Barbara Aquilani

A systematic literature review on total quality management critical success factors and the identification of new avenues of research

The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic literature review to identify new avenues of research in line with the ongoing changes in quality and management required to firms, especially regarding customers.,This study uses a systematic review of the literature contained in the three databases Ebsco, JSTOR, and Springerlink and on the search engine Google Scholar.,An analysis of the literature identifies three different clusters of papers: “identification” papers, which show that customer focus has gained importance in recent times; “implementation” papers, which highlight that a general or shared model or scale to successfully implement total quality management (TQM) does not yet exist; and “impact-on-performance” papers, which show that few studies have considered the relationship between TQM and the issues of both marketing and performance, underlining the most significant gap in the TQM literature.,This study is limited by the small number of databases and search engines used and by the restricted number of keywords used in searching these sources.,This work highlights a gap in the existing research and thus an incomplete consideration of the interplay between management, marketing, and quality issues, all centered on customers and other stakeholders. Researchers and firms are thus advised to adopt a wider view that considers the role of the quality process to support the firm’s engagement of customers in activities that enhance both the customer role and customer satisfaction.,This study uses a systematic literature review to review all critical factors of TQM and identifies new research avenues and different approaches to implementing TQM, focusing on the central role that customers play in achieving firm success.

Medium‐size enterprises in industrial districts: an exploratory study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the performance evolution of enterprises in Italian industrial districts. In particular, economic performance indicators are analysed for Arezzo goldsmith enterprises, to highlight: differences in the goldsmith local systems performances; the role played by firm size in the evolution trajectories; and the emergence of a medium‐sized nucleus of firms with better performance.Design/methodology/approach – The paper first conducts a brief literature review on medium‐sized firms in Italian industrial districts. Then it examines the economic‐financial indicators of 183 Arezzo goldsmith firms to evaluate firm performance in comparative terms both with other Italian industrial districts and with firm size. Finally it focuses its attention on 15 medium‐sized firms or groups, carrying out a statistical analysis by organizational model comparing the aggregate data of the Arezzo goldsmith district.Findings – The results regarding the Arezzo experience show: a reductio...

Overcoming cultural barriers in open innovation processes through intermediaries: a theoretical framework

Certain cultural barriers, such as insufficient openness, aversion to risk-taking, organizational inertia and specific syndromes could inhibit successful Open Innovation processes. However, how Open Innovation Intermediaries help in overcoming obstacles to successfully achieve Open Innovation processes, has not yet been analysed in depth. This paper aims to fill this gap, relying on extant contributions of Open Innovation processes, Open Innovation Intermediary features and types. Based on the distinction between outside-in, inside-out and coupled Open Innovation processes, the theoretical framework developed here identifies specific cultural barriers affecting each process and suggests which intermediary types could be more suited to sustain firms undergoing these processes. The framework supports firms opening up their internal R&D activities to choose the intermediary type most suitable for adaption to an appropriate culture, as well as overcoming any possible cultural barriers.

The effects of historical satisfaction, provided services characteristics and website dimensions on encounter overall satisfaction: A travel industry case study

The purpose of this paper is to study the real role of historical satisfaction (HSat), i.e., satisfaction only deriving from past experiences, excluding the most recent, in B2C service contexts when services are experienced offline, while the actual services are purchased online through the service providers’ website.,The proposed conceptual framework was tested by focusing on a particular travel industry firm which is responsible for providing travel services as well as managing the website where these services are purchased. The study population included customers who had purchased at least two travel tickets during the last 12 months online. In order to reduce possible self-selection bias and to improve the generalizability of the web survey findings, post-stratification was applied. The measurement model was evaluated by using confirmatory factor analyses. The direct and indirect effects of HSat on encounter overall satisfaction (EOS) were analyzed using structural equation modeling.,The direct effect of HSat on EOS was observed to be higher than its indirect effect through offline service dimensions and website dimensions. It was also observed that offline service dimensions have a direct impact on EOS, while they do not have an indirect impact since the website dimensions do not have a direct effect on EOS.,Historical satisfaction is really important in building EOS for services purchased previously online but experienced offline.,The results could provide managers with useful tools for allocating resources and also build an even higher level of EOS. They also shed light on how HSat molds offline service perception for services sold online.,To the authors’s knowledge, only one empirical paper focused on “historical satisfaction,” while no studies have taken into consideration the fact that service offline dimensions and e-customer satisfaction could be indirectly linked by website quality dimensions, the issue studied in this paper.

