102,029 research outputs found
Sustainable outsourcing in Italian SMEs
No full textThe aim of the paper is to understand how sustainable outsourcing can be an opportunity for
Italian SMEs. In the new millennium outsourcing and offshoring have by now become the
standard for firms constantly in search of new frontiers in order to compete worldwide. Quinn e
Hilmer (1994) have clearly summarized the benefits of outsourcing in a strategic perspective.
With outsourcing the manager optimizes the company's resources in four main ways:
1. maximizing the efficiency of internal resources by focusing on investments and engaging in
core competencies;
2. Developing core competencies by building barriers to current or future competitors seeking to
enter the areas of interest of the enterprise, thus protecting competitive advantages;
3. Using the investments of external firms, their innovations, their skills and their specializations,
that could be kept in house with continuous investment and innovation;
4. reducing the risks in rapidly changing markets with high technologies; an outsourcing strategy
reduces the risks of technological upgrading and R&D costs by shortening production cycles and
making the response to customer needs more flexible and quick.
The goal often becomes to redefine the core competencies and to distinguish between core and
non-core competencies by outsourcing activities and processes that are not considered part of the
core business (Pellicelli, 2009). In this way companies can potentially be more efficient and
effective in the global market. This is necessary but it’s not enough to be competitive. Firms are
facing growing stakeholders demand for social and environmental sustainability goals (Mella,
Gazzola, 2004). Therefore sustainability has an increasing role in outsourcing strategies. In a
competitive and technological environment, that is vaster and more dynamic than in the past,
firms must deal with complexity and turn to new strategies (Becker, Zirpoli, 2017; Doval 2016)
to build long term sustainable competitive advantages, not only for big corporation but also for
small and medium enterprises (SMEs). They need to pursue sustainability in order to win a good
reputation as socially responsible. Sustainability is essential for a business and remain
138
competitive, many companies choose to outsource some of the creative, analytical and
administrative work to a knowledge process outsourcing provider. Sustainable outsourcing is one
way for small and medium enterprises to be flexible. Outsourcing is more than a cost-saving
measure for businesses. Based on the definition of sustainable supply chain management (Carter,
Rogers, 2008; Seuring, Müller, 2008), Li et al (2014) define “sustainable outsourcing as the
strategic integration and achievement of a firm’s social, environmental and economic goals in its
sourcing to a third party entity”. However sustainability in this field is little investigated and
sustainable or green outsourcing are studied connected with Information Technology (Beath,
Ross, 2006; Bhamra, 2012). In the paper we propose an approach based on the qualitative and
quantitative analysis of the Small and Medium Enterprises in Italy
Assessing the Impacts of Urban Regeneration Projects on Smart and Active Mobility. An Application to the Cases of Cesena and Rimini.
No full textA smart and active mobility assessment protocol for urban regeneration. Application to regeneration projects of medium-sized cities in Emilia-Romagna
No full textActive mobility, within the context of sustainable urban development, plays a crucial role by positively affecting carbon and greenhouse gasses emissions, promoting healthy lifestyles, relieving urban traffic congestion, and therefore enanching the overall quality of urban life. Nowadays, active mobility plays a crucial role also in the contexts of urban regeneration projects, as highlighted both within the framework of Smart City assessments and within the main urban regeneration evaluation protocols. This paper pursues to establish a protocol for assessing the transformation of public spaces in the context of urban regeneration, using specific indicators to measure impacts on active mobility. The proposed assessment method aims at benchmarking urban regeneration initiatives, with a particular focus on mobility and accessibility issues. The methodology has been tested in several case studies within the major medium-sized cities of the Emilia-Romagna Region (Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Cesena and Rimini), in the North of Italy, outlining potential guidelines for the integration of active and smart mobility in the processes of urban regeneration
La terziarizzazione in generale, nella logistica e nei trasporti
No full textL'efficienza produttiva e dei servizi resi dipende, direttamente o indirettamente, da tutte le funzioni dellazienda, tuttavia per comprendere la convenienza delloutsourcing come fattore di incremento di efficienza, particolarmente rilevanti sono le funzioni di produzione, marketing e R&D delle quali si ritiene utile delineare le caratteristiche principali. La misura più semplice dellefficienza produttiva è rappresentata dal fabbisogno unitario dei fattori, cioè la
