PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze, from a dynamic capabilities perspective, the role of big data analytics in supporting firms' innovation processes.Design/methodology/approachRelevant literature is reviewed and critically assessed. An interpretive methodology is used to analyze empirical data from interviews of big data analytics experts at firms within digitally related sectors.FindingsThis study shows how firms leverage big data to gain “richer” and “deeper” data at the inter-sections between the digital and physical worlds. The authors provide evidence for the importance of counterintuitive strategies aimed at developing innovative products, services or solutions with characteristics that may initially diverge, even significantly, from established customer/user needs.Practical implicationsThe authors’ findings offer insights to help practitioners manage innovation processes in the physical world while taking investments in big data analytics into account.Originality/valueThe authors provide insights into the evolution of scholarly research on innovation directed toward opportunities to create a competitive advantage by offering new products, services or solutions diverging, even significantly, from established customer demand.

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to investigate the role of boundary management when firms should implement open innovation.Design/methodology/approachThe relevant literature on strategic management, firm boundaries and open innovation fields is revised and critically assessed. An interpretive-qualitative methodology is applied to analyse empirical data obtained from a questionnaire and subsequent interviews of a sample of Italian listed firms. By critically integrating literature review and empirical analysis, a framework is provided with the objective of supporting open innovation implementation.FindingsThe study shows that on the one hand, open innovation and many modern paths of growth are connected to a firm's boundaries and that on the other hand, boundary management plays a key role in the implementation of open innovation.Practical implicationsThe paper has implications for practitioners by driving them to shift the focus of open innovation implementation towards the management of boundaries, in which boundary capabilities and activities play a key role.Originality/valueThis paper sheds light on the advantages and risks that can jeopardize a successful opening up innovation processes without the effective management of boundary studies. Thus, the authors identify and propose causes for reflection and tools maximizing potentiality and reducing risks in the implementation of such processes.

Digitalization and sustainability are changing companies by transforming products, services and operations. While the growth of a digital and sustainable economy may increase firm performance, these new trends also raise potential challenges for companies pertaining to corporate governance structures. Companies are now faced with various alternatives regarding how digitalization and sustainability roles might be integrated into corporate governance structures. We aim to analyse how roles dedicated to digitalization and sustainability have been integrated into governance structures and how these changes impact corporate communication. We provide an explorative analysis in a sample of Italian, French and Spanish companies from the fashion and food sectors. These companies exhibit common features, analogous levels of success and critical factors and similar business models; moreover, fashion and food represent two of the main driving sectors of the selected countries’ economies. For these companies, the findings highlight a positive convergence regarding the inclusion of new corporate roles devoted to managing digitalization and sustainability processes. However, the analysis shows the different impacts of these roles on corporate governance structures and the different ways of externally communicating these impacts. In this sense, our study encourages the identification of governance models and different kinds of corporate communication that are able to promote digitalization processes and sustainable paths for companies. The paper contributes to the field of digitalization and sustainability studies and suggests insights to help practitioners manage related processes by promoting an evolution in the corporate governance structures and corporate communications of food and fashion companies.

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