Co-creare prodotti e processi con i clienti: i servizi degli Open Innovation Intermediaries (OII)

Purpose of the paper : The paper aims at analyzing the Open Innovation Intermediaries (OII) services provided to firms in order to enhance, facilitate and support their co-creation activity with customers in an Open Innovation (OI) context. Methodology : After reviewing existent literature developed in this domain, we analyze the only two OII platforms which provide services to support firms in their co-creation activity with customers, following the case study methodology. Findings : We find that: (i) both the number of OII and the services provided are scarce; (ii) OII adopt this OI mode in different ways, following different models and providing different bundles of services. Research limits : The main limit of the empirical research comes from the unavailability of different information sources which place this part of the paper in an ancillary position in respect to the literature review. Practical implications : The paper, as a first step of the research in this domain, enhances knowledge about services provided by OII in the co-creation activity which firms develop with customers. This phenomenon is not deepened empirically, even if theoretical contributions recognize many benefits for firms deriving from OI platforms. Originality of the paper : The paper is original because it: (i) proposes a first systematization of the existent literature about his theme; (ii) analyzes OII services provided to firms in an OI context; (iii) benchmarks services provided by different OII platforms, disclosing their rationales. Italian Obiettivo del paper : Il lavoro esamina i servizi che gli Open Innovation Intermediaries (OII) offrono alle imprese allo scopo di stimolare, facilitare e supportare l’attivita di co-creazione con i consumatori in un contesto di Open Innovation (OI). Metodologia : Dopo l’analisi della letteratura sviluppata sul tema, si sono selezionate ed utilizzate, per meglio supportare la review della letteratura, le uniche due piattaforme di OII che rendono servizi finalizzati all’attivita di co-creazione con i consumatori, seguendo le indicazioni scientifiche sul metodo dei casi. Risultati : L’analisi ha consentito di rilevare che: (i) le piattaforme cosi come i servizi offerti sono poco numerosi; (ii) esistono approcci differenti adottati dagli OII per agevolare e sostenere questa modalita di OI. Limiti della ricerca : Il maggior limite della ricerca empirica e da rintracciare nella scarsa disponibilita di fonti di informazione, ponendo cosi la stessa in una posizione ancillare rispetto alla review della letteratura. Implicazioni pratiche : Il lavoro contribuisce al miglioramento della conoscenza sul fenomeno degli OII e, soprattutto, sui servizi specificatamente offerti dagli stessi a supporto delle complesse attivita di co-creazione con i consumatori, cui la letteratura associa numerosi benefici senza farne corrispondere un’analisi empirica specifica e di confronto tra le varie piattaforme di OI create negli ultimi anni; in questo ambito, il paper rappresenta un primo contributo. Originalita del lavoro : Il lavoro si configura come una proposta originale in termini di: (i) sistematizzazione della letteratura sul tema; (ii) primo tentativo di analisi dei servizi proposti dagli intermediari in un contesto di innovazione aperta con i consumatori; e (iii) confronto puntuale tra i servizi prestati dalle piattaforme esaminate.

Ideas Sharing Through ICT in Innovation Processes: A Design Theory for Open Innovation Platforms

Since Henry Chesbrough’s remark on the importance of opening innovation processes to the cooperation of external entities, like partners, competitors or customers, open innovation (OI) gained momentum. Open innovation approach was started and run by different companies around the world. Meanwhile specific platforms were developed to support these processes, either by intermediaries aimed at helping companies to shift to an open innovation approach, or by firms which decided to adopt this approach trough their own created and managed platforms. Through a descriptive design theory perspective the paper analyzes the features (components) that these web-based platforms offer in respect to the requirements they have to fulfill in order to effectively support the open innovation approach.