Ilaria Tutore

The important effects of national culture on the environmental proactivity of firms

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to verify if and how national culture affects firms’ environmental proactivity, by using a specific index: the Carbon Disclosure Score (CDS). Design/methodology/approach The study, an analysis of two linear regression models, examines how cultural values, measured by the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Research “should be” scores, affect companies’ environmental proactivity measured by CDS. Data about CDS derive from the Carbon Disclosure Project, which monitors Global 500 companies each year. Findings The analysis reveals that the values of in-group collectivism, performance orientation, assertiveness and uncertainty avoidance negatively affect firms’ environmental proactivity, while future orientation and gender egalitarianism have a positive impact. Research limitations/implications In spite of the limitations inherent in the indicator and the limited sample, the paper has some interesting implications. On a theoretical level, this study extends prior research in the field of organizations and natural environment, by examining the specific role exerted by national cultural dimensions on firms’ environmental proactivity. Practical implications From a practical standpoint, the study suggests that corporations and policy regulators should be sensitive toward national idiosyncrasies and formulate the environmental strategies according to the cultural values and contextual environment of the relevant region. Creating policies based on cultural values and adapting policies to a country’s culture can improve the effectiveness of environmental policies and raise individual and corporation awareness on the topic. Originality/value Most contributions consider environmental strategy at the national level. This study, instead, focusses on the effects of national culture on the environmental proactivity of firms.

The influence of tourists’ national culture on their behaviors in a sport mega-event

Purpose The impact of national culture on tourist behavior has been analyzed in several studies, but none of them focused on its discriminating impact on behavioral intentions during a mega-event. Using Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, this paper aims to explore the influence of national cultural values on tourist behaviors (experience, satisfaction and behavioral intentions) during the America’s Cup World Series (ACWS) in Naples. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents a quantitative analysis of primary data gathered through a survey of a convenience sample of tourists (n = 612) conducted during the ACWS organized by the City of Naples in April 2013. Findings The findings confirm that national cultural clusters represent an important driver of behavioral intentions: tourists from different geographic clusters showed different intention to return and intention to recommend by word of mouth, caused by different levels of individualism and uncertainty avoidance. Practical implications For destination marketing managers, this study throws light on how the national culture of tourists may influence their experiences and behavioral intentions. Originality/value Despite the richness of works on the tourism experience, few studies have investigated the effect of national culture on tourists’ experience, satisfaction and behavioral intentions during and after a sport mega-event.

New trends in the development of Chinese high-tech companies: an open innovation perspective

Despite the recent success of the open innovation theories, none of the authors have described so far the innovation strategy of Chinese companies from an open innovation perspective. This paper aims at filling this gap in the literature, providing an analysis of the innovation strategy of Chinese companies adopting the open innovation paradigm. The study relies on a confirmative multiple-case study analysis of the innovation strategy implemented by four Chinese high-tech companies operating in the telecommunications equipment industry. The results demonstrate that the paradigm of open innovation shows its beneficial effects also in contexts like China that do not have the typical features of Western contexts where this paradigm was born and has been tested.

Shock events and corporate announcements

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to verify if, in case of a shock event, there are types of corporate announcement that may influence stock price behaviour better than others. The authors also try to determine if the communication strategy may be affected by the type of shock event. Design/methodology/approach – Using the event study analysis, the authors estimate the Cumulative Abnormal Returns associated to the stocks of the selected firms hit by a shock event, in order to visualise the effectiveness of different types of corporate announcements after the event. Findings – The research confirms the negative effect of shock events on corporate stocks’ value. Moreover, the study envisages that financial market rewards companies that assume consistent and reassuring announcements during the event window. The authors also find that the effectiveness of corporate announcements is related to the shock’s typology. Research limitations/implications – The study employs a small and unbalanced sample of shoc...

Fast and furious: how the open vs closed dilemma affects the technology diffusion dynamic

The purpose of this paper is to propose a comprehensive theoretical framework to explain the different diffusion dynamics of a technology realized under an open source (OS) regime vs a technology realized under a closed-proprietary (CP) regime.,Following a systematic combining approach, theoretical predictions derived from literature on diffusion of innovation and on open innovation were matched with empirical observations derived from a case study of two mobile operation systems, which were released under different technological regimes.,This paper proposes a theoretical framework and a set of original theoretical propositions that can help to explain the differences in the diffusion dynamics of technologies that are released under different regimes (i.e. CP vs OS).,This paper provides managers a better understanding of the diffusion dynamics of technologies released according to an open innovation strategy. In addition, the empirical case study improves the understanding of an important industry (the MOS industry) that has not been fully investigated from the innovation diffusion perspective. Nevertheless, the efficacy and generalizability of the theoretical framework proposed in this paper require future empirical tests.,This paper makes an original contribution to the open innovation and innovation diffusion literature by linking, in a conceptual model, three antecedents of the diffusion of a new technology that previous literature has considered only separately: the regime under which the technology is released (OS vs CP), the contingencies related to the characteristics of the technology and to the network of its adopters, and the resulting barriers to adoption.

Policies supporting the Diffusion of Technology. The need for a systematic analysis.

Diffusion of innovation policies are aimed at spreading specific new technologies throughout the industrial structure of a country, facilitating its ongoing and incremental adaptation to change. Nevertheless, economic literature on technology policies has focused predominantly on policies of generation, underestimating the effects of policy interventions in the diffusion process. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to identify the policies able to support the diffusion of an innovation by analysing the studies that specifically rely on the topic and to provide a theoretical framework that links the policies to support the dissemination of an innovation to the barriers that hinder the diffusion of a new technology among a community of adopters. The framework gives a comprehensive view of diffusion of innovation policy and provides useful suggestions for policy makers.