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STEFANO GHINOI

Professore Associato
Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia

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Pubblicazioni

2024 - La social network analysis come strumento di valutazione delle politiche di sviluppo locale: un’applicazione nell’ambito di LEADER 2014-2022 [Articolo su rivista]
Ghinoi, Stefano; Carrosio, Giovanni; Carta, Stefano
abstract

According to the Liaison Entre Actions de Développement de l’Economie Rurale (LEADER) approach, Local Action Groups (LAGs) empower the creation of social capital by enabling social relations among local actors. Re- cent studies have investigated the socio-economic aspects driving this phe- nomenon, but there is a lack of research on the internal dynamics occurring within LAGs. This study aims to investigate this aspect by focusing on an Italian LAG as case study, and using Social Network Analysis to understand how LAG’s internal communication dynamics relate to the activities imple- mented on the territory. Our results show that the LAG operates as an inter- mediary between municipalities and local associations, but it is not able to foster direct relationships between these actors; moreover, the LAG is not able to make the relational elements prevailing over the socio-economic and geographical aspects of the territory.

2023 - Do informal institutions matter for the economic resilience of European regions? A study of the post-2008 shock [Articolo su rivista]
Prodi, Elena; Ghinoi, Stefano; Rubini, Lauretta; Silvestri, Francesco
abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between informal institutions and resilience across EU regions in the years following the 2008 Great Recession. By using voluntary work as a proxy for informal institutions, we analyse its association with regional resilience over two different periods: the resistance phase (2008–2010) and the recovery phase (2010–2013). Overall, we find robust evidence that voluntary work is positively associated with greater regional resilience. Our results also show that there is a relation between voluntary work and formal institutions, represented by welfare state models. Overall, the effect of voluntary work is always positive for strong welfare states, but its effect is mitigated by the presence of public provisions. Additionally, in regions with a relatively weaker institutional context, informal institutions retain their positive effect. However, in this context, informal institutions appear to take more time to deploy their effects, but their positive impact on regional labour market recovery is even stronger than in other welfare regimes, probably due to the poor public support that characterises this welfare system.

2023 - Italian inner areas' strategic plans - A textual network analysis of the Appennino Emiliano and Madonie case studies [Capitolo/Saggio]
De Vita, Riccardo; Lucio Gaeta, Giuseppe; Silvestri, Francesco; Ghinoi, Stefano
abstract

In 2012, the Italian government introduced the National Strategy for Inner Areas (SNAI accordingly with the Italian acronym). Local authorities and actors in inner areas were involved in the identification of the strengths and weaknesses of their territory and in the definition of development actions. This study proposes a textual network analysis of the strategic plans produced by two areas participating in the SNAI pilot project, one from the Centre-North of Italy (the Appennino Emiliano area) and one from the Southern part of the country (the Madonie area in Sicily). The analysis reveals that similarities between the two strategic plans emerge when the focus is on the territory and economic-related themes. At the same time, differences arise concerning the meaning and importance attributed to networking

2023 - LEADER local action groups and inner areas. An Italian case study [Articolo su rivista]
Barone, Vincenzo; Lucio Gaeta, Giuseppe; Ghinoi, Stefano; Silvestri, Francesco
abstract

In this study we investigate marginality in European rural areas to understand how EU policies for local development can stimulate novel approaches to social innovation and economic growth. The method applied is a Social Network Analysis (SNA) on the call tenders of an Italian Local Action Group managing the LEADER programme in the Piacentino and Parmense Apennine (Emilia-Romagna). The implementation of the Inner Area Strategy in a part of the LEADER territory (11 out of the 59 municipalities of the LEADER area) allows to verify complementarities, interrelations and overlays between the two development policies.

2023 - Local policymakers’ attitudes towards climate change: A multi-methods case study [Articolo su rivista]
Ghinoi, Stefano; De Vita, Riccardo; Silvestri, Francesco
abstract

Local authorities play a key role in tackling climate change by implementing targeted adaptation and mitigation measures. The specific implementation of a mix of adaptation and mitigation strategies is the outcome of the interaction of policymakers through a political debate and their attitudes towards climate change. By concentrating on the political discourses occurring in the Assembly of an Italian region (Emilia-Romagna), we use a multi-method approach of Discourse Network Analysis and Concept Mapping to investigate local policymakers’ positioning. Our investigation shows that actors are grouped not only according to their political affiliation, but also to the debated topics, and this relates to the preference for supporting adaptation or mitigation measures, which characterizes the local policy debate.

