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MATTEO VIGNOLI

COLLABORATORE DI RICERCA
Dipartimento di Economia "Marco Biagi"

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Pubblicazioni

2023 - Successful implementation of discrete event simulation: integrating design thinking and simulation approach in an emergency department [Articolo su rivista]
Dosi, C.; Iori, M.; Kramer, A.; Vignoli, M.
abstract

We address the overcrowding problem in an emergency department (ED) by designing and developing a hybrid methodology that combines design thinking with discrete event simulation. The case study shows how the tested methodology led to a successful implementation of the proposed organizational change in less than 18months, improving system KPIs (such as patients’ waiting time) and ED professionals’ quality of work. The results confirm a successful combination of the two approaches in practice, by showing (i) how to combine design thinking tools and simulation tools in different design phases (comprehension, abstraction, ideation, and testing), and (ii) how the two tools nurture each other reciprocally. The paper concludes with some final considerations regarding the use of simulation in organizational processes design.

2022 - Business Model-I, Passionate IT Professional. Methodology of conducting classes using the Design Thinking, Visual Thinking, and Storytelling methods [Monografia/Trattato scientifico]
Balboni, Bernardo; Colombo, Alice; Jakieła, Jacek; de Jesus Marques, Gastão; José, Ana; Marchini, Silvia; Musca, Eleonora; Strozzi, Chiara; Świętoniowska, Joanna; Varadinov, Maria José; Vignoli, Matteo; Wójcik, Joanna
abstract

The aim of this handbook is to provide guidance to those teachers who are willing to run the “Business Model – I, Passionate IT Professional” course in their University. Why? This is both a human-centered and interaction-based course. The human-centered course means that IT students, the course’s recipientes, are considered and understood in a more holistic way. In fact, the course relies on “design methods” that employ both divergent and convergent thinking concerned with how the students themselves attribute and reflect on meanings, values, and beliefs. Interaction-based means that the main aim of the facilitators is not about providing content (even though this role is not revoked from them! Facilitators are still expert professionals whose individual perspective is precious for students), it is instead about creating an the environment in which students can create a dialogue around the different topics that, every time, are brought in class. It is through the establishment of various sorts of interactions and approaches that contents are learned: peer-to-peer interaction, individual reflections and, last but not least, hands-on experience. Facilitating the conversation instead of helding one: It may sound like an easy task, but it is not. Encouraging the conversation between students, building a learning environment to reflect upon the future is not an easy task. This is the reason why this handbook is here for you, the facilitator, in order to share with you the experience gained through the different meetups of the “BE Aware Student - BEAST” project (funded by Erasmus+ Programme, Key Action 2: Strategic Partnerships for higher education) such as the “International Academy of Innovative Educational Methods and Techniques”, held in Modena in March 2019, and in three Summer Schools organized by the three partners of the ‘BEAST’ project, the University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszow (PL), Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre (PT), and University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (IT), along with contribution from other experts. During this course, you’ll be asked to set up an environment that enables your students to engage in group presentation, collective discussion, individual reflection, 1 to 1 interaction, individual and group work. Every time you can rely on this guide, and benefit from the guidelines, the tips and the attention points collected from the previously gained experience by the BEAST community. The methodology will show how the methods of Design Thinking, Visual Thinking and Storytelling can be used during classes: in fact, all those methods can work with IT subjects, and they can increase the effectiveness of teaching in the context of promoting student’s creativity, entrepreneurial thinking and the ability to use innovative ideas in practice. Along with the general course structure, this handbook covers in detail each step of the course including objectives and methods, comments to the teaching materials (material characteristics, technical and organizational requirements, didactic potential, application options, problem questions for students, inspiration to work with course participants, etc.) as well as instruction on the use of these methods.

2022 - Evolving the "How Might We?" Tool to Include Planetary Boundaries [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Vignoli, M.; Roversi, S.; Jatwani, C.; Tiriduzzi, M.; Finoccki, C.
abstract

2022 - How to organize for open innovation from the ground up: a microfoundations approach in a foodservice firm [Articolo su rivista]
Annosi, Mc; Martini, A; Marzi, G; Vignoli, M; Parra, H
abstract

Purpose This study aims to analyze what promotes the adoption of open innovation (OI) in the foodservice sector. Specifically, it seeks to shed light on the bottom-up mechanisms (the microfoundations) that allow a foodservice firm to organize for OI. Design/methodology/approach The research design is an in-depth exploratory case study with 18 semi-structured interviews. The findings have been triangulated with documentation available on the corporate website, the project reports and direct observation. Data were analyzed using an inductive approach, coding individual interview transcripts. Findings This study identifies three categories of capabilities that have to be spread to different organizational levels: the capability to sense organizational triggers to change, to develop external collaborations and knowledge exchanges with different parties and the management's ability to be aware of organizational imperatives and the need to proceed with process adjustment. Results highlight the importance of sensing organizational triggers, allowing a quick switch between new strategies in implementing an OI approach. It was crucial for the company to co-develop new products and services with a large audience of stakeholders, not only limited to customers. The case remarks on the required ability of the organization and management team to activate mechanisms aimed at reconfiguring the competencies within each business unit, keeping an alignment with the needs of the stakeholders. Originality/value The study emphasizes the multi-level characteristics of OI and provides a framework for microfoundations on how to organize for OI. Results contribute to the recent debate on the skills and routines an organization should design and promote within their employees.

2022 - Introduction [Capitolo/Saggio]
Balboni, Bernardo; Cardoso, Luis; Dosi, Clio; Guerci, Eric; Guerra, Cristina; Jakieła, Jacek; José, Ana; Lozzi, Roberta; Marques, Gastão; Świętoniowska, Joanna; José Varadinov, Maria; Vignoli, Matteo; Vordou, Eleni; Wójcik, Joanna
abstract

2022 - Methodology Development [Capitolo/Saggio]
Balboni, Bernardo; Dosi, Clio; Lozzi, Roberta; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

We developed the BE(A)ST approach by following a three-phase methodology that intertwines academic research and problem solving. We have iteratively developed and tested the evolving prototypes of Personalized Career Development (PCD) courses in six different international and local programs. First, we designed the BE(A)ST approach (identificationof tools, course structure, and course format). Second, we identified the students’ profiles with student-centered ethnographic research and obtained the BE(A)ST profile matrix, which maps four profiles of students across student career proactivity and student career decidedness, as well as developed and validated a self-assessment questionnaire for student profile identification. Third, we designed the PCD course, matching tools and profiles with a workshop co-designed with experts, and validated the solution in a five day international school with 20 students.

2021 - Designing services for employees' wellbeing: principles for an improved employee experience [Articolo su rivista]
Vignoli, M.; Di Norcia, M.; Bertolotti, F.
abstract

This research proposes a set of design principles that designers and managers responsible for the design of organizational support services could adopt to improve employees' wellbeing. Through a qualitative study, based on semi-structured interviews, we carried out a cross-context analysis of wellbeing initiatives developed in three organizations. Adopting the perspective of science-based design, we drew seven design principles. We also experimented within an organization operating in the Infrastructures and Cities, Energy, Healthcare, and IT industry to validate the design principles' use and their effects on a design process. We emphasize the importance of including these principles in the process of designing services oriented to employees' wellbeing in organizational contexts using the Design Thinking approach, and their application in broader contexts where services may play a crucial role.

2021 - Experimenting with Open Innovation in Science (OIS) practices: A novel approach to co-developing research proposals [Articolo su rivista]
Beck, S.; Bercovitz, J.; Bergenholtz, C.; Brasseur, T. -M.; D'Este, P.; Dorn, A.; Doser, M.; Dosi, C.; Effert, A.; Furtuna, R.; Goodyear, M.; Grimpe, C.; Haeussler, C.; Hans, F.; Heinisch, B.; Katona, N.; Kleinberger-Pierer, H.; Kokshagina, O.; Laflamme, M.; Lawson, C.; Lehner, P.; Lifshitz-Assaf, H.; Lukas, W.; Marchini, S.; Mitterhauser, M.; Moscato, F.; Nordberg, M.; Norn, M. -T.; Poetz, M.; Ponti, M.; Pruschak, G.; Rafner, J. F.; Romasanta, A. K.; Ruser, A.; Sameed, M.; Sauermann, H.; Suess-Reyes, J.; Tucci, C. L.; Tuertscher, P.; Saez, R. V.; Vignoli, M.; Zyontz, S.
abstract

2021 - HUMAN AND PLANET CENTERED APPROACH: PROSPERITY THINKING IN ACTION [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Vignoli, Matteo; Roversi, Sara; Jatwani, Chhavi; Tiriduzzi, Margherita
abstract

This work aims to test Prosperity Thinking methodology in Action and assess whether this method would respond to the needs of designers, innovators, and change-makers that are willing to change the food system. Starting from the evolution of marketing design to human-centered design, we illustrate the importance of taking into account the planet's means in the design for Sustainability at the system level. We approached the problem starting from practice, with an Action Research Innovation Management Framework (Guertler, Kriz, and Sick, 2020). Results show that designers, innovators, and changemakers have an interest in a methodology that helps them to analyze and solve systemic challenges linking the micro (human) and macro (planet) through a participatory approach to achieve long-term impact of the designed solutions.

