Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between popularity in a social media network and a company’s revenue, expenditure and market value. Additionally, social media networks are analysed as tools for both voluntary and involuntary intellectual capital (IC) disclosure. Design/methodology/approach These aims are analysed in the context of the football industry. An empirical analysis evaluates the correlations between team and player social media metrics from Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Instagram and their football club’s market value, revenue and player transfer fees. Examples of timely IC disclosure are also reported. Findings The results indicate that popularity metrics in social media are determinants of the value of human and relational capital in professional football clubs. Popularity in social media positively correlates to market capitalisation, revenue and player transfer fees. Additionally, examples are provided to show how social media can be a tool for disclosing IC information in a relevant and timely manner. Practical implications From a strategic management perspective, the authors find that there are economic opportunities to be gained from managing social media platforms appropriately and that knowledge derived from social media needs to be used effectively by club managers, so that fans and followers can be transformed into consumers. One practical implication of this research is the need to hire social media experts that are able to develop, coordinate and manage digital communication strategies. Originality/value This paper presents an analysis of emerging changes in technology and communication platforms and different types of disclosure. It aims to demonstrate that the metrics derived from social media can be used as tool to disclose voluntary and involuntary information about IC – information that is particularly useful to investors because their shortage of tangible assets can make football clubs difficult to evaluate.

The digital era is radically changing our societies and how firms do business. Innovating the business model has become a fundamental capability to survive competition, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This study investigates the digital-era role of boundary management capabilities in the processes of Business Model Innovation (BMI) in SMEs.Structural Equation Modeling is adopted to analyze data from a survey of 250 Italian experts who possess direct research and consulting experience with SMEs. Our findings reveal that digitalization and firms' boundaries affect BMI in SMEs. Moreover, our results demonstrate how boundary management, specifically its technological and relational aspects, directly impacts BMI and mediates the relationship between boundary size and BMI. The study also offers important theoretical and practical insights, calling on scholars and managers to give more attention to the boundary management of SMEs in order to support BMI.

Purpose The aim of this paper is to identify the main types of sector-based resistance that affect the success of the innovation, and specifically the Internet of Things (IoT), with particular reference to professional football, as a prime example of how institutions can prevent the IoT from being used. The starting point for the research is the assumption that innovation has to address institutional obstacles in the form of economic and cultural resistance. The main purpose of the paper, however, is to highlight resistance at individual level and resistance that is company-specific and sector-specific, in connection with the introduction of the IoT in professional sport, and the risk of an epidemic effect in relation to the general acceptance of (or opposition to) the IoT. Design/methodology/approach Research is based on the qualitative analysis of a specific football industry case, with reference to the introduction of innovation within the sports sector. Findings Sector-based resistance in the football industry can influence other sectors. Scepticism and lack of trust in the IoT vision create obstacles put in place by sectorial institutions. Sector-based resistance propels the obstacles to a more general level, affecting how the IoT vision is acknowledged in every business sector. This leads to a chain-reaction, whereby the general resistance induces sector-based institutions to delay the process of adopting IoT instruments, because of the unresolved cultural and economic issues. Research limitations/implications This research, which examines how the potential of the IoT can be exploited, is based on a single case study. Originality/value Supranational regulations addressing the introduction and governance of the IoT are important; however, sector-specific self-regulations must not be underestimated, because of the risk of general, widespread scepticism against the IoT.

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Purpose The aim of this paper is to investigate the new role that universities are assuming as entrepreneurial entities supporting the development of regional innovation systems through an international comparison, in order to address the demand for global competitiveness. The purpose of this paper is to compare how some universities of the Mediterranean area and of South-East Asia conceive and implement an entrepreneurial culture through their curricula, conducting a two-way comparison between Italy and Singapore. Design/methodology/approach The methodology consists of a multi-method approach, based on a comparative analysis which involves the use of a narrative style and a content analysis carried out on the Italian and Singaporean entrepreneurship programmes. The method consists of comparing different systems with similar characteristics, with an analysis focused on particularly relevant environmental factors, to find an explanation about how an innovative way of teaching entrepreneurship to students can affect the development of regional innovative systems. Findings The study analyses the Italian and Singaporean environmental factors that are helpful in understanding the basis for the promotion of an entrepreneurial attitude, and the end result of the paper is to set out the differences in the evolvement of entrepreneurial universities and innovative teaching programmes between the two countries being analysed. The research uses an international comparison to investigate the relationships between a set of variables that influence government authorities, leading them to invest in programmes on entrepreneurship. Originality/value Studying the Singaporean experience, one of the leading Nation investor in entrepreneurial education, is useful in highlighting limits of less advanced higher education systems and in helping them to encourage an entrepreneurial culture.