Recent developments in production processes and their automation have led to the definition of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, commonly known as “Industry 4.0”. Industry 4.0 is a very broad domain ...that includes: production processes, efficiency, data management, relationship with consumers, competitiveness, and much more. At the same time, obviously, Industry 4.0 has become a new theme for management scholars and business economics disciplines and a number of contributions covering various issues and aspects have been published. However, a systematic formulation of all these contributions is still lacking in management literature. Therefore, the aim of the paper is to analyze and classify the main contributions published on the topic of Industry 4.0 in management literature, seeking to give it a unique definition, discover the gaps still remaining in literature and outline future avenues of research in this domain. A systematic review of the literature of the major academic and research databases has been used as methodology to achieve the aim of the paper. This work contributes theoretically to the development of literature on Industry 4.0 and from a managerial perspective it could support entrepreneurs in better understanding the implications and fields of application of the Fourth Industrial Revolution as well as the interplay among them.
Sustainability views firm success and the welfare-wellbeing of societies in which they develop as closely inter-related. Value co-creation assumes that firms create value not only for themselves, but ...also for all actors willing to participate in co-creation processes, as well as for the whole ecosystem in which they operate. Thus, co-creation can sustain social development and sustainability. However, to ensure sustainability through value co-creation processes, TQM principles must be followed and Critical Success Factors (CSFs) reinterpreted following this perspective. In this important, but understudied context, the aim of the paper is to focus on value co-creation processes fostering sustainability, identifying which CSFs are most suitable to best support each phase of these processes. The paper is based on a review of the literature and bridges sustainability, value co-creation, TQM, EM and IMS literature for the first time, proposing a new model of value co-creation processes, which considers it a never ending cycle. The proposed model presents and discusses, for the first time, the most important CSFs to foster sustainability and opens the discussion on how to re-interpret quality principles, which must also be followed in value co-creation processes.
Purpose
Satisfaction in the tourism sector is a highly sensitive subject, and customer satisfaction (CS) has a significant impact on the choice of destinations made by tourists and on the decision to ...recommend them to friends or acquaintances. The purpose of this paper is to give empirical evidence of the dimensions of service quality (technical, functional and company image (CI)) and their connections in the sector of thermal tourism. It also aims at investigating the CI, seeking to understand whether some of the technical and functional service quality variables play a role in determining it.
Design/methodology/approach
An empirical survey was conducted by administering a structured research questionnaire in order to collect all necessary data, which was then elaborated to test the hypotheses using factor and multiple regression analyses.
Findings
The results of the survey confirm the direct impact of service quality dimensions (technical, functional and CI) on CS also in the thermal sector when considered individually. Moreover, when the CI was analyzed further, relational quality was found to be dependent on thermal employees’ capabilities, abilities, trustworthiness, availability, etc. Finally, when considered together, functional service quality and CI have a stronger effect on CS than technical service quality.
Originality/value
The originality of the present research relies on the following: a further contribution to the so-called “European perspective” of service quality; the study of service quality dimensions (technical, functional and CI) in the thermal sector; and evidencing the link between thermal employee characteristics and the relational quality factor of the CI, demonstrating that many aspects of this construct need further empirical investigation, in the wellness sector.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand how Open Innovation Digital Platforms (OIDPs) can facilitate and support knowledge co-creation in Open Innovation (OI) processes. Specifically, it ...intends to investigate the contribution of OIDPs-oriented to successfully implement all the phases of interactive coupled OI processes.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper carries out an exploratory qualitative analysis, adopting the single case study method. The case here investigated is Open Innovation Platform Regione Lombardia (OIPRL).
Findings
The case study sheds light on how OIPRL supports knowledge co-creation through its processes, tools and services as a co-creator intermediary. In its launch stage, the platform simply aimed at giving firms a tool to “find partners” and financial resources to achieve innovative projects. Now, however, the platform has developed into an engagement platform for knowledge co-creation.
Research limitations/implications
One limitation lies in the particular perspective used to perform the case study: the perspective of the digital platform itself. Future research should focus on the individuals engaged in the platform to better investigate the processes, tools and services used to implement the OI approach.
Practical implications
The paper suggests ways in which OIDPs could be used by firms for effective exploration, acquisition, integration and development of valuable knowledge.
Originality/value
The study conceptualizes the role of OIDPs in shaping knowledge co-creation, assuming that the platforms act as Open Innovation Intermediaries (OIIs). Specifically, OIDPs can be observed to function as “co-creator intermediaries” that define, develop and implement dedicated processes, specific tools and appropriate services for supporting knowledge co-creation activities.
•Craft beer is a rapidly growing segment of the beverage industry.•The profile of commercial beer drinkers who have tasted craft beer was analyzed.•Habits and consumption occasions affect the ...probability of tasting craft beer.•The environment in which the beer is consumed influences craft beer choice.•The success of craft beer is due to the so-called “taste revolution”.
The aim of this paper is to study the emerging craft beer industry from a consumer preference perspective. The craft beer industry is one of the growing segments in the beverage industry and its increasing popularity also affects individuals’ commercial beer preferences and consumption trends, although no empirical study has yet been carried out in Europe on this topic. Our exploratory study is aimed at comparing the “purely” commercial beer consumer profile with that of commercial beer consumers who have already tasted craft beers. It was observed that aroma and perceived quality, as well as the preference for draft beer, drinking beer frequently or by oneself are all factors that explain the propensity of “purely” commercial beer drinkers to taste craft beer. It was also found that beer consumers’ evaluations of characteristics and brands differed depending on whether they had previously tasted craft beer or not. Moreover, craft beer is chosen according to different flavor preferences compared to commercial beer, it is mainly drunk by frequent beer drinkers in pubs and with family members and it is perceived to be of higher quality than commercial beer due to the raw materials used for brewing and its overall quality. These results can help both new entrepreneurs in the craft beer segment as well as big manufacturing firms in trying to better understand this new consumption trend in order to meet the new needs and preferences of beer consumers.