2021 - Inspiring the future change-makers: reflections and ways forward from the Challenge-Based Innovation experiment [Articolo su rivista]
Vignoli, Matteo; Balboni, Bernardo; Cotoranu, Andreea; Dosi, Clio; Glisoni, Noemi; Kohler, Kirstin; Mincolelli, Giuseppe; Mäkinen, Saku; Nordberg, Markus; Thong, Christine
abstract

Since 2013, CERN IdeaSquare has issued thousands of “licenses to dream” to students, faculties, and stakeholders engaged in Challenge Based Innovation (CBI) inspired programs (CBI-like) together with universities and institutions willing to inspire future change-makers to tackle global challenges. This special issue was inspired by these eight years of experimentation, leading to six papers that focus on three main topics: (1) learning from experimenting with CBI, (2) experimenting with deep tech in innovation processes, and (3) impact and future of CBI experimentations.

2021 - N2T ‘Need to Tech discovery’ tool: enabling interaction with scientists in CBI students’ projects [Articolo su rivista]
Balboni, Bernardo; Dosi, Clio; Marchini, Silvia; Mincolelli, Giuseppe; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

The ‘Need to Tech discovery’ tool (N2T) is a design tool aimed at improving the interface between the scientific community and the market-driven innovation community. N2T embeds technological and scientific inputs into human-centered design processes. Once the design team has inputs from the human-centered research, it iteratively applies a divergence map and tech functional scenarios to interact with researchers. The output is a situated list of technologies that could be embedded in the solution concepts. N2T was developed using an Action Research Innovation Management Framework during four iterations of the Oper.CBI Open Innovation Program in connection with IdeaSquare, CERN. Results show better outcomes of the design team in exploring the potential applications of technologies and a higher engagement of scientists and researchers in the challenge domain.

2021 - TEN TRANSFORM EMERGENCY NOW! - FACING COVID 19 WITH OPEN AND FRUGAL INNOVATION [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Dosi, Clio; Cocchi, Nicolò; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

Against a pandemic, speed is crucial, and open innovation (OI) helps to empower the human capital distributed around the world to tackle the disease and to launch rapid testing of possible solutions. This article aims at showing an OI program - called “TEN” Transform Emergency Now! - ideated and developed by the University of Bologna to identify, design, and implement useful solutions to tackle specific issues coming from pandemics. With an action research-innovation management approach, the University developed two iterations to identify what elements to take into account to define a program that works for this effort. In TEN, Frugal Innovation (FI) principles were injected in a 10 days hackathon to favor the use of locally available resources and raw materials and exclude non-essential features. Results show that Frugality can become an element of OI by (1) pushing the team towards basic functionality and minimal features of the solutions and low-cost implementation. (2) Designing, in parallel with the solution, an ‘implementation network’, with a specific process design and program's organizational perspective. We believe that TEN has the potential to be an OI approach designed for emergencies.

2021 - The Hybrid Model MatrixEnhancing Stage-Gate with Design Thinking, Lean Startup, and Agile Managers can use the Hybrid Model Matrix to decide when to use design thinking, Lean Startup, or Agile with Stage-Gate to boost new product development [Articolo su rivista]
Cocchi, N.; Dosi, C.; Vignoli, M.
abstract

Overview: The Hybrid Model Matrix supports managers’ decision-making regarding which new product development (NPD) processes to activate for a specific project. Stage-Gate is the backbone process of the matrix, and design thinking, Lean Startup, and Agile are plugged in to create three different hybrid models. The matrix also provides guidance regarding when R&D managers might use each model. The Hybrid Model Matrix outlines four approaches––linear Stage-Gate and the three hybrid models—that R&D managers may activate selectively based on company knowledge of users and categories. R&D managers can use the Hybrid Model Matrix to guide NPD projects better since they can determine the most suitable model given each opportunity’s specific context.

2020 - "OPER.TEN" transform emergency now! facing Covid-19 with open innovation and human centered design [Articolo su rivista]
Mincolelli, G.; Cocchi, N.; Dosi, C.; Vignoli, M.
abstract

The paper presents "OPER.TEN", a ten days program that hybridized Human Centered Design (HCD) with Open innovation (OI), developed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The program adapted an HCD methodology to face the challenges of designing during a pandemic, such as relying on remote interactions only. The article presents methodological challenges as well as tools and methods developed to overcome those challenges. OPER.TEN, Transform Emergency Now! is a hybrid methodology that relies on HCD and OI tools and principles. OPER. TEN ensures fast implementation of the results involving stakeholders of the territory with implementation capacity. The final network involved Universities, Companies, Municipalities, and Government. After the design phase, three of the four solutions were successfully implemented. Results report how to hybridize an HCD with OI to push rapid implementations.

2020 - Facing Implementation Barriers to Healthcare Simulation Studies [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Dosi, C.; Iori, M.; Kramer, A.; Vignoli, M.
abstract

Implementation barriers to simulation studies are a reality in today's healthcare organizations. This work proposes a novel framework to use simulation to maximise successful implementation by (1) framing the right problem to face; (2) using what-if scenarios as an exploration tool for users’ value; (3) supporting knowledge integration in giving tangible results to discuss among different professionals. We successfully tested the framework in an 18-month Emergency Department overcrowding case study, by developing a Discrete Events Simulation model and using it as a decision making tool for a multi-disciplinary group of 21 professionals (doctors, nurses, aid nurses, hospital management and engineers expert in simulation). Results show that the framework helps finding the most implementable solutions in the context of study, under the rationale that a small implemented improvement is preferable than a big one on paper. In the presented case study, after 15 years of absence of organisational change, the hospital was able to implement three new simulated solutions in 18 months.

2020 - Prototypes as Identity Markers: the Double Edged Role of Prototypes in Multidisciplinary Innovation Teams [Articolo su rivista]
Dosi, Clio; Mattarelli, Elisa; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

Prototypes play a powerful role in facilitating the work of multidisciplinary innovation teams, but if not properly managed, they may inhibit innovation processes. This paper inquires into the tensions that exist around the use of prototypes in multidisciplinary teams. We studied the relationship between work identities (related to teams and subgroups within teams) and prototypes with a field study of a multidisciplinary team in an emergency department, in charge of redesigning the layout of the unit. Results show that different values of subgroup identities are reflected in the solutions devised by the team. These values become salient through the prototype, i.e. the prototype is an identity marker, especially when it is characterized by higher tangibility, fidelity, and validity. When the prototype is an identity marker, it sparks conflict within the team. We also find that a superordinate team identity can help in solving conflictual interactions. Our analysis contributes to revealing how prototypes as identity markers can both inhibit and facilitate the innovation process of multidisciplinary teams. We offer theoretical and practical implications for managers, team members, and designers working in multidisciplinary teams.

2019 - Computational Simulation as an Organizational Prototyping Tool [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Dosi, Clio; Iori, Manuel; Kramer, Arthur; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

This case study deals with a redesign effort to face the overcrowding issue in an Emergency Department (ED). A multidiscinary group of healthcare professionals and engineers worked together to improve the actual processes. We integrate the simulation modeling in a human-centered design method. We use the simulation technique as a learning and experimentation tool into a design thinking process: the computational descrete event simulation helps explore the possibile scenarios to be prototyped. We used the simulation to create a virtual prototyping environment, to help the group start a safe ideation and prototyping effort. Virtual prototyping injected into the organizational context the possibility of experimenting. It represented a cognitive low-risk environment where professionals could explore possible alternative solutions. Upon those solutions, we developed organizational prototyping tools. Top management and head physicians gained confidence for a more grounded decision making effort and important choices of change management and investments have been made.

2019 - Strategic Alignment Matrix: supporting management coordination in complex organizations [Articolo su rivista]
Bertolotti, F; Macrì, Diego; Vignoli, M
abstract

Purpose The paper proposes a framework, labeled Strategic Alignment Matrix, to attain organizational alignment by integrating the horizontal dimension of performance (results driven by activities carried out by multiple organizational units) and the vertical dimension (results of single units) through the use of a sophisticated information structure composed of quantitative measures and management processes. Design/methodology/approach A science-based design approach was adopted. A review of the literature on Strategic Performance Management Systems (SPMS) and coordination allowed the identification of a set of design principles (guidelines reflecting the accumulated knowledge in the literature). The design principles guided the design of the proposed framework. The framework was tested in a tiles company on the new product development process. Findings Five design principles are presented for the design of a working SPMS: (1) to integrate the horizontal and vertical dimensions of performance; (2) to have all the relevant information in one place (package); (3) to understand how actors contribute to the overall performance; (4) to favor the emergence of integrating conditions for coordination; (5) to enrich the role of quantitative non-financial information to attain inter-functional integration. During the test of the framework, managers highlighted their increased ability to coordinate actions and the existence of a double-loop learning. Research limitations/implications The model was tested in one organization. The study should be replicated in other contexts connecting the Strategic Alignment Matrix to the budgeting and incentives systems. Originality/value Working at the interface between science and design helps to address the theory-practice gap that has been a priority in management studies for a long time.

