Search

PurposeThe motivation for this study comes from decision making related to strategic marketing orientations in international markets. The authors examine if customer orientation and customer relationship orientation perform as two distinct constructs in driving firm innovativeness, and how together they support business growth among export firms. This study aims to suggest a customer-centric strategy for export firms that drive innovativeness and growth.Design/methodology/approachAn international corporation specialized in company information services provided a list of the contact information of Italian companies. The authors sent an email request to respond to an online survey and received 416 effective responses from firms operating in export markets. The authors propose and empirically test a model in which customer orientation, customer relationship orientation and innovativeness predict business growth. This model controls for the effects of firm size, industry and customer type (B2B vs. B2C).FindingsThe study findings suggest that customer orientation and customer relationship orientation are two distinct strategic orientations driving innovativeness. However, they do not directly affect business growth. Instead, they require the innovativeness of an exporter to materialize as business growth.Practical implicationsThe results of the study recommend business strategies focusing not only on customer needs and satisfaction but also on retaining current customers and building customer relationships in international markets. Firms can learn from international customers and develop effective customer-centric strategies to spread the acquired information into the internal decision-making as it contributes to firm innovativeness and business growth in international markets.Originality/valueThis study is one of the pioneering studies combining customer orientation and customer relationship orientation, showing their theoretical and empirical divergence. This study is also among the first which tests how the two strategic orientations together with innovativeness promote business growth among export firms. The authors add understanding of the synergistic effects both of using customer information and developing deeper relationships on firm innovativeness and performance among exporters.

The aim of this work is to highlight the strongest inter-country scientific collaborations and the factors that drive them, also in order to offer policy suggestions. The experimental activity performed in this context exploits a less common methodology, preferred to other ones due to its ability to better resolve collaborations. It calculates in fact a powerful indicator, the Probabilistic Affinity Index, starting from the internationally coauthored scientific products of the 100 most scientifically productive Countries. The Probabilistic Affinity Index is able to measure the strength of a collaboration without being influenced by the scientific production of a Country. Once assessed the strength of collaboration, networks of the strongest ones are built using Network Analysis instruments. While results substantially confirm most of the past findings on factors driving scientific collaboration, they also show previously unseen strong collaboration paths existing between Countries. At the end of the paper policy suggestions are drawn.

The uncertainty of measurements with X-ray computed tomography (CT) depends on setup parameters that the operator must choose. Currently, there is no established model describing the relationship between setup parameters and measurement uncertainty. This paper presents an analytical method for optimising CT setup parameters for dimensional measurements on multimaterial workpieces. The method is based on defining and maximising scan quality. An experimental study proved the validity of the method by analysing the standard deviation of CT measurements on a multimaterial test artefact. An analysis of variance on the uncertainty contributions showed that the predicted parameters were globally optimal.

Obiettivo del paper : approfondire il fenomeno della servitization dal punto di vista delle attivita di implementazione dei processi di service management. Metodologia : caso studio singolo sviluppato su una grande azienda italiana del settore del lighting, realizzato seguendo rigorosamente le indicazioni della letteratura sul metodo dei casi. Risultati : dall’analisi emergono l’importanza della cultura del servizio, di risorse umane dedicate, di strumenti multimediali, di continui processi di formazione interna ed esterna e, soprattutto, la criticita del coinvolgimento del prescrittore. Limiti della ricerca : considera un solo caso e quindi non possono essere effettuate generalizzazioni. Implicazioni pratiche : fornisce spunti di riflessione e idee operative d’ausilio ai manager delle imprese manifatturiere che intendono riqualificare la propria offerta di valore. Originalita del lavoro : il contributo arricchisce la tradizionale prospettiva di analisi del “sistema di offerta incrementata” di Gronroos, mostrando come in un mercato complesso la creazione del valore necessiti del coinvolgimento di prescrittori (architetti, ingegneri, light designer) ed altri attori del canale (distributori, installatori).

The purposes of this research are to validate the construct of Entrepreneurial Marketing Orientation (EMO), evaluate the relationship between EMO and market performance and analyze firm characteristics that are related to higher levels of EMO. The data consisted of 545 Italian SMEs with limited liability. We use structural equation modelling to test the construct validity and the relationship between EMO and market performance. Then, we analyze whether EMO is related to certain firm characteristics. The results demonstrate a new operationalization of EMO and a positive relationship between this and market performance. Also, product type and firm objectives are the characteristics that seem to have higher levels of EMO. In the discussion section, we report some advice for owners, managers and consultants, as well as limitations of this study and potential ideas for future research.

The notion of «constitutionalism» identifies a political doctrine that first appeared in England during the 17th century, and quickly spread throughout North America and Western Europe, becoming the leading political doctrine of the three revolutions of the Modern Age.

In this chapter, I analyze the development of constitutional law in the 19th century, examining the legal and political structure of the liberal state and highlighting the different paths undertaken by the Anglo-American experience and European countries.