2022 - Conceptualising business model innovation: evidence from the managers’ advice network [Articolo su rivista]
Ghinoi, Stefano &; Di Toma, Paolo
abstract

In recent years, there has been a growing consensus in management and organisation studies regarding the crucial role played by business model innovation in supporting firms’ competitiveness. However, the intra-organisational processes that aim to develop business model innovation and the antecedents for its conceptualisation remain underexplored. Organisational mechanisms for learning between managers lead to the establishment of intraorganisational advice networks, which facilitate the acquisition and diffusion of knowledge for innovation. Using social network analysis, this study investigates the elements associated with intraorganisational networking intended to innovate business models. We analyse a multiunit cooperative firm as a case study. Within this firm, the conceptualisation of the novel business model activated a collaborative system of advice exchange between managers. We found that networking is supported by active managers who spread advice within the firm and managers who go beyond the boundaries of their organisational role. We propose several managerial recommendations, including that managers can develop sub-groups constituting specific and unique knowledge structures, which represent the real generators of business model innovation.

2022 - Managers' brokerage for business model innovation: A case study [Articolo su rivista]
Ghinoi, S.; Di Toma, P.
abstract

Business model innovation is recognized as a key process for strengthening firms' performance in situations of strong competitive pressure and environmental changes. This process is driven by intra-organizational advice networks between managers, which exchange different types of advice based on organizational learning mechanisms such as cognitive search (how to conceptualize and create a novel business model) and experiential learning (how to adapt and experiment a novel business model. Investigating what are the key figures emerging from such network is essential for an in-depth understanding of the business model innovation process. By focusing on a multi-unit firm operating in the personal care service industry, we use Social Network Analysis (SNA) to examine the brokerage role of managers when sharing different types of advice towards a novel business model. Our results show that middle-level managers connect different managerial groups in different networks; however, differences exist between groups of middle managers, confirming their peculiar nature within organizations.

2021 - Exploring Networking of Third Sector Organizations: A Case Study Based on the Quartieri Spagnoli Neighbourhood in Naples (Italy) [Articolo su rivista]
Lucio Gaeta, Giuseppe; Ghinoi, Stefano; Silvestri, Francesco; Trasciani, Giorgia
abstract

In the last decades, European Third Sector Organizations have been increasingly affected by marketization and the reduction of public resources for social services, hence pushed to develop new strategies to accomplish their social mission while remaining economically efficient. The existing literature suggests that the activation of networking activities can be a strategy to overcome these problems. By using a partially mixed-methods approach, this study investigates factors that stimulate the TSOs’ networking and attitudes toward different types of informal and formal networks. Our results suggest that TSOs try to cope with contextual challenges by activating both formal and informal networks, depending on financial and structural opportunities, but also suggest that the rationalities moving TSOs are highly heterogeneous.

2021 - Innovation in the Solid Waste Management industry: integrating Neoclassical and Complexity Theory perspectives [Articolo su rivista]
Libero Gaeta, Giuseppe; Ghinoi, Stefano; Silvestri, Francesco; Tassinari, Mattia
abstract

Often considered a traditional labour intensive activity, in recent years, the solid waste management (SWM) industry has been largely interested in innovation. Nonetheless, the analysis of innovations in the SW industry is frequently confined to process innovation in the disposal segment, neglecting other kinds of innovation – such as product innovation and organizational innovation – in other segments. While several economic theoretical frameworks have been developed for interpreting eco-innovation in general, a specific analysis of innovation in each segment of SWM is still missing, despite the specificities of this sector. To fill this gap, this paper shows how complexity theory can be profitably used to integrate the more traditional neoclassical approach, offering a comprehensive theoretical framework to analyse innovation in the SWM industry from both a market and firm perspective (the neoclassical approach) and from a social perspective (the complexity theory framework). Four main typologies of the SW market system, exhibiting different kinds of innovation, are outlined: (i) a “traditional” landfill-oriented system; (ii) a modern “waste-to-energy” incinerator-oriented system; (iii) a “light recycling” system with integrated solutions and a selection performance that is lower than 50%; and (iv) a “hard recycling” system.

