RISULTATI RICERCA

This paper presents an overview of the measures linked to social and environmental sustainability. Then, it proposes an empirical analysis of these impacts with an example of cotton production in India. The application of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), as outlined by ISO 14040, allows one to quantify both the social and the environmental impact and define a strategy to mitigate both of them simultaneously.Hence, the paper presents a set of trade-offs emerging when companies seek to optimize both environmental and social impact of their businesses. We demonstrate that, through the adoption of LCA, the pair social and environmental impact can be simultaneously optimized and sustainable strategies can be effectively created.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between corporate circular economy (CE) practices and financial performance, and the moderating effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) committee among European listed companies.Based on a sample of 567 firms over the period 2019-2023, the study found that financial performance is positively associated with CE scores, suggesting that it is an important driver of CE practices.Furthermore, the study found that CSR committee positively moderate the association between financial performance and CE scores, facilitating the integration sustainability into companies.

In this study, we investigate whether firms create value in a tradition-led setting, through innovative efforts. Prior research has observed that in such a setting some actors opt for a creative representation of established products (i.e., a song, an opera, a piece of art, a fashion item, and so on); in contrast, others rely on a more traditional interpretation of the same products. Less investigated, to date, has been whether the decision to opt for an innovative behavior in a tradition-led context leads to value creation, or not. To this end, we conducted research in the Italian wine industry between 1999 and 2009 to investigate whether adopting innovative practices (i.e., aging wine in barrique), led to value creation and what other occurrences intervened in the value creation dynamic. Our findings suggest that innovation sustains value creation and that, in a tradition-led context, a firm’s portfolio breadth negatively moderates the above relationship.

This research seeks to highlight a common mistake that researchers in the area of Operations and Supply Chain Management (O&SCM) make when selecting the measurement models in Structural Equation Modelling. In fat, the unproper selection of a measurement model in Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) research can lead to issues of model misspecification and non-valid findings. Therefore, this is the first study in O&SCM that highlights the differences between reflective and formative measurement models in SEM and invites researchers in this field to reflect and pay attention to the measurement model selection before diving into a statistical analysis.

In Italy, the debate on industrial development and economic growth incentives highlights several key themes. Family capitalism celebrated for its resilience, is simultaneously critiqued for curbing innovation and growth potential (Colli et al., 2003; González et al., 2012; Yanagisako, 2020); Medium-Sized Enterprises stand out for their competitiveness, yet their representation - only 0.5% of firms - limits their macroeconomic impact (OECD, 2012). Meanwhile, innovation, a cornerstone of sustainable growth, remains stifled by insufficient entrepreneurial support and inadequate public incentives. Finally, capital shortages perpetuate a systemic barrier to industrial expansion, further constraining the nation’s economic trajectory. Within this environment, High-Growth Firms (HGFs), or "Gazelles," exhibit exceptional competitiveness despite comprising just 0.2% of manufacturing and 0.4% of service firms in Italy. Defined as firms with over 10 employees and annual employment growth exceeding 20% for three consecutive years, HGFs have been extensively studied (Birch, 1981; Henrekson and Johansson, 2010) yet key growth drivers and the role of innovation ecosystems remain underexplored. To address this, a bibliometric analysis of 2012-2021 publications identified 283 highly cited articles, segmented into pre- and post-Industry 4.0/Horizon 2020 periods. Findings highlight three drivers of HGF competitiveness: technology investment for productivity, knowledge networks via open innovation, reskilling initiatives for human capital. Industry 4.0 technologies have expanded expertise access, reduced market entry barriers, and emphasized circular economy practices, fostering ambidextrous growth. To sustain HGFs, industrial policies must adapt and expand to meet innovation demands, leveraging these insights to replicate success across evolving economic landscapes.

The rapid advancement of digital technologies has elevated the importance of innovation, paving the way for digital entrepreneurship. This study contributes to the analysis of digital entrepreneurial intentions among university students by examining micro-level factors (autonomy, self-efficacy, pro-sociality) and meso-level factors (family context, education) using a sample of students from University of Calabria. The findings indicate that autonomy, self-efficacy, and innovative education significantly enhance the intention to launch digital businesses. While gender and age do not appear to be significant factors, positive family perceptions play a supportive role in fostering digital entrepreneurship. This paper highlights the value of innovative teaching methods and pro-social values, offering valuable insights for future research and practical guidance for universities and policymakers seeking to build robust digital entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Understanding how firms finance their activities is crucial for fostering economic growth. The financial life cycle is a critical framework for understanding how firms' financing needs and strategies evolve over time. This paper examines the capital structure choices of Italian SMEs focusing on the role of firm life cycle. Using financial data from 512,027 firms companies over 2012-2023, we observe a nonlinear relationship between age and leverage. Results confirm a lifecycle pattern where younger firms rely more on debt, while mature firms shift towards internal funding. Our evidence supports the persistence of La Rocca et al. (2011)’s findings despite significant economic changes, including the global financial crisis, the coronavirus downturn and recent sustainability challenges. Our findings highlight the importance of tailored financing strategies for SMEs based on their life cycle stage.

