Framed in the scientific and institutional debate on the intelligent growth of regions, the paper discusses the sustainable innovation ecosystems as dynamic and multi-actors environments for the innovative entrepreneurship fertilisation. In coherence with the European agenda for the smart specialisation, the innovative entrepreneurship is presented as driver for the achievement of the regional intelligent growth and for the regions’ successful positioning in the geography of the innovation. Based on a qualitative academic and policy-based literature review, the paper provides evidences on the meaning of the innovation ecosystems as environments in which the virtuous dynamics of knowledge creation, diffusion and absorption within a large community of stakeholders, sustain the emerging of innovative entrepreneurship. Focusing on the innovation and the entrepreneurship as core processes for the knowledge-based regional development, the study offers a set of implications for the agenda of scientists and policy makers, coherently with the European strategy for the smart specialisation.

The design of complex new aerospace products requires wide and deep collaborations among firms and in many cases also with competitors collaborating and, at the same time, protecting the valuable knowledge assets. In this context, knowledge protection means defining which knowledge assets must be shared and introducing policies and systems to protect them. Framed in the above premises, this paper presents the preliminary results of an on-going innovative research project i-Design Foundation (iDF) aimed to develop methodologies and technologies to support collaborative product design in aerospace value networks. Findings suggest an integrated organisational and technological framework describing: a) the modelling of collaboration's scenarios of a network of companies involved in innovative projects; b) an architectural framework to protect the codified knowledge assets shared. The paper is of value for managers that can get insights in knowledge security mechanisms and technological solutions supporting the collaboration in wider innovative projects

Innovation and entrepreneurship are crucial processes for the economic growth, productivity and employment, and thus for the competitiveness of countries and regional systems. In particular, entrepreneurship based on science and technology seems to be very effective for this ambitious goal. The development of entrepreneurial attitudes in engineers and scientists requires a significant change of the higher education systems, that have to integrate education and research, to design and experiment sustainable innovation processes and practices. Framed in these premises, and on the basis of a real case, the paper aims to investigate which principles, actors and processes should characterize the operational model of a higher education system to develop an entrepreneurial mindset in engineers.

This chapter describes the application of an analytical method to observe and monitor the cognitive behaviour of a learning community, able to track the value generated through learning experiences. This value is investigated under the perspective of the Intellectual Capital Management, along the Human, Structural and Social dimensions. It relies on the social network analysis to map the evolution of the learning network. The setting of the experimentation is a higher education community, framed within an International Master’s program (IMeBM) involving 23 learners from different Mediterranean Countries, interconnected in a community of students, tutors, mentors and external stakeholders. To apply this method we propose an operational model, comprised of a set of indicators to monitor the growth in terms of Intellectual Capital dimensions. Some preliminary results of this application confirm the assumption that knowledge is a social product, and recognize the importance of the social aspects of learning, valuing the role of collective and personal relationships as the levers for learning networks success.

Research has shown that university technology transfer offices (TTOs) learn through experimentation and failure, and by sharing these experiences with others. There are many barriers to successfully sharing best practice between TTOs. The Maturity Model (MM) created by Secundo et al. (2016) provides a means by which the performance of a TTO can be better understood to allow for the effective sharing of best practices. The aim of this study is to improve and validate the MM to formalize a mechanism through which best practices can be identified and shared between TTOs. This was accomplished by testing the MM in 54 TTOs across Europe and the United Kingdom. Findings regard several improvements of the intangible indicators and the maturity levels of the MM. This research improves the rigor of the MM and formalizes its application as a mechanism for sharing best practices through the Improved MM.

Purpose – This paper aims at proposing a performance measurement system (PMS) for technology-intensive academic entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach – The PMS has been developed through action research carried out within an Italian higher education and research centre, on the basis of the literature background and interviews. Findings – The study presents a new PMS based on an Input-Output model for technology-intensive academic entrepreneurship. As a result, a multidimensional framework for measuring entrepreneurship is proposed together with a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to assess the “third mission” of universities. The application of the framework allows to demonstrate its validity in a public setting. Practical implications – This study contributes to the extant literature on performance measurement of entrepreneurship process within research and higher education institutes, that is traditionally focused at the firm level. From a practitioner perspective, the model can be used both by universities which are interested in measuring their entrepreneurial capital, and by other stakeholders which are interested in evaluating the value generation performances of universities. Originality/value – The PMS is developed according to a process-oriented perspective of the academic entrepreneurship by identifying, for each step, a set of KPIs to meet the information needs of different stakeholders. The proposed PMS allows monitoring each phase of the technology entrepreneurship and managing the results in terms of social and economic impact developed.

Public Sector is one of the least addressed areas of Intellectual Capital (IC) research. Universities represent an interesting area of investigation because they are considered critical players in the knowledge-based society. The book aims to develop a more general, flexible and comprehensive IC management model enlarging the wide spectrum of strategic management approach inside the University settings. The Guidelines for the implementation of IC management Systems have been developed within a series of Mutual Learning Workship involving participants from across Europe.

Often, the generic business processes representation shows many differences compared to the flow of the real activities executed in relation to specific products/programs developed within an enterprise. From one side Business Process Modeling (BPM) provides a general process perspective of the enterprise, without taking in consideration temporal issues. From the other side, the product life cycle modeling allows to model the flow of activities, from the conceptualization until the disposal phase of specific product/programs. Neither of those views alone is entirely satisfactory to represent the stakeholders’ needs and to achieve superior business performance. This paper aims to overcome this limit, proposing a unified product-process modeling approach useful to link the product life cycle and the general business process modeling, maintaining at the same time, the differences and the consistency between the two representations. Guidelines and constraints in the set of features for a unified approach are suggested. Finally, a practical application related to a design activity of an aerospace company is implemented using Aris Ids Scheer.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how collaborative entrepreneurial learning (EL) processes between entrepreneurs and university students can enhance the entrepreneurial practices in the context of knowledge-intensive enterprises. These learning processes represent a valuable source for entrepreneurship development in incumbent enterprises in the forms of innovative products, services, processes or organizational renewal. Design/methodology/approach – An extreme case study is the project “Mimprendo” (www.mimprendo.it), an initiative promoted by the Italian Conference of the University Colleges and the Italian Association of Young Entrepreneurs in collaboration with Italian universities. This is analyzed in the period 2009-2015, during which seven editions were developed. Findings – A framework is presented based on collaborative EL processes to perform relevant entrepreneurial projects in knowledge-intensive enterprises. The framework provides a coherent and systematic approach to generate, select and implement entrepreneurial practices in incumbent companies starting from a project competition involving creative students and innovative entrepreneurs. EL processes in the community composed of entrepreneurs, experts and university students are grouped into the entrepreneurial phases of inspiration, exploration, exploitation, acceleration and growth, and include the learning processes of “intuition and sensing,” “contamination,” “experiential and contextual learning,” “experimenting and acting” and finally “thinking and reflecting.” Research limitations/implications – Implications for research can be identified according to many perspectives to deepen the centrality of the learning process in the research on knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship. Practical implications – The framework results to be a promising approach to diffuse an entrepreneurial culture both in incumbent enterprises and in university students through a synergic collaboration among industry, university and institution. Practical implications could be derived for enterprise, students and educators involved in the design of innovative learning initiatives to sustain the development of an entrepreneurial mind-set. Originality/value – The framework contributes to extending an emerging research area exploring entrepreneurship as a never-ending dynamic learning process. The involvement of brilliant university students in activating EL process with entrepreneurs in incumbent enterprises represents a novel aspect in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation.

Recent research calls for greater consideration of design, by considering it further from the perspective of technology innovation management. In the attempt to cover this gap, the paper intends to explore how design can be used to support translational processes that connect and align different stakeholders in academic entrepreneurship. Insights from the investigation of the processes adopted by Senseable City Lab – an academic lab at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA) – will demonstrate how various design artefacts – sketches, visualizations, prototypes – are used to support several semiotic translations aimed at multiple stakeholders. Findings will show that design can play a relevant role in fostering entrepreneurial activities and value creation in academia, by supporting the translation of the different needs and interests of stakeholders into a shared meaning that allows a coordinated way of working. The conceptualization of design as a form of translation allows bridging currently distinct research strands in design and entrepreneurship.

The recognized importance of entrepreneurship as a driver of socio-economic value, along with disruptive advances in nano, bio, info and cogno technology domains, have increased the world demand of technology-based entrepreneurial ventures or “technology entrepreneurship”. In this endeavour, engineering education can play a crucial role in the development of professionals able to proactively identify and pursuit market opportunities driven by discoveries in science and technology. There is thus a need to create effective entrepreneurial higher education systems which develop innovation-oriented competencies and skills through hands-on and experiential approaches and a synergy among academic and industry stakeholders. Our experience is aimed to infuse the essence of entrepreneurship in engineering professionals with the ultimate goal to develop the next-generation profile of entrepreneurial engineer.

