1,720,978 research outputs found
Sustainability, resilience and innovation in industrial electronics: a case study of internal, supply chain and external complexity
Full text linkThe electrical and electronic equipment industry is key to climate and energy transitions, but its activities have a signifcant environmental footprint. Tangible improvements in the sustainability of this sector are difcult because of the layers of complexity that characterize this industry’s products, processes and supply chains. This
article analyzes the diferent facets of complexity relevant to sustainability in the
industrial electronics sector, by implementing an in-depth longitudinal case study of
a leading Italian business-to-business multinational company. We identify three core
dimensions of complexity management that are pivotal for corporate sustainability:
internal complexity, supply chain complexity and external complexity. We fnd that
handling sustainability in complex production systems with multitier and multiproduct value chains presents organizational and managerial challenges but also ofers
new competitive opportunities for resilience and innovation. Once the appropriate
metrics, know-how and information fows are established, our results highlight the
transferability of sustainable innovations in these complex environments
Gli impatti dei cambiamenti climatici sul valore dei terreni agricoli in Italia: modelli Ricardiani a confronto
Full text linkDynamic innovation for sustainability in the luxury apparel industry
No full textSustainability in the luxury fashion industry is increasingly at the forefront of major brands’ marketing. Yet, achieving environmental and social sustainability in apparel products is virtually impossible without actions upstream in the supply-chain. In this article, we study the role of first tier suppliers in introducing sustainability-driven innovations in the industry. With an in-depth case study of an Italian B2B luxury “fashion engineering” company, we map the systematic introduction of new sustainability practices and innovations, that gradually built internal know-how regarding sustainability. The process moved from innovations in processes, to the supply-chain, and lastly to the product level, spanning organizational, operational, and communication practices. We find that the company could sustain significant growth over the past decade also thanks to its sustainable innovations, which have become more ambitious and effective thanks to the learning-by-doing embedded in this dynamic trajectory
Peers and Stars: the role of gender among coinventors
No full textThis article examines the role of gender in inventors’ collaborations and individual patenting success. We study how the time needed by an inventor to eventually become a "star" relates to their portfolio of female and male co-innovators with different characteristics in terms of career seniority and accomplishments. Our empirical analysis applies different survival models to a representative sample of almost 40’000 inventors and all their patenting co-authors, followed over a period of 10 years. We find that both gender and the relationship to other successful individuals matters. More precisely, gender diversity in inventors’ teams supports a faster career progress to stardom, seniority of peers plays a significant role only when they are mostly of the same gender, and the presence of stars among conventions is a strong catalyst of other stars, especially when among women
Tuberculosis and labour market participation: evidence from South Africa
Full text linkTuberculosis (TB) is one of the leading causes of death from an infectious disease, but its micro-economic impacts on labour market participation remain poorly understood. We analyse the relationship between TB and employment outcomes in South Africa, one of the countries with the highest TB disease burden worldwide, using individual-level panel data from 2008 to 2017. Applying a coarsened exact matching methodology, we find that contracting TB entails a 5% lower probability of entering the formal labour market. Moreover, TB and its associated employment changes go hand in hand with corresponding reductions in individual income but not in household income and expenditure.<br/
A dynamic view of strategic innovation for sustainability: A longitudinal case study of a luxury fashion engineering company
Full text linkIn this article, we study how a luxury fashion engineering company strategically intro- duced sustainability-oriented innovations (SOIs) over time through an in-depth longi- tudinal analysis of a leading Italian business-to-business (B2B) firm. We apply a strategic management perspective to this first-tier engineering manufacturer to bring new insights into how upstream firms deploy SOIs and to what effect, thus determin- ing long-term technological choices in the industry. We observe that such innova- tions evolved dynamically from the process dimension to the supply chain and, lastly, to the product dimension, thereby spanning explorational, procedural and communi- cational practices. We find that the company sustained significant growth over a decade while implementing its sustainability transition, thanks to three elements: a broad and wide-ranging experimentation in all areas of the company, a continuous dynamic process of learning-by-doing and a commitment of the top management to prioritize new sustainable practices. The propositions developed from this case study can inform future strategic analysis and management of SOIs in other firms/industrial sectors
The role of alliance portfolio diversity for corporate decarbonization, circular economy and eco-innovation
Full text linkAmid growing societal and regulatory pressure to demonstrate environmental responsibility, firms are increasingly engaging in environmental alliances to address complex sustainability challenges. However, the implications of having a diverse portfolio of green alliances for a business’ progress toward environmental goals remains insufficiently understood and long-term empirical evidence on this relationship is still scant. This study adopts a novel resource-based and knowledge-based perspective to examine how environmental alliance portfolio diversity—across technological, industrial, and functional dimensions—shapes corporate environmental performance. Using data from 280 multinational companies and 1,539 environmental alliances spanning 2002–2023, our analysis reveals that all three dimensions of diversity are positively associated with overall corporate environmental performance, emission reductions, more efficient resource use, and green innovation within firms. These findings underscore the strategic importance of alliance portfolio diversity in advancing sustainability, decarbonization, and circularity goals and provide actionable insights for firms seeking to enhance specific non-financial performance metrics
Discrimination and favouritism among South African workers: Ethnic identity and union membership
No full textThis paper analyses the ways in which ethnic identity and labour institutions shape favouritism and discrimination among workers. We conduct a lab experiment in the field with South African coal miners from various ethnic groups and with different trade union membership status. Our analysis suggests that union identity and ethnic identity are two social constructs that operate in a distinct and opposite fashion. Unionization acts as a factor of workers solidarity beyond the confine of union membership. Conversely, ethnicity operates as the linchpin through which discrimination among workers is infused not only between ethnic majority and minorities, but also within the majority group itself. We find that the widespread practice of subcontracting in the mining sector exacerbates ethnic discrimination among workers both between and within ethnic groupings
The role of power asymmetries in implementing multi-tier sustainable supply chains initiatives
No full textThis work examines multi-tier sustainable supply chain management initiatives in the electronics industry. The work identifies the practices adopted by electronics companies to implement sustainability across their supply chains (SCs) and distinguishes the power levers that influence cascading the sustainability practices in the upstream SC. The multiple case study research shows that requirements and assessment are the most widespread practices along multi-tier SCs, whereas incentives are limited to first-tier suppliers. Collaboration and training display potential but are not yet implemented. Size and purchasing volume remain the most significant sources of power, although suppliers’ substitutability counterbalances the power of large buyers
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