2018 - Experimenting with innovation in creative spaces [Articolo su rivista]
Vignoli, Matteo; Mattarelli, Elisa; Mäkinen, Saku J.
abstract

This special issue is dedicated to the investigation of how people, teams, and organizations collaborate and experiment with innovative practices in different types of creative spaces and the challenges and opportunities they face in such contexts. The six papers of this special issue offer a comprehensive view of creative spaces by providing variegated perspectives, case studies, and evidence on exemplary experimentations within them.

2018 - MEASURING DESIGN THINKING MINDSET [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Dosi, Clio; Rosati, Francesca; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

This article describes the development and validation of a questionnaire designed to measure the Design Thinking Mindset self-awareness. A comprehensive review of the relevant literature revealed 19 constructs. An exploratory factor analysis of the responses of two samples (N = 307) of Design Thinking professionals with some level of experience resulted in a 71-item instrument to assess DT Thinking Mindset based on 22 constructs. A measure of DT Mindset is relevant for research and practice, i.e. measuring the impact of different variables and designing more balanced and complete design teams.

2018 - Service design principles for organizational well-being: Improving the employee experience through design thinking [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Bertolotti, Fabiola; DI NORCIA, Marco; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

The aim of this paper is to link Service Design to organizational well-being and propose a set of design principles that can be adopted by both designers and managers responsible for the design of organizational services that aim at improving employees' well-being. Through a qualitative study, we conducted a cross-context analysis of well-being initiatives developed in three companies operating in different industries. By applying a science-based design perspective approach, we were able to derive a set of seven design principles. We highlight the importance of including these principles in the process of designing services in organizational contexts using Design Thinking, in particular services oriented to employees’ well-being, as well as considering their application in broader contexts in which services may play a crucial role.

2018 - Teaching Innovation in Interdisciplinary Environments: Toward a Design Thinking Syllabus [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Wiesche, Manuel; Leifer, Larry; Uebernickel, Falk; Lang, Michael; Byler, Eric; Feldmann, Niels; Pablo Garcia-Cifuentes, Juan; Höltää-Otto, Katja; Kelly, Kevin; Satzger, Gerhard; Suzuki, Sushi; Thong, Christine; Vignoli, Matteo; Krcmar, Helmut
abstract

An increasing number of universities offer user-centric innovation courses based on the principles of design thinking. Lecturers combine a plethora of design thinking elements in design thinking course syllabi and thereby adopt teaching styles that range from autonomy-supportive to structured. Using a balance between these two teaching styles seems most suitable to optimally engage students and provide guidance through the innovation process. To develop a syllabus for innovation courses, we draw on best practices currently being undertaken in universities worldwide and examine 11 design thinking syllabi from different departments (Engineering, Design, Business, and Information Systems). We identify 17 common and 18 unique elements of design thinking courses and related course materials. Based on our results, we propose a design thinking syllabus that includes suggestions for course objectives, course setup, assignment design, and team composition using a balance between autonomous-support and structural teaching styles.

2018 - The Interplay between Prototyping and Identity Processes: a Field Study of a Healthcare Team [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Dosi, Clio; Mattarelli, Elisa; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

While prototypes are recognized as fundamental boundary objects in that they can favor coordination in multidisciplinary teams, we know little about how team members interpret and interact with different types of prototypes and the implications for knowledge integration. In order to address this gap, we adopted an identity-based perspective and conducted a field study of a multidisciplinary team in an emergency department, composed of doctors, nurses, technicians, and designers, in charge of redesigning the layout of the unit developing four prototypes. Our grounded model shows how team and subgroups identities impact on how prototypes are discussed, defined, and tested. In particular, subgroup identities played a major role in the definition of prototypes characterized by high levels of tangibility, validity, and fidelity, by engendering more conflict and dissent. However, a team identity based on values of innovation and experimentation lead the multidisciplinary team first to discuss openly about possible alternatives and then to converge on a solution that integrated their diverse knowledge. Our analysis contributes to the literature on boundary objects by unraveling how the interpretation of the characteristics of a prototype interacts with team and subgroups identities and offers theoretical and practical implications for designers working in knowledge intensive teams.

2018 - What do we know about manufacturing reshoring? [Articolo su rivista]
Barbieri, Paolo; Ciabuschi, Francesco; Fratocchi, Luciano; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

Purpose The aim of this paper is to analyze and classify research that has been conducted on manufacturing reshoring, i.e. the decision to bring back to the home country production activities earlier offshored, independently of the governance mode (insourcing vs outsourcing). Consequently, the paper also aims at providing avenues for future research and to highlight the distinct value of studying manufacturing reshoring either per se or in combination with other constructs of the international business tradition. Design/methodology/approach A set of 57 carefully selected articles on manufacturing reshoring published in international journals or books indexed on Scopus in the past 10 years was systematically analyzed based on the “5Ws and 1H” (who-what-where-when-why and how) set of questions. Findings The authors’ work shows a certain convergence among authors regarding what reshoring is and what its key features and motivations are. In contrast, other related aspects, such as the decision-making and implementation processes, are comparatively less understood. Research limitations/implications As manufacturing reshoring is a “recent” topic, for some of its aspects, only exploratory research is available to date, limiting the authors’ possibility to either characterize it in a more exhaustive way or highlight well-established patterns. Practical implications The paper demonstrates that studying reshoring will indeed contribute to expanding our understanding of internationalization processes and strategies in general and of production internationalization specifically. While past studies have argued that the learning derived from international experience would permit firms to overcome their unfamiliarity with new business environments, reshoring might show that this outcome is not necessarily certain. Rather, firms might not be able to overcome obstacles because of internationalization or they might realize that attempting to do so is not desirable, e.g. because of excessive risk or changes in the firm’s strategic priorities. Social implications From a societal point of view, the present research underlines that reshoring can be part of that re-industrialization policy that many Western countries include in their economic agenda – yet, its impact on employment should not be overestimated, as often relocation is only in regard to some product lines. At the same time, there might be an intimate relationship between reshoring and the various forms of technological innovations applied to manufacturing – which has become popularly labeled as “Industry 4.0”. Originality/value Literature reviews proposed until now usually paid almost exclusive attention to motivations driving this phenomenon. This paper offers a broader and more comprehensive examination of the extant knowledge of manufacturing reshoring and identifies the main unresolved issues and knowledge gaps, which future research should investigate.

2017 - Inaugural Editorial: Experimentation in Innovation Studies [Articolo su rivista]
Mäkinen, S. J.; Steinert, M.; Vignoli, Matteo; Birkinshaw, J.; Nordberg, M.
abstract

The purpose of the new on-line journal, CERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation, or CIJ, is to provide an open platform and a data depository for the socio-economic innovation research. CIJ is interested in the social dimensions of experimentation in innovation. In particular, CIJ aims at increasing our understanding of what, how, why, when, and where people innovate, what, how, why, when, and where innovations are created, adopted, used, modified, and discarded and how innovations are managed, directed, governed, or influenced.

2017 - Manufacturing Reshoring Explained: An Interpretative Framework of Ten Years of Research [Capitolo/Saggio]
Barbieri, Paolo; Ciabuschi, Francesco; Fratocchi, Luciano; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze and classify research that has been conducted on manufacturing reshoring, i.e., the decision to bring back to the home country production activities earlier offshored, independently of the governance mode (insourcing vs. outsourcing). Literature reviews proposed until now usually paid almost exclusive attention to motivations driving this phenomenon. This paper offers a broader and more comprehensive examination of the extant knowledge of manufactiring reshoring and identifies the main unresolved issues and knowledge gaps, which future research should investigate. Moreover, the purpose of the paper is to provide avenues for future research and highlight the distinct value of studying manufacturing reshoring either per se or in combination with other constructs of the international business tradition. A set of 49 carefully selected articles on manufacturing reshoring published in international journals or books indexed on Scopus in the last 10 years is systematically analyzed based on the “5 Ws and 1H” (Who-What-Where-When-Why and How) set of questions. Our work shows a certain convergence among authors regarding what reshoring is, what its key features and motivations are. In contrast, other related aspects, such as the decision making and implementation processes, are comparatively less understood.

