Vincenza Esposito

Dealing with knowledge in the Italian public universities

Purpose – This article sets out to investigate the relationship between performance management systems (PMSs) and knowledge in public universities. In particular, this paper intends to verify how different choices related to PMS affect the nature of knowledge, in terms of the well‐known tacit vs explicit dichotomy.Design/methodology/approach – The empirical focus is on the recent PMS changes that have been developing in the “modernisation agenda” of the Italian public sector. In particular, 15 case studies of PMS design in Italian universities are presented. The interpretation of the results is based on the Simons theoretical framework related to the four levers of control.Findings – Results show how PMSs (in the different forms presented in the universities’ evaluation plans) could represent an important social tool to facilitate the management of organizational knowledge, combining explicit and tacit forms of knowledge.Originality/value – This paper tackles a topic neglected in the knowledge management...

Temporary project network and innovation: research on the Italian regional wine industry

Purpose – This study aims at exploring the characteristics of the Temporary Project Networks (TPNs) in small and medium‐sized wine producing enterprises, both from a theoretical and an empirical perspective. It aims to discuss different types of temporary inter‐firm collaboration clusters both in terms of structural/organizational features and in terms of innovation tasks development. It also aims to develop an empirically derived taxonomy of TPNs within the Sannio wine industry.Design/methodology/approach – The paper focuses on the literature supporting the argument that the act of innovating is related strongly with the creation of new knowledge. In particular, the knowledge‐based theory places primary emphasis on inter‐organizational knowledge exchanges in explaining enhanced knowledge creation toward better innovative outcomes. The design of forms of coordination between companies is investigated with reference to TPNs, a form of collaboration that has been less investigated in the literature, especia...

The boundaries of a performance management system between learning and control

Purpose – This paper aims to consider how and to what extent it is possible to interpret a performance management system (PMS) as a typical control mechanism or in a more innovative way as a learning tool. PMSs are typically used for planning and coordination purposes. However, they may also be used as an opportunity to foster learning inside the organization. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical analysis was carried out during January-May 2014. A single case study was developed, in the first phase, through document analysis and semi-structured interviews with three top managers, to investigate the purpose and rationale of the design of the PMS. The investigation then continued with non-participant observation. Findings – The picture shows the dominance of “command and control” thinking, based on a cybernetic control system connected to targets and linking the achievement of these targets to individual performance. Practical implications – This paper helps to contextualize reflections on PMSs and p...

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Dealing with knowledge in a product development setting: an empirical analysis in the automotive industry

Abstract The relationship between the management of knowledge and the Japanese concept of obeya is a neglected topic. Previous studies have classified the different tools and methods adopted in Lean Product Development in the light of the Socialisation–Externalisation–Combination–Internalisation (SECI) theoretical framework for knowledge management. Following these studies, the aim of this paper is to understand empirical context how obeya is used to integrate knowledge and how its adoption fits with the SECI model. We investigated this relationship using two obeya experiences in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, within a project that was part of the development of a new longitudinal-engine for Alfa Romeo Giulia.

The adoption of knowledge integration mechanisms in an interdisciplinary research project

Purpose This paper aims to study knowledge integration mechanisms in an interdisciplinary research project. It develops the theoretical literature on the concept of knowledge integration, particularly the adoption of different organizational mechanisms. The research helps to explain how to adopt different integration mechanisms in the various steps of a typical university industry research project. Design/methodology/approach This research relies on a case study. The authors used three data collection techniques: internal document analysis, observation/site visits and semi-structured interviews. Documentary analysis was used to understand the organizational structure and to identify knowledge integration issues. Observation and site visits at university research laboratories were used to increase understanding on particular issues. Staff interviewed included managers and academic researchers. Findings Findings are primarily related to a better understanding of choices of knowledge integration mechanisms in a university industry research project. A crucial aspect was the level of mutual understanding of specialist knowledge. When project members were derived from different sides of the university-industry border, there was a major need for recurring to more structured knowledge integration mechanisms, even if the scientific background of participants was homogeneous. Originality/value Previous studies on the relationships between university and industry deals with the issue of governing the knowledge exchange on the border at a macro level; conversely, an interesting research gap is represented by knowledge integration mechanisms to be deployed on the university-industry border, especially at micro level. In this paper, the authors do not cope explicitly with university-industry coordination mechanisms but use the University-Industry border to study knowledge integration in interdisciplinary setting. The study is exploratory, which may be useful in generating future research hypotheses, connecting the features of research projects with the need to achieve knowledge integration.