This paper explores the relationship between equity crowdfunding (ECF) and the growth of Italian SMEs. Using two case studies, one in the agri-food sector and the other in cleantech, and comparing them with non-crowdfunded equivalents, we find that ECF significantly enhanced the post-campaign growth of the two firms, which outperformed their counterparts. This highlights ECF as an effective solution for SMEs to overcome financial constraints problems and achieve growth.Some managerial implications emerge. While ECF poses specific key challenges, the study underlines the importance to take into account corporate governance concerns in maximizing the benefits of this funding opportunity. Our research underscores ECF’s potential in entrepreneurial finance and offers insights into its longterm impact.

Lo slut-shaming rappresenta una forma di violenza verbale in cui la vittima viene aggredita in riferimento agli atteggiamenti o ai comportamenti messi in atto nella sfera sessuale. Con l’obiettivo di comprendere maggiormente le dinamiche e gli effetti dello slut-shaming nei giovani adulti, sono stati proposti due focus group ai quali hanno partecipato 26 studenti (18-29 anni). Il presente studio si focalizza sui dati emersi dai due focus group, che hanno permesso di rilevare a) che lo slut-shaming è un fenomeno che ha un’ampia diffusione, b) che i suoi effetti influenzano a breve e a lungo termine il benessere psicosociale degli individui, c) che le vittime di slut-shaming possono mettere in atto strategie di protezione che diminuiscano l’esposizione alla denigrazione.

La FASD (Fetal Alchol Spectrum Disorders) è associata al consumo di alcolici in gravi-danza, è responsabile di una complessa sintomatologia ancora scarsamente conosciuta, sia in ambito di ricerca sia di intervento, ed è piuttosto diffusa nei bambini adottati. Il presente contributo intende sondare i bisogni delle famiglie adottive i cui figli hanno avuto una dia-gnosi di FASD. È stato condotto uno studio, nato dalla collaborazione tra il Centro d’Ateneo Studi e Ricerche sulla Famiglia e l’Associazione Italiana Disordini da Esposizio-ne Fetale ad Alcool e/o Droghe (AIDEFAD), che si è posto l’obiettivo di esplorare il punto di vista di famiglie adottive con figli con FASD di differenti età, attraverso interviste con i genitori (6 coppie di genitori e una madre single) e Focus Group con i figli (4 giovani adulti d’età compresa tra i 24 ed i 30 anni). I dati sono stati analizzati attraverso un’analisi testuale con metodo carta e matita e sono state identificate delle macrocategorie di bisogni. Tra i vari bisogni emersi, nelle narrative sia dei genitori sia dei figli, sono apparsi particolarmente cen-trali quelli legati al riconoscimento e alla gestione delle difficoltà connesse alla sindrome, alla storia adottiva e alle informazioni sull’origine, al sostegno sociale-relazionale (di cop-pia, familiare, amicale e professionale) e bisogni connessi alla progettazione del futuro. I bisogni espressi dalle famiglie adottive e dai giovani adulti, portatori della sindrome, hanno fornito importanti indicazioni per la pratica di intervento con le famiglie che verranno di-scusse.

This study investigates the intergenerational transmission of trauma by analyzing the impact of parents’ Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on parenting and child development. Results show that higher ACEs correlate with increased trauma centrality (r = .460, p < 0.05) and post-traumatic symptoms, including avoidance (r = .509, p < 0.05), hyperarousal (r = .386, p < 0.05) and intrusion (r = .510, p < 0.05). ACEs are also associated with im-paired pa-rental mentalization (r = .518, p < 0.05) and higher parental stress (r = .668, p < 0.05), which in turn predicted children’s emotional dysregulation (ß = 0.338, p = 0.005) and internalizing symptoms (ß = 0.361, p = 0.010). These results emphasize the cyclical nature of trauma and its psychological impact across generations.

In the literature, the long-term negative effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on mental health are well known. However, few studies have investigated the role of social support and cognitive-emotional regulation strategies (CER) in subjects with ACEs. Therefore, considering a sample of 86 subjects (N = 24 with histories of ACEs and N = 62 without histories of traumatic events), the present study investigated: 1. The associations among the presence/absence of ACEs, the use of CER strategies, and psychological well-being. 2. The indirect effect of the presence/absence of ACEs on psychological well-being through the mediation of CER strategies. Moreover, by considering only subjects with ACEs, the study explored: 3. The indirect effect of social support on psychological well-being through the mediation of the CER strategies (CER). Results showed that the presence of ACEs was associated with the maladaptive CER strategies of rumination, catastrophism, and blaming others and with participants’ low psychological well-being. Regarding the mediational analyses, only rumination strategies mediated the association between ACEs and psychological well-being. Moreover, in the case of participants with ACEs, the rumination and positive reappraisal strategies mediated the association between social support and psychological well-being.