2020 - Overcoming hierarchy in business model innovation: an actor-oriented approach [Articolo su rivista]
Di Toma, Paolo; Ghinoi, Stefano
abstract

Abstract Purpose – Business model innovation is a key element for firms’ competitiveness. Its development can be supported by the establishment of an actor-oriented scheme to overcome hierarchical structures. The actor- oriented scheme is characterized by intra-organizational networks of relationships that can be established and dissolved between individuals. However, we lack an empirical perspective about its establishment; therefore, the purpose of this research is to advance our understanding of intra-organizational networks for supporting business model innovation. Design/methodology/approach – Individuals create and manage knowledge aimed to innovate the business model through cognitive search and experiential learning mechanisms. Knowledge is spread within organizations by using intra-organizational advice networks, whose patterns reflect the presence of an actor- oriented scheme. This work applies social network analysis to network data from a multi-unit organization specializing in personal care services. We use a Logistic Regression-Quadratic Assignment Procedure to analyze intra-organizational network data on managers’ advice exchange related to the learning modes of cognitive search and experiential learning. Findings – Our research empirically identifies the main elements of an actor-oriented scheme in a business model innovation process. We find that managers are able to self-organize, because they are not influenced by their organizational roles, and that commons for sharing resources and protocols, processes and infrastructures enable advice exchange, thus showing the presence of an actor-oriented scheme in business model innovation process. Research limitations/implications – This research is based on a cross-sectional database. A longitudinal study would provide a better understanding of the network evolution characterizing the innovation process. Practical implications – The results of our study support organizational decision-making for business model innovation. Originality/value – This study provides empirical evidence of how an actor-oriented scheme emerges in a business model innovation process. Keywords Business model innovation, Social network analysis, Actor-oriented scheme, Organizational learning Paper type Research paper

2020 - The role of local stakeholders in disseminating knowledge for supporting the Circular Economy: a network analysis approach [Articolo su rivista]
Ghinoi, Stefano; Silvestri, Francesco; Steiner, Bodo
abstract

Starting from the lack of empirical evidence on the role of local stakeholders in developing a Circular Economy system, we found that: In a local context, presence of a multifaceted system of relationships according with different fields of CE; Food Waste is more perceived as a social issue rather than environmental at the local level; Central actors act as tertium gaudens rather than iugens; Policymakers could facilitate the emergence of tertium iugens, opening the networks to a wider participation and knowledge exchange, and involving institutions with a higher iungens attitude (e.g. universities)

2020 - Toward the creation of novel food waste management systems: A network approach [Articolo su rivista]
Ghinoi, Stefano; Silvestri, Francesco; Steiner, Bodo
abstract

In light of the global significance of food waste, a greater focus on improving food waste management strategies is called for. Implementing such management strategies requires a better understanding of stakeholder relations. This paper analyses the structure of multiplex relations among stakeholders involved in the creation of a novel food waste management system, investigating the drivers of network formation when multiple collaborations are observed between pairs of stakeholders. We apply Social Network Analysis to study food waste reduction strategies in the City of Ferrara (Italy). Our results provide support for the practical relevance of multiple interactions across dyadic relationships in stakeholder networks. They also suggest that ‘third parties’ are not necessary for an effective networking strategy, and that relationships between stakeholders of similar levels of expertise are not required for establishing multiple relationships, suggesting that functionally diverse coalitions are of greater practical relevance for food waste management strategies.

