Mirko Perano

Understanding Roles and Functions of Academic Libraries as Innovation Intermediaries within the Service-Dominant Logic Perspective: An Australian Case Study

ABSTRACT This study defines the academic library as an innovation intermediary that under the service-dominant logic perspective has a role of co-creator of value instead of a traditional service provider focused on collecting and exchanging knowledge. Innovation intermediaries develop a number of roles and functions to stimulate knowledge creation and transfer by supporting interactions and collaborations among multiple parties. As result, 2×2 Matrix was created to position each librarys service based on its unique combination of necessary innovation roles and functions. A single case study focused on a university library and highlighted the existence of two different types of intermediaries: generalist and specialist.

Kernel of a DSS for the Evaluation of the Founding Team of a University—Based Spin Off

This work focuses on a University-based Spin Off (USO) with consequent review of the traditional university mission on the need/opportunity to give more to Knowledge. Europe, Italian government and other institutions fund spin-offs through announcements, in which the evaluation method for merits still shows limitations, due to a light presence of Italian excellence. The work, starting from the Service Science Management Engineering and Design (SSMD+D), proposes a review of the literature about demographic factors in the founding team, but more generally of human capital in spin-offs in order to create value. According to Visintin and Pittino (see Visintin and Pittino in Technovation 34: 31–43, 2014), the paper aims to design a kernel of a fuzzy logic based DSS to evaluate ex-ante the likely success of the founding team of a USO. Academic spin-offs of the University of Salerno are useful to test the DSS.

Exploring Services Provided by Top Italian Museums Websites: What are They Used for?

Even though a number of studies have focused on museum websites, specific studies about top Italian museums and the services provided online have not been found. This paper aims to fill this gap in the literature and investigate the online services performed by top Italian museums. The objective is to determine whether these museums have developed their own website, and what kind of services they provide to their online visitors. The presence or lack of services provided was recorded with the adoption of a descriptive approach, based on qualitative content analysis principles. Results are shown in terms of three kinds of services provided (virtual visit opportunities, e-commerce services, and e-relation tools). Results provide managers a mapping of the services provided by their specific museum. Nevertheless, they need to be expanded with further primary research.

THE CITTASLOW CERTIFICATION AND ITS EFFECTS ON SUSTAINABLE TOURISM GOVERNANCE

The paper examines the relationship between sustainable tourism governance and Cittaslow certification. As an organised network of small cities, Cittaslow is attempting to focus plans around the primary assets of locality-based identity, by choosing to preserve the unique characteristics of each urban area. Through a quantitative analysis, based on International Cittaslow certified cities, the paper aims to examine the effects of Cittaslow certification on local government for the implementation of more sustainable tourism governance. Findings reveal that interest in being certified acts as a stimulus to the definition and the implementation of more sustainable development, allowing a destination to become part of an international network of cities. The results highlight the need to fully exploit the various opportunities in order to be certified, moving primarily from the implementation of policy initiatives coherent not only with the many requirements laid down by Cittaslow, but which have a positive impact on areas considered more strategic for small town development, while avoiding the waste of effort and scarce resources on other less focused projects.