2017 - Minimizing CO2 emissions in a practical daily carpooling problem [Articolo su rivista]
Bruck, Bruno P; Incerti, Valerio; Iori, Manuel; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

Governments, as well as companies and individuals, are increasingly aware of the damages to the environment caused by human activities. In this sense, the reduction of CO2 emissions is an important topic that is pursued through a range of practices. A relevant example is carpooling, which is defined as the act of individuals sharing a single car. In this paper we approach a practical case found in an Italian service company. Our objective is to develop an integrated web application to be used by the employees of this company to organize carpooling crews on a daily basis, so as to reach a common destination. We look for possible crews by the use of mathematical formulations and heuristic algorithms. The heuristic algorithms are then embedded into the web application to provide users with carpooling solutions. Experimental results attest for a great potential in CO2 savings by the use of carpooling in the real-world scenario as well as in newly generated instances.

2017 - Progettare soluzioni innovative con il design thinking in sanità: il caso del pronto soccorso di Reggio Emilia [Articolo su rivista]
Dosi, Clio; Ferrari, Annamaria; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

The topic of design thinking in the healthcare sector is presented through a case study. Design thinking is a design approach that allows overcoming the implementation of industry best practices in a decontextualized manner by the reference organization. It allows you to come up with a design response thanks to a logical model that tends to discover and learn the most appropriate design solution for that context. The case study deals with the problem of overcrowding within the emergency department of the Arcispedale Santa Maria Nuova, in Reggio Emilia. The article presents the entire design process till the identification of the solution, achieved through the collaboration between healthcare professionals and engineers, the iterative prototyping of solutions and their testing on the field.

2017 - Tempo di reshoring manifatturiero: direttrici geografiche e motivazioni [Articolo su rivista]
Fratocchi, L; Ancarani, A; Barbieri, P; Di Mauro, C; Nassimbeni, G; Orzes, G; Sartor, M; Vignoli, Matteo; Zanoni, A.
abstract

Negli ultimi decenni, la delocalizzazione (off-shoring) delle attività produttive è stata una delle scelte strategiche più frequentemente implementate dalle imprese manifatturiere dei principali Paesi industriali. Tale decisione è stata solitamente motivata dalla ricerca di minori costi di produzione, anche se non mancano evidenze di strategie volte alla ricerca di nuovi mercati di sbocco. Le strategie di off-shoring sono state spesso accompagnate da modalità di governance orientate all’esternalizzazione (out-sourcing) anche se le due decisioni (off-shoring e out-sourcing) sono comunque autonome, essendo la prima di tipo localizzativo (dove produrre) e la seconda relativa alla modalità di gestione delle attività produttive (make vs buy) (Gray, 2013). Dal punto di vista geografico, le scelte delocalizzative si sono principalmente concentrate su destinazioni asiatiche – Cina in primis, tanto da essere assurta a “fabbrica del mondo” (Buckley, 2004). Almeno per le imprese del nostro continente, va poi segnalata la rilevanza delle destinazioni nei Paesi dell’ex Europa dell’Est, specialmente a seguito della caduta del Muro di Berlino.

2017 - The coexistence of design thinking and stage and gate in the same organisational context-Challenges and need for integration [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Franchini, Giulia; Dosi, Clio; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

The current product innovation scenario is facing important changes that require the New Product Development (NPD) process to be adjusted. Despite Stage and Gate (SG) is the most adopted framework, several studies inquired how to overcome its limits; new innovation methods emerged from the practitioners’ world, and, among them, Design Thinking (DT). To our knowledge, no research has inquired the coexistence of the two methods inside the same organizational context. This study is based on a single case study of a food company where the two methods co-exist. The aim is to understand if the perceptions of the employees are coherent with the pros and cons of literature and to investigate if the two methods can be compared, integrated or are mutually exclusive. Our study shows that the two methods, as parallel processes, lead to confusion among employees, due to the overlapping of some activities, with a perception of wasted resources. Moreover, emerged an interesting balance among the pros and cons of the two methods, where items have been identified as complementary. Results highlight a call for integration among the two methods with the limits of SG overtaken by the benefits of DT.

2017 - Towards a DT mindset tool evaluation: factors identification from theory and practice [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Paparo, Marco; Dosi, Clio; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

Several studies identify the Design Thinking mindset as the crucial aspect of the Design Thinking implementation in organisations. However, it is not clear how to measure the DT mindset in organisations, and its successful implementation. This paper aims at contributing at the development of a multidimensional scale of a Design Thinking mindset. This research in its first phase performs a structured literature review to identify what key elements define a Design Thinking mindset. We identified 40 characteristics clustered in 9 groups. The second phase of research identifies validated scales that could overlap with those groups and be used to measure them. Out of 9 factors, we managed to cover 5 factors with validated scales. A double panel of experts tested the validity of the survey: a first panel of 4 Design thinking experts and a second panel of 14 practitioners of different experiences of DT implementation. Results identify what elements of DT mindset should be measured, what domains (factors) could be measured with validated scales (from literature) and what domains will require ad-hoc development of new items from future research.

2016 - Designing the Future, Engineering Reality: Prototyping in the Emergency Department [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Starnino, Antonio; Dosi, Clio; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

This case study covers the implementation of a live prototype aimed at addressing the issue of overcrowding at the emergency department (ED) of the Santa Maria Nuova Hospital (ASMN) in Reggio Emilia (Italy). It was facilitated by a team of service designers and management engineers from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (UNIMORE), and a working group of 15 professionals composed of doctors, nurses and auxiliaries. The live prototype involved the 150+ staff of the emergency department and over 3,750 patients over a period of 34 days. The end result of the service was a smoother patient flow that reduced waiting time by 38%, and had a patient satisfaction rating of 94% increased staff-patient communication. The service also carried negative effects on how doctor’s viewed their professional identity, and caused stress due to uncontrollable noise limits.

2016 - Motivations of Manufacturing reshoring: An interpretative framework [Articolo su rivista]
Fratocchi, L; Ancarani, A; Barbieri, P; Di Mauro, C; Nassimbeni, G; Sartor, M; Vignoli, Matteo; Zanoni, A.
abstract

Purpose The paper presents a framework for the analysis of reshoring. The framework is then applied to analyze motivations for reshoring, as they emerge from extant literature and from new evidence collected. Design We start by formulating a literature-grounded definition of reshoring and reviewing some key theoretical approaches for international manufacturing Locations. In light of these theories, we then propose an interpretative framework for the analysis of reshoring motivations. Finally, we provide new evidence on this phenomenon, by presenting the findings of an extensive data collection of reshoring cases built on secondary data. Findings We show that a vast array of single drivers of reshoring can be extracted from extant literature; however, our interpretative framework eventually highlights 4 main typologies of reshoring motivations, thus allowing for a more sound comprehension of why the phenomenon happens. Our empirical investigation also proves useful in comparing the relative importance of these motivations, as it reveals that value driven and country specific motivations prevail over efficiency driven and firm specific ones, respectively. Originality/value This is the first paper that summarizes the motivations of the rising reshoring phenomenon and interprets them based on an original theory-derived classification framework.

2015 - Distributed experiments in design sciences, a next step in design Observation Studies? [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Kriesi, Carlo; Steinert, Martin; Aalto Setaelae, Laura; Anvik, Anders; Balters, Stephanie; Baracchi, Alessia; Jensen, Matilde Bisballe; Bjørkli, Leif Erik; Buzzaccaro, Nicolo; Cortesi, Dario; D'Onghia, Francesco; Dosi, Clio; Franchini, Giulia; Fuchs, Matt; Gerstenberg, Achim; Hansen, Erik; Hiekkanen, Karri Matias; Hyde, David; Ituarte, Iñigo; Kalasniemi, Jani; Kurikka, Joona; Lanza, Irene; Laurila, Anssi; Lee, Tik Ho; Lønvik, Siri; Mansikka Aho, Anniina; Nordberg, Markus; Oinonen, Paeivi; Pedrelli, Luca; Pekuri, Anna; Rane, Enna; Reime, Thov; Repokari, Lauri; Rønningen, Martin; Rowlands, Stephanie; Sjöman, Heikki; Slåttsveen, Kristoffer; Strachan, Andy; Strømstad, Kirsti; Suren, Stian; Tapio, Peter; Utriainen, Tuuli; Vignoli, Matteo; Vijaykumar, Saurabh; Welo, Torgeir; Wulvik, Andreas
abstract

This paper describes and proposes a new method for conducting globally distributed design research. Instead of using e.g. a software we tried out a completely analogue approach: Five carefully prepared packages, containing all the necessary materials and instructions for a design challenge, were sent out to supervisors in Norway, Finland, Italy, and Australia. These local supervisors then conducted the egg-drop exercise with students that are part of an international course held at CERN. As the task is conducted according to a previously tested protocol, the results gathered with this new method can then be benchmarked with this available data. This new approach to globally conducted engineering design activities avoids local bias and enables for gathering large amounts of diverse data points. One can also think of a research community where every member can send out one experiment per year and, in return, receives data points from across the world. Based on the feedback from the supervisors we can say that from an organisational standpoint of view, this method works well. The comparison to the existing data has yet to be done.