Entrepreneurship is a catalyst for economic growth and national competitiveness. Succeeding in the Sustainable Knowledge Society (SKS) is based on the development of a new archetype of human able to identify and develop new ideas, exploiting technology-based opportunities, in order to create economic and social value. Such new profile has been defined as entrepreneurial engineer (EE). However, the development of EE requires radical innovations that cannot be confined to the traditional education system. This article, relying on the discussion of the preliminary results of a high-tech district case study, addresses the role of an Entrepreneurship ecosystem as intermediary to facilitate public-private partnerships in research and education, with the ultimate purpose to instill entrepreneurial attitudes in engineers, so fostering innovation and technological entrepreneurship in a local context.

The rising of the knowledge economy, enhanced by the fast diffusion of ICTs, drives a wider perspective on the divide among countries, interpreting it more and more as the result of an asymmetry in the access to knowledge and in the readiness to apply it in order to renew the basics of their development dynamics. Looking at the Mediterranean Area, the positive correlation between the Networked Readiness Index and the Global Competitive Index indicates that the opposite sides of the Mediterranean Sea are performing a development path at two different paces. To support the creation of Intellectual Capital able to apply, diffuse and benefit from e-business, the e-Business Management Section (eBMS) of Scuola Superiore ISUFI – University of Salento launched in 2005 the Mediterranean School of e-Business Management. In this chapter we offer a presentation of its genesis, the most distinctive features, operational model and action plan. The preliminary results of its activities show the role and the main challenges of the School in addressing the needs of the Mediterranean Countries towards a logic of partnership for the development of their intellectual assets.

Third mission activities of universities are related to the generation, use, application and exploitation of knowledge with external stakeholders and society in general. Thirdmission cannot be considered as a residual function but complementary to the other two missions of universities: teaching and research. Performance criteria for measuring the thirdmission stream of universities have now become crucial. The call for performance measures is also driven by the European policy framework such as the definition of Smart Specialisation strategies (RIS3) which highlight the key the role of universities in regional development. In an attempt to cover this gap, the paper proposes a new conceptual framework based on Intellectual Capital approaches to measure third mission activities of universities. The framework establishes a generic approach for systematically analysing third stream activities in universities.Moving fromthe thirdmission goals, it focuses on three interrelated areas: research, i.e. technology transfer and innovation, teaching, i.e. lifelong learning and continuing education, aswell as, social engagement in line with regional and national development. A first exploration of the framework in four European universities approaching third mission performance is provided to discuss implementation opportunities. Finally, theoretical and empirical implications are discussed indicating avenues for moving ahead academic research.

Purpose – The public sector is one of the least addressed areas of intellectual capital (IC) research. Universities are an interesting area of investigation because they are considered critical players in the knowledge-based society. The purpose of this paper is to develop a more general, flexible and comprehensive “IC Maturity Model” for Universities (ICMM), a framework for defining and implementing IC measurement and management approaches, as part of the whole strategic management of universities. Thus, the ICMMproposes a staged framework to initiate a step-by-step change within a university based upon its current level of IC management maturity. The different steps of maturity might be an answer to cope with the huge diversity of European universities, some of which have strongmanagerial orientation, while others follow collegial forms of governance. Design/methodology/approach – The research approach is based on what has been called the “third stage” of IC research (Dumay and Garanina, 2013), focused on the practices of IC approaches rather than on its theoretical conceptualisation. The ICMM has been developed under the “Quality Assurance in Higher Education through Habilitation and Auditing” project framework, initiated by the Executive Agency for Higher Education and Research Funding of Romania (EUFISCDI). Three Mutual Learning Workshops (MLWs) were organised as a mean to bring together 15 international experts and practitioners to share their views and experience on IC reporting and setting up task forces. Findings – An ICMM, which is a flexible model of implementing IC approaches within public universities, is developed. The ICMM provides a theoretical continuum along which the process of maturity can be developed incrementally from one level to the next, moving from IC data collection, awareness of IC, adjustment of IC specific indicators, measurement of IC, reporting of IC, interpretation and decision making, strategy and planning.Research limitations/implications – Future research needs to conduct empirical studies in universities to generalise the effectiveness of the ICMM model and guidelines for implementation. Practical implications – The ICMM provides a staged framework to initiate a step-by-step change within a university based upon its current level of IC management maturity and its IC value creation dynamics. It allows universities to follow different paths, not necessarily a linear sequence. Originality/value – Although several methods for IC measurement and management exist, most of these cannot accommodate the trade-off between the comparability aims and the efforts to capture the institution’s uniqueness when designing an IC model. Keywords Public sector, Intellectual capital management, Strategic management, Universities, Maturity Model, Intellectual capital Paper type Research paper

This paper presents a conceptual model to explore the knowledge integration (KI) practices of internal and external company actors involved in the New Product Development (NPD) process of the aerospace industry. The model is based on the linkage of elasticity principles, particularly Hooke’s Law, to Knowledge Management theory. KI practices are considered as a force pushing the NPD process and are metaphorically described as the spring addressed by Hooke’s law. The integration of the knowledge of internal and external company actors impacts NPD, reducing the dimensions of the whole process, in terms of phases, through the application of the concurrent engineering approach. The whole NPD process is improved in terms of the reduction of uncertainty and complexity, and with an ‘integrated energy’ that sustains the pressure of the fastchanging competitive environment. The model is explored to provide an interpretation of the conceptualisation phase of a new aerospace product development process. Qualitative data were collected and analysed. Insights regarding the applications of the model and the theoretical implications are also provided for applications in other industries.

Purpose – This paper aims to demonstrate how customer knowledge management (CKM) can opportunely support the process of value creation from Big Data. Focusing on tourism as a knowledge-intensive industry, the paper tries to contribute to the debate on management of Big Data by proposing CKM as a meaningful approach for transforming the huge amount of data available on social networks into valuable assets for competitiveness of tourism destinations. Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts a qualitative research methodology based on multiple exploratory case studies identified in a set of digital local events related to the Apulia destination (southern Italy). Findings – Research findings demonstrate that the three dimensions of CKM (knowledge for, from and about customers) could be adopted as lens for analyzing the huge amount of data created for, from and about tourist experiences and for transforming them into valuable assets supporting the competitiveness of tourismdestinations. Research limitations/implications – Limitations are related to the industry and the regional dimension of the sample. Accordingly, more research is necessary to prove the validity of the approach and to assure its larger replicability. Practical implications – Implications for the agenda of organizations and destinations’ makers for designing and implementing knowledge-based services and products arise. Originality/value – Elements of originality reside into the adoption of CKM as framework to analyze Big Data in the tourism industry.

This paper proposes arts and design as translational mechanisms to connect and align stakeholders, particularly in the context of academic entrepreneurship where multiple stakeholders with different expertise and interests work together in joint endeavors. Insights gathered from an ethnographic investigation carried out at metaLAB - an academic laboratory located at Harvard University (Cambridge, MA, USA) - build the empirical foundation. Findings show that various forms of arts and design (including poetry, photography, art installations, motion graphics videos, data visualization) play an important role in connecting metaLAB to external stakeholders and in activating multiple value drivers. The adoption of arts- and design-based initiatives allows the translation of different needs and wants of stakeholders into shared meanings, but also supports emotional and cognitive engagement and creative and divergent viewpoints. This paper contributes to existing studies focusing on how arts-based initiatives can support organizations in exploiting their potential for organizational value creation.

Abstract: Universities are increasingly being viewed by policymakers as engines of innovation through the technology transfer office (TTO). The process of innovation in developing countries, such as South Africa, is different from that of developed countries, with mature technologies often being adopted with limited success in developing countries. South Africa can be regarded as an inefficient innovator according to the Global Innovation Index 2015. In the wake of the IPR-PFRD Act of 2008 TTOs at universities in South Africa have had a reactive rather than a proactive approach to technology transfer. To become a more efficient innovator, South Africa needs to assess and enhance the current efficiencies of its TTOs and universities to activate steps to improve them. Framed in the above premises, this study aims to develop a Maturity Model to assess through non-monetary indicators, the efficiency of technology transfer. The fuzzy AHP is adopted to determine the priorities and weights of the non-monetary indicators, as they are ambiguous. The Maturity Model will be inspired by the Berkley (PM)2 Model which allows an organization to determine strengths and weaknesses, and to focus on weak practices to achieve higher maturity. The main components of the model will cover the following efficiency areas: IP Strategy and policy; Organization design and structure; Human resource; Technology; Industry links; and Networking. The findings will then inform the design of a customizable solution to barriers to the success of technology transfer and highlight weaknesses within each university or TTOs efficiency which may be improved upon to further aid success. Limitations of the study regard the need to test and apply the Maturity Model in some TTOs in South Africa. Several papers have highlighted the problems that exist with transferring best practice in different countries. The expected contribution of this study is to provide a means by which to overcome these difficulties and to sustain the decision-making process more effectively.