quantità di input che occorre impiegare per produrre una data quantità di output. Iniziando dalla funzione di produzione, si delinea come lefficienza della produzione dipenda da alcuni fattori principali, tra i quali i seguenti sono fondamentali: 1) economie di scala; 2) effetti di apprendimento; 3) curve di esperienza; 4) produzione flessibile o produzione snella (lean production)
Enhancing Public Space Accessibility and Inclusivity in Residential Neighbourhoods: A Methodological Framework and Pilot Application
No full textThe paper adds to the debate on urban transformation, which plays a significant role in improving quality of urban life and liveability of public spaces, as also stated in UN Sustainable Development Goal No. 11. The research aims to test a methodology for identifying an abacus of urban regeneration interventions to enhance attractive and critical nodes through accessibility and inclusivity. The quality of the system of connections between polarities, the promotion of active mobility, zero soil consumption and the renaturalisation of urban spaces are fundamental criteria to define urban regeneration solutions. The proposed approach develops on two levels: a GIS-based spatial analysis of urban data and a participatory process. The innovative planning process is tested on the San Leonardo neighbourhood in the Municipality of Parma, Italy, which allows us to verify the potentials and limitations of the procedure, identifying future work perspectives. Moreover, the application allows us to check the replicability in other urban contexts, possibly envisaging other applications to more case studies. Our results consist of the identification of the vocations and the critical aspects of nodes and axes to regenerate urban space in medium-sized and large cities' suburbs
Criteri e metodi per la rigenerazione urbana diffusa del tessuto residenziale consolidato
No full textAll’interno del dibattito urbanistico sui temi della rigenerazione urbana, il contributo proposto intende condividere i primi esiti di una ricerca in corso presso l’ateneo di Parma e di portare una riflessione circa la necessità, e le possibili modalità di attuazione, di una pianificazione degli interventi di rigenerazione urbana diffusa del tessuto consolidato, ed interrogarsi sugli strumenti con cui affrontare tali processi di rigenerazione, sia in termini di costruzione del quadro conoscitivo che di indirizzi di azione.
Il fine è quello di definire una proposta di metodo per una prima analisi del tessuto urbano consolidato alla scala comunale, attraverso cui definire e pianificare gli ambiti prioritari su cui attuare interventi di riuso e rigenerazione di parti del territorio urbanizzato a prevalente destinazione residenziale, includendo l’individuazione di set di dati e di possibili indicatori per l’individuazione degli ambiti prioritari da assoggettare a rigenerazione urbana. Tra gli altri, sono considerati criteri quali la destinazione d’uso, la datazione e lo stato di conservazione degli edifici, ma anche la densità, la dotazione di standard e di servizi e i livelli di accessibilità del tessuto residenziale.
La metodologia è in corso di applicazione al caso studio del comune di Parma, per il quale sono stati archiviati dati GIS relativi alla città consolidata per una superficie di oltre 2400 ha, effettuate elaborazioni statistiche, e compilate schede di rilievo che individuano le potenzialità e le criticità presenti sul tessuto residenziale e i possibili scenari, anche contrapposti, d’intervento
The intellectual capital and the relationship with shareholder value creation and sustainability results
No full textPurpose – This study examines how intellectual capital can affect firms’ value creation. The aim is to investigate the effects of the best practices’ adopted in this field on shareholders value and sustainability results, considering the human factor as the part of intellectual capital filled from the rising of the knowledge. For this reason managers should maintain skilled people inside the firm, considering a new respect for people. Is analysed the relationship between people management best practices and shareholder value creation. By the other side, the notion of the production of economic and financial value for shareholders is, though, ever more broadened to also take in the social shared “value”. So, in conclusion and for a broader qualitative and quantitative analysis, is also analysed the relationship with sustainability results.
Design/methodology/approach – We propose an approach based on the analysis of the largest companies in Europe according to 2013 rankings. The qualitative and quantitative
analysis is based on the comparison of accounting/market based value measures and social/environmental performance indicators, together with the analysis of best practices
on human resources management which are possible to underline with the case analysis methodology.
