, has been selected as a case study for a sustainable development scenario to revitalize today’s archaeological site and implement its services. The goal is to strengthen the pilgrimage route’s cultural identity and historical heritage through services for tourists and pilgrims that promote Saudi cultural heritage while preserving the environment and natural resources. Defining a strategic plan to enhance this tourist axis of pilgrims is essential to promote the cultural landscape and heritage by strengthening the sense of identity towards a sustainable approach. The result of this study wants to contribute to Vision 2030 to enhance the development of tourism through the revitalization of the Islamic, Arab, and national cultural heritage of the Kingdom. It can be applied in other Hajj pilgrimage routes and on a global scale.

In this study, we employ topic modeling to systematically explore the platform ecosystem literature and identify emerging trends and potential avenues for future research. By leveraging computational techniques, we uncover hidden thematic structures and patterns in text data, providing valuable insights into the current state of research and pointing towards promising directions for future investigation. Our analysis draws from a comprehensive dataset of academic articles and conference proceedings revealing key themes and trends in the platform ecosystem discourse. We examine the evolving research landscape and synthesize the key findings into coherent topic clusters, illustrating the breadth and depth of the platform ecosystem literature. Our analysis highlights the interdisciplinary nature of the field, encompassing various research domains such as business models, governance, value co-creation, entrepreneurship, among others. Additionally, we identify significant research gaps and unexplored areas that warrant further attention from scholars and practitioners alike. Our study provides a robust framework for categorizing and organizing the platform ecosystem literature, enabling researchers to better understand the underlying connections and relationships between different research streams. This facilitates more efficient knowledge accumulation and dissemination, contributing to the ongoing development and maturation of the field.

Immersive multimedia exhibitions – which are based on digital images, light effects, and soundtracks – are developing in most of museums worldwide to enhance the customer experience. However, not all visitors such as disabled people can enjoy them. Previous studies that have so far examined the accessibility and inclusion of disabled people in museums are very few. This research aims to investigate how I4.0 can guarantee inclusiveness and accessibility of disabled people in immersive multimedia exhibitions. In this purpose, a single case study engaged in good practice was performed by examining an immersive multimedia exhibition in Italy. This study provides specific aspects and solutions devoted to more inclusiveness and accessibility that could serve as a starting point for designing future immersive multimedia exhibitions. The results of this research have theoretical and practical implications.

The Global Wealth Report of 2022 reveals that we are wealthier, healthier, and living longer than ever before. However, this doesn’t necessarily seem to equate to success as a society. The prevailing view in the western business world is that companies must generate high returns and great profits, which requires precise management and planning based on rational, explicit information and ‘profound’ knowledge. This view is being increasingly questioned by researchers and practitioners who argue that more is not always better. Instead, an ‘aesthetic of the right measure’ is needed to achieve long-term sustainability. This position paper explores the idea of the right measure that may also include a shift of what we consider desirable in an organizational context. In the light of current movements towards ‘Spiritual Knowledge Management’ and ‘Responsible Knowledge Management’, the field of Knowledge Management may need to shift more towards knowledge creation for the greater good. This requires developing a tacit understanding of the meaning of sustainability and a shift in what is considered to be ‘working beautifully’ from something technically rational to something sustainable and organic. Presumably, the only way for a company to achieve sustainability in the long run is to change the premises by which it operates away from the culture of ‘more is better’ towards what I coin as an ‘aesthetic of the right measure’. Ultimately, being a sustainable company needs to become as aspirational as being a financially successful company is today. This involves a shift of the aesthetic image that we have of success as being mainly drawn to financial wealth. Instead, the aesthetics of restraint involve finding pleasure in needing less. The paper suggests that this shift towards sustainability and organic growth is based on a positive aesthetic image of sustainability and requires a change in decision-making methodology and a strong sense of the organization’s true purpose.