The paper presents the conceptual model of an entrepreneurial learning centre as initiative to fertilize the emerging of the knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship and the larger diffusion of an entrepreneurial culture in the regions. Framed in the scientific and institutional debate on the intelligent growth of the territories in the knowledge economy, the study debates the meaning of the entrepreneurship as knowledge-intensive process resulting from the application of the key enabling technologies to answer at the current societal challenges. Due at the knowledge intensive nature of those technologies as well as at complex dynamics emerging in the market, the entrepreneurship results more and more a learning processes; this is the reason why a learning strategy is required. Inspired by this debate and also by the emerging issue of the entrepreneurial universities, the entrepreneurial learning centre is conceived as a dynamic environment focused on the knowledge triangle, characterized by a learning strategy based on anticipatory and action learning approaches and the presence of a wide large community of regional stakeholders. Finally these characteristics contribute to the achievement of the regional smart specialization strategy.

This paper presents an experimentation, realized within an International Master's, aimed to develop in tomorrow's engineers the entrepreneurial capabilities required to develop technology-intensive products and services in the domain of e-business. The new professional profile of the Entrepreneurial Engineer is introduced, along with the innovative features of an "i-learning" environment which supports the development of such profile. The interdisciplinarity, interactivity, immediacy, internetworking and individualization aspects of the environment are discussed with a particular focus on the curriculum design and the action learning strategy applied in the program.

The development of entrepreneurial mindsets in graduated students with science and engineering backgrounds represents an emerging priority for the higher education systems. However, this dimension is still in infancy, especially in Europe. Aimed to contribute at this debate, the study provides evidences on how European universities are approaching this goal. Based on a cross-case analysis of 22 post-graduated programs, the study explores the emerging trends and the "invariance" traits adopted to develop high qualified human capital with an entrepreneurial mindset. Implications for theory and practice include the most pressing challenges for universities involved in their transitions towards an entrepreneurial configuration

The aerospace industry is characterized by an intensive net of relationships and information in the supply chain. The small and medium enterprises (SMEs) working for this kind of industry needs to be innovative and adopt information and communication technologies (ICT) tools to work with bigger companies. This paper explore three networks of relations (i.e. complete, R&D, and production) inside an aerospace cluster of SMEs located in Italy with the aims to specify dynamics in the ICT adoption and innovation rising. The centrality in the R&D network emerges as key characteristics to explore innovation and ICT in such firms.

Abstract: Many researches celebrated Academic Spin-Offs (ASOs) for their key driver role in regional development, as a consequence of optimistic data about their growth dynamics. At the same time, literature highlights also substantial differences with Corporate Spin-Offs (CSOs), established by independent entrepreneurs from existing corporate context. Just in few cases literature refers to their comparison in terms of IP (Intellectual Property) strategies, always without establishing a clear connection with their growth rate. Framed in the above premises, the paper intends to provide a contribution to the following research question: How IP strategies can influence ASOs and CSOs growth rate? At this aim, moving from the existing literature and from the specificities of the health sector, a theoretical framework is designed according to three main blocks: growth indicators, technology exploitation processes and IP strategies. In the first block, economic, financial and intangible indicators are taken into account; the second block relates to the technology exploitation processes consisting of ten stages that could fit with both ASOs and CSOs; the third block identifies, for each stage of the exploitation process, the possible IP strategies, highlighting the main alternative options in term of IP protection. The proposed framework fits on the particular requirements of health industry, characterized by a rigid exploitation process and it is designed to extract and compare the IP strategies used by ASOs and CSOs. The framework will contribute to verify if these alternative choices have an impact in term of growth rates and if there are any weakness elements that affect their growth capacity. Implications for theory allow to identify reasons and strategies for which the exploitation of Intellectual Property to commercial products proceeds with higher success rates in corporate than in the universities spin off. Practical implications allow to technology entrepreneurs to decide the best IP strategy mix in new ventures.

Regional development in the knowledge-based economy is not just determined by the creation of new knowledge but also by the ability and willingness to transform this knowledge into new products and processes that create economic and social value. Improving this entrepreneurial mindset in human capital is becoming one of the most important challenges to raising innovation, productivity and regional growth. With the aim to provide a contribution in this direction, the paper presents an innovative curriculum model to sustain the development of the entrepreneurial mind set especially in engineers and scientists. Based on an ongoing experiment with five education projects launched by a technological district located in south Italy, the preliminary results emphasise the role of an entrepreneurial-directed approach based on the phases of developing, managing and growing new 'technology intensive' ventures. Implications for theory and practices highlight the strategies for designing entrepreneurial learning programs that could support the creation of knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship for regional development, mainly in those regions where entrepreneurship does not arise spontaneously.

This paper aims to demonstrate how the huge amount of Social Big Data available from tourists can nurture the value creation process for a Smart Tourism Destination. Applying a multiple-case study analysis, the paper explores a set of regional tourist experiences related to a Southern European region and destination, to derive patterns and opportunities of value creation generated by Big Data in tourism. Findings present and discuss evidence in terms of improving decision- making, creating marketing strategies with more personalized offerings, transparency and trust in dialogue with customers and stakeholders, and emergence of new business models. Finally, implications are presented for researchers and practitioners interested in the managerial exploitation of Big Data in the context of information-intensive industries and mainly in Tourism.

Sustainable mobility is today a central theme in the strategic agenda of policy-makers, public managers, and global institutions (e.g. World Bank Committee for Sustainable Development). A sustainable mobility system (SMS) is a socio-technical system which ensures the mobility right within, outside and among cities, without impacting negatively the society in terms of externalities such as atmospheric and acoustic pollution, traffic congestion and accidents. The problem is strongly interdisciplinary and domains like urban planning, engineering, architecture, computer science, economics and business management, operations research and service engineering can contribute to define effective and innovative solutions. A SMS enables persons, ideas and knowledge to move effectively, resulting in a more “intelligent” model of city which enhances the creativity, learning and innovation potential of its citizens. The adoption of a collective intelligence approach to design and realize a sustainable mobility system ensures that social value and individual interests are preserved. At this purpose, this paper provides a holistic framework to support the design of a SMS, and an operational roadmap with a set of guidelines for supporting the implementation in policy decision making settings.

Purpose - There is an increasing attention on the entrepreneurial dimensions that enable academia to pursue innovation development and commercialization, for example in the form of intellectual asset management, university spin-offs and technology transfer and brokering (Shane 2004a; Wright et al. 2009). The economic revenues generated by these forms of academic entrepreneurship are becoming more and more attractive for higher education institutions in order to develop new revenue value streams and sustain financial viability (Shane 2004b; Wright et al. 2007; Wong 2011). In addition, it is pointed out that academic entrepreneurship plays an important role toward the creation of societal value (Botes 2005). This paper aims to prospect academic entrepreneurship as a way to connect academia with external stakeholders in order to jointly create value (Kingma 2011). The stakeholders' value network centred on academic entrepreneurship can respond to different wants and needs, not necessarily aligned, and focusing on various forms of value to be created. The holistic integration of such value network is a key issue. This paper draws insights from the investigation of how SENSEable City Lab - an academic lab nested within the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA) - uses design as a translational mechanism to connect and align different stakeholders in the process of value creation in academic entrepreneurship. Design materials such as sketches, data visualization and interactive prototypes are used at various stages to coordinate the stakeholders: through the design process, ideas and concepts undergo semiotic translations and are materialized into visual, audio, tangible formats. Design can even be employed to facilitate participatory design session where all the stakeholders directly contribute to the design process, jointly creating visual representations and prototypes (Simonsen and Robertson 2013). Design/methodology/approach - The study is the result of an investigation - also based on ethnographic methods - conducted over a period of 4 years (2011-2014) at SENSEable City Lab of MIT (USA). This research methodology to investigate a real case study has proven to be an appropriate method to investigate particularly complex phenomena that require a direct involvement of researchers in the field (Czarniawska 2012). Originality/value - This paper analyses the role of design-as-translation and enabling factor in academic entrepreneurship. This is a perspective currently under-investigated in design research. Practical implications - Design can play a relevant role in supporting entrepreneurial activities in academia. These entrepreneurial activities are nowadays particularly important, especially at a time when in most countries public funding for academic institutions is decreasing.

This paper develops understanding of how to design, manage and assess learning environments in which traditional and Web 2.0 technologies are integrated to improve the overall learning experience. To provide preliminary evidence, we designed an integrated model of a web based learning community (WBLC), comprising the following components: learning actors (learners, stakeholders, mentors, tutors, staff); learning processes (abstract conceptualisation, active experimentation, reflective observation and concrete experience); learning modes (inquiry based learning) and learning tools (wiki, blog, folksonomies) together with a learning dashboard (social network analysis, knowledge creation, learning satisfaction, IT adoption). The application of the model to the community of an international Master’s programme provided evidence of the potential benefits of the model. Preliminary results suggest that Web 2.0 technologies in education have great potential in supporting the acquisition of learner competencies and skills. However, they also require significant effort from students and mentors in changing their attitude towards new ways of interacting.

