PurposeThis study aims to take a holistic perspective to investigate how open innovation supports sustainability and the contribution to the Unite Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on an in-depth single case study of Andriani SpA, a leading Italian company in the food industry. The case is built by triangulating data from direct observations, documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews.FindingsThe findings show an organization that has developed its competitive advantage by adopting open innovation to embed sustainability in its strategy and business model. The case study complements the understanding of how open innovation can effectively drive strategic renewal and innovation activities to address sustainability objectives in the food industry.Originality/valueThis study contributes to theoretical development by offering new and insightful explanations of firms' strategic behaviour and coevolution toward sustainability via open innovation. It provides practitioners, policymakers, researchers and students with reflections and inspiration about how open innovation may be deployed to support a holistic strategic renewal aimed at sustainability objectives, such as the SDGs, in the food industry.

PurposeThe field of scientific research on small and medium-sized family businesses has been growing exponentially and the aim of this paper is to systematize the body of knowledge to develop an agenda for the future.Design/methodology/approachAdopting comparative bibliometric analyses on 155 articles (from 1989 until 2018) the authors provide a systematic assessment of the scientific research about small family firms, unveiling the structure and evolution of the field. Bibliographic coupling, co-citation analysis and co-occurrence analysis are adopted to identify the most influential studies and themes.FindingsFour clusters of research are reviewed: succession in family SMEs, performances of family SMEs, internationalization of family SMEs and organizational culture of family SMEs.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the field of family SMEs by providing a systematic analysis of the scientific knowledge. Reviewing those clusters allows to providing avenues and reflections for future research and further practice.

This paper presents a thorough investigation of how corporate crises are managed in the Italian context. It offers an investigation of the legal, accounting, finance and managerial aspects that are involved in the formal resolution of the crisis. The paper adopts a qualitative methodology consisting in a critical review of both the academic and the practical literature to present a systematic overview of how recovery plans are executed, monitored and their performance analysed. The paper presents important insights for researchers, practitioners, entrepreneurs and managers interested in crisis management.

PurposeThis paper aims to contribute to the scientific debate concerning the impact of equity crowdfunding on the performance of crowdfunded firms after campaigning. To this aim, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the characteristics of the campaign and the subsequent firm innovativeness.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts a quantitative research approach to evaluate if the entrepreneurial choices affecting the characteristics of the equity crowdfunding campaigns have an impact on the post-campaign firm innovativeness.FindingsThe results of the models show that the campaign characteristics have a direct impact on the firm innovativeness, both in terms of offering and communication and the campaign performance.Originality/valueThis paper presents one of the first studies to investigate the relationship between the choice of campaign characteristics and the post-campaign firm innovativeness. As such, the study contributes to both the literature concerning start-up innovation and the literature about the impact of equity crowdfunding.

This study investigates the managerial approaches family SMEs adopt to address sustainability in the context of the Blue Economy. Using a qualitative methodology, we conduct nine case studies of family firms operating in Sicily's COSVAP Fishing District area. The data are collected via semi-structured interviews with the founders/managers and analyzed using the Gioia method. The results reveal that family SMEs approach sustainability by adopting three managerial approaches. In the first approach, SME managers conceive sustainability as a threat to the economic sustainability of their firms. The second approach implies that sustainability must undergo specific compromises. The third approach considers sustainability as an opportunity whereby social, environmental, and economic sustainability goals are balanced. Regarding the theoretical implications, our work provides a comprehensive account of managerial approaches of family SMEs toward sustainability. The study offers insights for practitioners and policymakers concerning how to facilitate the transition of family SMEs – and, specifically, fisheries – toward sustainability.