177,076 research outputs found
Limitations and improvements of digitalization, two sides of the same coin
No full textVirtualization technologies for product development are increasingly reshaping organizational dynamics and transforming traditional practices across industries. This study explores the impact of virtualization on product development in the luxury fashion industry. We conducted a longitudinal case study from 2015 to 2023 on an Italian company specializing in the engineering and production of high-fashion garments (ALPHA). The study highlights how the gradual adoption of virtualization technologies in product development is linked to the emergence of four key organizational tensions: (1) increased optimization versus reduced organizational flexibility and diversity, (2) increased collaboration versus loss of focus, (3) increased demand for digital skills versus reduced reliance on traditional experience-based skills, and (4) increased openness versus control. These tensions arise not only from the physical phenomena digitized by the technology but also from how these phenomena relate to the representations created by the technology itself. This misunderstanding of virtualization has led managers to reorganize work, distancing workers from the physical references of their models, which complicates empirical validation and interpretation. We draw implications for product development virtualization from this case study by examining how structural organizational changes, if not intentionally managed, can lead to outcomes that may not align with business goal
Closing the middle-skills gap widened by digitalization: how technical universities can contribute through Challenge-Based Learning
No full textThe digitalization of operations is disrupting frontline technical jobs, entailing new competency needs currently not being met by upper secondary education and corporate training programs. To discuss how technical universities can help bridge the resulting “middle-skills gap” without incurring an unwarranted academization of these professions, a two-cycle participatory action research was conducted within the empirical setting of a leading Italian electric-power distribution company. First, an in-depth case study investigated how the advent of smart grids is transforming the work of frontline operation and maintenance workers. Second, a Challenge-Based-Learning intervention was co-designed according to the emerging competency gaps, and tested with two classes involved in the company’s school-based apprenticeship program. The findings contribute to literatures on knowledge creation and transformation by academics, and on developmental universities, respectively: technical universities can design effective challenge-based programs thanks to state-of-the-art laboratories, multidisciplinary research, diverse teaching domains, and a stimulating environment; moreover, they can transfer these innovative research-based teaching methods and restore the socio-economic attractiveness of technical schools and professions, thus playing a developmental role in the middle-skills gap issue. A major policy implication that emerges is the – rather urgent – need to foster initiatives aimed at a deeper integration between upper secondary and higher education systems
Business Model Innovation and Managerial Tensions for Sustainability: A Case Study in the Energy Sector
No full textThis study investigates how managerial tensions affect Business Model Innovation (BMI) in the context of newcomers navigating cross-industry innovation and
sustainability transitions. Our findings reveal that tensions within markets and business models often create contradictory conditions that significantly impact BMI
success. Effectively managing relationships between assets is crucial for overcoming these challenges and achieving market success and competitive advantage. Through a detailed case study of a new entrant in the energy sector, we illustrate how managerial tensions can influence BMI outcomes, particularly amid pressures of innovation across industries and sustainability transitions. Furthermore, we examine how managers address these challenges during the BMI process, balancing conflicting demands at different levels
Why SMEs should develop ambidextrous capabilities to manage R&D investments and international growth
No full textThis paper uses a continuous innovation framework to explore the barriers and the potential benefits that Small and Medium Enterprise can face when they combine investments in R&D endeavors and in their international expansion. From a theoretical standpoint we claim that R&D and internationalization can be conflicting objectives that entail a diversity of routines and managerial approaches, which is critical especially when SMEs face early stages of their life cycle and have a small management team. Empirically, we found an indirect support to this view on a sample of 221 Italian SMEs, all having R&D expenditures. Specifically, we showed that firms that combine investments in R&D with higher levels of export have a more limited growth of their revenue, the younger the firm age. The implications of these results for managers, scholars and policy-makers are discussed
The role of R&D investments and export on SMEs’ growth: a domain ambidexterity perspective
No full textPurpose – International sales are critical for the prosperity of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), because of
the limited size of their domestic market, but they can be difficult to attain for a number of reasons. The purpose
of this paper is to investigate this topic and use a domain ambidexterity framework to analyze why the
relationship between research and development (R&D) investments and export initiatives generates managerial
tensions in high- and medium-technology industries. In this paper, it is claimed that R&D investments and
internationalization can be conflicting objectives that entail a diversity of routines and managerial approaches.
This aspect is critical, especially when SMEs are in the early stages of their life cycle and are resource constrained.
Design/methodology/approach – This issue is tested using multiple regressions on data collected through
a survey that was conducted in 2014. The sample is composed of 221 SMEs operating in Italy in high-and
medium-technology industries.
Findings – The estimates show that combining contemporary high R&D investments and high export
activities negatively affects the growth of revenues of SMEs. In detail, when exports over revenue are below
10 percent, R&D investments have a positive effect on revenue growth, whereas when exports over revenue
are above 50 percent, the effect of R&D investments on revenue growth is negative. However, age acts as a
moderator on this relationship, thus implying that the effect of combining these initiatives varies according to
the life cycle of a firm. In particular, combining R&D investments and export generates tensions that limit the
growth of revenues in young SMEs (less than ten years old). For firms aged between 10 and 25 years,
the effect is positive, while the effect is positive but not statistically significant for mature firms (older than
25 years). These results demonstrate that the diversity of the organizational maturity in SMEs has an impact
on their ability to combine activities that require different capabilities (technological vs market).
Originality/value – This paper offers a theoretical contribution to the literature on domain ambidexterity,
as it shows that combining contemporary innovation-related activities with international activities may
constrain the performance of SMEs, according to the age of the firm. It extends the theoretical framework of
domain ambidexterity to international studies and it reconciles previou
Dealing with the tensions between innovation and internationalization in SMEs: A dynamic capability view
No full textPrevious literature disagrees on the fact that innovation and internationalization are decisions with a complementary effect on the performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) performance. We reconcile the contrasting views on this topic by using a dynamic capability perspective. We show that the simultaneous involvement in research and development (R&D) and export activities positively impacts SMEs’ profitability when such firms collaborate with universities and research centers, or when their international experience involves a diverse set of geographical markets. The magnitude of these moderations is different for low and high performers, thereby showing the lack of a “one best way” to successfully achieve complementarity between R&D and internationalization decisions
External knowledge search, opportunity recognition and industry 4.0 adoption in SMEs
No full textTechnologies related to Industry 4.0 require Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to understand their potential applications before they are adopted. In this paper, we test empirically a framework that links SME search strategies within their ecosystem (i.e., breadth of search vs. depth of search) to the capability of SMEs to recognise digital opportunities associated with Industry 4.0 (i.e., digital design, digital manufacturing and digital servitisation opportunities). We analyse a sample of 174 manufacturing SMEs operating in Italy. Our results illustrate the distinguishing traits of the knowledge search paths required to implement Industry 4.0 technologies in an SME manufacturing setting. In particular, they indicate that the recognition of digital opportunities in both product design and manufacturing processes require a depth of collaboration in the innovation process to capture firm and industry-specific company needs and to create mutual trust among the parties. Conversely, digital opportunities in the realm of product/service platforms require a breadth of search for SMEs to invest in different information technology layers to support the digitalisation of a product. We also find that all three groups of digital opportunities positively influence the extent of adoption of information and digital technologies (e.g., IoT, big data analytics, simulation). Our findings bring finer-grained evidence on how digital opportunities are linked with the adoption of the different types of Industry 4.0 technologies, reflecting the peculiar traits of manufacturing SMEs. Moreover, they show managers how to set specific collaboration strategies with the ecosystem according to the digital opportunities they are willing to pursue
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