Promoting excellence in manufacturing emerges as a strategic goal for the years to come, both for industry and society; manufacturing education has been identified as a major driver to achieving this goal. However, the pace of economic, social and technological change has increased the gap between the competences needed by industry and those provided by the universities’ curricula. This requires an increasingly integrated approach by academia and industry in order to afford the problem of engineering competences’ obsolescence. Framed in the above premises, the aim of this paper is to present the results of a two year postgraduate training program aimed at developing a new archetype of human capital to face the requirements of Intelligent and Sustainable Manufacturing. The case study presented in the paper addresses the needs for providing manufacturing education to meet the challenges in terms of ‘‘who’’—the profile for the next generation of manufacturing engineer; ‘‘what’’—the new system for education and its contents, and ‘‘how’’—innovative learning approaches and strategy to incentive the development of competence. The findings demonstrate the radical innovation in developing the next generation of engineers for Intelligent and Sustainable Manufacturing and the importance of a learning environment that is strictly based on virtuous industry–university partnerships.

Knowledge Management at the crossroads

SIBA Get it!(opens in a new window)|View at Publisher| Export | Download | Add to List | More... Journal of Knowledge Management Volume 19, Issue 6, 12 October 2015, Pages 1310-1334 Engineering knowledge and information needs in Italy and Japan: bridging the gap between theory and practice (Article) Secundo, G.a , Magnier-Watanabe, R.b, Heisig, P.c a Department of Engineering for Innovation, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy b Graduate School of Business Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tokyo, Japan c Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom View additional affiliations View references (104) Abstract Purpose – This study aims to identify and compare the knowledge and information retrieval needs from past projects and for future work among Italian and Japanese engineers. Engineering work, which is knowledge-intensive, is all the more critical as it both uses and generates knowledge for product and process innovation. Design/methodology/approach – This research uses data collected from engineers in Italy and Japan from an online survey using open-ended questions in their native language. Answers were then translated into English and coded into pre-determined categories; statistical analyses including factor analysis were conducted. Findings – For knowledge to be retrieved from past work, both Italian and Japanese engineers identified mainly experiential and systemic knowledge assets. For knowledge to be captured for future work, both groups picked experiential as well as conceptual knowledge related to the competitive environment of the firm absent from knowledge needs from past work. Finally, this research uncovered almost twice as fewer meta-categories for knowledge needs to be captured for future work compared to knowledge to be retrieved from past projects, as the former are by nature speculative and, therefore, difficult to foresee. Research limitations/implications – The study is limited to the engineering domain and to two countries. Further research should extend the scope beyond these two countries. Practical implications – The study identified information and knowledge needs that could help inform the design of procedures to capture and document engineering work and the development of supporting information systems. Originality/value – This research contributes to an increased understanding of the substance of information and knowledge needs in a knowledge-intensive environment such as engineering work and product/service development.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to contribute at the discussion on the corporate entrepreneurship by providing evidences on the adoption of a collaborative entrepreneurial learning approach to enhance the entrepreneurial practices of companies. More in depth, the paper will discuss and evaluate a coherent methodology to promote corporate entrepreneurship by transforming the creative thinking of young talents (university students and post-graduated), into valuable products/services/process or organisational renewal. Design/methodology/approach - The methodology adopted a longitudinal extreme case study, the Project "Mimprendo" (www.mimprendo.it) case, an initiative promoted and managed by the Italian Association of Young Entrepreneurs and the Conference of the University Colleges in collaboration with some universities and the primary enrolment of students. Originality/value - The collective entrepreneurship approach has been successfully supported and implemented by Mimprendo to sustain and promote entrepreneurial spirit development in companies using the strength of the collective idea and creativity of young talents to generate, select, and implement innovations in companies starting from their ideas. Practical implications - The study provides theoretical implications for future studies as well as practical implications for universities and companies.

Entrepreneurial learning emerged as an important yet insufficiently understood area of enquiry in the field of technology-driven entrepreneurship. However, very few studies are available that examine specific processes that take place at individual and collective level in entrepreneurship to transform experience into entrepreneurial development goal. With the aim to cover this gap, this papers develops a new understanding in this area, defining an integrated framework for entrepreneurial learning process happening in the context of technology intensive enterprise. The defined framework encompasses a plurality of building blocks regarding: a) the entrepreneurship outcomes, b) entrepreneurial goals, c) the entrepreneurial learning processes, d) the ontological levels of entrepreneurial learning, and e) the types of entrepreneurial stakeholders. The framework contributes to demonstrate how a “learning lens” can be applied to create avenue for further research in entrepreneurship. Originality in the framework consists in the integration of entrepreneurship with the entrepreneurial learning area providing insights and implications for theory and practices.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the articles presented in the special issue “Entrepreneurial learning dynamics in knowledge-intensive enterprises.” The special issue is inspired by recent research on entrepreneurial learning dynamics in knowledge-intensive enterprises literature. The aim is to extend and consolidate this emerging research area exploring entrepreneurship as a never-ending dynamic learning process, as well as, to cross-fertilize entrepreneurship and organizational learning studies. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a literature and published document review, experiential reflections and argument. Findings – The paper reveals an integrative framework to highlight the breath of entrepreneurial learning research according to different level of analysis: the context where learning happen, the different typologies of entrepreneurial learning processes, the ontological levels at which learning can occur and the different typologies of entrepreneurial learners. Continuous learning processes allow entrepreneurs to develop and grow, as well as, enable knowledge-intensive enterprises to engage in strategic renewal processes. Research limitations/implications – Although, entrepreneurial learning research so far has focused on applying existing theories in the entrepreneurial context, more research is needed to broaden the perspective and understanding how entrepreneurial learning can help to face key entrepreneurship’s challenges in different context. Originality/value – The paper presents an holistic approach of current entrepreneurial learning research and encourages researchers to explore how different learning types come into play in different entrepreneurial contexts (start-up initiatives, strategic renewal in incumbent enterprises, ventures development and growth).

Purpose – This paper aims to present an innovative approach to enable the creation of entrepreneurial attitudes in engineers and scientists in the domain of high technologies such as tissue engineering, nanotechnologies for human health and ICTs for product/services design. The Model arises from an ongoing experimentation launched by a Technological District located in Apulia Region in the South of Italy, strategically projected in the future to operate as an ecosystem to stimulate Innovative Entrepreneurship in the local context. Design/methodology/approach – In the paper we adopt a method based on a case study (Eisenhardt, 1989) to explore the processes that influence successful development of entrepreneurial competence in Engineering field. The case study describes the first results of an innovative experimentation related to five post graduate education and research programs launched by a technological District Dhitech created by the Italian Government in the South of Italy in 2005 (in the Apulia Region, exactly) to promote innovation, to create, diffuse and share knowledge for technology entrepreneurship capability, so increasing the competitiveness of the Region. Originality/value – The article provides an integrated framework for the creation of the Entrepreneurship perspectives in high technology industry in a Region where the resources for innovation and entrepreneurship are not generated spontaneously. The work start from the analysis of Apulia Region Innovation index, in order to demonstrate the real usefulness of the model in a Region where the development of initiatives and projects to diffuse Entrepreneurial attitudes is still in infancy. Practical implications – From a theory perspective, the identification of the phases for activating high tech entrepreneurship process is an attempt to advance the discussion on strategies for entrepreneurship education in non-business studies, with a particular focus on high technology domain such as: nanotechnology, biotechnology and tissue engineering, ICTs for innovative product and service design. Formal education programs and Academic-Business initiatives in entrepreneurship education targeted for non-business studies are still in infancy in Italian Higher Education systems and especially in South Regions. For practitioners, the article gives evidence about a “process based curriculum” to instil an entrepreneurial perspective in scientist and engineers.

Modern epistemology has convincingly argued that culture influences the type of knowledge one values. With knowledge a major source of competitive advantage, this distinction affects how knowledge needs are identified and served. Engineering work, which is knowledge-intensive, is all the more critical as it both uses and generates knowledge for product and process innovation. Using data collected from Italian and Japanese engineers, this research first identifies the most pressing information and knowledge needs for engineers, and second examines whether their needs are consistent across countries and other broad demographics, in terms of knowledge to retrieve from past work and knowledge to capture for future projects. Text-mining and regression analyses reveal that engineers wish to retrieve narrow task and explicit knowledge domains related to experiential and systemic knowledge assets from past work, and to capture broader experiential knowledge for future projects, with some notable differences found between countries.

This paper presents a conceptual model supporting the need for improving the integration of knowledge from internal and external company’s actors during the process of development of new aerospace product. The model is based on the elasticity principles linked to the organizational theory. The knowledge integration practices are seen as a force pushing the NPD process. Starting from the Hooke's law, the force based on the integration of knowledge within and outside a company impacts on the NPD process represented with a spring that increases its energy and contracts by reducing the dimensions of the whole process . The extension of the spring impacts on the application of the concurrent engineering and can lead to process improvements, lead time reduction, product quality improvement and finally energy creation to afford the pressure of the competitive environment. The originality of the model consists in the integration of elastostatic and elastodynamic problems to the new product development and knowledge integration practices.

