Marco Pironti

Identify Innovative Business Models: Can Innovative Business Models Enable Players to React to Ongoing or Unpredictable Trends?

Abstract Socioeconomic trends (such as makers, crowdsourcing, sharing economy, gamification) as well as technological trends (such as cloud computing, 3D printing technology, application, big data, TV on demand and the Internet of things) are changing the scenario and creating new opportunities, new businesses and, as a result, new players. The high level of uncertainty caused by the fast speed of innovation technology along with an enormous amount of information difficult to analyse and exploit are characterizing the current framework. On the other hand, businesses such as Netflix – with its 44,000 users and a long tail business model – show a new service based on TV on demand where innovation starts from the convergence between two different industries (TV and the Internet) and spreads on the need of new users. Quirky, with its innovative open business model, is manufacturing new products designed and developed by the community and finally produced with the use of 3D printing technology. While Google in a multi-sided model are giving their new glasses to different developers who build their own application on them, Kickstarter finds its business funders in the crowd, and pays them back with its future products, according to what the organization needs. Another element that adds complexity to the previous framework is the new customer. He or she is showing a social attitude in favour of transparency, openness, collaboration, and sharing. Every second more than 600 tweets are posted on Twitter and around 700 status updates are posted on Facebook. At the same time, people are receiving text messages, e-mails and skype or phone calls and simultaneously consuming TV, radio and print media. In this scenario characterized by trends where employees, funders, customers and partners do not play a stable role but work together with a sort of “platform organization” to create a product or service completely customized for different market niches, how can an organization set up an innovative business model in a defined trend? Is it possible to identify a sort of framework, able to inspire new business models, with an examination of trends? In this article we will use a mix of different approaches to inspire new business model.

Unpacking open innovation neighborhoods: le milieu of the lean smart city

The purpose of this paper is to satisfy a clear gap in the main field of open innovation research whereabouts a very little scholarship try to analyze the mechanisms of innovative milieu down smart cities environments by applying through innovative projects that seem to support efficiently the entry of private firms and citizens in public collaborations.,The research performed an exploratory and qualitative evaluation based on the case study method built on the evaluation of organizational behavior and urban boosting innovation through smart city initiatives. In doing so, after a literature review in smart city as well in lean methodology fields, the case of Turin Smart City follows.,As acknowledged by international literature, the paper shows how a lean approach enables local government to define and realize smart projects and initiatives in a faster and more effective way. Particularly, the government in one of the main cities in Italy, id est Turin, combines a lean methodology with the job-to-be done approach, according a new concept of smart initiatives involving a startup mentality for the lead users which enables interesting predictions relating the human aspects of open collaborations.,The specificity of this inquiry highlights valuable insights from double-gate smart cities’ innovation, social and urban as well. The research is largely interpretative and exploratory and while this provides a solid scientific foundation for further research, it does not, itself, subject any hypothesis to statistical testing and validation.,Since the city approached the smart city subject in a lean way, it was able to realize some projects in a faster way. Through specific initiatives, the city acquires the ability to involve more and better all its stakeholders such as citizens, companies, and public employees, among others. In this regard, the paper invigorates managerial debates concerning the urban and social aspects of open innovation ecosystems which represent in our minds a superior level of open innovation, testbeds of positive knowledge, and stimulus of knowledge dissemination process around the city.

Enterprise clusters triggered by radical innovation: a modelistic approach

Purpose – This papers aims to deal with enterprise networks and clusters dynamics, as well as inter‐firm joint efforts and collaborations, in order to study their evolution and possible effects when radical innovation occurs inside them.Design/methodology/approach – In order to study these dynamics, with the optimal balancing among different strategies and the importance of exogenous parameters in cluster creation, a model is presented. It follows the agent‐based paradigm, particularly suited for describing complex social systems in which many parts interact among them. This allows one to create simulations of the studied system, and to test different hypotheses. Besides, it is the only paradigm in which the emergent features of complex systems can arise spontaneously, thanks to the bottom‐up design. A model is introduced and described in detail.Findings – Qualitative results are described, reflecting current state‐of‐the art theories. The results show how clusters emerge and evolve among enterprises, and...

