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Integrating corporate social responsibility into brand positioning strategies has become a key concept for the brand marketing of many companies. There is a wealth of studies focusing on the effects of CSR for large international brands and companies operating in business-to-consumer markets. However, there is only limited empirical evidence about the relevance of CSR for sales and branding strategies of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in a business-to-distributor (B2D) context. Using a qualitative research design based on an exploratory case study approach, this paper therefore explores how CSR can be incorporated into the brand marketing strategy of a SME in the B2D sector and how CSR is evaluated in terms of brand perceptions and purchase intentions of business partners (n = 25). The findings suggest that although industrial buyers attribute a certain importance to CSR, product design and perceived product quality are nevertheless the main purchase reasons. The paper concludes with discussing practical and theoretical implications.

This paper aims at providing a multisource data analysis, including direct data collection, focussed on daily average distances covered with motorized mobility. Its results can be used as a basis for policies involving a shift towards new propulsions, electric motors or hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) for road vehicles. A number of variables influence the propensity of drivers to use electric traction, even the option of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV). This paper addresses one of these variables: the compliancy of electric traction&mdash, regarding both hybrid plug-in solutions and full-electric vehicles, in addition to the autonomy of batteries (range)&mdash, with the daily travels by road vehicles, mainly by automobiles. We want to understand whether the constraints leading towards a greater independence from crude oil rather than constraints concerning emissions, mainly in urban contexts, might be compliant with the habitual daily trips of drivers. We also want to understand if these daily trips have varied much during recent years and the consequences they may have on operational costs of plug-in automobiles. After introducing a general overview of road-motorized mobility in Italy, the paper compares data from other studies to provide an indication of average daily driving distances. This reveals how different recent analyses converge on a limited range of average road distances covered daily by Italians, which is compliant with ranges allowed by electric batteries, provided that their low energy density in comparison with that of oil-derived fuels do not arrive to imply a significant increase in vehicle mass. Subsequently, average distances in some EU countries are taken from the literature, and the results are also compared with U.S. data. The study extends the analysis of trends on the use of automobiles and road-vehicles to the international context by also addressing average daily distances covered for freight transport in some EU countries, thereby providing a further basis for comparison and for understanding whether the daily motorized mobility can be considered as a stable phenomenon. Finally, an analysis is provided of the economic operational advantages from using plug-in vehicles.

s This paper attempts to provide an overall analysis of the most recent, relevant and consolidated issues of sustainable transport with the aim of indicating a specific perspective in the automotive field for a defensible production of an acceptable product, which would be able to satisfy the modern aspirations of the industrialised society. A broad framing of the role of sustainability in transport systems as well its impact on the automotive industry are presented first, focusing in particular on the energy consumption of road vehicles; the impact of transportation on energy use and the weight of energy consumption on the operational costs of the different transport modes are dealt with, together with the evolution of this consumption. These elements are essential for a clearer understanding of where and how much energy efficiency and the related emerging technologies can have an impact on road transport, mainly in the automotive field; furthermore, they provide the grounds for some overall considerations on the energy demand for transport. The environmental impact is implicitly a consequence of choices in the use of energy. Technical and economic solutions for a transport system that complies with the energy supply – i.e. automotive production and the expected availability of the main used sources – and for its sustainability can thereafter be analysed: quantitative analyses, such as the well-to-wheel one, and the energy related to the actual occupancy of vehicles, are also taken into account; some main technological perspectives are thereafter proposed for automobiles, which the authors consider to be winning, from a strategic viewpoint, and which should be closely coupled to industrial choices in the most technologically advanced countries in the world.

Recently, offshore outsourcing has become extremely important for companies that compete worldwide. In many industries, only companies that manage to be competitive globally can aspire to attain sustainable competitive advantages. Therefore, offshore outsourcing has become essential for many companies and recently has become more and more a vital part of the long-term strategies of the leading firms. The rapidly shifting conditions in the marketplace is forcing management to constantly review and defend its core competencies. Management is now confronted with a higher level of complexity and disruptions brought about in particular by the new waves of globalization and the irresistible march of technological changes. For these reasons, offshore outsourcing is transforming the functions of the traditional firms into a network of competencies. The tendency to offshore most of the productive and economic activities and processes can lead companies to transform themselves into virtual organizations, where all the functions could be outsourced through the formation of flexible networks and agile organizational structures.