2015 - Dynamically capturing engineering team interactions with wearable technology [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Sjöman, Heikki; Steinert, Martin; Kress, Greg; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

This paper addresses the need of matching the product architecture and the interactions in design teams. A new method for this of how to build agile design teams was first introduced in 2013. We conducted a method-confirming study during spring 2014 where the same study-setup was tested. An idea of gathering interaction data of this study dynamically with a device occurred and led to prototyping with different technologies and concepts. We built a wearable device that is able to detect proximity of other similar devices in front of it nearby and this acts as a proxy for interaction. The device is based on an open source Arduino platform and a radio frequency transceiver chip. User testing of the proof of concept prototype shew promising results of acceptance and robustness. In future research we should be able to to see in real-time how system components and organizational interactions are in interplay with each other, where are the resources used, and thus learn from it how to build better design teams and manage their allocation and interfaces more effectively throughout the various phases of the product and systems development process.

2015 - Exploring the relationship between multiple team membership and team performance: the role of social networks and collaborative technology [Articolo su rivista]
Bertolotti, Fabiola; Mattarelli, Elisa; Vignoli, Matteo; Macri', Diego Maria
abstract

Firms devoted to research and development and innovative activities intensively use teams to carry out knowledge intensive work and increasingly ask their employees to be engaged in multiple teams (e.g. R&D project teams) simultaneously. The literature has extensively investigated the antecedents of single teams performance, but has largely overlooked the effects of multiple team membership (MTM), i.e., the participation of a focal team’s members in multiple teams simultaneously, on the focal team outcomes. In this paper we examine the relationships between team performance, MTM, the use of collaborative technologies (instant messaging), and work-place social networks (external advice receiving). The data collected in the R&D unit of an Italian company support the existence of an inverted U-shaped relationship between MTM and team performance such that teams whose members are engaged simultaneously in few or many teams experience lower performance. We found that receiving advice from external sources moderated this relationship. When MTM is low or high, external advice receiving has a positive effect, while at intermediate levels of MTM it has a negative effect. Finally, the average use of instant messaging in the team also moderated the relationship such that at low levels of MTM, R&D teams whose members use instant messaging intensively attain higher performance while at high levels of MTM an intense use of instant messaging is associated with lower team performance. We conclude with a discussion of theoretical and practical implications for innovative firms engaged in multitasking work scenarios.

2015 - How tangible is your prototype? Designing the user and expert interaction [Articolo su rivista]
Donati, Chiara; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

The only way to create a shared understanding of an idea in the design process is to convert it into a prototype. Since prototypes are in general built by experts and tested by users, we want to discover which materials users like and if experts and users are aligned in this choice in the different design phases. In this experiment, the tested object is an intangible artefact. We gathered qualitative data on how users and experts perceive low fidelity prototypes made of different materials. We found that the sequence of prototyping materials to use for each phase of the design process depends upon the user. The tangibility level of prototypes increases as the design process progresses. Less tangible prototypes works in brainstorming while ones that are more tangible are perfect for the testing phase. In general, prototypes that are more tangible facilitate creativity, interaction and communication, because they allow a direct link between actions and thoughts.

2015 - Manufacturing Back- and Near-reshoring: A comparison of European and North American Companies [Capitolo/Saggio]
Fratocchi, Luciano; Barbieri, Paolo; Ancarani, Alessandro; Di Mauro, Carmela; Troiano, Alessio; Vignoli, Matteo; Zanoni, Andrea
abstract

This paper explores the recent back-reshoring and near-reshoring trends in global manufacturing, summarising and discussing empirical evidence emerging from a wide range of countries. Drawing on a data-base of secondary data, the paper contrasts the motivation for reshoring in US and Europe. Findings suggest that the reduction in labor and logistics cost differentials between offshore and home locations is one of the main reasons for relocating production both in Europe and US. Differences between the two areas emerge with respect to the importance assigned to the value creation effects.

2015 - Manufacturing back-Reshoring as a nonlinear internationalization process [Capitolo/Saggio]
Fratocchi, Luciano; Ancarani, Alessandro; Barbieri, Paolo; Di Mauro, Carmela; Nassimbeni, Guido; Sartor, Marco; Vignoli, Matteo; Zanoni, Andrea
abstract

Purpose The first aim of the chapter is to offer a characterization of back-reshoring as a possible step of the firm’s nonlinear internationalization process. The second aim is to review the empirical literature on back-reshoring and to complement it with the findings of an extensive data collection. Methodology/approach In this chapter we adopted an explorative approach building on both theoretical and empirical literature from the fields of international business and international operations Management. We also collected secondary data on back-reshoring decisions in order to define the magnitude of the investigated phenomenon and to offer a primary characterization. Findings Our findings confirm that, though it cannot be considered a generalized trend, back-reshoring is a very topical issue for international business scholars. It represents an autonomous phenomenon consistent with the idea of nonlinear internationalization process. Research limitations/implications The chapter is based on cross-sectional data. Longitudinal research is required in order to address the proposed research questions and help understanding “how much” and what kind of manufacturing will be housed in western countries in the near future. Originality/value This is the first attempt to conceptualize back-reshoring as a possible step of the firms’ internationalization process. It is also the first chapter that summarizes and discusses the literature and empirical evidence on back-reshoring emerging from a wide range of countries.

2015 - Reggio Emilia engineering education [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Vignoli, Matteo; D'Onghia, Francesco
abstract

How do we prepare future engineers to face 21th century challenges? This paper confronts the issue of what it really means to be an engineer and how to design a learning experience that influence the process of formation of one s identity, as a professional and as a human being. In this effort we have been deeply inspired by a pedagogy directed to preschool and primary education of Reggio Emilia (Italy): Reggio Emilia Approach. Starting from 2010, Project-based Learning was introduced in a MS&E capstone master degree class. New practices inspired by Reggio Emilia Approach were progressively implemented from 2011 to 2013. Every year, students completed a formal evaluation survey and answered to semi-structured interviews. The study reveals that there has been a significant increase of student interest toward the discipline. Students also showed to consider themselves more creative and confident about their capabilities. This experience shows that it is not enough to design the education of the engineer, but we must consider as equally important the education of the human being and of the citizen, by focussing on relations, on collectivity and on participation.

2014 - CHOOSE THE RIGHT MATERIAL! EXPERT AND USER INTERACTION IN PARTICIPATORY DESIGN [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Donati, Chiara; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

The only way to create a shared understanding of an idea in the design process is to convert it in a tangible prototype. This paper investigates how the tangibility level of a prototype can affect the interaction between designers and end users. We found that the sequence of prototyping materials to use for each phase of the design process depends upon the end user. Things such as age, background and personal skills are very important in choosing the right material. Less tangible prototypes works in brainstorming while ones that are more tangible are perfect for the testing phase.

2014 - Il back-reshoring manifatturiero nei processi di internazionalizzazione: inquadramento teorico ed evidenze empiriche [Capitolo/Saggio]
Fratocchi, L.; Ancarani, A. .; Barbieri, P. .; Di Mauro, C.; Nassimbeni, G.; Sartor, M.; Vignoli, Matteo; Zanoni, A.
abstract

Obiettivo del paper. Il paper si prefigge di inquadrare il fenomeno del back-reshoring manifatturiero - ovvero la rilocalizzazione nel paese di origine delle attività produttive precedentemente delocalizzate all’estero -nell’ambito dei processi di internazionalizzazione dell’impresa. Metodologia. L’approccio metodologico utilizzato è di tipo esplorativo, data la mancanza di una letteratura consolidata specifica. In particolare si è fatto ricorso a dati secondari raccolti in maniera originale attraverso una pluralità di fonti. Risultati. È stata identificata una definizione operativa di back-reshoring inserendo tale fenomeno in un framework teorico rappresentativo del processo evolutivo di internazionalizzazione dell’impresa. Sulla base delle evidenze empiriche, sono state proposte delle direttrici di sviluppo per future attività di ricerca. Implicazioni manageriali. Sono state evidenziate le conseguenze che il fenomeno può avere sulla competitività e le performance economica delle imprese che adottano strategie di reshoring. Originalità e limiti della ricerca. Il principale elemento di originalità del lavoro è rappresentato dall’utilizzo di una metodologia di ricerca esplorativa che ha coniugato l’analisi della letteratura di International business e quella di Supply chain management con l’analisi di evidenze empiriche raccolte in maniera originaria. Le scelte metodologiche effettuate rappresentano anche il principale limite del contributo, le cui conclusioni non sono generalizzabili ma costituiscono la base per ulteriori approfondimenti del dibattito scientifico, per i quali si sono identificate delle specifiche direttrici.