This paper is an initial study concerning the role of women in firms in supporting circular bioeconomy practices. Moreover, circular bioeconomy could generate economic opportunities for women, boosting female and green entrepreneurship. The objective of the research is twofold. On the one hand the study investigates whether women-led firms adopt more circular economy practices than men-led businesses. On the other hand, the research investigates whether the circular bioeconomy could generate economic opportunities for women by encouraging female entrepreneurship. To achieve the proposed objectives, a bibliometric analysis and a systematic literature review have been conducted. The results are overall consistent with the research questions. Female entrepreneurs as well as female directors or female employees plays a critical role in achieving sustainable economy and sustainable development, also in social and environmental dimensions. At the same time, the growth of the service sector, stimulated by the transition to a circular economy and bioeconomy, could provide more opportunities for female employment.

The healthcare industry faces various challenges, and Lean management and Six Sigma initiatives are gaining attention for their ability to improve performance by reducing defects, waiting time, and costs while increasing patient satisfaction. Strategic Knowledge Management (SKM) is essential for the success of Lean and Six Sigma initiatives in healthcare organizations. SKM focuses on arranging knowledge resources and competencies to bridge the knowledge gap between required and existing know-how in the organization, enhancing people’s skills and assets. This study aims to explore the relationship between Lean management and SKM approach to knowledge management in healthcare organizations. The study uses regression analysis to investigate the role of SKM in achieving Organizational Performance Improvement. The findings enrich the debate in the literature on the use of a strategic knowledge-based approach to continuous improvement and provide a comprehensive framework for healthcare facility managers to promote knowledge sharing as a core asset within organizations.

This research work is part of the emerging paradigm outlined using phygital approaches for the experimentation of innovative forms of use of the Cultural Heritage. The conceptual framework outlined is the field of investigation in which the cultural-based experiences that combine the proposition of physical and digital value in a national and international area are explored from a managerial point of view. The research objective is pursued through a qualitative approach that aims to provide a theoretical understanding and explanation of the phygital phenomenon in the cultural sector. The innovativeness of the proposal is expressed in the comparative analysis of the selected cases, with the purpose of identifying best in class and prospects for improvement. The research’s findings highlight that the phygital formula can take on different characteristics depending on the technologies used and the purpose to be achieved and can be a useful tool for the co-creation of cultural value.

Digital transformation changed the way of doing business. In recent years, the fashion industry has undergone a profound change. The climate of uncertainty, the challenges related to the VUCA context, and ethical and environmental issues necessitated implementing digital strategies and increasing sustainability and social responsibility oriented. Creating new and solid links with online Millennials communities sensitive to sustainability is also essential. The priorities are less advertising bombardment to induce purchase and more conversations to build trust, setting up environments of interactions (Noci, 2011). The year 2022 has been marked by the profound participation of many fashion houses, luxury but also fast fashion, in Metaverse, that have not only made agreements to be present within it but have also contributed to its development. They have implemented a presence in the Metaverse as part of their marketing strategies not to lose a competitive advantage. At the same time, new and exciting start-ups have sprung up to a new and flourishing area of business. This paper aims to understand whether the Metaverse in the fashion industry can be regarded as a new and additional e-commerce platform or if it can be considered a new sustainable business model based on innovative interactions between its stakeholders.

The proposal discusses methods and techniques that reduce the environmental impact of buildings over the lifecycle with the objectives of adaptive reuse of cultural heritage buildings. To achieve this goal, an integrated approach to design is used, which involves the analysis of questions, strategies, and actions in a complex system applied to a case study located in Sardinia, Italy. This place is the military battery of Capo d’Orso, once the avant-garde of military technology, today abandoned fossil trapped in millenary granites. Awakening these places, no longer as spaces dedicated to war, but as places full of history and open to new futures is essential. The new function, resulting from careful analysis of the heritage and the surrounding context, required the integration of new additional volumes. Three founding actions guided the project: Integrate, Optimize, and Build. The restoration project presented in the paper was shaped by crucial matters that cannot be overlooked, including energy and water saving, seamless integration between new and existing structures, the economic feasibility of construction, and efficient utilization of resources. These were the fundamental aspects that formed the backbone of the project. This paper describes in particular the process of integration and optimization of the structure of an added volume necessary for the re-functionalization of the area. The addition is located on top of the underlying historical vaults of pre-existence. Given the great testimonial value of the historic vaults, the design intention was to preserve and protect them. The work describes a multi-objective optimization approach which had evaluated different design alternatives according to constraints given by the context and the pre-established objectives, in order to optimize the structural element as much as possible meeting all the requirements: structural efficiency, visual permeability, lightness, low environmental impact, the possibility of assembly on a particular site hard to access. The study also shows methods to compare different technologies, configurations, and materials, starting from a structural scheme allowing the significant span and developing a finite element model for each configuration to evaluate structural performances. Moreover, the design process made use of prefabricated technologies, dry solutions, and modularity to allow easier construction on a site hostile to traditional mechanisms. Eventually, the solution to the initial problem it’s been able to achieve sustainability, comfort, and respect for the pre-existence without compromising on performance.