Much of the literature on sustainability has tried to define the “virtuous behaviour” of “agents” (man and his social and economic organizations) so that it respects the “sustainability constraint.” This paper provides a “mirror-image” approach, based on the idea that it is above all necessary to understand why men and organizations tend to develop, at times unconsciously and dishonestly, damaging behaviour that turns into non-sustainability. In other words, to orient man toward sustainable behaviour it is indispensable to understand the “reasons” for the behaviour that produces non-sustainable effects. Regarding sustainability problems, we shall introduce the hypothesis that non-sustainable behaviour is not irrational in an absolute sense but derives from the action of three connected “behavioural archetypes” that accurately describe the “natural” behaviour of individuals in pursuing their aims: behaving in a way that will provide evident short-term advantages, both individual and local, while ignoring the disadvantages and harm such behaviour produces in the long run, at the collective and global level. To solve the problem, we shall try to identify the “levers” that weaken the archetypes and reverse their effects, thereby requiring sacrifices which are unacceptable to some. The paper presents four emblematic cases of non-sustainable behaviour and demonstrates that sustainability must become a fundamental strategic driver.

This study examines how to strengthen human capital by using CSR practices and how this can affect the shareholder value creation, considering the human factor as part of the intellectual capital filled from the rising of the knowledge. The research will show a positive link between the strengthened CSR practices and the results concerning human capital productivity. A qualitative methodological approach based on the case analysis of a few largest European companies' CSR practices towards human capital and a quantitative analysis of their human capital principal indexes and the link with shareholder value creation are proposed. Results will highlight a strong link between CSR and human capital results, underlining for managers the need to invest in those practices. Whilst, being the largest companies analysed part of peculiar industrial sectors, results concerning shareholder value creation will appear to be dependent and vary on some other contingency variables, such as the reputation connected to the industry effect.

Outsourcing strategies have undergone a deep evolution, from simple production contracts with third parties, to agreements that involve functions once considered part of the core business. Outsourcing has transformed many organizations' global supply chains. Global sourcing, offshoring, and outsourcing are a critical output of strategic decision making aimed at allowing organizations to develop and leverage the capabilities required to compete in today's global business environment. By analyzing established academic literature, this article improves existing knowledge on outsourcing and provides some basic rules for the outsourcing decision making process. Finally, it develops considerations about contract negotiation with the supplier and determines the types of relationships to have.

Many public administrations produce and distribute public services through a number of similar local autonomous organizations, or institutions, operating in different parts of the territory assigned to them under a centralized authority. Examples of this are the public residential housing institutions, the institutions for waste disposal, health care institutions, and education institutions. The problem arises regarding the evaluation of the performance of these local organizations and institutions not in absolute but in relative terms, in order to determine what incentives or sanctions should be meted out to them. This study presents the methodological problems, the data analysis, and the initial results of the method adopted by the Lombardy Region to create a system of performance indicators that will permit an automatic ranking of the Residential Housing Agencies in Lombardy (ALER) according to their performance, based on information from their balance sheets. A performance index was devised by rationally combining the results of three different analyses: position analysis, ranking analysis, and scoring analysis. The results allowed the central administration to: (1) motivate the managers of the local units through a system of performance-based incentives; (2) aggregate poorly performing local units or outsource inefficient functions; and (3) create competition among local units and raise overall performance levels.

Despite the sector or the company’s size, the choice of the strategies is worth; it is about a set of different aspects included by firms into their own strategic and operating procedures. The general aim of this study is to analyse how Italian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are tackling the challenges by adopting more responsible and sustainable strategies and tools in order to create social and economic value and to compete successfully. Moreover, the paper is focused on setting up a rulebook for family business SMEs in which are specified suggestions about overcoming the crisis and achieving the success.