2014 - Manufacturing Back-and Near-reshoring A Comparison among EU and North American Evidence [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Fratocchi, Luciano; Ancarani, Alessandro; Barbieri, Paolo; Di Mauro, Carmela; Nassimbeni, Guido; Sartor, Marco; Troiano, Alessio; Vignoli, Matteo; Zanoni, Andrea
abstract

The paper is focused on the topic of back- and near-reshoring, that is managerial decisions to relocate (partially or totally) production or sourcing activities earlier off-shored. This is the first paper that summarises and discusses empirical evidence on back-shoring emerging from a wide range of countries, focusing on North American and European evidence. More specifically, we discuss and present data collected by our research group (Uni-CLUB MoRe Back-reshoring) from several secondary sources.

2014 - Manufacturing back-reshoring and the firm’s internationalization process [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Fratocchi, Luciano; Ancarani, Alessandro; Barbieri, Paolo; Di Mauro, Carmela; Nassimbeni, Guido; Sartor, Marco; Vignoli, Matteo; Zanoni, Andrea
abstract

Over the past few years, the use of terms such as “on-shoring”, “re-shoring”, “home-shoring”, and “back-shoring” has multiplied dramatically, especially in economic journalism and in consulting firms’ white papers. In turn, policy-makers have seen back-shoring strategies as ways to bring jobs back home during the global crisis. The topic has attracted academic attention (mainly in the Supply chain management field of study), but reliable and quantitative evidence on the extent of the back-shoring phenomenon is scant and often of anecdotal nature. Moreover, the characterisation of this evidence, as well as its role within the firms’ internationalisation process, remains unclear. In this paper we adopted an explorative approach building on both theoretical and empirical literature from the fields of International Business and International Operations Management. The first aim of the paper is to offer a characterisation of back-reshoring as a possible step of the firm’s internationalisation strategy and to identify the differences (if any) with other phenomena, such as “de-internationalisation”, “international divestment” and “return relocation”, already analysed by international business and international operations management scholars. The second aim of the paper is to review the empirical literature on back-reshoring and to complement it with the findings of an extensive data collection. Firms’ motivations for back-reshoring emerging from this evidence are interpreted in the light of existing theories of internationalisation, and used to propose a set of research questions for scholars to tackle. Results confirm what has been heard anecdotally: logistic issues, rising costs in offshore locations, automation, quality issues inside the global supply chain, and the realization of the advantages of proximity to markets are all at the root of location strategies that tend to be regional rather than global. Finally, open issues are identified and opportunities for future research are suggested. Our findings confirm that, though it cannot be considered a generalised trend, back-reshoring is a very topical issue, not the least because of its social and political implications. To date, the topic remains largely unexplored, and longitudinal research is required to address our research questions and other issues that can help with understanding and predicting successful location decisions.

2013 - Building Agile Design Teams (Presentation) [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Vignoli, Matteo; Ferioli, Gabriele; Steinert, Martin
abstract

One of the most common problem in many organizations that have reached considerable dimension and complexity is the lack of communication and collaboration between the different departments. When considering companies producing highly engineered and complex products the design communication problems can lead to cost overruns, schedule slippage, and quality problems. Using a structured multi matrix approach to analyze the existing project component staffing and team interaction we are able to identify firstly understaffed critical components interfaces, secondly instances of missing critical team interfaces and, last but not least, thirdly we are able to generate an improved team member allocation, to build an agile design team. To demonstrate the model’s practical utility we discuss a case study of a company operating in the automotive sector.

2013 - Building agile design teams [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Vignoli, Matteo; Ferioli, Gabriele; Steinert, Martin
abstract

One of the most common problem in many organizations that have reached considerable dimension and complexity is the lack of communication and collaboration between the different departments. When considering companies producing highly engineered and complex products the design communication problems can lead to cost overruns, schedule slippage, and quality problems. Using a structured multi matrix approach to analyze the existing project component staffing and team interaction we are able to identify firstly understaffed critical components interfaces, secondly instances of missing critical team interfaces and, last but not least, thirdly we are able to generate an improved team member allocation, to build an agile design team. To demonstrate the model’s practical utility we discuss a case study of a company operating in the automotive sector.

2013 - CoopNet: A Social, P2P-Like Simulation Model to Explore Knowledge-Based Production Processes [Capitolo/Saggio]
Mollona, Edoardo; Jesi, Gian Paolo; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

A prevalent claim is that we are in a knowledge economy, where firms can be viewed as networks of knowledge nodes interacting together. In this work, we propose a social, P2P-like simulation model, CoopNet, to investigate how networking and organizational mechanisms interact to affect the emergent cooperation of workers. More specifically, we examine how (i) distinct reward mechanisms and (ii) distinct mobility assumptions on workers’ combine to influence cooperation. As a result, we highlight the role of co-workers selection and the continuity of working relationships as alternative mechanisms to foster cooperation within intra-organizational network.

2013 - Manufacturing Back-shoring and the Global Fragmentation of Production: What it is Changing after the Financial Crisis? [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Fratocchi, Luciano; Nassimbeni, Guido; Sartor, Marco; Ancarani, Alessandro; Di Mauro, Carmela; Zanoni, Andrea; Barbieri, Paolo; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

Over the past five years, use of the term “back-shoring”(and of its apparent synonyms) has multiplied dramatically, especially in economics journalism and in consulting firms’ white papers. More recently, the topic has prompted academic investigation too, despite the lack of reliable data. This paper aims to establish the importance of manufacturing back-shoring, especially in the wake of the financial crisis, and to promote research on this topic within the international business scientific community. To this end, we conducted an in-depth analysis of both the academic and the practitioner’s literature, and now propose an operational definition of back-shoring. Given the paucity of currently available data, we base the following discussion on the evidence provided by our inter-University research group database, which contains 230 operational observations on back-shoring activities enacted by manufacturers with a global sales profile. Furthermore, we focus on 50 operations implemented by Italian companies and compare them with analogous operations effected by German firms and already described in the literature.

2013 - Manufacturing Back-shoring: Theoretical Conceptualization and Empirical Evidences [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Fratocchi, Luciano; Equizi, Sonia; Nassimbeni, Guido; Sartor, Marco; Ancarani, Alessandro; Mauro, Carmela Di; Zanoni, Andrea; Barbieri, Paolo; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

In recent years, the use of the term “back-shoring” has expanded dramatically in consulting firms’ white papers and, more recently, in academic journals too, despite the lack of reliable data. The paper aims to establish the importance of back-shoring strategies for manufacturing companies, especially in the wake of the recent financial crisis. To this end, we analyse and discuss 304 operational observations contained in our inter-University research group’s database on back-shoring strategies. Finally, we review 50 operations implemented by Italian companies and attempt to reconstruct motivations behind this change of strategy.

2013 - Manufacturing back-reshoring-an exploratory approach for hypotheses development [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Fratocchi, Luciano; Nicola Barbieri, Paolo; Di Mauro, Carmela; Nassimbeni, Guido; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

Over the past years, use of the terms like “on-shoring”,“re-shoring” and “back-shoring” has multiplied dramatically, especially in economics journalism and in consulting firms’ white papers. More recently, the topic has also attracted academic attention. Notwithstanding this increasing attention, reliable and quantitative evidence on the extent of the back-shoring phenomenon is scanty and often of anecdotal nature. Moreover, definition and characterization of such a phenomenon are still not definitive. In this paper, we focus our attention on the theoretical conceptualization of the back-reshoring phenomenon and summarize the base of knowledge currently available. At the same time, we formulate an operative definition of the investigated phenomenon within a comprehensive theoretical framework. We also define a set of research proposals to be analysed in future research, on the basis of both, a literature review and preliminary evidence provided by our dataset “Uni-CLUB MoRe Back-reshoring”, developed as part of a research project jointly undertaken by scholars belonging to the Universities of Catania, L’Aquila, Udine, Bologna and Reggio Emilia.

2012 - Multiple Team Membership and Team Performance: The Effects of Social Networks and Technology [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Bertolotti, Fabiola; Mattarelli, Elisa; Vignoli, Matteo; Macri', Diego Maria
abstract

In this paper we examine the relationships between team performance, multiple team membership (MTM), i.e., the participation of team members in multiple teams simultaneously, the use of collaborative technologies (instant messaging) and work-place social networks (receiving advice). In a sample of R&D teams belonging to an Italian company, we found an inverted U-shaped relationship between MTM and team performance such that teams whose members are engaged simultaneously in few or many teams experience lower performance. We found that receiving advice moderated this relationship such that when MTM is low, it has a positive effect and when MTM is high, it has a negative effect. Finally the use of instant messaging also moderated the relationship such that at low levels of MTM, teams whose members used instant messaging intensively attain higher performance while at high levels of MTM an intense use of instant messaging is associated with lower team performance.

