Daniela Corsaro

The impact of network configurations on value constellations in business markets - The case of an innovation network

A growing body of scholars are advocating a better understanding of how value is created in business networks, rather than merely in business relationships or at the level of single actors. Among such networks, innovation networks, i.e. the configurations of strategic entrepreneurial nets aimed at improving the effectiveness of innovation performance, have come under scrutiny in the business marketing literature. However, research that explicitly connects value considerations with innovation network configurations is still in its infancy, with empirical evidence being notably scarce. This study is aimed at identifying if and how network configurations affect value constellation aspects in business networks, in terms of value recipients and value outcomes. We interviewed key informants representing 46 hightechnology entrepreneurial firms co-located in an innovation network (Daresbury Science and Technology Park UK). Our study identifies that different network configurations can coexist in the same overall network; these, nevertheless, are not alternative independent structures, but rather they interact with each other through actors spanning their boundaries. Our study thus provides an understanding of network configurations relating to specific value consequences, but also provides evidence relating to the interactions between different configurations. By doing this, we establish a bridge between a business marketing and a strategy perspective on value in networks. Important managerial implications and implications for policy makers also emerge from our study.

The role of symbols in value cocreation

This article explores the role of symbols in value cocreation in order to develop a deeper understanding of how actors communicate, interact, and reconcile perspectives as they integrate and exchange resources to create value for themselves and for others. We draw on a service ecosystems approach to value cocreation and propose a conceptual framework that highlights varying views of value and articulates the way in which value cocreation results from the integration of resources and interactions among multiple actors. We argue that symbols guide actors in enacting particular practices that enable the cocreation of shared meanings, which help actors determine the value of current and future interactions. In this way, symbols support the coordination of interaction, the communication of information, the integration of resources, and the evaluation of value, among actors. We provide an empirical example of our conceptual framework as supporting evidence for the role of symbols in value cocreation and point toward directions for future research.

A value perspective on relationship portfolios

As portfolio models have evolved in the area of business marketing scholars have turned their attention from traditional product-based and transaction-oriented portfolios to portfolios based on business relationship considerations. However, the conceptualization of relationship portfolios has remained vague, and the applications of these analyses in business practice are quite limited. In a parallel stream of studies, the Industrial Network Approach (INA) has increasingly explored the concept of relationship value and highlighted the need to take into consideration the interdependent and dynamic features of business relationships as well as the phenomenological and situational nature of value perceptions. Although judgements in terms of relationship value applied to a set of business relationships are foundations of portfolio investment decisions, the connection between the two streams of research has not yet been explored in depth. This study introduces five critical elements of relationship value stemming from INA that have important consequences for business relationship portfolio management. Developing the concept of Relationship Value Portfolio provides the foundation for a discussion about the need to integrate the two fields of research – namely, relationship value and relationship portfolios – into a more grounded conceptual framework. This framework allows for propositions to be developed, which contribute to enriching the theoretical debate on both streams while offering important implications for managerial practice.

Actors’ heterogeneity and the context of interaction in affecting innovation networks

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to explore the role of actors’ heterogeneity and the context of interaction on collective innovation. Design/methodology/approach – By using the six sources of heterogeneity identified by Corsaro et al. (2012) – goals, competences and skills, knowledge bases, power/position, perceptions and cultures – the authors describe the cases of two consecutive projects – ESASIM and NeWTeC – developed within Kilometro Rosso Science Park. The collaborative innovative outcome (simulation software) developed in the first phase was subsequently applied by each actor in its specific context. At the macro level, the authors define the processes that describe the role of actors’ heterogeneity in both the contexts of innovation development and application; at the micro level, the authors shed some light on the role of the single actor acting simultaneously as a provider and as a user with respect to different contexts. Findings – In this paper, the processes through which actors’ heterogen...

Corporate sustainability in action

Recent developments in management have highlighted the need for research on corporate sustainability strategies at the value chain level and in particular in the context of franchising. Although franchising is a widespread phenomenon, there is little empirical evidence of how companies approach the issue. By employing a multi-method research approach, this study explores the importance that franchisors assign to sustainability and the way they deal with it. Our findings show that franchisors adopt three main different sustainability strategies, with an increasing relevance of social sustainability as an enabler of environmental sustainability. The study sheds some light also on the interplay between the franchisor–franchisee relationship features and the companys approach toward sustainability. Preliminary propositions are presented as a starting point for further research in this area.

Transitioning to Value Co-development

Developing strategic approaches to value creation for their firms and others is among the most fundamental challenges that managers face in all businesses. This implies the need to better understand both how value is created and the roles various parties within and outside the firm play.

Practices of Service Innovation Diffusion

Service innovation has often been conceptualized as a linear multistage development process within a main innovator system. In this logic, innovation is communicated through certain channels over time, and adopters play a key role in the process of innovation diffusion. This study moves away from this conceptualization and proposes service innovation diffusion (SID) as an emergent process of co-construction and sense-making by companies, customers and other partners. Such actors enact practices by interacting and integrating resources in a social, economic and cultural context. In particular, thanks to the analysis of ten case studies, we identify specific practices of SID in which actors make sense of and share meanings about innovation, both individually and collectively. These practices enable confidence in service innovation, creation of shared meanings among actors and leveraging of actors’ competencies. The study also highlights the dual role of users, who can simultaneously act as adopters and rejectors.

Sustainability in the supply chain: the retailers perspective

Supply chain sustainability, although being an extremely up-to-date issue, does not seem to have been fully examined yet, particularly from the retailers’ point of view.. In this sense, retailers are acquiring a critical position in the value chain as actors in charge of integrating the sustainable activities of the different entities along the supply chain. In literature, several are the approaches to the analysis of the sustainability issue: determinants, motivations, operational methods, implications on the company’s image and on purchase behaviours. However, few are the contributions which aim at investigating this issue from the supply chain management perspective, with particular reference to retail companies. Considering such aspects, this paper aims at understanding the interpretation of sustainability according to retail operators and how it affects business actions, focusing both on the influence of sustainability on the adopted business formula and on the supply chain dimension. On a methodological level, an exploratory research was carried out on a sample of retailers, completed by three case studies concerning three leading retailing companies.