2019 - Is a Policy Mix More Effective Than Individual Policies for SME Innovation? An Exploratory Analysis [Articolo su rivista]
Annalisa, Caloffi; Freo, Marzia; Ghinoi, Stefano; Rossi, Federica; Russo, Margherita
abstract

The provision of public funds to private firms for the purchase of services, particularly knowledge-intensive ones, has received so far little attention from the evaluation literature (Bakhshi et al., 2015; Bruhn et al., 2018 are notable exceptions). These interventions aim to help SMEs to access a variety of knowledge and competencies required for innovation, which are not available within the firm (Vossen, 1998; Storey, 2003). The implicit assumption is that SMEs primarily suffer from constraints on their financial resources, rather than on their capabilities. After receiving the subsidy, SMEs should be able to identify the services they need, as well as the suppliers that can best provide them. However, it is well known that SMEs, may not only lack the financial resources to invest in innovation, but also the capabilities to identify the competences and services they need, or the right suppliers that can provide them (Fontana et al., 2006; Ortega Argilés et al., 2009). Subsidies for the purchase of knowledge-intensive services address the former problem, but not the latter. As discussed by Shapira and Youtie (2016), to help SMEs increase their awareness of their needs and how to address them, they could be provided with complementary services, such as technology and innovation advisory services. This study presents an exploratory empirical analysis focused on two interconnected regional innovation policy interventions implemented in Tuscany (Italy). We adopt a propensity score matching approach applied to the case of multiple treatments, as proposed by Lechner (2002a, 2002b). In particular, we compare three different treatments: (i) the use of innovation vouchers for the purchase of knowledge-intensive services; (ii) the reliance on an intermediary’s technology and innovation advisory service; (iii) the combination of the two treatments, i.e. the use of innovation vouchers for the purchase of knowledge-intensive services with guidance from the intermediary. While policy mixes have been advocated as a response to complex problems (Flanagan et al., 2011; Cunningham et al., 2016), very little empirical evidence is available about the comparative effectiveness of policy mixes with respect to that of the single policies in the mix (Martin, 2016), and no other studies consider the particular combination of innovation vouchers and advisory services. This exploratory study captures an aspect that lies at the core of the policy mix literature, namely that the mix cannot be considered as the simple sum of the single instruments that are included in it (Magro and Wilson, 2013), but it can facilitate the emergence of synergies and complementarities among them.

2016 - Evaluating the performance of innovation intermediaries: insights from the experience of Tuscany’s innovation poles [Articolo su rivista]
Russo, Margherita; Caloffi, Annalisa; Rossi, Federica; Fiordelmondo, Valentina; Ghinoi, Stefano
abstract

With the growing importance of innovation intermediaries, particularly in the policy context, a need has emerged for appropriate instruments to evaluate their performance. The identification of appropriate performance indicators, however, has proved to be problematic. First, indicators are likely to influence the behavior of innovation intermediaries, not always in a desirable manner. Second, commonly used indicators focus on the immediate results achieved by the intermediaries, often disregarding the permanent behavioral changes that they can stimulate in their innovation system. Instead, we argue that the latter are particularly important for the evaluation of innovation intermediaries, whose success should be measured in terms of their ability to help organizations to change their innovative behavior. By focusing on an innovation policy intervention implemented by the Italian region of Tuscany in the period 2007-2013, we discuss the advantages and limitations of the indicators that have been set up by the regional government in order to evaluate the performance of innovation poles, a particular type of innovation intermediary, and discuss some feasible avenues for their improvement.

2015 - Evaluating the performance of innovation intermediaries: insights from the experience of Tuscany’s innovation poles [Working paper]
Russo, M.; Caloffi, A.; Rossi, F.; Fiordelmondo, V.; Ghinoi, S.
abstract

With the growing importance of innovation intermediaries, particularly in the policy context, a need has emerged for appropriate instruments to evaluate their performance. The identification of appropriate performance indicators, however, has proved to be problematic. First, indicators are likely to influence the behavior of innovation intermediaries, not always in a desirable manner. Second, commonly used indicators focus on the immediate results achieved by the intermediaries, often disregarding the permanent behavioral changes that they can stimulate in their innovation system. Instead, we argue that the latter are particularly important for the evaluation of innovation intermediaries, whose success should be measured in terms of their ability to enable other organizations to improve their innovation capabilities. By focusing on an innovation policy intervention implemented by the Italian region of Tuscany in the period 2007-2013, we discuss the advantages and limitations of the indicators that have been set up by the regional government in order to evaluate the performance of innovation poles, a particular type of innovation intermediary, and discuss some feasible avenues for their improvement.