Bridging business model and inter-organizational coordination mechanisms in the Italian wine industry

Purpose The aim of this paper is to interpret the concept of a business model from the pattern of coordination mechanisms used by an Italian wine cooperative to manage its inter-organizational relationships. Design/methodology/approach The business model is taken as the structure and governance of the relationships between the focal firm and its exchange partners. The empirical analysis is based on a qualitative investigation, analyzing material collected at the Farming Cooperative Gran Cru. Findings Several different coordination mechanisms were used to rethink the firm customer value proposition, showing a very complex and dynamic inter-organizational system: process control mechanisms, knowledge suppliers and clan control mechanisms. The combination of mechanisms enables the firm to govern the extreme complexity of external complementarities and interdependence among activities and resources. Practical implications The study is particularly helpful to managers because wine entrepreneurs and managers can influence their networks’ features and strategies, as well as the mechanisms for governance of the relationships and extracting customer value. Originality/value The study seeks to enrich the debate on the strategy/structure fit by shifting the focus from the organizational to inter-organizational level of analysis. The analysis centers on boundary-spanning relationships between one wine firm and its partners and knowledge suppliers. This perspective brings business model analysis and inter-organizational design closer because variables of the business model – such as customer value – can be seen as combinations of inter-organizational coordination mechanisms.

The Role of IS in Performance Management: The Case of an Italian Public University

The article investigates the relationship between Performance Management Systems (PMS) and IS in a single Italian Public University, starting from the gap that exists between what is declared in University policy statements—ostensibly oriented towards empowerment—and what is actually implemented by public managers. We are particularly interested in understanding how ICT could support PMS in the control process. In our empirical analysis we observed that the role of IS depends on the strategy adopted in planning and implementing the PMS.

Exploring national diversity and identity regulation: managerial discourses and material practices in a transnational company

The paper sets out to interpret the concept of national and linguistic identity/diversity in the perspective of organisational power and control, by analysing both the managerial discourses and the material practices. We particularly intend to examine how the management of national diversity comprises a means for shaping the perception of collective identities and regulating the organisational behaviours of minority groups. For this purpose, a case study of a large Italian-French company is discussed: the analysis is based on a qualitative investigation conducted in terms of grounded theory. We further show how such managerial language and practices model and form individual and collective identity, reinforcing the establishment of precise criteria of inclusion and exclusion from the organisational life. The dominating group tries to affect the sense of group identity/diversity in order to establish models of action with a view to maintaining the status quo. In this respect the discourse and praxis of diversity management are seen as a mechanism of catalysis acting on national differences serving to reinforce the collective identity building processes and enhance the existing power relations.

Exploring the Boundaries between Diversity Discourses and Practices, Identity Regulation and Workforce Control

The main goal of the paper is to interpret the concepts of national and linguistic identity/diversity in the perspective of ideological control, by analysing both the managerial discourses and the work practices. We have studied how identity and diversity discourses reflect existing managerial practices and underlying power relations, and how they reproduce those managerial practices and power relations. For this purpose, a case study of a large Italian-French company will be presented: it is one of the worlds leading aerospace company and the largest manufacturer of regional aircraft. The analysis is based on a qualitative investigation conducted in terms of grounded theory. We further show how such managerial language and practices tends to act on individual and collective identity, having an impact on organizational action in terms of ideological control. The dominating group (French management) tries to affect the sense of group identity/diversity in order to establish models of action for the organizational actors in a logic of maintaining the status quo. Under this respect, the discourse and praxis of diversity management are functional to reinforcing a binary vision of the type “in-group versus out-group” which reinforces the stereotypes and consolidates the “sense of the other” with respect to a category of “normality.”