Over time, the literature showed how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) could increase the risk of developing eating disorders (EDs). However, in the literature, there is a gap about which specific adverse experiences could be associated with different subtypes of EDs. In addition, the mechanisms that could play a moderating or mediating role between childhood adverse experiences and the onset or maintenance of EDs are still unclear. The present study aims to systematically review the literature to examine which specific adverse experiences could be associated with EDs and which factors may act as moderators or mediators of these associations. We reviewed studies published from 1st January 2000 to 31st July 2024 using PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. This paper considered 12 studies that met the inclusion criteria. Results showed a higher prevalence of ACEs in ED patients than in non-clinical populations. Among the diagnostic categories of ED, the evidence suggested that binge-type disorders had the highest ACE exposure, while anorexia nervosa restricting type (AN-R) had the lowest ACE prevalence. Many studies reported the role of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse in bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge eating disorder (BED). Regarding the potential mediators and moderators of the association between ACEs and ED, the present review identified some mediating factors that could explain this relationship. These results highlight the importance of an accurate screening for ACEs in individuals with EDs and in developing targeted interventions.

This study applies a spatial regression model to panel data to investigate the impact of spatial proximity between Italian high-growth startups, termed Gazelles, on their Return on Assets (ROA). The model incorporates a spatially lagged dependent variable to capture the influence of neighboring firms’ performance. Furthermore, we examine the association between perceived crime levels in the provinces where these startups operate and their profitability. Our results show that operating profitability is positively associated with mutual geographic proximity among Gazelles, whereas it is negatively affected by elevated perceptions of local crime. These findings are relevant for entrepreneurs, incubators, and accelerators seeking to identify contextual factors that may enhance or impede firm performance. They also have significant implications for policymakers aiming to design strategies that foster positive externalities and mitigate detrimental externalities in entrepreneurial ecosystems.

This study explores the existing literature to better understand how Digital Twins (DTs) have been analyzed in the perspective of measuring and reporting the carbon footprint of port systems. The study also analyzes how greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting can contribute to feed the DTs information system regarding the values of emissions from mooring, unmooring and manoeuvring operations at the ship-port interface. Although several studies have explored the implementation of new technologies to improve the technical efficiency of ports and their effects on emissions, and others have analyzed GHG accounting for the measurement and reporting of the latter, it remains uncertain how GHG accounting can be integrated with DTs for predictive analytics of ship-port interface operations. This study conducts a literature review on a dataset of 47 articles from Scopus database and Google Scholar, published from 1990 to 2024. The results highlight that, since 2015, research on DTs in ports has highlighted their key role in reducing the carbon footprint and in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG7. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that analyses, according to a holistic approach, digital systems for virtual representations (DTs) and measurement and reporting systems (GHG accounting) for environmental sustainability at the ship-port interface to support public management decisions. This study provides a different perspective of analysis to the decarbonization of the port sector, with theoretical and practical implications also in response to the UN 2030 Agenda and its SDGs.

This paper aims to assess the extent to which sustainability goals are being planned within the automotive sector to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our research is an exploratory study. The study employed a qualitative methodology with a content analysis approach. We conducted a semi-manual content analysis of 20 leading European automotive companies. Our exploratory research results suggest that companies prioritize environmental aspects in their planning, with a particular focus on SDGs 7, 12, and 13. SDGs 1, 2, 14, and 16 receive limited coverage, possibly because they are not directly connected to the core activities of the automotive sector. However, the results align with findings from earlier studies and the industry’s characteristics. This study aims to contribute to the academic literature on strategic planning by examining its extent in the automotive industry and providing insights into the effectiveness of strategic planning tools in achieving sustainability goals. Our study provides a perspective on the current state of sustainability planning within a specific sector, thereby contributing to strategic studies. In practice, it highlights the effectiveness of planning instruments in achieving sustainability objectives and the key themes receiving the most significant attention. Finally, our research is directed at academics, practitioners, and decision-makers.

This study explores business resilience through a financial accounting lens. Business resilience refers to a firm’s ability to anticipate and respond to crises, maintain operational continuity, and recover rapidly. In financial terms it is assessed by analyzing the variability of financial results. Resilience depends on various characteristics and capabilities, identified in the literature as drivers of resilience. These drivers represent the actionable levers to improve resilience capabilities and the elements that underline a company’s resilience level. The drivers are often qualitative, making them difficult to assess objectively. Using a deductive approach and drawing on existing literature, this study develops logical connections between the drivers of business resilience and indexes of the financial results’ variability. Informed by signalling theory, the research aims to address the concerns regarding the lack of practical methodologies to operationalize resilience in a way that is both actionable and useful in practice. The proposed conceptual scheme signals to managers information to shed lights, monitor and manage resilience both ex-ante (to inform decision-making) and ex-post (to evaluate past decisions). Additionally, it signals resilience capabilities to external stakeholders, thereby facilitating more informed decisions regarding an organization of interest. The conceptual scheme highlights the potential of financial statements to depict a company’s assets, financial health, and economic performance but also to reveal its resilience capability. Accordingly, this study advocates for a broader use of traditional financial statement analysis as a tool for managerial decision-making.