Many differences exist between a generic process representation and the real flow of activities performed in relation to specific products/programs within an enterprise. The product life cycle modeling approach allows us to model the temporal flow of activities from conceptualization to disposal of specific product/program. In contrast, the business process modeling approach provides a general process perspective. The two views taken alone are not entirely satisfactory. This paper aims to propose a unified and integrated product–business process modeling approach, which overcomes the limitations inherent in adopting a single perspective, maintaining as much as possible, the essential characteristics and strengths of both modeling approaches. Design/methodology/approach: The conceptual model of the proposed unified approach is based on the review of existing process and product modeling theories and on an inductive perspective emerging from the observation of the organizational practices in a number of Italian aerospace companies. Findings: The proposed approach is expressed in eight guidelines, which describe a new unifying perspective to be adopted in different domains, which ensure thatmanagers identify the assets and activities that are associated with each product that an organization creates. Constraints are also suggested. Some practical applications and examples using the software, ARIS (IDS Scheer, Saarland, Germany) are also provided based on actual practices in an aerospace company. Originality/value: This paper describes a new unifying perspective for a combination of product/business process modeling view.

Purpose: To contribute to the literature on the nexus of Intellectual Capital (IC) and Big Data by exploring emerging researchers trends. Design/methodology/approach: To present a literature review discussing contributions from IC research and Big Data highlighting novel and emerging issues. Findings: A conceptual framework demonstrating how Big Data perspective validates the need to shift IC research from focusing on the organization to the eco-systems focus. The framework has four main dimensions: Why: the managerial reasons for using Big Data for IC; What: the typologies of Big Data for IC practices; How: the Big Data processes adopted for IC management; Who: the organisation’s stakeholders involved and impacted by value creation. Originality/value: The paper is novel because it investigates the effects and implications that Big Data can offer IC research, by supporting the emergence of a fourth stage of IC research. Additionally, it explores recent literature on Big Data through an IC lens. Practical implications: Outlines the socio-economic value of Big Data, from and about the companies’ ecosystems; identifies entrepreneurial opportunities for existing companies through Big Data for renewing their value proposition; and outlines new tools for managing Big Data to support disclosing IC value drivers and for creating new intangible assets.

The manufacturing industry today has to cope with the third millennium challenges of environmental and social sustainability. This requires more integrated approach between academia and industry in order to face the problem of engineering competences obsolescence. The aim of this paper is to present the first results of a case study, a post graduated two years training program “Experiencing i-Design”, aimed to develop a new archetype of human capital to face the requirements of intelligent and sustainable manufacturing. The article addresses the role of Industry-University Learning Network as intermediary to facilitate the virtuous integration between research and education, with the ultimate purpose to instil entrepreneurial attitudes in engineers, so fostering innovation and technological entrepreneurship in a regional context

The paper aims to discuss the role of intangible assets in higher education and research institutions and presents a measurement framework, along with an illustrative application. A review of existing theories and practical experiences is undertaken to build the core conceptual model and a dashboard of indicators. The model is then applied to investigate the mission and performance angles of intellectual capital with reference to an Italian higher education and research institution. Creating intangible assets is at the core of the mission of education and research organizations. The identification and measurement of intellectual capital is thus an operational priority to evaluate the alignment between strategic orientation and performance within such institutions. The research has to be considered as exploratory and presents a single case, resulting in the need for further applications. However, the dashboard of metrics proposed is comprehensive and can thus represent a useful ground for refinements, mostly related to the links between indicators and management/strategy issues. The dashboard can be used as a stakeholder communication tool and a “tableau de bord” to support the strategic decisions related to the human, social and structural capital of education and research organizations. The article presents a first discussion on the systematic identification, classification and reporting of intellectual capital indicators in higher education and research.

Intellectual capital in education. Guest editorial

This article discusses the role of intangibles for the strategic management of academic entrepreneurship and presents a framework for analysis and measurement of value creation dynamics. Most scholars are interested in that entrepreneurial dimension that allows academia to pursue innovation development and commercialization, for example through intellectual asset management, university spin-offs and technology transfer and brokering. While initially conceived as an institution with a teaching mission, in recent years, the university is assuming a "third mission", contributing to society and economic development more directly and so integrating the traditional teaching and research mission. In this strategic role, Knowledge assets and intellectual capital (IC) underpin the core drivers of value creation and need to be appropriately management and measured to assess the impact at economic and social level. The assessment of performance of academic entrepreneurship is not easy since the concept of IC can be used as a valid strategic management framework and competitive tool for Universities. In the tentative to cover this gap, the article tries to provide a contribution in this direction, presenting an integrative framework for IC management highlighting the dynamic relationship among the three components of intangible assets and their strategic impact on value creation dynamics in academic entrepreneurship. The critical examination of how IC evolves in practices over time is really relevant and allow the personalization to universities in different stage of IC maturity. The framework is coherent with the need to assume IC as a management technology especially in cases of universities attempting to manage IC for the first time. The framework provides a theoretical continuum along which the process of maturity of the University allows to be developed incrementally from one level to the next one, analysing how IC evolves in practice over time with regard to academic entrepreneurship activities. Implications for theory will be discussed along with future research.

Purpose: This study contributes to the literature on intellectual capital (IC) in light of the emerging paradigm of Big Data. Through a literature review, this paper provides momentum for researchers and scholars to explore the emerging trends and implications of the Big Data movement in the field of IC. Design/methodology/approach: A literature review highlights novel and emerging issues in IC and Big Data research, focussing on: IC for organisational value, the staged evolution of IC research, and Big Data research from the technological to the managerial paradigm. It is expected that identifying these contributions will help establish future research directions. Findings: A conceptual multi-level framework demonstrates how Big Data validates the need to shift the focus of IC research from organisations to ecosystems. The framework is organised into four sections: ‘why’ – the managerial reasons for incorporating Big Data into IC; ‘what’ – the Big Data typologies that enhance IC practice; ‘who’ – the stakeholders involved in and impacted by Big Data IC value creation; and ‘how’ ¬– the Big Data processes suitable for IC management. Originality/value: This paper investigates the effects and implications Big Data offers for IC management, in support of the fourth stage of IC research. Additionally, it provides an original interpretation of IC research through the lens of Big Data. Research implications: The paper provides many avenues for future research in this emerging area of investigation. The key research questions posed aim to advance the contribution of Big Data to research on IC approaches. Practical implications: The paper outlines the socio-economic value of Big Data generated by and about organisational ecosystems. It identifies opportunities for existing companies to renew their value propositions through Big Data, and discusses new tools for managing Big Data to support disclosing IC value drivers and creating new intangible assets.

Purpose –The purpose of our paper is to develop a IC Maturity Model (ICMM) for Universities which is a flexible model of implementing Intellectual Capital (IC) approaches within Universities. The ICMM provides a theoretical continuum along which the process of maturity can be developed incrementally from one level to the next one moving from IC Data Collection, Awareness of IC, Adjustment of IC specific indicators, Measurement of IC, Reporting of IC, Interpretation and decision making, Strategy and Planning. Design/methodology/approach – The Maturity Model has been developed in the course of three Mutual Learning Workshops (MLW) organised in Romania in the period October 2012 – May 2013. 15 international experts and practitioners have worked together aiming to develop a Model for IC Management in universities. The MLWs have been developed in the frame of the Project "Quality Assurance in Higher Education through Habilitation and Auditing" initiated by the Executive Agency for Higher Education and Research Funding of Romania (EUFISCDI). Originality/value – Although several methods for IC measurement and management exist, most of these are not able to affording the trade-off between the comparability aims and the efforts to capture the institution’s uniqueness when designing an IC model or framework. Pathways for adoption of IC management and reporting model strongly depend on the characteristics of the university, its previous experience with management tools and its managerial orientation. The IC Maturity Model for Universities (ICMM) explicitly allow to take in consideration these aspects hence enlarging the wide spectrum of Strategic Management approach inside the different University settings. . Practical implications – The IC maturity model provides a staged framework to initiate a step-by-step change within a University based upon its current level of IC management maturity. It allows Universities to follow different paths not necessarily the linear sequence; while some universities may start with the formulation of a strategy and a consecutive operationalization by using some IC indicators, others may gain experience in using some basic indicators and get aware about the necessity to use more specific IC indicators. The ICMM can be used as a controlling and monitoring instrument in times of radical transformations and reforms.

