Knowledge management, knowledge transfer and organizational performance in the arts and crafts industry: a literature review.

Purpose This paper aims to analyse and discuss five longitudinal case studies in which the authors have investigated how, in a specific subset of the creative industry, i.e. the arts and crafts organizations, knowledge can be systematized and transferred, becoming a real source of competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach As no prior empirical research on the relationship among knowledge, knowledge transfer the role of craftsmen is available, an exploratory, qualitative research design seems advisable to study the phenomenon in detail. In setting up a multiple case study, the authors established a sampling frame of criteria associated with the theoretical background and research interest of this study: the case firms had to be arts and crafts organizations well-known for the high quality and value of their artifacts and have a solid reputation for preserving the tradition and the uniqueness of their manufacturing processes. Findings It has emerged the importance of craftsmen within arts and crafts organizations, whose know-how and technical skills are high valued by colleagues, by the market (customers), within the society and the territory where they operate. The knowledge acquired and retained by the craftsmen becomes therefore crucial for the survival of the arts and crafts organizations and for their profitability in the long term. Research limitations/implications From the empirical investigation, it has emerged a certain unawareness at managerial level of the strategic relevance of the craftsmen knowhow and skills and of how to practically and effectively transfer their knowledge to a future generation of young craftsmen to continue to satisfy a unique and exclusive market demand. Furthermore, it has emerged the lack of a common knowledge transfer policy to different organizations. Therefore, it has not been possible to define a standard framework for the knowledge transfer process because it is influenced by the organizational structure, the management style of the organization owner (very often a family that retains the totality of the organization shares/quota), the social context and the territory where the organization is located, as well as the target market and the specific niche of customers who buy the organization’s products. This result represents a potential threat for the survival of arts and crafts organizations in the long run. Practical implications A common result that has emerged is that craftsmen play a crucial role for the success of arts and crafts organizations, through the creation and production of exclusive, high value products; hence, it is crucial to preserve and transfer properly their knowhow and skills. This result is particularly relevant for the world of practice: in a time where globalization demands for the relocation of production processes and technology automates several job tasks, the variegated world of arts and crafts, where the handmade abilities and skills of craftsmen cannot be replicate, imitate or standardize, becomes extremely important for the economy of several countries, among which Italy. Social implications At social level, the activity of arts and crafts organizations help preserve the uniqueness and exclusivity of the heritage and culture of the territory where they are located, and reflect the tradition of such territory, the knowhow and ability of its inhabitants and help preserve this unique reservoir of competences and knowhow. Originality/value The contribution builds on the lack of practical understanding of the relationship between knowledge and the role played by craftsmen in the knowledge transfer process within arts and crafts organizations, and how effective such process is realized. This because despite the interest of many authors toward both knowledge management and transfer within the creative industry, there is a lack of studies aimed at linking systematically these two research areas. This is a relevant issue since knowledge in creative industries mainly refers to the traditions and values at the basis of an organization’s culture, tends to manifest itself in a tacit way and is difficult to analyze because it mainly exists in the mind of individuals as the result of their working experience not expressed in an explicit form.

We study the intricate relationship between business model innovation and the relevant organisational changes that can facilitate the renewal of a traditional business model. To do so, we build on the inductive, longitudinal single case study of an energy utility, describing the mechanisms through which the business model has been innovated over time, and the organisational changes that enabled and fostered such innovation. The innovation itself was a result of the need to face the current digital transformation that is compelling energy utilities to renew their traditional business models and offer customers a new value proposition. This study therefore contributes to the ongoing academic debate on business model innovation and its practical application, adding to the broad discussion on organisational ambidexterity and the analysis of the most relevant organisational changes adopted to implement effective business model innovation.

Firms are increasingly making use of Open Innovation in an attempt to get the most out of external ideas and knowledge in their innovation processes. The existing research on Open Innovation documents a broad set of practices that firms may use to implement inbound Open Innovation, which entail various degrees of integration with the external partner. There is also empirical evidence showing how firms move from a closed to an open approach to innovation over time. However, there is limited empirical work that documents if and how firms that start using open innovation change and evolve the practices through which inbound open innovation is implemented over time. This paper, relying on an exploratory analysis of nine case studies, adopts a temporal perspective to examine how and why firms use different practices for inbound open innovation over time, with attempts at offering a tentative explanation of the underlying drivers triggering this evolution. This paper contributes to the scholarly debate on the organisational enablers of Open Innovation and provides managers involved in open innovation activities with insights into the factors that may determine changes in their use of different inbound open innovation practices over time. How firms use inbound Open Innovation practices over time

Today there is a huge debate about the diffusion of electric vehicles (EV) to reduce air pollution and the countries' dependence on fossil fuels. The aim of this work is to estimate the environmental impact that the diffusion of EV may have in Italy. Notwithstanding the penetration of EV in the Italian market is still negligible, policy makers consider the massive diffusion of EV as a valid answer to tackle pollution issues (especially at city level). The scenario analysis conducted in this work shows how the diffusion of EVs would dramatically reduce CO2 emissions, with particular reference to some Italian regions which offer a higher margin for intervention in terms of number of traditional vehicles that can be replaced with EV