Originality/value – This methodology puts in evidence the strong link between people capital strategies and firm value creation and sustainability results. As we aim to prove,
companies giving greater attention to the working conditions of their own workforce not only make people working inside more faithful and involved, but also handle a strategic
lever able to create value for shareholders.
Practical implications – The outcomes of the application could be a suggestion method for managers who want to find new opportunities in managing intangibles inside their
organization and recognise their effects on shareholder value and sustainability results
Contacts on LinkedIn: equity crowdfunding platforms' networks and creators' innovation performance
No full textPurpose. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether and how the innovation performance of start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that collect funds using equity crowdfunding (EC), i.e. creators (or proponents), and the EC performance are influenced by the social media networks (SMNs) in which EC platforms' managers and firms exchange their ideas with investors and customers.Design/methodology/approach. The empirical analysis is conducted on a sample composed by all the creators that collected funds in EC platforms over the three-year period 2018-2020. For each creator, the innovation performance is computed as the percentage of sales from new or significantly improved product and services compared to total sales of firm. For each campaign, the EC performance is considered as the ratio between the total amount of funding raised at the end of the campaign and the target capital for the campaign. To investigate EC platform social media activity, LinkedIn profiles of EC platforms managers are analyzed using the social network analysis (SNA) methodology, which permits to observe the quantity and the quality of managers' interactions with other users. A regression analysis is thus performed to observe the relationship between managers' LinkedIn activities, EC performance and creators' innovation performance.Findings. Data reveal that EC platforms managers display different activities in networking, with some individuals more active than others and more oriented to interact with business profiles rather than personal ones. The variables related to managers' LinkedIn activities are shown to impact both on the EC performance and on the ability of creators to innovate, suggesting the existence of a link between creators, EC platforms and the activity of the subject who manages it.Originality/value. The present study is the first to examine the link between the ability of creators to innovate and SMNs, focusing on the social links of platforms managers and considering the LinkedIn social media; moreover, the analysis is conducted analyzing the quality of the interactions in addition to their number. The study is original also in that rather than focusing on specific EC platforms it considers all those purposefully authorized by the Italian financial market supervisory authority over a three-year time span. From a managerial point of view, the observation of the relevance of social networks by personnel with specific professional skills reveals it can be a successful driver for operators in the sector, not only to safeguard their reputation, but to stimulate the processes of co-creation of value that is essential in the crowdfunding market
The activated torsion oscillation magnetometer (ATOM): a new high sensitivity magnetometer for thin films
No full textWe propose a torsion magnetometer for magnetic thin films exploiting the mechanical resonance of a cantilever beam. It is driven by the torque exerted on the sample by an AC field applied perpendicularly to the film plane. Sensitivities of the order of 0.5×10−11 A m2 can be in principle achieved. We describe the first experimental set-up and discuss test experiments
Il cluster biotecnologico di Torino: il ruolo dell’Università e del territorio per lo sviluppo dell’innovazione
No full textPurpose of our study is to analyze the structure of the Turin biotechnological cluster in the “systemic living vision” (Golinelli, 2009), in particular for what concerns to biotech sector - start up operating in the territory in order to find the potentiality of the innovation development.
Our empiric analysis examines the development of iotechnological sector in the territory of Turin, where the protagonist is the Molecular Biotechnology Center (MBC) of the Turin University, integrated with the Biotechnological pole of Ivrea (Bioindustry Park). In particular the area of research is focused on the so-called “red biotechnologies” (biotech research in medical field).
The analyzed structured has been also compared to the French experience of the Evry Cluster Genopole, complex but at the same time connected and integrated with its territory. As what happens in Turin, this biotechnological pole expresses the will to concentrate the know-how of the territory in a restricted area with an high concentration of structures and facilities for biotech firms development.
The expected results refers to the definition of local biotech start-up in the incubators in Turin Cluster, to the economical data and to the methods of evaluation used to assess the choice of the investments, the different promotions of technological development, the relationships between the financing from public and private organizations, the network of territorial relationships, and finally the definition of a model to promote the territorial system of biotechnological innovation
- …
