1,720,969 research outputs found
Innovative Business Models for the Sustainability of Cruise Industry. An Italian empirical evidence.
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Environmental Accounting and Sustainability Accounting: Lexical or Substantial Difference?
No full textThis study aims to clarify the distinction between sustainability accounting and environmental accounting by examining their thematic evolution and theoretical foundations. It investigates whether these concepts represent independent domains or are part of a unified field while identifying the frameworks that have shaped their development. A bibliometric analysis of 2254 articles from the Web of Science database was conducted. Using co-word and social network analysis, the study maps key thematic clusters and their evolution over time. The results reveal that sustainability accounting and environmental accounting are distinct yet interconnected. Both draw on institutional theory, but they respond to different pressures and institutional actors. Sustainability accounting increasingly aligns with regulatory compliance and reporting frameworks, while environmental accounting has evolved into a technical field addressing carbon, biodiversity and ecological accounting. Clarifying these concepts enhances terminology precision, improves comparability in research and supports practitioners in developing targeted sustainability strategies. It also promotes better communication between scholars and corporate actors. This study highlights accounting's role in fostering environmental and social change. Clearer definitions can inform policymakers in designing effective sustainability frameworks and enhance sustainability education, helping future professionals better understand the distinct roles of sustainability and environmental accounting. This study provides a novel contribution by systematically mapping the conceptual structure of the field using bibliometric techniques. By adopting a data-driven approach, it moves beyond definitional debates and case-based studies, addressing longstanding terminological ambiguit
The early growth of start-ups: innovation matters. Evidence from Italy
No full textPurpose: Despite the relevance of innovation in entrepreneurship literature, empirical research on the innovation-performance relationship in start-ups is underdeveloped and shows controversial results. To bridge this gap, the aim of this paper is to investigate the role of innovativeness on new venture performance in the early stage of the life cycle. Design/methodology/approach: Regression modelling and propensity score matching are used to reveal systematic differences in growth between innovative start-ups (ISUPs) and non-innovative start-ups. We use an ad hoc dataset obtained through merging the financial database AIDA with data from administrative sources (Italian Chambers of Commerce and the Italian Ministry for Economic Development). Findings: The results show that differences in growth can be explained by the different levels of innovativeness in new ventures. Moreover, unlike in prior studies, the innovation inputs matter more than innovation outputs. Indeed, the results support the idea that innovation policies can contribute to maximising the potential of start-ups. Practical implications: The findings provide suggestions for policy makers and entrepreneurs to help firms configure ex ante appropriate actions to support the growth of new ventures in the start-up stage. Originality/value: This study is the first to use the new objective measure of start-up innovation, available from the Italian LD 221 register. Second, different types of innovation are investigated as antecedents of firm growth. Third, we employ propensity score matching, which favours revealing systematic differences in growth between ISUPs and non-innovative start-ups. Fourth, the results of our study are the first to offer evidence on the effectiveness of the new Italian sustaining ISUPs policy
Equilibrium and efficiency in the first aid services market: The case of the emergency department of Sorrento
No full textThe emergency department (ED), the heart of first aid services, is confronted by both long queues of patients waiting for treatment and limited resources to treat them. Since efficiency plays a key role in the proper functioning of an ED, interest in the measurement of ED efficiency has increased considerably. The aim of this study is to explain the dynamics of ED efficiency through a first aid market equilibrium scheme. To this end, we conduct a two-step analysis of the city of Sorrento's daily ED data. First, we implement a data envelopment analysis (DEA) to study the efficiency dynamics of the Sorrento ED. Then, we apply a Hodrick-Prescott (HP) filter to verify whether changes in ED efficiency are affected by the slope of the first aid services' supply curve. The results show an inelastic supply curve in the low tourist season and an elastic supply curve in the high tourist season
Carbon Accounting for Cultural Change: An Ethnographic Case Study of an Italian Municipally Owned Corporation
No full textClimate change, as a pressing global challenge, compels organizations to address environmental issues by innovating their management and accounting models to align with sustainability goals. Carbon accounting has become essential for quantifying and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, research on how organizations leverage carbon accounting to drive cultural and organizational change remains limited. This study examines the potential of carbon footprint analysis to drive organizational changes necessary for a sustainable transition within a municipally owned corporation in Italy, responsible for urban waste collection and management. Municipally owned corporations, established and operated by local governments to manage public services, often face resistance to change as they navigate the balance between public accountability and operational efficiency. Using an integrated research framework, this study explores how carbon footprint analysis
serves as a practical tool for embedding sustainability practices and fostering cultural change. Employing an ethnographic case study methodology, findings reveal that carbon footprint measurement extends beyond its technical function, acting as a cultural and social mechanism that reshapes organizational dynamics and individual behavior. Furthermore, while carbon accounting raises environmental awareness, its effectiveness in driving cultural transformation depends on top management commitment, active employee participation, and targeted training programs to enhance environmental knowledge
The long process by which HTA became a paradigm: A longitudinal conceptual structure analysis
No full textThis study maps the conceptual structure of health technology assessment (HTA) research with the aim of contributing to a better understanding of this research stream. A bibliometric analysis of 1,198 HTA articles retrieved from the Web of Science database was conducted. The analysis of descriptive performance indicators identified the main traits of the scientific debate about the HTA in terms of publications, productive countries, and sources. A co-word analysis was performed by adopting social network analysis tools to map the conceptual structure of the dataset. The results highlight the growing academic interest in the research topic, especially in recent years. The results revealed that HTA is a widely known term and represents the reference paradigm for assessment in healthcare technologies. This paper contributes to the field by providing an examination of the current state of the art of HTA research and identifying possible future research directions. This study differs from existing studies because it involved a conceptual analysis of the scientific literature using macro keywords
Assessing the impact of tourist flows on emergency department treatment speed for residents and tourists. The case of Sorrento
Full text linkTourism is a fundamental lever of the economic and cultural development of a location. Large tourist flows can negatively impact the provision of public services, such as healthcare. This study aims to investigate emergency department (ED) treatment speed under increased demand caused by tourism. The analysis was conducted on data (covering March–October 2018) collected from the ED of a hospital in Sorrento, a renowned coastal tourist destination in Campania, Italy, by using a two-step strategy. First, we resort to the Kaplan-Meier method to compare treatment in the ED between residents and tourists. Second, through the Cox proportional hazards model, we study the impact of group-specific characteristics on the speed of treatment. The main empirical findings highlight that treatment speed is highly influenced by age and by the languages spoken by tourists. Foreign tourists are best served in off-peak periods, while in the peak arrival period, the healthcare system experiences difficulties, especially for those facing higher language barriers. What emerges is the necessity for a tourism destination to adopt measures to cope with the language heterogeneity of tourists. In a multi-cultural touristic context, healthcare providers and institutions should address the challenge of language barriers by using specialist interpreter services
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