Purpose This paper presents a case study of a university that uses a collective intelligence approach for managing its Intellectual Capital (IC). Specifically, we investigate how one of Europe’s oldest business schools, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (Italy), manages IC through stakeholder engagement to achieve academia’s third mission so contributing to social and economic development. Design/methodology/approach Data is collected through semi-structured interviews and Ca’ Foscari’s University’s strategic plan. Secundo et al.’s (2016) collective intelligence framework is used to analyse the data. The Alvesson and Deetz’s (2000, pp. 19-20) critical management tasks – insight, critique and transformative redefinition – are adopted to frame and discuss the results. Findings On the assumption that a university is a collective intelligence system, the findings demonstrate that IC management needs to change to incorporate an ecosystem perspective, reflecting the fourth stage of IC research. The IC management at the university incorporates its core goal (what), the collective involvement of internal and external stakeholders to achieve the goal (who), the motivations behind the achievement of the goal (why) and finally, the processes activated inside the university (how) and indicators to assess value creation. Research limitations/implications A new perspective for managing IC in universities that adopts a collective intelligence approach is further developed. Contributions to the fourth stage of IC research – IC in an ecosystem – are highlighted that expand the concept of IC value creation beyond universities into wider society. Practical implications Two key consequences of this case study are that more stakeholders have become involved in IC management and that IC management requires critical rethinking, given the universities’ evolving role. Originality/value This paper brings together issues that are usually dealt with in separate domains of the literature: IC management and collective intelligence in the university setting.

This paper aims at analyze the practice of knowledge integration in Collaborative New Product Development (Co-NPD) projects involving multiple partners in aerospace network. Based on a pragmatic approach, a multiple case study focusing on two Italian aerospace companies involved into a research project aimed to define methodologies and technologies for knowledge collaboration in NPD, is developed. Data are gathered with a triangulation techniques merging both official documents, open ended and close end interviews administered in the companies sites and involving managers, engineers and employees. Findings propose a systematic treatment of the knowledge integration practice describing the types of knowledge, strategies, barriers and intellectual property policies for knowledge integration at inter-organizational level. Findings provide insights to address NPD models for aerospace networks where the complexity and value of codified knowledge coming from external sources requires adequate treatments and security standard.

Literature highlights substantial differences between Academic Spin-Offs (ASOs) and Corporate Spin-Offs (CSOs), considering their characteristics as some of the causes that could affect their growth capacity along the time. Most of the studies refer to various factors like the entrepreneurial attitude, education, efficacy of technology transfer services and, just in few cases, realizing a comparison among ASOs and CSOs dimension and competitiveness. Focusing on factors related to Intellectual Property (IP) rights, this paper gives a contribution in defining a theoretical framework useful to highlight the main differences between ASOs and CSOs, identifying the impact of these differences on their growth rates. In particular, the paper describes the technology exploitation process used by Academic and Corporate Spin-Offs, extracting “phases” and “IP strategies” adopted in both cases. The framework contributes to demonstrate if and how different IP strategies implemented by ASOs and CSOs have an effect on their growth rate, in the attempt to support or not a recent point of view of some scholars that observe higher success rates in independent companies compared to academic ones.

Literature highlights substantial differences between Academic Spin-Offs (ASOs) and Corporate Spin-Offs (CSOs), considering their characteristics as some of the causes that could affect their level of performance. On this topic, this paper gives a contribution in defining a theoretical framework useful to highlight the main differences between ASOs and CSOs, identifying the impact of these differences on their growth rates. In particular, by focusing on factors that relate to Intellectual Property (IP) rights, the paper describes the technology exploitation process used by Academic and Corporate Spin-Offs, extracting the "phases" and "IP strategies" adopted in both cases. The framework contributes to demonstrate if and how the different IP strategies applied by Academic and Corporate Spin-Offs have an effect on their growth rate, in the attempt to support or not a recent point of view of some scholars that observe higher success rates in industry than in the education sector.

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the role of design as a knowledge translation mechanism in R&D-oriented open innovation. In particular, the paper intends to look at how design can be used as a means of knowledge transfer among various stakeholders who speak different languages and have divergent needs and interests in a process where knowledge openly flew across the boundaries of a high number of organizations. Design/methodology/approach – The paper combines the insights from theory with the empirical evidences gathered by adopting an extreme case study approach: the detailed analysis of a case study related to an R&D project funded by the European Commission and aimed to investigate and produce innovative serious games in the area of healthcare. The project gathered a large number of stakeholders and deliberately adopted design to support an open innovation approach. Findings – The paper provides insights into the use of design outputs such as artifacts, sketches, visual representations or prototypes to translate ideas, theoretical and technical requirements, documents and outputs into formats that can be more easily understood and appreciated by various stakeholders. This supports and favors coordination in open innovation projects where many different stakeholders are engaged in. Research limitations/implications – Although the adoption of an extreme case study approach offers important implications to understand the role of design in R&D-oriented open innovation, the use of a single case study represents the basis both to explore hypothesis and to provide first evidences that need to be further tested with other qualitative and quantitative analysis. Practical implications – The paper offers practical implications about how design can help individuals and organizations involved in R&D activities to better communicate and share knowledge among various stakeholders by aligning their different needs, interests and languages along the various phases of their project development. Originality/value – The originality of the paper lays at the intersection of three different fields: open innovation, knowledge management and design for innovation, thus integrating mature, but so far isolated, research streams. It provides insights for theory building by explaining the use of design as knowledge translational mechanism as well as it informs the practice by highlighting the power of design as a mean to support knowledge flows into open innovation-based R&D projects.

This paper aims to discuss the importance of Living Labs as an effective mechanism that can support the creation of dynamic innovation ecosystems and networks. The analysis of literature related to regional innovation and based on the Quadruple Helix framework, is integrated with exploratory research analysis of 20 cases of Italian Living Labs. The field study is realized through a web-based content analysis and questionnaires. The paper contributes to study how the Living Lab can constitute an effective mechanism supporting the creation of dynamic innovation ecosystems and networks, in the final aim to explore its relevance for setting regional strategies for smart growth, which valorize the internal and external knowledge assets. The paper provides important implications, both at research and policy levels, related with the knowledge-based innovation processes that could be activated at territorial level.

The purpose of the paper is to provide a new paradigm and practical model whereby Intellectual capital (IC) in the evolving entrepreneurial university can be managed and created taking in consideration the collective intelligence (CI) perspective. A review of existing theories and practical experiences is undertaken to build the core conceptual model. The underlying assumption behind the model is to consider the Entrepreneurial University as a Collective intelligence system in which the tangible and Intellectual assets are coordinate toward the achievement of the third mission goal. The conceptual model harnesses the power of IC collectively created by the engagement of multiple stakeholders inside the University network. Taking the metaphor form the biology, the model is broken down in four main blocks or genes harnessing the IC collectively created. The genes are particular answer to the four questions: what is being done? Who is doing it? How is done? Why is done?. These questions provide the conceptual pillars to describe, respectively, an overall approach to IC management articulated in the final goal of an entrepreneurial University, the “collective Human capital” to achieve the goal, the processes activated inside the University and finally the motivations behind the achievement of the goal. The creation and management of IC is thus an operational priority to evaluate the alignment between the strategic orientation and the performance within a university contributing to the regional development. Even if the research has to be considered as exploratory, the model is comprehensive because it can thus represent a useful ground for refinements, mostly related to the links between creation, measurement and management of IC. Moreover, the approach can be used to strategically manage IC in other systems interpreted as “collective intelligence systems” in which the role of IC creation and management from multiple actors is relevant. The originality of the paper resides in bringing together issues that are usually dealt in literature separate domain such as Intellectual Capital Management and Collective intelligence perspective.

Purpose. The purpose of this paper is to provide a new framework for managing intellectual capital (IC) inside a university considering the collective intelligence perspective. Design/methodology/approach – The research method uses the fourth stage of IC research and adopts the collective intelligence approach. The underlying assumption behind the framework is to consider the university as a collective intelligence system in which the tangible and intellectual assets are coordinated towards the achievement of strategic goals. Findings – The conceptual framework for IC management harnesses the power of IC, collectively created by the engagement of multiple stakeholders inside the university network. The main components are the final goal of a university (what); the collective human capital to achieve the goal (who); the processes activated inside the university (how); and finally the motivations behind the achievement of the goal (why). Research limitations/implications – The research is exploratory and the framework offers opportunities for refinement. Future research is needed to verify the application of the framework to other organisations in the public sector intended as collective intelligence systems. A new perspective for managing IC in universities adopting the collective intelligence approach is developed. Contribution to the fourth stage (ecosystem) of IC research is highlighted, expanding the concept of IC value creation beyond the university into wider society. Practical implications – The framework can be used to manage IC strategically in all the systems interpreted as collective intelligence systems in which the role of IC creation from multiple actors is relevant. This makes possible the understanding of how IC helps create value for the society and the region in which the university operates. Originality/value – The originality of the paper is in bringing together issues usually dealt within the literature in separate domains, such as IC management and collective intelligence perspective. The concept of collective intelligence remains an unexplored field in relation to IC management in the public sector. The collective intelligence approach provides a novel contribution to managing IC and is intended to inspire future research.