In view of a necessary sustainable organizational turnaround, this research aims to reflect on the aspect of social sustainability, which is often given little weight in corporate sustainability programs. The research focuses on one of the most crucial nodes in social sustainability, the gender gap. Through the Gender equality global report & ranking 2023, were highlighted the progress made and the critical issues still to be resolved in terms of corporate gender equality policies The future developments of the research include interviews aimed at all the HR of companies according to the Mosaic Business Model.

This paper aims to investigate which are the relationships between Italian agri-food companies, governed by women, sustainability and social media. The aim of this paper is to analyse how agri-food companies are sustainable and if disclose their way of being sustainable through social media. In addition, this paper aims to investigate what economic benefits Italian agri-food companies that convey sustainability through social media receive. This work is supported by a qualitative methodology based on a case study. The results of any studies have begun to show that there is a close connection between agribusinesses and sustainability. Furthermore, SMEs are not only tied to tradition, but also to innovation; it was also found that the positive effects, produced by the diffusion of new information technologies, produced improvements in efficiency, product quality, environmental sustainability and new communication channels; all of these are important factors that can influence business relationships. It was also possible to see that through the use of social media, agri-food companies were able to communicate their commitment to sustainability to a large audience. Communicating a company’s level of sustainability, also in the agri-food sector, through social media can bring economic benefits. This paper aims to expand the literature on the topic of sustainable agri-food companies in Italy, with a special focus on the use of social media in women’s businesses.

The 2022 Global gender gap report reveals an impressive figure: total gender equality will be achieved in 132 years (WEF). The discouraging figure reveals not only how far the goal is still, but also how the efforts made aren’t enough. The Italian situation doesn’t seem particularly comforting, the Gender Index estimates place Italy well below the European average. The gender mainstreaming approach, spread by the European Union and applied in every gender equality strategy, has taught us the problem is not only to “increase” the number of women in a series of processes, but to modify them to give space to the involvement of both women and men. Initiatives specifically aimed at women aren’t enough to bring about major changes, as they, often, restrict to the developing female adaptive strategy within structures sized for man. The world of work and organizational structures offer an interesting window from which to observe the systematic nature of the phenomenon. Talking about an «institutionalized prejudice, doesn’t seem wrong, because it is clear that jobs are not always gender-neutral spaces. However, Italian public and corporate policies seem, fortunately, to move in the opposite direction. The Gender Equality Certification for companies, introduced by the PNRR, seems to reveal the intention to make structural changes to the organizational world. This national certification system is designed to accompanies and encourages companies to adopt appropriate policies to reduce the gender gap in all the most “critical” area (UNI/PRR, 2022).

This academic article discusses the potential of smart working as a social sustainability tool for achieving gender equality in organisations. With the rise of telecommuting and remote work due to technological advancements, companies must adopt a dynamic, innovative mindset open to sudden changes and challenges. Sustainable open innovation is a crucial aspect of fostering sustainability in business operations. Smart working is a recent phenomenon that has gained significant momentum during the Covid-19 pandemic, attributed to its decisive contribution to environmental sustainability. The article explores how smart working can contribute to social sustainability, particularly in the context of gender equality. The research question is whether smart working can become a social sustainability tool for companies to achieve gender equality. The paper aims to explore this issue using resource dependency theory as a key to interpretation. The article employs the case study methodology, which is most suitable for exploring the impacts of gender equity on corporate sustainability. The research highlights the need for more cohesive and consistent literature on the advantages and disadvantages of smart working from an employee perspective. The study indicates that smart working is associated with higher employee participation in company life, higher performance, and greater organisational effectiveness. The paper concludes that trends in remote working will continue after the pandemic and that smart working could be an opportunity for lasting behavioural change to strengthen the positive impact on the environment while achieving gender equality.