2020 was globally greatly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, which is still today impacting and profoundly changing life globally for people but also for firms. In this context, ...the need for timely and accurate information has become vital in every area of business management. The spread of the Covid-19 global pandemic has generated an exponential increase and extraordinary volume of data. In this domain, Big Data is one of the digital innovation technologies that can support business organizations during these complex times. Based on these considerations, the aim of this paper is to analyze the managerial literature concerning the issue of Big Data in the management of the Covid-19 pandemic through a systematic literature review. The results show a fundamental role of Big Data in pandemic management for businesses. The paper also provides managerial and theoretical implications.
•Industry 4.0 and sustainability are key to modern business management.•Industry 4.0 and its relation on sustainability is not yet widely investigated in literature.•The topic of production is the ...most analysed in terms of industry 4.0 and sustainability.•The sequential application of industry 4.0 technologies can lead to the pillars of sustainability.•Most studies show a positive relationship between industry 4.0 and sustainability.
In recent years’ innovations of Industry 4.0 have attracted considerable interest from researchers in many fields of study, from engineering to management. At the same time, attention to sustainability has grown putting in the spotlight its famous three pillars (economic, environmental, and social). Innovation and sustainability, as a consequence, seem to go hand in hand even more and “sustainable development” has become a well-known issue at a broad level. In the managerial field, recent studies show a growing attention at these topics, even if the strength of the relationship between Industry 4.0 innovations and sustainability has not yet been clarified. Given this research gap, the paper aims at studying Industry 4.0 and sustainability with its three pillars. A systematic review of the literature has been performed to analyze the main topic, the pillars of sustainability mainly considered and last, the possible outfalls of Industry 4.0 on sustainability. From a theoretical point of view, this paper contributes to the systematization of literature at the intersection between Industry 4.0 and sustainability, while from a managerial point of view it sheds light on implications and opportunities arising from considering the outfalls of innovations coming from Industry 4.0 on sustainability and its pillars.
The transition to equitable and sustainable societies has become even more important for both scholars and managers. Bio-economies are based on renewable resources to build an economic system to be ...sustainably implemented to ensure cleaner, safer production and consumption, building on innovation; the main driver of firm success especially today.
Considering sustainability which can lead to bio-economy, it is clear that social and economic aspects cannot be separated from each other. Therefore, also new firm practices and/or approaches are needed, able to encompass corporate sustainability issues and dimensions - social, economic, environmental, and time - as key issues, without forgetting the primary role of innovation. Past studies have proposed a new approach in the field of firm practices oriented to corporate sustainability. The present paper aims at making a step forward in this direction considering the value co-creation approach following a strategic perspective for the first time and putting forward a new framework explicitly integrating the key features of the recently proposed “Sustainability Oriented Theory of the Firm” into the value co-creation approach. Indeed, the proposed framework is able to show how the four dimensions of corporate sustainability can be fully encompassed in a model of value co-creation built around both innovation and the key features - inclusivity, generativity, linkability and evolvability - to start the co-creation movement on behalf the entire society and not only on behalf the firm goals. The proposed framework is therefore able to suggest to firms how to simultaneously manage value co-creation processes, corporate sustainability, and by this way contribute to bio-economies.
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•Bio-economies are studied assuming a firm perspective.•An integrative model of corporate sustainability and value co-creation is presented.•Innovation and sustainability – touch-points of bio-economies and business models - are considered.•Corporate Sustainability dimensions can be encompassed in the value co-creation model.•The “Sustainability Oriented Theory of the Firm” principles can be respected in value cocreation.
Advanced manufacturing solutions, augmented reality, and cloud and big data are technologies pertaining to Industry 4.0. These technologies improve working conditions, create new business models, and ...increase both productivity and firm quality production. However, they can also improve life and society as a whole. This new perspective, oriented toward social and global well-being, is called Society 5.0. As has happened for all past industrial revolutions, Industry 4.0 will support the transition to a different society, i.e., Society 5.0. In this transition, open innovation and value co-creation can play an important role. The aim of the study was twofold: to examine how Industry 4.0 features and enabling technologies can support the transition to Society 5.0 and to investigate the roles of both open innovation and value co-creation within this transition. A conceptual framework was developed to jointly consider for the first time Industry 4.0, Society 5.0, open innovation, and value co-creation, which are all challenging issues that firms must cope with nowadays. Managers could profit from these insights to design ad hoc strategies in order to benefit from the opportunities emerging from this transition and overcome the main related challenges.
Purpose
This study aims to analyze the management and marketing literature on food buying and consumption behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic to shed light on how consumers reacted to this global ...crisis, to help interpret consumer reactions to possible future crises and to identify future research avenues.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts a systematic literature review as research methodology.
Findings
This study's outcomes reveal that, during the pandemic, people have deeply changed their food buying and consumption habits. The analysis identifies four main themes: food purchasing channel choice and buying behavior; food choices and consumption habits; food and “food-related” waste; and country influence on food buying and consumption.
Research limitations/implications
This review uses only one database of records (Scopus). The Boolean modifiers chosen for extracting the papers may have influenced the type and number of retrieved publications. The analysis was limited to articles published in peer-reviewed academic journals.
Originality/value
While most examined investigations do not provide a comprehensive picture of consumers’ food-related responses to the pandemic and individually offer only a partial view focusing on one or just a few aspects of food consumer behavior, this study offers an overall description of consumers’ responses to the crisis and identifies important research issues to be addressed in the future.
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