Understanding the Strategic Organization Propensity Through "Managerial Discussion and Analysis"

The objective of this work is to investigate the content analysis methodology in the strategic propensity such as explorative/exploitative behavior. After theoretical analysis on the meaning and definition of exploitation and exploration, the authors have applied the content analysis methodology to a practice case. The conclusion is that the qualitative content analysis is a good methodology to study the strategy propensity having the same results of the other methodologies used in the strategy researches such as practice case and grounded theory.

HPC4AI: an AI-on-demand federated platform endeavour

In April 2018, under the auspices of the POR-FESR 2014-2020 program of Italian Piedmont Region, the Turins Centre on High-Performance Computing for Artificial Intelligence (HPC4AI) was funded with a capital investment of 4.5M€ and it began its deployment. HPC4AI aims to facilitate scientific research and engineering in the areas of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Analytics. HPC4AI will specifically focus on methods for the on-demand provisioning of AI and BDA Cloud services to the regional and national industrial community, which includes the large regional ecosystem of Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) active in many different sectors such as automotive, aerospace, mechatronics, manufacturing, health and agrifood.

Nuovi modelli di business e tecnologie digitali: il ruolo delle Telco da piattaforma abilitante a player strategico nella Fabbrica 4.0

Obiettivi. L’emergente paradigma della fabbrica intelligente offre opportunità alle aziende manifatturiere, ma anche a quelle che forniscono servizi per facilitarne lo sviluppo: un ruolo rilevante può essere ricoperto dalle aziende del settore Telecomunicazioni (Telco) che, sfruttando un modello di business innovativo, potrebbero cogliere opportunità e difendere la nuova proposizione di valore dai competitor. Metodologia. All’analisi della letteratura è abbinato l’uso di casi pratici: prima si individuano tre traiettorie di creazione di vantaggi competitivi nell’era digitale; poi si analizza un insieme di progetti di smart factory a livello europeo, selezionati per il grado di sviluppo e di coinvolgimento di aziende, non necessariamente manifatturiere. Risultati. (i) Interpretazione del trend smart factory attraverso un modello di analisi per macro aree; (ii) individuazione delle nuove opportunità attraverso casi pratici; (iii) definizione di un nuovo modello di business per cogliere e difendere il vantaggio competitivo; (iv) individuazione delle imprese del settore delle telecomunicazioni da soggetti abilitanti a player strategici. Limiti della ricerca. Utilizzo di casi selezionati in base al coinvolgimento di aziende non solo manifatturiere e il grado di sviluppo del progetto; i risultati sarebbero più solidi se corroborati da più casi. Implicazioni pratiche. Identificazione di opportunità inesplorate nel nuovo paradigma; possibilità di rinvigorire il settore delle Telco cogliendo un trend apparentemente estraneo al loro business. Originalità del lavoro. Definizione di un nuovo modello di business emergente dalla selezione di tre approcci strategici innovativi; individuazione delle Telco come centrali per la smart factory: abilitatrici e/o loro stesse smart factory capaci di cogliere nuove opportunità per il proprio business. Parole chiave: fabbrica intelligente; Telecomunicazioni; modello di business; innovazione Objectives. The smart factory paradigm offers both manufacturing and service companies opportunities for their growth. A relevant role may be taken on by Telecommunication firms (Telcos) which could seize this opportunity and defend a new value proposition against their competitors by exploiting an innovative business model. Methodology. Practical cases study have been added to the literature analysis: first, with the identification of three trajectories for the creation of competitive advantages in the digital era; then with the analysis of a group of cases smart factory projects on a European scale selected according to the growth and involvement of manufacturing as well as other companies. Findings. (i) Interpretation of the smart factory trend using the macro areas’ analysis model; (ii) identification of new opportunities using the analysis of practical cases; (iii) definition of a new business model in order to gain and defend a competitive advantage; (iv) identification of telecommunication players as a driving and suitable strategic leaders. Research limits. The use of selected cases according to the involvement of manufacturing as well as other companies, and the level of project development; findings would be sounder if supported by a greater number of cases. Practical implications. Identification of unexplored opportunities in the new paradigm; possibility to strengthen the Telco industry by seizing a trend apparently unfamiliar to this business. Originality of the study. Definition of a new business model that originated from the selection of three innovative strategic approches; identification of Telcos’ role as central to the smart factory: enablers of and/or smart factories themselves capable of seizing new opportunities for their own business.