2015 - Evaluating the performance of innovation intermediaries: insights from the experience of Tuscany’s innovation poles [Working paper]
Russo, M.; Caloffi, A.; Rossi, F.; Fiordelmondo, V.; Ghinoi, S.
abstract

With the growing importance of innovation in-termediaries, particularly in the policy context, a need has emerged for appropriate instruments to evaluate their performance. The identifica-tion of appropriate performance indicators, however, has proved to be problematic. First, indicators are likely to influence the behavior of innovation intermediaries, not always in a desirable manner. Second, commonly used in-dicators focus on the immediate results achieved by the intermediaries, often disregard-ing the permanent behavioral changes that they can stimulate in their innovation system. In-stead, we argue that the latter are particularly important for the evaluation of innovation in-termediaries, whose success should be meas-ured in terms of their ability to enable other or-ganizations to improve their innovation capa-bilities. By focusing on an innovation policy intervention implemented by the Italian region of Tuscany in the period 2007-2013, we dis-cuss the advantages and limitations of the indi-cators that have been set up by the regional government in order to evaluate the perfor-mance of innovation poles, a particular type of innovation intermediary, and discuss some fea-sible avenues for their improvement.

2015 - Promozione del sistema dei poli di innovazione nello spazio web: analisi dei contenuti e delle reti di relazioni virtuali [Working paper]
Di Cristofaro, M.; Fiordelmondo, V.; Ghinoi, S.; Russo, M.
abstract

Nel progetto di analisi e modellizzazione del sistema regionale dei poli di innovazione in Toscana (www.poliinnovazione.unimore.it), abbiamo esaminato in modo sistematico le informazioni disponibili nei siti web dei poli con due obiettivi: (i) analizzare la varietà di linguaggio e di contenuti che caratterizzano i poli nella loro attività on line; (ii) verificare in che misura i poli facciano riferimento agli stessi enti, imprese, organizzazioni, progetti e, tra questi, alle organizzazioni/o attività direttamente collegate al polo (come ad esempio i soggetti gestori dei poli laboratori, gli incubatori, gli aderenti). Questo articolo presenta nella prima parte l'analisi linguistica dei siti web prodotti dai poli di innovazione ed ha lo scopo di fornire un insieme di variabili per la valutazione delle loro strategie di promozione. Il metro di valutazione principale è l'individuazione della fonte dei materiali pubblicati online dai singoli poli (materiali originali vs. materiali prodotti da terzi), che è stato usato come indicatore del livello di partecipazione di ogni singolo polo nelle strategie di promozione delle proprie attività. Si è quindi cercato di quantificare il livello di coinvolgimento che ogni polo ha espresso – nel proprio sito web – attraverso la pubblicazione di testi. L'analisi è stata condotta utilizzando la metodologia di linguistica dei corpora al fine di svolgere un'indagine sia quantitativa sia qualitativa (simile alla metodologia nota come CADS), ed è stata effettuata prendendo in esame 24 termini relativi ai concetti di innovazione e sviluppo, all'interno dei contenuti web pubblicati dai poli di innovazione (azienda, aziende, centri, collaborazione, conoscenze, finanziamenti, gestione, gestore, impresa, imprese, industriale, innovazione, poli, polo, processi, progetti, progetto, ricerca, servizi, servizio, sviluppo, tecnologia, tecnologie, territorio). Attraverso la valutazione dell'utilizzo dei 24 termini all'interno dei testi web, l'analisi ha evidenziato come le nozioni di innovazione e sviluppo vengano costruite dai singoli poli in termini sia di significato, sia di connotazione. Oltre all'analisi linguistica, l'analisi dei testi web ha consentito anche di individuare in maniera puntuale i domini principali e i link completi citati nei siti web dei poli. Adottando una prospettiva di analisi delle reti di relazioni, con queste informazioni sulle reti virtuali abbiamo analizzato due questioni rilevanti per la modellizzazione del sistema dei poli di innovazione: attraverso le citazioni dei domini principali mettiamo in evidenza in che misura i siti web i poli hanno comunicato le connessioni tra di loro e con i soggetti attivi nel trasferimento tecnologico; attraverso l'analisi dei link completi presenti nei siti web dei singoli poli possiamo individuare in che misura i poli fanno riferimento allo stesso spazio di informazioni. La presentazione è strutturata come segue: nella sezione 1 vengono presentati i dati, gli strumenti e la metodologia utilizzata nell'analisi linguistica; nella sezione 2 viene presentata l'analisi linguistica dei 24 termini selezionati ; nella sezione 3 sono analizzate le reti di relazioni virtuali, la sezione 4 conclude. L'appendice 1 presenta i dettagli tecnici sulla raccolta e successiva pulizia dei dati; l'appendice 2 contiene la lista dei principali link completi presenti all'interno dei siti dei poli presi in esame.