2012 - Structure or flow? Designing knowledge based organizations [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
E., Mollona; Vignoli, Matteo; G. P., Jesi
abstract

In knowledge-based economies production processes require joint effort by a number of individuals with very specific know-how and organizations play a role as integrator of a variety of individual knowledge. As knowledge specialization increases, however, the integration becomes a difficult endeavor.Escalating specialization and reliance on creativity of individual specialists may weaken the effectiveness of authority-based hierarchical mechanisms, this paper suggests that in order to design knowledge-based production processes, organizations need to design the flow, focusing on how reciprocal exchange emerges in networks of co-workers. We use a computer agent-based model – COOPNET – as a theoretical laboratory to explore the emergence of cooperation in an intra-organizational exchange network. In this virtual environment, we address how individual rewiring and reciprocation strategies interplay with the features of the organization context. More precisely, we test a number of hypotheses on how the freedom assigned to unilaterally terminate an exchange relationships interact with rewarding policies and organization topology and reinforces emerging aggregate cooperation.

2011 - I team virtuali di R&D. [Capitolo/Saggio]
Bertolotti, Fabiola; Macri', Diego Maria; Mattarelli, Elisa; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

Il caso presentato in questo capitolo riguarda l’unità di R&S di una media impresa italiana che sviluppa motori ad energia alternativa, avvalendosi di team di progetto a diverso grado di vir-tualità. I membri dei team lavorano su diversi progetti simultaneamente e questo influenza la performance dei singoli team. In particolare, esiste una relazione a U invertita tra il numero di progetti a cui mediamente i membri del team partecipano (MTM) e la performance del team. All’aumentare del valore di MTM, aumenta la performance del team, ma oltre una certa soglia la relazione si inverte, a causa del bisogno degli individui di ‘dividersi’ tra troppe attività diverse. La relazione tra MTM e performance è moderata (cioè influenzata) dal supporto che gli individui ricevono dai colleghi e dalle modalità d’uso delle tecnologie collaborative. In particolare, avere un ampio supporto da numerosi colleghi è positivo per la performance del team se le persone sono coinvolte su pochi progetti, mentre è negativa quando gli individui sono coinvolti su moltissimi progetti. L’uso dell’Instant Messaging è positivo per la performance del team, quando gli individui sono coinvolti su pochi progetti, ma è causa di troppe interruzioni, difficili da gestire efficientemente, quando gli individui nel team sono coinvolti in molti progetti simultaneamente. Il caso si conclude con la discussione di alcune implicazioni per le organizzazioni.

2011 - Le comunità online [Capitolo/Saggio]
Bertolotti, Fabiola; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

Il capitolo introduce e definisce le comunità online, con particolare riferimento alle co-munità di sviluppo software a codice sorgente aperto (open source). Sono descritte le motivazioni che spingono centinaia di volontari a contribuire alle comunità e le modalità con cui tali comunità sono governate ed evolvono. Sono anche descritte le principali caratteristiche che accomunano e distinguono i team virtuali e le comunità online. I casi di studio di Apache ed Eclipse (due comunità open source), rispettivamente nate da un gruppo di utenti-sviluppatori e da un progetto avviato da IBM, illustrano i processi collaborati-vi, i ruoli e la divisione delle responsabilità in comunità che presentano genesi diversa. I casi mostrano come il successo sia da attribuirsi principalmente alla capacità delle due comunità di fornire metodologie e strumenti di lavoro a distanza, di progettare un software modulare e di costruire la comunità online sul senso di appartenenza e di contributo volontario nel caso di Apache, e sulla meritocrazia e trasparenza nel caso di Eclipse.

2011 - Manufacturing Back-Shoring: A Research Agenda for an Emerging Issue in International Business [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Fratocchi, Luciano; Nassimbeni, Guido; Zanoni, Andrea; Ancarani, Alessandro; Valente, Marta Edda; Sartor, Marco; Barbieri, Paolo; Mauro, Carmela Di; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

The paper is focused on a phenomenon – the so called “back-shoring” (often indicated also as “onshoring”, “in-shoring”, “re-shoring”, “reverse-shoring”, “international re-concentration”, “reverse-globalization”, even if they are not always considered synonymous) – which is becoming more and more diffused in the last years. Notwithstanding this increasing diffusion, it is still rarely investigated by academics and often discussed only in economic newspapers and white papers by management consulting firms. Manufacturing “back-shoring” is the process by which previously off-shored production are moved back to the domestic location (Kinkel and Maloca, 2009; Leibl, Morefield and Pfeiffer, 2011) an earlier off-shored or off-shore outsourced manufacturing activity is relocated in the firm’s home country. Based on a comprehensive literature review and evidences regarding 87 western companies, the objectives of this paper are: a) to analyze the relevance of such a managerial phenomenon; b) to identify and classify its motivations; c) to highlight some research questions.

2011 - Prototyping In Organizational Process Engineering [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Vignoli, Matteo; Macri', Diego Maria; Bertolotti, Fabiola
abstract

Organizations are increasingly developing new forms of integration. With the support of Organizational Design and Engineering - a new perspective on pursuing organizational effectiveness - it is now possible to attain new forms of competitive advantage through organizational changes whose outcomes are more easily predictable than in the past. To enable these changes we propose to intervene on organizational processes, considered by many scholars a convenient level of analysis. This paper aims to suggest which are the appropriate techniques to prototype the different components of a process. To this intent, we classify processes according to three analytical dimensions and then we propose the use of Discrete Event Simulation for Operational processes, of System Dynamics for Behavioral processes and of Agent Based Modeling for Change processes. This analytical classification favors the comparison of the different techniques and their uses We argue that, in complex situations, several techniques should be simultaneously employed.

2011 - The relationship between team performance and multiple team membership: the role of social networks and technology [Working paper]
Bertolotti, Fabiola; Macri', Diego Maria; Mattarelli, Elisa; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

In this paper we examine associations between team performance, the belongingness of team members to multiple project teams simultaneously, the use of collaborative technologies and work-place social networks (advice network support). In a sample of R&D teams, we proposed and found an inverted U-shaped relationship between multiple team membership (MTM) and team performance such that teams whose members are engaged simultaneously in few or many teams experience lower performance. Network support is a moderator of this relationship so that when MTM is low, network support has a positive effect and when MTM is high, network support has a negative effect. Finally the use of collaborative technologies, specifically instant messaging, moderates the relationship such that at low levels of MTM, teams whose members make an intense use of collaborative technologies attain higher performance while at high levels of MTM an intense use of collaborative technologies is associated with lower team performance.

2010 - Business Process Simulation Roots in Information Processing View of Organizations. [Articolo su rivista]
Carli, G.; Grandi, A.; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

This study aims to highlight the relations between Business Process Simulation (BPS) and organizational theory, in particular the view of organizations as information processors. Although BPS emerged as a practice-oriented set of techniques without strong linkages to organizational theories, contingency theory concepts are clearly embedded into BPS approach. For that reason, it is possible to state that BPS approach inherits the strong constructs of the information processing view of organizations. In addition to that, classical simulation steps can be clearly identified as part of the structure of a BPS implementation. In order to show the differences among the application of BPS and of the most widespread simulation techniques (e.g. System Dynamics, agent based approaches), a comparison table is developed. This study advocates for a deeper understanding of the potentialities of BPS and its impact on organizational design.

2010 - Integrazione organizzativa e tecnologia: schemi concettuali e tecniche per il ridisegno dei processi intra e inter-organizzativi. [Monografia/Trattato scientifico]
Macri', Diego Maria; Vignoli, Matteo; Bertolotti, Fabiola; Mattarelli, Elisa
abstract

La pubblicazione illustra gli schemi concettuali e le tecniche per ridisegnare i processi sia inter sia intra-organizzativi al fine di raggiungere integrazione sia organizzativa sia tecnologica. I temi investigati sono le tecniche per lo studio e l'analisi dei processi organizzativi, le tecnologie dei sistemi informativi per l'integrazione delle informazioni e per l'analisi dei processi, gli strumenti di progettazione e di gestione dell'integrazione, la matrix alignment.

2010 - Inter-organizational collaboration in academia: is it worth one’s while? [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Vignoli, Matteo; Bertolotti, Fabiola; A., Grandi; Mattarelli, Elisa
abstract

Research organizations are increasingly a context where the barriers related to physical distance are blurring. Indeed social, political and organizational pressures to inter-organizational collaboration are intensifying. This paper adopts a longitudinal approach to study the phenomenon of collaboration, investigating specifically the relationship between the mix of internal and external collaboration ties and the researcher’s performance. Analyzing the collaboration ties of researchers employed in a major Italian University from 2000 to 2007 through panel analysis, we found support for the hypothesis that more inter-organizational collaboration leads to superior performance. This result helps to deepen the understanding of the evolution of collaboration in research organizations and has implications for both management and policy.