A Simulation Based Approach For The Evaluation Of Outcome Driven Innovation Models

The evaluation of the opportunity of investments on complex production processes is a critical factor in order to enable the balance of risks and potential benefits. There is no out-ofthe-box tool that can solve this problem: only the experience of the responsible expert and his knowledgeability of the process can help. Outcome Driven Innovation is an evaluation technique that can support decisions, based on a structured approach to process analysis and on the availability of domain experts: anyway, the need for experts can make the evaluation itself very expensive. In this paper a simulative approach is used to provide an a priori characterization of the conditions that can suggest the opportunity of adopting Outcome Driven Innovation for a process.

The open long tail model between new culture and digital technology

Purpose of the study . The aim of this paper is to describe an emerging business model that comes from the digitalization of the world of making tangible objects. Methodology . The creation of niche products , their production and sales in an open business model is analyzed through the literature review of both models and sustained by the analysis of practice cases. Findings . This new business model , defined by the authors as the open long tail model, includes the features of both the open business model and the long tail model because it sustains the collaborative trend of the web generation and creates a large number of niche, physical things rather that “just pixels on screens”. Research limits . Given its focus on the empirical evidence from the diffusion of new digital and flexible technologies , our analysis has identified a new trend in the manufacturing industry business model that seems to have a positive effect on the organization as well as the costumer. Practical implications . The future of this emerging business model looks promising thanks to its democratization of creativity and manufacturing trajectory and its capability to create more revenue for anyone who wants to undertake this venture. Novelty of the paper . This new stream of creativity democratization and innovation is possible thanks to the open long tail model based the new user that wants to make objects, the emergence of digital tools for design and production, the collaboration between actors.

The new model of financial market regulation: how to limit the liquidity crisis

the actors who acquire them or by the quantity gained. Getting inspiration from these scheme, the authors present a new regulation framework focused on both the financial assets and on their visibility for restraining the financial liquidity crisis. The framework is based on the idea that if the risk inside the asset is visible then it is possible to boundary the impact of the toxic products instead of limit the liquidity throughout the financial market. The study of the asset regulation is done developing a model through the Mean Field Analysis approach (5). This approach permits to intuitively describe a systems characterized by a large number of interacting objects, such as financial products. Thanks to its multilevel structure it allows to easily create different scenario in which analyze the model. After an overview on the financial assets (Section II), the paper will describe the modelling approach (Sections III and IV). A qualitative result (Section V) shows that in visibility condition the financial liquidity crisis is narrow only on toxic product and not on the entire financial system.

Influence of Exogenous Phenomena on Strategic Behavior and Organizational Culture: An Empirical Analysis

External shocks, negative conjuncture, periods of crisis are known to often constitute turning points for enterprises. On the one hand, managers urge to revise their business model, in order to adapt it to the changes of the external environment and of the competitive scenario. On the other hand, exogenous shocks usually affect collaboration with other players on the market. Such strategies as outsourcing, consortia, joint-ventures, during a crisis, can be used to face the lower financial resources available for the enterprises. Though, if the shock is subtle, sometimes enterprises don’t promptly react, due to distorted or delayed human perception. In this paper we show, by means of a computational model, that even a small percentage of slow-reacting (or biased) enterprises can determine a sub-optimal aggregate behavior when facing a negative exogenous conjuncture.