Purpose – This paper aims at analyze the practice of knowledge integration in Collaborative New Product Development (Co-NPD) projects involving multiple partners in aerospace network. Design/methodology/approach – We propose an approach based on a multiple case study focusing on two Italian aerospace companies involved into a research project aimed to define methodologies and technologies for knowledge collaboration in NPD. Originality/value –This methodology puts in evidence the types of knowledge, strategies, barriers and intellectual property policies for knowledge integration in an aerospace value network extending the literature on knowledge integration practices. Practical implications – The outcomes of the application provide insights to address NPD models for aerospace networks where the complexity and value of codified knowledge coming from external sources requires adequate treatments and security standard.

Purpose – The process of innovation in developing countries is different from that of developed countries, with mature technologies often being adopted with limited success. Universities are increasingly being viewed by policymakers as engines of innovation through the technology transfer office (TTO). However, with the adoption of various new intellectual property right legislation, university TTOs in developing countries have had an inefficient approach to technology transfer. Framed in the above premises, this study aims to develop a Maturity Model to measure, through non-monetary indicators, the efficiency of TTOs. Design/methodology/approach – The Maturity Model is inspired by the Berkley (PM)2 Model which allows an organization to determine strengths and weaknesses and to focus on weak practices to achieve higher maturity. Fuzzy analytical hierarchy process is adopted to determine the priorities and weights of the non-monetary indicators because they are ambiguous. Findings – The Maturity Model to measure the efficiency of TTO cover the following efficiency areas: intellectual property strategy and policy; organization design and structure; human resource; technology; industry links; and networking. The model provides a theoretical continuum along which the process of maturity can be developed incrementally in TTO from one level to the next, moving from awareness, defined, managed, integrated and sustained stage. Research limitations/implications – The Maturity Model needs to be tested and applied in TTOs in developing countries. Practical implications – The Maturity Model provides a means to sustain the decision-making process more effectively, especially in those countries considered as an inefficient innovator. Originality/value – The findings inform the design of a customizable solution to barriers to the success of technology transfer and highlight weaknesses within each institution or TTOs efficiency.

Purpose Universities concerned with third mission activities are engines that increase regional competitiveness since their primary role in the knowledge-based economy is to stimulate innovation by transferring new knowledge and technologies to industry and society. Due to the correlation between efficient university technology transfer and intellectual capital (IC), this study will show how IC can be mobilised by university technology transfer offices (TTOs), so contributing to the third stage of IC research. Design The application of the Maturity Model developed by Secundo et al., (2016) is expanded by collecting data from 18 universities in the European countries to illustrate how IC can be used as a strategy and solution to the barriers faced by TTOs. Findings TTOs with increased access to and utilization of IC tend to have higher maturity levels. This new application of the Maturity Model, proves that IC can be utilized to manage and improve the efficiency of TTOs. Research implication An indication of the level of access that TTOs have to university IC is given leading to recommendations to improve university technology transfer. Practical implications Knowing which IC components are essential to the efficiency of TTOs, and which IC needs greater utilization, will provide insights into policy and practical interventions to improve their efficiency, resulting in increasing universities’ competitiveness. Originality A new approach and perspective on utilizing IC to improve university technology transfer so contributing to the third stage of IC research calling for more practice-oriented research. Research limitations Future research should include a wider sample of universities to increase the validation of the Maturity Model and to prove it as a suitable and strategic approach for IC management at TTOs.

The study aims to investigate which are the meaning and impact of a modularity platform approach for the competitive management of a tourist destination. Focusing on tourism as a knowledge-intensive business sector and bundle of products and services, this study adopts a constructive and qualitative literature review to demonstrate as a modularity platform approach can be adopted as basis for the effective management of a destination. The study offers implications for companies and decision makers. The application of modularity to increase the competitiveness of a destination highlights the importance of a deep knowledge of the area as well as of the technological and strategic mechanisms that have an impact on the execution and co-creation of a successful tourist experience.

Healthcare systems have been experiencing a radical change, moving from a centralized to an open model, where patients can contribute in creating the basis for their own wellbeing. In parallel, literature is giving an increasing interest to the Open Innovation approach, where large, medium and small enterprises cooperate. Despite the great interest in Open Innovation approach, few contributions are related to healthcare industry that includes both public and private organizations (hospitals, companies, universities), as well as “untraditional” players like doctors, nurses and patients. Framed in the above premises, the study develop an unique framework able to represent interactions among all actors involved in healthcare ecosystem, highlighting knowledge and information flows within them to improve their innovation potentialities according to an open approach.

Purpose This paper aims to highlight the main Intellectual Property (IP) protection strategies adopted in the R&D phases of a company operating in the bio-pharmaceutical industry, according to an open innovation (OI) approach. Design/methodology/approach In order to assess how R&D intensive firms adopt IP strategies during OI practices, this research uses a single case-study design. The case has been studied over an extended period of time (from 2008 to 2015), triangulating data and information by means of multiple interviews with different key informants and projects documents. The novelty of the research justifies the use of a single case study. Findings The study reveals how a mix of formal and informal tools for IP protection are used, with a final attempt to maintain control over different technological solutions during their validation process and profiting from stable R&D collaborations with research partners. Research limitations/implications Limitations of the study relate to the single case study methodology as well as to some peculiarities of the analyzed company and of the Bio-Pharmaceutical industry. Practical implications Research managers could find some food for thought in the adoption of OI approaches for reducing costs and risks associated with technological uncertainty, with particular attention to the strategic role of IP rights. Originality/value Despite knowledge protection being widely recognized to be a critical issue for implementing OI approaches, how IP strategies should be used in the different phases of R&D is still debatable. Moreover, few empirical studies relate to the adoption of optimal combinations of IP tools in relation to the different R&D phases in such technology intensive industries as the bio-pharmaceutical industry.

Innovation and entrepreneurship are crucial processes for economic growth and regions' competitiveness. A key element to succeed in the entrepreneurial economy is the development of a new archetype of human capital, the 'entrepreneurial engineer', who is capable to match technology innovation with business challenges and societal development, assuring economical, technological and environmental sustainability. The development of such professionals requires to universities a deep reconfiguration towards the 'entrepreneurial university' model, by integrating research, education and innovation, and promoting public-private partnerships. Framed in these premises, and based on a longitudinal case study carried out within an Italian university, the paper proposes the principles, actors and processes that should characterise a higher education system engaged in experimenting the entrepreneurial university model. A set of guidelines is also provided to educators, professors and practitioners involved into the experimentation of innovative learning environments conducive for the development of entrepreneurial attitudes in engineering and technical profiles

This chapter presents a case study where Problem Based Learning (PBL) ap-proach is applied to a Web-based environment. It first describes the main features behind the PBL for creating Business Engineers able to face the grand technologi-cal challenges of the 2020. Then it introduces a Web Based system supporting the PBL strategy, called the “Virtual eBMS”. This system has been designed and im-plemented at the e-Business Management Section of the Scuola Superiore ISUFI – University of Salento (Italy). Besides the logical and technological description of Virtual eBMS, the chapter presents two applications of the platform in two differ-ent contexts: an academic context (international master) and an entrepreneurial context (awareness workshop with companies and entrepreneurs). The system is illustrated starting from the description of an operational framework for designing curricula PBL based from the author perspective and, then, illustrating a typical scenario of a learner accessing to the curricula. In the description, it is highlighted both the “structured” way and the “unstructured” way to create and follow an en-tire learning path.

This paper explores the contribution of project management to entrepreneurship development with a specific focus on business start-up projects. More and more the success for the launching a new entrepreneurial ventured depends from many factors, among these, the capacity to organize and manage the complexity of all the activities required to initiate the new venture. Sometimes the entrepreneurs lack the appropriate managerial skills and the business start-up launch is managed without taking in consideration the appropriate methodologies of project management. With the aim to cover this gap, an holistic process oriented framework supporting the business startup projects development adopting the methodologies of project management is presented. The framework mix the phases to initiate a new entrepreneurial act with the area of project management, to support the entrepreneurs involved in such new venture, to afford the complexity and the uncertainty of this particular typologies of nascent organization projects. The innovativeness of the paper relies on the unconventional connection between the literature on project management, and studies of entrepreneurship. The discussion provides contribution to the field of project management, in the attempt to provide a customization of the PM standard for a particular typology of project: business start-up. Implications for practices regard the utilization of the framework by the nascent entrepreneur, by the start-upper, or by the researcher of University students for the launching of a spin off.

European universities are changing towards more autonomous, efficient and competitive institutions. Higher levels of autonomy allow universities to change their managerial models to better manage their Intellectual Capital (IC) which constitutes the largest proportion of universities’ assets. The Chapter discusses the IC framework from the New (and Post) Management perspective and analyse the impacts of measuring and reporting on IC in the case universities. Based on a recent international project aiming at elaborating a guideline for applying IC reporting in Higher Education institutions, the Chapter provides a set of lessons learnt and ways forward for future research.

This article investigates the impact of cultural and professional diversity of students on engineering education. A study of international post-graduate programs is used to obtain insights with reference to student’s relationships with colleagues, school staff and faculty, student’s cognition about the program and learning process. The article shows how cultural and professional diversity can be addressed by leveraging a strategy based on interdisciplinarity, action learning and open learning environment. Findings are used to envision a model favoring the adoption of a ‘glocal’ approach in the design of engineering programs. The model can be of value for practitioners and educators involved in the creation of multicultural learning initiatives to address the culture-specific needs of students while adhering, at the same time, to the global trends in engineering education.