2010 - Losers: how not to win in a global interconnected world [Abstract in Rivista]
F., Nonino; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

The paper illustrates the results of a research carried out on the topic of collaboration amonginternational research groups/institutes/or ganizations. The aim of this research is to understand if thestructural characteristics of network of collaboration are more important than experience and quality of aresearch group and then to investigate the impact of network structure of collaboration atinter-organizational level on a not positive outcome. Scholars has widely recognized the importance ofnetwork structure of collaboration in research performances (Mart et al., 2002; Subramanyam, 1983).However, when studying its negative impacts, literature is still scant and shows unexplored andemergent research areas. Consequently the question which has driven our research is:Is it the quality of partners and/or consortium or the network structure characteristics that determinenegative performances?Our sample contains network data for 3363 research organizations which applied for a EU frameworkprogram, but in three different calls (time points): respectively 1000, 788 and 1575. Among these only378, 335 and 590 were funded for at least one project.Preliminary results, which have to be further analyzed, seems to show that network characteristics arebetter predictor of not positive outcomes than the research consortium quality.

2010 - The relationship between team performance and multiple team membership: the role of social networks and technology [Abstract in Rivista]
Bertolotti, Fabiola; Macri', Diego Maria; Mattarelli, Elisa; Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

Organizations increasingly use teams, both co-localized and distributed, to perform knowledge intensivetasks and face fast-pace environmental changes. Although their importance is widely acknowledged, agrowing body of evidences suggests that teams frequently face difficulties in fully realizing theirpotential, especially in situations where team members are distributed and interact mainly throughcollaborative technologies. The structure of social networks in which teams are embedded is consideredan important predictor of team performance even though, at a group level of analysis, empiricalevidence is still scant. Previous research has investigated the relationships between densecommunication-networ k structure in predicting performance in localized teams and started to link socialnetwork structures to some outcomes of distributed teams such as rapport, trust, ease of coordination.However, in distributed teams, dense communication and advice networks may be difficult to maintain,because team members need to avail themselves almost exclusively of communication technologies(Hinds, McGrath, 2006). Therefore, in this paper, we aim to further investigate the interplay betweentechnologies and the structure of work-related social networks and its effect on team performancecomparing distributed and collocated teams.Organizations increasingly use teams, both co-localized and distributed, to perform knowledge intensivetasks and face fast-pace environmental changes. Although their importance is widely acknowledged, agrowing body of evidences suggests that teams frequently face difficulties in fully realizing theirpotential, especially in situations where team members are distributed and interact mainly throughcollaborative technologies. The structure of social networks in which teams are embedded is consideredan important predictor of team performance even though, at a group level of analysis, empiricalevidence is still scant. Previous research has investigated the relationships between densecommunication-networ k structure in predicting performance in localized teams and started to link socialnetwork structures to some outcomes of distributed teams such as rapport, trust, ease of coordination.However, in distributed teams, dense communication and advice networks may be difficult to maintain,because team members need to avail themselves almost exclusively of communication technologies(Hinds, McGrath, 2006). Therefore, in this paper, we aim to further investigate the interplay betweentechnologies and the structure of work-related social networks and its effect on team performancecomparing distributed and collocated teams.We collected data on 73 R&D professionals, situated across 29 project teams (both co-located andgeographically distributed) and belonging to a multi-national world-leading corporation operating in thealternative energy industry. We collected data on the advice, communication, potential interaction workrelated complete networks Performance was measured by asking both team members and managers toevaluate the team outcomes in terms of quality of output, respect of budget, deadlines and clientsatisfaction. This work contributes to the social network as well as collaboration and distributed workliterature.

2009 - If you sleep with dogs you will wake up with flies: the Impact of Scientific Collaboration Network Structure and Evolution on Researcher Performance [Working paper]
Vignoli, Matteo; Bertolotti, F.; Mattarelli, Elisa; Grandi, A.
abstract

This paper examines the evolution of a scientific collaboration network in order to investigate the process underlining the patterns of new researchers’ attachment, the extent to which the performance of a researcher is positively related to the network’s evolution and the process explaining the researcher’s performance evolution. We applied the Discrete-Time Network Visualization and the Actor Oriented Modeling to study the researchers’ co-evolution of network and performance in four departments of a major Italian University from 1996 to 2007. Results show that homophily is the main mechanism of attachment to a research group. Researchers’ performance is influenced by the groups the researcher belongs to, the strength of the tie to the principal investigator, and the researcher’s capabilities. To predict future good performance, the co-evolution mechanism requires strong ties inside the group and weak ties outside. Results do not support the hypothesis that performance is positively correlated with network growth. Theoretical and practical implications, together with future research directions, are discussed.

2008 - L’influenza della dinamica tra collaborazioni interne ed esterne sulla performance del ricercatore [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Vignoli, Matteo; Bertolotti, Fabiola; A., Grandi
abstract

Le organizzazioni di ricerca rappresentano sempre più un contesto dove le barriere legate alla distanza fisica sono labili mentre più forti sono le spinte sociali, politiche e organizzative alla collaborazione interorganizzativa. Questo lavoro adotta un approccio longitudinale per studiare il fenomeno della collaborazione nella prospettiva del ricercatore, indagando il rapporto tra il mix di relazioni di collaborazione interne ed esterne e la performance individuale. Analizzando le relazioni di collaborazione dei ricercatori di un importante Ateneo italiano negli anni dal 2000 al 2007 tramite un’analisi di tipo panel, viene supportata l’ipotesi che l’aumento dei legami di collaborazione con l’esterno dell’organizzazione rispetto all’interno determini performance superiori. Questo risultato contribuisce ad approfondire la comprensione del fenomeno dell’evoluzione della collaborazione nelle organizzazioni di ricerca e offre implicazioni per il management e la policy.

2007 - Epoca - Eccellenza nei Processi Organizzativi e nella Corporate Analysis [Spin Off]
Macri', Diego Maria; Vignoli, Matteo; Bisi, Olmes; Bertolotti, Fabiola; Mattarelli, Elisa; Zambonelli, Franco; U., Cantarelli; E., Lodolo; G., Nigro; F., Pavoncelli; V., Poliandri; M., Storchi; P., Veroni
abstract

2007 - I sistemi ICT a supporto del facility management [Capitolo/Saggio]
Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

Per ottenere un vantaggio competitivo durevole, è oggi determinante per l’organizzazione sviluppare una vera e propria strategia di gestione patrimoniale, identificando le tecnologie di supporto più adeguate e garantendo l’acquisizione ed il mantenimento delle necessarie competenze.In linea con quanto appena esposto, un sistema informativo a supporto della gestione del patrimonio deve garantire: •il monitoraggio dei processi di supporto alle infrastrutture,•il miglioramento della conoscenza degli assets e più specificamente del patrimonio immobiliare e degli impianti,•la riduzione dei tempi delle attività di costruzione e manutenzione degli immobili e degli impianti,•il contenimento dei costi operativi di gestione del patrimonio,•l’assenza di soluzioni non ottimali o ridondanti.

2007 - Research groups evolution in a Foreign Language Department [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

Recent work has started to study the global structure of large-scale collaboration networks in the natural sciences (Newman, 2001; Newman, 2003) but has not attempted to explain the features and the evolution of such networks with respect to scientific practice. In fact the exchange of ideas, research questions, methods and tacit knowledge is only possible in structurally cohesive networks like research groups in an organizational setting.Current research in the sociology of knowledge suggests that the set of ideas one holds to be true is largely a function of the group of people one interacts with and references to authorities recognized by the group (Moody, 2004). The co-authorship on papers implies that there has been collaboration between scientists, which could connote a research group, if the researchers belong to the same organization. It has been shown that in such networks the connections are based on homophily, meaning similar research interests (McPherson et. al., 2001) and stability, meaning that two scientists that collaborated they have been trusting each other (Newman, 2003).

2006 - L’allineamento tra modello operativo e logica organizzativa delle attività di IT nel settore pubblico: analisi della letteratura e idee di ricerca [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Vignoli, Matteo
abstract

Il tema della gestione strategica delle attività connesse all’Information Technology (IT) è stato approfonditamente studiato in letteratura, tuttavia la maggior parte dei contributi fanno riferimento ad imprese private. D’altra parte, negli ultimi anni, le organizzazioni pubbliche di tutto il mondo hanno investito in maniera sempre più strutturata e consistente in Information Technology al fine di conseguire, anche congiuntamente, una pluralità di obiettivi: migliorare l’infrastruttura tecnologica di base, migliorare l’offerta di servizi ai cittadini, ridurre il carico di lavoro del personale interno, abbattere i costi. In questo lavoro verranno studiati, attraverso un’analisi approfondita della letteratura, i costrutti “modello operativo” e “logica organizzativa delle attività di IT” e le loro modalità di allineamento, considerando criticamente il rapporto tra organizzazioni pubbliche e imprese private. Il lavoro si concluderà proponendo alcuni casi applicativi, un meta-modello derivato dal confronto dei lavori esaminati con le problematiche del settore pubblico e il delineamento di alcune linee di ricerca futura.