2014 - Politiche a sostegno del sistema di ricerca e sviluppo in Danimarca, Finlandia, Francia, Germania, Italia, Spagna e Svezia [Working paper]
Russo, M.; Silvestri, F.; Fiordelmondo, V.; Caloffi, A.; Rossi, F.; Ghinoi, S.; Kaulard, A.
abstract

As a complementary research in the project "Poli.in_Analysis and modeling of Innovation Poles in Tuscany", this paper addresses the issue of how are structured policies for innovation in other EU countries and Italian regions that have adopted policies of innovation through the creation of innovation poles. Integrating a research produced by Caloffi, Mariani and Rulli (2014) on innovation policies in the Italian regions, the paper analyses the policies of innovation and technology transfer of some of the major European countries: Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden, and six Italian regions having innovation poles policies. For each country, the survey highlights the following issues. 1. Background: there is a national policy supporting the regional policies? At what level decisions are made concerning technology transfer? What are the infrastructure created at both national and regional levels? 2. Regions: which will be considered and why? 3. Time horizon: in which periods of time are individual policies for innovation active? 4. Financial dimension: what is the budget invested in those policies? 5. Beneficiaries: the aim is mainly to large companies or SMEs? Who are the stakeholders? What are the institutions involved? 6. Hints for the comparison with the policies of the Tuscany Region: what are the issues confrinted in other countries to identify the key players of innovation policy? What degree of similarity have the concepts used in the country compared to those we ientify in Tuscany (technology clusters, innovation poles, competence centers, network of incubators, ...)? For each country sources of information are listed. The paper presents also a review on six Italian regions that implemented policies for in-novation poles.

2014 - Politiche di innovazione e trasferimento tecnologico in Toscana. Ricognizione degli strumenti attivati nel periodo 2000-2013 [Working paper]
Russo, M.; Silvestri, F.; Fiordelmondo, V.; Caloffi, A.; Rossi, F.; Ghinoi, S.; Kaulard, A.
abstract

The survey of innovation policies and technology transfer activated by the Tuscany Region (Italy) in the periods 2000-2006 and 2007-2013 is one of the tools to support the research project "Poli.in_Analysis and modeling of Innovation Poles in Tuscany". In the first part of this paper we present a detailed review of innovation policies in Tuscany, by listing the calls, decrees and infrastructure created by the various policies, from the RIS and RIS +, implemented at the end of the 90s and early 2000s, to the last decrees issued in July 2014 on the basis of policies ERDF 2014-2020. On the basis of the legislation analyzed, we propose a timeline with a graphical representation where we highlight the relationship between the decrees, calls for funding and infrastructure created in the period 2000-2014. Where possible, the financial resources available to the region are reported. To define the purpose, the time evolution and the mutual relations between the entities and the infrastructure is the Glossary containing: the description of the infrastructure that facilitate or promote innovation; some definitions of the key technology transfer system in Tuscany; definitions of the services included in the catalog of advanced and qualified services. The Glossary is divided into three sections: Infrastructure or entities that facilitate or promote innovation; Definition; Qualified services. The sources used to prepare the report and the time line were those provided by the Region and, as a supplement, other documents and decrees that have been sourced from the official site of the Tuscany Region. As for the preparation of the glossary, in addition to the official documents of the Region of Tuscany we used also the corporate websites of the various entities described.