This job has the finality to study the existing relationship between the cultural dimension of the board of directors, like sex and age, and its impact on firm value. It is important to stop and focus on the reason why these two parameters are so important to creation of value inside companies. The board of directors is the centre where major business decisions are made. The future success or failure of the company depends on the decisions that are made today by directors. The idea of the future companies comes from the board of directors. From here we understand the importance of a deep reading of the mechanisms that govern this organization. If we analyse the etymological sense of the term “value”, we consider everything that is worthy of being taken into account: economic benefits but not only them. In recent years corporate culture has shown to be a discriminating factor when the economic crisis led companies to exercise resilience actions. The covid-19 first and the international unrest then questioned the way of doing business. The market scenarios, in which companies operate, have changed. One element that made the difference was the mental flexibility of administrators. During these years the company culture has made a difference. The present work aims to analyse how much the cultural dimension of the boards of directors affects the creation of business value. Particular attention will be paid to Italian companies. In this article we provide to a review of the most significant papers and texts of the academic research dedicated to the study of human capital-intensive firms. In the field of human capital, the analysis is limited to the culture of women’s enterprise. The database that was used for the search is Scopus. A particular aspect of the cultural dimension that is being studies is the percentage of women sitting on company boards. Specifically, we want to study the correlation, if any, between the value of the company and the percentage of women present in its boards of directors. We will examine what are the distinguishing characteristics of female management too. Deepening the scientific literature on the subject of corporate culture and value creation, we want to quantify the value created by the companies under consideration. The goal is to understand if there is a correlation between the percentage of women on the boards and business success, Primary sources and secondary ones will be used in the study. The analysis was conducted in order to offer a new key to reading these phenomena.

Blockchain is recognised as a useful key digital technology in Industrial Internet of Things environments. It provides a means for the protection, traceability and security of industrial data. Blockchain is defined as an immutable digital ledger technology, based on a distributed and decentralized infrastructure that facilitates the management of data and transactions by leveraging on encrypted and trusted mechanisms. Despite it was introduced in 2009, it seems to be still immature. Indeed, some few applications have been experimented since 2019. Therefore, it is interesting to explore the knowledge boundaries of such technology for a secure data management and for ensuring the sustainability of industrial business models. Based on a systematic literature review and a bibliometric analysis, this study aims to identify the most important implications of the blockchain adoption with regard the protection and traceability of data in industry. The results of the analysis show the identification of seven clusters, as potential future research directions. The study provides both theoretical and practical implications. It extends the body of the literature by suggesting potential opportunities in industry and within an emerging technological field. Also, it supports managers to identify and plan accurate strategies for strengthening the sustainability of their business, by leveraging on the development of novel knowledge for a secure management of their assets.

Sustainable rural development helps to improve the quality of rural environment communities, and relies on promoting multifunctional agriculture and driving rural business and entrepreneurship, structuring hybrid organisations that combine and reconcile market and social aspects as sources and visions leading to creating economic, social and public value within rural areas and communities. The aim of this study is to elucidate that driving sustainable rural development supports hybrid organisations that are driving value creation processes within rural areas and communities. Rural resources are emerging as a social and economic asset and value to be preserved for future generations. Rural resources shape the strategy and organisation of rural enterprises and communities. Rural development and multi-functionality in agriculture contribute to reconciling and combining business orientation, territorial identity, social value creation and benefits for communities, addressing strategic and organisational choices of rural entrepreneurs. Rural development policies contribute to driving and shaping the sustainability of European farm sector and rural areas, by retaining long-term strategic objectives with regards to the competitiveness of agriculture, ensuring sustainable management of natural resources and climate action and the balanced territorial development of rural areas. European institutions promote rural development in order to benefit rural enterprises and communities, exerting influence on the organisational and strategic choices of enterprises towards sustainability by following a hybrid pathway to value creation and organisation.