In the third chapter, I presented the complex framework of western constitutionalism in the 19th century. During the century, the process of consolidation of the institutional framework of the state was remarkable; at the same time, individual liberties obtained a general acknowledgment and an effective protection, through a set of legal institutions and remedies developed within the framework of liberal constitutionalism. However, the progress of democratization was weak and uneven.

In the first chapter, I introduced the theoretical roots of the doctrine of constitutionalism, and their mutual overlap and cross-fertilization paths. The revolutions of the Modern Age in Europe and North America (England 1689, North America 1776, France 1789) were the occasions for deepening the claims of constitutionalism, for linking this doctrine to other compelling social and political claims, and for establishing a legal framework consistent with all of them. Therefore, the three revolutions of the Modern Age represent the foundation of the western constitutional experience, boosting the transformation of political structures and the adoption of written constitutions and declarations of rights.

The tragic events of the Second World War influenced European constitutionalism in the contemporary age.

In the Anglo-American environment, the end of the Second World War did not determine particular difficulties and challenges with regard to the constitutional structures of the states. The victory against Nazi-Fascism was interpreted not only as a sign of military supremacy, but also as a confirmation of the political and institutional model rooted in that context.

As I have already explained in ► Chap. 6, one of the main characteristics of European constitutionalism after the Second World War is its openness to international cooperation.

The first chapter describes the evolution of the state state-of-the-art of the experiential perspective (ExP) approach in managerial literature, an approach that uses the concept of customer experience management (CEM) in a variety of ways. Through a systematic review, the chapter provides a structured overview of the main studies that use the experiential perspective; this overview is instrumental to in the conceptual scheme of the book developed in the chapter Marketing in an experiential perspective: from “goods and services logic” to “experience logic.” To describe the various approaches in which the authors classify articles, authors, and journals of reference in experiential perspective and customer experience management (ExP and CEM), the authors measure the notoriety of the articles and their authors, in an attempt to assess whether and how their impact dwindles inside the “small world” of ExP and CEM, or whether, instead, it extends to a wider radius that includes management literature. Lastly, the authors define the areas of application (areas of interest, or sectors), where the concept has found its widest application. The chapter, recognizing that the experiential logic is assuming centrality in marketing studies, indicates the need to construct a key to understanding and a conceptual basis of synthesis capable of integrating the various contributions that emerged in the literature into a unified framework.

X-ray computed tomography (CT) has an increasing number of industrial applications in the field of dimensional metrology. In the first part of this chapter, an overview of the general measurement tasks that can be performed by using industrial CT is provided. Subsequently, specific measurement examples are given for different manufacturing fields (including casting, forming, machining, injection moulding and additive manufacturing). Then, trends and industrial demands are analysed to determine the current challenges of industrial CT and the future improvements. Finally, a special case study of CT for dimensional measurement in the medical field is presented.

Purpose of the paper: The aim of the paper is to deepen the managerial perspectives towards consumer-brand engagement strategies (CBE) by developing an original integrative framework based upon two key players’ categories within the marketing communication network: enterprises (‘clicks-and-mortar’ and ‘pure play’) and agencies (traditional and digital). Methodology: Following an exploratory inductive and qualitative approach, we have drawn upon 44 in-depth interviews with marketing and communication experts (consultants and managers). Qualitative data was analysed through a thematic content analysis. Findings: The findings show similarities and specificities in the managerial perspectives towards CBE depending both on the players’ category and the digital orientation. Research limits: This paper is not exempt from limitations, especially related to the qualitative and exploratory nature of the study, and the results cannot be generalised. Practical implications: The results offer useful suggestions to the different players studied (clicks-and-mortar, pure play enterprises, digital and traditional agencies) with the aim to improve the effectiveness of the CBE strategies. Originality of the paper: Previous research on CBE mainly focused on the analysis of the consumer’s point of view. Focusing on different types of enterprises and agencies, our study provides the first academic contribution to the understanding of the managerial point of view within an original conceptual framework that integrates multiple key issues faced in developing CBE strategies.

Fiber-reinforced plastics (FRPs) are used in an increasing number of applications due to their advanced light-weight properties. Beside classical deployments in high-value industries like aerospace and medical engineering, FRP materials are pushed towards mass production by the automotive industry. To mass-produce FRP products, textile structures are commonly used as semifinished products, such as multiaxial non-crimp fabrics (NCFs). However, poor repeatability and missing textile defect detection in the automated manufacturing of FRP components are major cost factors and challenge economically the series production. Reduction of these cost factors is not yet possible due to the lack of closed-loop control systems. There is currently no real-time quality monitoring system capable of ensuring quality in NCF production. The purpose of this study is to develop tools and concepts for real-time quality control of non-crimp fabrics. Therefore, a real-time machine-vision system has been developed with the purpose of detecting relevant quality features in a textile sample in deterministic time conditions. The embedded system ensures the execution of all process steps, i.e. image acquisition, processing, and evaluation, under real-time conditions. The main focus of this work is laid on the real-time algorithms for an accurate and robust detection of the fiber orientation under industrial conditions. The developed real-time system has been tested on a textile sample and an assessment of the measurement uncertainty has been performed. Results show that the proposed system can successfully assess common textile quality features.