The chapter aims to contribute at the discussion on the role that creativity can assume in sustaining corporate entrepreneurship development by focusing on the centrality of entrepreneurial learning in incumbent enterprises. Empirical evidences coming from the case study of “Mimprendo” project (www.mimprendo.it), an initiative promoted by the Italian Conference of the University Colleges and the Italian Association of Young Entrepreneurs, are presented. Findings provides insights about the collaborative entrepreneurial learning as happening in the community composed by University students, entrepreneurs, and researchers to solve relevant managerial and entrepreneurial innovation’s needs. Those evidences are at the basis of an integrated framework aimed to provide a coherent and a systematic view on the collaborative entrepreneurial learning processes to nurture, select, and implement creative ideas of universities students for sustaining the corporate entrepreneurship in incumbent companies.

Purpose (mandatory) Service supplier selection is a Multi-criteria Decision Making (MCDM) problem assuming a strategic role for the competitiveness of high-tech manufacturing companies. Nevertheless, especially for service quality evaluation, there is little empirical evidence of the practical usefulness of MCDM methodologies. Aiming to cover this gap between theoretical approaches and empirical applications, the paper proposes a Fuzzy Extended Analytic Hierarchy Process (FEAHP) approach for service supplier evaluation. Design/methodology/approach (mandatory) An hybrid approach which combines some of the strengths of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and of the Fuzzy Set Theory is presented, as organized in five steps. A case study is used to evaluate the applicability in a real company context. Findings (mandatory) The usability of the approach is demonstrated in an aerospace company for solving the supplier selection problem of a business software whose applications are still in infancy: a Test Data Management System (TDMS). The illustrative application contains both “general” criteria to be used for other service supplier selection contexts as well as service specific criteria related to sw selection. Research limitations/implications (if applicable) Even if the application regards the selection of a software supplier, the methodology can be generically extended to other services’ selection in complex manufacturing industries through the personalization of some criteria. Practical implications (if applicable) Implications can be derived both for business managers involved into the decision making process and for suppliers identifying the most promising features of software quality. Originality/value (mandatory) - The originality consists on the combination into an hybrid approach of the strength’s points of the AHP with Fuzzy set; the inclusion of multiple perspectives of decision criteria for service supplier selection, basically the "software product" and "supplier" ones; a real empirical application to test and demonstrate the efficacy and the practical utility of the proposed approach.

The paper aims to contribute to the debate about knowledge and digital divide affecting countries’ competitiveness in the knowledge society. A survey based on qualitative and quantitative data collection has been performed to analyze the level of ICTs and e-Business adoption of the Tunisian SMEs. The results shows that to increase the SMEs competitiveness is necessary to invest in all the components of Intellectual capital: human capital (knowledge, skills, and the abilities of people for using the ICTs), structural capital (supportive infrastructure such as buildings, software, processes, patents, and trademarks, proprietary databases) and social capital (relations and collaboration inside and outside the company). At this purpose, the LINCET “Laboratoire d’Innovation Numerique pour la Competitivité de l’Entreprise Tunisienne” project is finally proposed as a coherent proposition to foster the growth of all the components of the Intellectual Capital for the benefits of competitiveness of Tunisian SMEs.

Framed in the scientific and institutional debate on the intelligent growth of regions, the paper discusses the sustainable innovation ecosystems as dynamic and multi-actors environments for the innovative entrepreneurship fertilisation. In coherence with the European agenda for the smart specialisation, the innovative entrepreneurship is presented as driver for the achievement of the regional intelligent growth and for the regions’ successful positioning in the geography of the innovation. Based on a qualitative academic and policy-based literature review, the paper provides evidences on the meaning of the innovation ecosystems as environments in which the virtuous dynamics of knowledge creation, diffusion and absorption within a large community of stakeholders, sustain the emerging of innovative entrepreneurship. Focusing on the innovation and the entrepreneurship as core processes for the knowledge-based regional development, the study offers a set of implications for the agenda of scientists and policy makers, coherently with the European strategy for the smart specialisation.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the need for a new corporate learning archetype in the extended enterprise scenario and to present the stakeholder university as a suitable model oriented to create value for a large number of business and non-business actors. Design/methodology/approach: A conceptual development is integrated with field studies to describe the distinguishing features of the stakeholder university and provide a cross-discussion with the extended enterprise concept. Findings: The stakeholder university is characterized by large focus, extended scope, and rich interconnection, which address in a comprehensive manner the needs and expectations of the resource base, industry/market and socio-political stakeholders of the extended enterprise. Research limitations/implications: The topics investigated are mostly relevant for large international companies. Besides, further discussions are needed to validate the links between business models, organizational configurations and human capital development processes. Practical implications: The discussion proposed can be useful for managers involved in the design and development of high-impact and large-scope human resource management initiatives. Originality/value: The value of the article stays in the creation of a conceptual link between the business role of enterprise stakeholders and the requirements existing in terms of co-developing intangible assets.

Purpose – Universities and research centres play a crucial role in the development and diffusion of scientific knowledge and innovation, which are at the core of their strategic mission. However, the measurement of performance of such institutions in terms of valuable assets created is not easy since their output/results are especially complex to define and evaluate. In such context, this article aims to discuss the importance of identifying proper measures of Intellectual Capital (IC) generation in universities, and particularly in modern universities showing entrepreneurial features. A model for analysis and measurement is presented along with an illustrative application. Design/methodology/approach - Major theoretical approaches and real experiences of measurement of IC in higher education and research settings are analysed to build the integrated framework. Six strategic areas are derived and used to define a dashboard of 62 indicators. A case study approach is used to pilot-apply the dashboard to an education and research institution. Originality/value – Although several methods for IC measurement and management exist, most fail to capture the peculiar links existing among strategic objectives, intangible assets and organizational performance. This article tries to contribute by presenting a discussion and a model which point to establishing a direct relation between the strategic mission of entrepreneurial universities and their performance in terms of IC created. Practical implications – The model proposed can be used as a stakeholder communication tool to report key performance related to human, social and structural capital. Internal functions can be served such as resource identification and capital budgeting whereas an external value stays in the possibility of making public a set of organization-specific information, facilitating evaluation and benchmarking.

On the basis of a synthetic review of the literature about the Living Labs phenomenon, the article investigates to what extent the theoretical approach finds a coherent application in the reality. Focusing on 15 Italian living labs associated to the ENoLL, the study addresses a comparative analysis based on a set of features extracted from the literature. In providing a significant overview of the Italian experience in terms of Living Labs, the study focuses on their implications for the development of entrepreneurial competencies by leveraging on user centrality and public-private networking. Starting from this analysis, the case of VINCENTE Living Lab is presented, by highlighting the technology entrepreneurship dimension that represents the core process for the intelligent growth in the knowledge economy scenarios.

This chapter hypothesizes that Virtual Community of Practices (VCoPs) are valuable to Business Schools and Universities because they support effectively the emerging paradigms of just-in-time, action based and collaborative learning. It presents a case study of a VCoPs called “Virtual eBMS” in Higher Education setting, described as a process-oriented model, composed by four main components: The People participating in the community, the Processes enabling the knowledge flows within the community, the Purpose of the community in terms of value created for the Business School, and the Technology facilitating the interactions between the community members. Indeed, from the technological point of view, the community is supported by an integrated Web Learning and Knowledge Management platform, whose functionalities support the corresponding knowledge processes and actions. Some preliminary results expressed in terms of Intellectual Capital will end the chapter, along with the value created for the community members.

Blended Learning (BL) is considered a promising pedagogical approach. Some researches demonstrated that students' satisfaction ishigher for BL courses compared to completely online or face-to-face (F2F) courses. Moreover, the explosion of web 2.0 tools and the success of the "read-write Web" are reconfiguring the individual and collaborative blended learning processes. Based on this assumption, this paper investigates the effectiveness of web 2.0 BL for the design and delivery of a pilot course on e-business topics. Two experimentations have been organized involving undergraduates engineering students of the University of Jordan. According to the obtained results assessing students' reaction, learning and behaviour, the BL model proposed in the article revealed more effective than traditional F2F learning. A survey conducted at the end of the course also showed that students were satisfied with the pedagogical approach, and their academic achievements were also significantly improved. Findings demonstrate that successful BL programs require innovative curriculum design strategy based on new principles such as: a) the involvement of heterogeneous stake holders in the course's design phase; b) the focus on competence developmen trather than on knowledge transfer; c) the choice of team work as an additional component to evaluate individual students' performances; d) presence of remote and F2F interactions among peers and between teachers and students; e) the usage of web 2.0 tools as enablers of collaborative learning processes and social networking; f) continuous tutoring both for content and technological issues. These findings can help engineering colleges and universities to design and offer more effective learning courses