Management Tips

2025-01-27 Management Tips

Ambidexterity: Imagining the Future While Honoring Identity

Tex Willer, the legendary comic book hero, is an unbeatable gunslinger. Although he has no superpowers, his ambidextrous ability to handle two Colt 45s with precision makes him a force to be reckoned with. Companies should draw inspiration from this ambidextrous prowess, which is, in essence, the ability of individuals and organizations to balance innovation with efficiency, to strike an equilibrium between certainty and new possibilities. While it’s essential to avoid overloading – how can one do everything simultaneously and do it well? – it’s equally critical for companies to adopt ...

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2025-01-14 Lorenzo Diaferia, Leonardo Maria De Rossi, Gianluca Salviotti

Exploring the Market and Understanding AI Applications

This phase marks the initial step toward embracing AI. Ideally, the analysis of how to integrate technology into a company should stem solely from business needs, opportunities, and objectives. The ultimate goal should be solving a problem, which will dictate the choice of technology. However, from a pragmatic perspective, technology cannot be utilized without understanding its potential. Therefore, it is crucial to begin with mapping and analyzing the external market environment. One effective method for external market monitoring is conducting exploratory scouting. A technology scouting process ...

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2024-12-16 Fanny Nardi

Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Networking: The Growth Engine of a Startup

The story of AWMS is that of a startup that, within just a few years, transformed an innovative idea into a thriving business, culminating in its strategic acquisition by the Zucchetti Group, a leader in software solutions in Italy. What might seem to be “just” a case of technological growth is, in fact, a lesson in entrepreneurship, strategic vision, and networking - one that can inspire anyone striving to turn a startup into a leading player in a competitive market. From idea to realizationFounded in 2019, AWMS emerged from a collaboration with Electrolux, a Swedish multinational, to address ...

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2024-11-26 Guia Pirotti

When a Company is Driven by an Idea

Purpose-driven organizations direct their economic activities toward a higher goal. In other words, these are organizations whose explicit objective is not only to generate economic value but also to create a positive economic, social, and environmental impact over the medium to long term across the value chain, benefiting all stakeholders. This is particularly crucial in the food & beverage sector, where sustainability and conscious food choices have emerged as primary concerns for the health of individuals and the planet. In this interview with Fabio Brescacin, co-founder and President of EcorNaturaSì ...

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2024-11-05 Mirko Olivieri, Ginevra Testa

Internationalization Strategies of Food Tech Startups: an Empirical Analysis

In recent years, the rapid adoption of digital platforms has transformed the relationship between organizations and markets, creating both new opportunities and challenges, particularly through today's social media-dominated environment. Social media tools not only facilitate interactions between individuals and companies but also promote internationalization, enabling businesses to connect with global customers more quickly and effectively. Through social media, consumers can gather information about products and services offered by companies worldwide, bridging physical distances and facilitating ...

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2024-10-29 Lorenzo Diaferia, Leonardo De Rossi, Gianluca Salviotti

Implementing AI in Business: a Five-Phase Roadmap

We can identify two main approaches to leveraging AI in companies today. The first focuses on products and services, while the second emphasizes processes. In the first approach, AI is used to enhance existing products with new features or to develop entirely new, technology-driven products. In the second, AI acts as a tool for evolving current processes or enabling new processes that were previously unattainable. These two broad application areas can also be examined through a different lens: distinguishing between externally oriented uses –those that impact customer-facing processes and products ...

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2024-07-18 Elita Schillaci

The Feminist Revolution for a New Era of Management

A silent but powerful revolution is redefining the traditional paradigms of corporate governance and management. A transformation that challenges our ideas of power, merit, personal and business success, while promoting – at the same time – authentic relationships with consumers. This movement has its roots in the fight against gender discrimination, which began in the last century. Gender discrimination in business has historically limited women's employment opportunities, hindered their careers, created wage disparities, and prevented access to leadership positions, with the phenomenon known ...

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2024-06-06 Laura Gatti

Women in Innovation: Overcoming the Gender Gap for a Bright Future

In recent years, the presence of women in the fields of scientific research, life sciences, and startup management has gained attention and recognition. However, despite the vibrant and dynamic innovation landscape, gender equality remains a persistent challenge. Women, with their creativity, intuition, and determination, are gradually gaining ground in sectors historically dominated by men, but it is crucial to keep a spotlight on the gender gap and focus on gender perspectives to support its overcoming. Scientific Research, Life Sciences, and Academia In scientific research, women are increasingly ...

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2024-04-16 Emanuele Acconciamessa

The Role of Brands, Media, and Sports in Breaking Stereotypes

Stereotypes still deeply permeate our society. Many unconscious biases shape attitudes, behaviors, and choices. One of the most prevalent biases links diversity with the idea of minority. Conversely, the definition of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) is broad, resulting in a commitment to recognize and emphasize the variety of characteristics that make individuals unique in an atmosphere that embraces and celebrates individual and collective achievements (Diversity Brand Index, 2018). Considering the eight forms of diversity recognized in literature (gender and gender identity, age and generations, ...

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