International scientific collaboration is strategic for the growth of a country, in particular for developing countries. Among these ones the five Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) have a relevant role, also because they are joined in an association to foster mutual development. The present article studies the network of international scientific collaborations existing around the five BRICS. It does so considering the number of coauthored scientific product having authorship shared between two different countries of a group of 70: the five BRICS plus 65 countries strongly collaborating with them. Absolute numbers of coauthored scientific products are arranged in a contingency table, and Probabilistic Affinity Indexes (chosen due to size independency) are then calculated. Indexes show the relative strength of inter-BRICS collaborations with respect to the network surrounding the five countries. At the end of the work obtained results are discussed and commented, and policy suggestions are offered.

© Copyright 2016 SPIE. Industrial Computed Tomography (CT) has recently gained a prominent role in the field of dimensional metrology as a powerful 3D coordinate measurement technique. Its main advantage is the ability of measuring both inner and outer features of geometrically complex workpieces without altering or damaging them. The settings with which CT data are acquired can contribute to the uncertainty of measurements; these settings are chosen by the users in an intuitive way, resulting in high variability of the measurement outcome. There is currently no available holistic model that can (1) describe the relationship between CT setup parameters and measurement uncertainty, or (2) determine the optimal parameters for a given measurement task. In this study, we propose an analytical method to optimize imaging parameters for multimaterial measurements. The proposed method takes as input information about the nominal workpiece geometry and material composition. For a given workpiece position and orientation, the optimal photon energy is calculated to maximize edge detectability and minimize image noise. Subsequently, tube voltage and prefilter are chosen to ensure that the generated X-ray spectrum is quasi-monochromatic around the optimal photon energy. Focal spot size is chosen to minimize resolution, while also avoiding blurring. Then, the corresponding tube power is evaluated as well as the tube current. Finally, integration time is minimized so that the gray values of air are still in the linear range of the detector. The presented method was implemented into a software application and validated through simulation of CT scans of multimaterial workpieces. Measurements with predicted parameters were found to be more accurate than those performed with parameters chosen by expert users. ispartof: pages:99671- ispartof: DEVELOPMENTS IN X-RAY TOMOGRAPHY X vol:9967 pages:99671- ispartof: Conference on Developments in X-Ray Tomography X location:San Diego: CA date:29 Aug - 31 Aug 2016 status: published

Industrial computed tomography (CT) plays a key role in 3D coordinate metrology as an alternative to conventional coordinate measuring machines. CT measurement uncertainty depends on the setup parameters with which CT scans are performed. Currently, there is no established model that can describe the relationship between CT setup parameters and measurement uncertainty, and thus determine the optimal settings for a given measurement task. In practice, CT users choose setup parameters intuitively causing high variability in the measurement results. In this study, we enhance and validate an analytical method for optimizing imaging parameters. The proposed method is based on the assumption that minimizing the contribution of imaging parameters to measurement uncertainty corresponds to (1) maximizing image contrast and signal, (2) minimizing geometric blurring, and (3) minimizing image noise and CT artifacts. It also requires information about the workpiece nominal geometry and material composition. The proposed method calculates the optimal photon energy for precise surface determination, given the workpiece position and orientation. Tube voltage and prefilter are determined so that the resulting x-ray spectrum has an effective energy equal to the optimal energy and beam hardening artifacts are minimized. Tube current is chosen to maximize image signal, while avoiding blurring and excessive generated tube power. Exposure time is chosen as the shortest time that fully exploits the detector dynamics. The proposed method was validated by analyzing the standard deviations of CT measurements on a test phantom. An analysis of variance on the uncertainty components showed that the predicted parameters were globally optimal.

In this paper we discuss the strategic importance of communication and Intranet for theItalian Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs). We analyse the case of Fornari SpA, an Italian medium size clothing and shoes manufacturer that uses internet as a communication tool. The aim of this study is to understand the potential of internet in a specific case and to understand whether internet is a strategic tool or only an operative tool. The firm currently uses two applications of internet: extranet and intranet. The analysis underlines the importance of marketing competences and training that are absolutely necessary to make the most effectiveand efficient use of the internet potential.

The purpose of this study was to explore the servitization approach in order to understand the development of this trend among small Italian companies. In doing so, this study adopted a qualitative method and data were collected via in-depth interviews with managers of firms belonging to the footwear industry - an important sector for the Italian economy. Data analysis was realised through NVivo software, thereby providing a first understanding of the drivers that lead these companies to become 'servitized', as well as the main obstacles they face when considering providing services beyond their core offering. This study suggests important implications both for managers and marketing scholars. For academics, it extends the existing knowledge of the factors that influence this organisational and managerial change, and enriches the body of knowledge of the main drivers of and barriers to servitization. For practitioners, it helps in the understanding of the main advantages and potential obstacles to developing a servitization process.

Analisi del pensiero di Carlo Levi ai tempi della Costituente italiana e della transizione alla democrazia, tra resistenza e antifascismo.