Emanuele Pizzurno

The concept of circular public procurement has been developed as an approach that extends the green public procurement one, recognising the relevance of circular economy-related dimensions in green public procurement procedures, such as resource reuse and efficiency. This notwithstanding, the circular economy criteria are not made completely explicit in the current green public procurement procedures in the Italian setting. To grasp how a more circular economy can be promoted in Italian green public procurement procedures, the case study of Consip, the major centralised purchasing centre for the most relevant public tenders and supplies in Italy, was conducted. Through a content analysis on secondary sources of information and interviews with experts involved in these procedures, the paper highlights the role played by intermediaries to support supplier companies to establish a relationship with major public purchasing centres and to overcome potential barriers when deciding to approach a green public procurement procedure.

This paper investigated the nexus between sustainability-oriented innovation (SOI) initiatives and exceptional profitability in high-performing companies. To this aim, employing a multiple comparative case study methodology, we analyzed 10 cases that excel in both return-on-sales (ROS) compared to industry medians and are actively engaged in SOI initiatives with public evidence. The findings of the study are categorized into internal and external factors affecting company performance, shedding light on managerial practices, organizational culture, and industry-specific variables. From a managerial standpoint, this paper offers valuable insights for managers seeking to balance between sustainable practices, encompassing multiple social and environmental aspects of corporate initiatives, while optimizing economic performance. The paper’s originality lies in its contribution to a deeper understanding of the factors influencing the profitability of SOI and their implications for company management. This exploratory research seeks to expand the knowledge of the relationship between SOI and financial performance (FP), providing a foundation for future research in this domain.

The issue of the ability to survive and successfully compete in a turbulent business environment (i.e., resilience) is becoming more and more noteworthy within entrepreneurial, managerial and strategic studies (Pal et al., 2014; Linnenluecke, 2017). Although small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are defined the backbone of the economy in many countries (Cowling et al., 2015) these are less studied from the resilience angle. While there exists in literature a strong focal point around which definitions and theory buiding are constructed, there is a lack of empirically testing and demonstrating of such theories. There is little empirical evidence on how organisations, especially SMEs, may achieve degrees of resilience. Thus the purpose of this paper is to skim among all the key enablers that emerge from literature and identify strategic and managerial features that more likely could support SMEs to obtain a certain level of resilience.

Purpose. Little is known, about the role played by start-ups in open innovation networks. Start-ups – due to their nature of new and emerging companies – can largely benefit from the knowledge that can flow intentionally or unintentionally from external partners during open innovation practices. When open innovation networks are not set among peers on both sides the authors expect to have more unintended knowledge flows. Such knowledge “leaks” – as the authors named them – in open innovation networks are totally unexplored in literature. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to focus “whether and how knowledge leaks occur in open innovation networks with start-ups”. Design/methodology/approach. The research design of this study relies on social network analysis methods and techniques to disentangle the role of start-ups in open innovation networks – in a major Italian aerospace cluster – vis-à-vis the three types of knowledge considered in this study. Then the authors confirmed knowledge leaks to occur through a multiplexity analysis. In the second stage of the research, the authors decided to strengthen the results, making them more vivid and thorough, relying on four case studies. Findings. The paper sheds light on a totally unexplored phenomenon, theorizing on the role of start-ups in open innovation networks and suggesting intriguing implications both for theory and managers on whether and how knowledge leaks occur. Research limitations/implications – The main limitations arise from the specific research context, in fact the study has been conducted in an aerospace cluster. So future studies might consider to explore knowledge leaks in non-cluster settings and in low tech industries. Practical implications. The results have practical implications both for policy makers and for managers. First of all, the research confirms how open innovation often originates from a combination of different knowledge types acquired through the collaboration with heterogeneous players, start-ups included. Hence, managers may design open innovation strategies balancing their portfolio of collaborations to maximize the absorption of relevant knowledge and start-uppers may consider to engage in open innovation practices to accelerate knowledge absorption. Nevertheless, the study warns managers against the risk of knowledge leaks, especially in cases like start-ups where the eagerness to participate or the prestige associated with participating in open innovation networks with key players may hamper the control over knowledge leaks. Social implications. This opens up for possible interventions for policy makers too. First of all, policy makers may consider incorporating the concept of knowledge leaks in their campaign in favour of open innovation. Second, the study may help policy makers in designing programmes for knowledge transfer partnerships amongst the various players of a cluster in a more conscious way, especially warning new to business companies, like start-ups, about possible leaks. Finally, there is also the need of developing professional figures like consultants capable of supporting start-ups in their open innovation practices. Originality/value. Findings reported in the paper confirm multiplexity and heteromorphism in knowledge exchanges and shed the light on a completely unexplored field (i.e. open innovation and start-ups), focussing on knowledge leaks. Relevant implications for policy makers and managers are included in the study.

Clusters are increasingly seen as change agents able to influence entrepreneurship, innovation and competitiveness of regions and countries. The dynamic development of clusters, and hence their competitiveness, depends on the quality of their entrepreneurial ecosystems. Institutions for collaboration (IFCs) are expected to be central to the formation and the development over time of a strong cluster ecosystem. Nevertheless, cluster literature lacks in-depth studies on this topic. Thus, the goal of our research is to contribute in the broad debate on the role of IFCs in the competitiveness of a cluster, specifically offering an in-depth understanding of the role of IFCs in the formation and development of a cluster ecosystem. The discussion builds on the in-depth case study analysis of the French omega-3 agrifood cluster with a focus on the role played by an IFC, namely Bleu-Blanc-Coeur.

Purpose. This paper aims at investigating the multifaceted nature of innovation networks by focusing on two research questions: Do cluster actors exchange only one type of innovation-related knowledge? Do cluster actors play different roles in innovation-related knowledge exchange? Design/methodology/approach. This paper builds on data collected at the firm level in an Italian aerospace cluster, that is a technology-intensive industry where innovation is at the base of local competitiveness. A questionnaire was used to collect both attribute data and relational data concerning collaboration and the flows of knowledge in innovation networks. The authors distinguished among three types of knowledge (technological, managerial and market knowledge) and five types of brokerage roles (coordinator, gatekeeper, liaison, representative and consultant). Data analysis relied on social network analysis techniques and software. Findings. Concerning the first research question, the findings show that different types of knowledge flow in different ways in innovation networks. The different types of knowledge are unevenly exchanged. The exchange of technological knowledge is open to everyone in the cluster. The exchange of market and managerial knowledge is selective. Concerning the second research question, the authors suggest that different types of cluster actors (large firms, small and medium-sized enterprises, research centers and universities and institutions for collaboration) do play different roles in innovation networks, especially with reference to the three types of knowledge considered in this study. Research limitations/implications. The present paper has some limitations. First of all, the analysis focuses on just one cluster (one industry in one specific location), cross- and comparative analyses with other clusters may illuminate the findings better, eliminating industry and geographical biases. Second, the paper focuses only on innovation-related knowledge exchanges within the cluster and not across it. Practical implications. The results have practical implications both for policy makers and for managers. First, this research stresses how innovation often originates from a combination of different knowledge types acquired through the collaboration with heterogeneous cluster actors. Further, the analysis of brokerage roles in innovation-driven collaborations may help policy makers in designing programs for knowledge-transfer partnerships among the various actors of a cluster. Social implications. The paper suggests a clear need of developing professional figures capable of operating at the interface of different knowledge domains. Originality/value. The data illuminate several aspects of how innovation takes place in a cluster opening up intriguing aspects that have been overlooked by extant literature. The authors believe that this may trigger several lines of further research on the topic.