Sustainability

Editorial

3 pages, 171 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

New Challenges for Sustainable Organizations in Light of Agenda 2030 for Sustainability

by Donato Morea, Elisa Gebennini, Andrea Mazzitelli, Maria Simona Andreano, Gianpaolo Basile and Gandolfo Dominici

Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 1717; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041717 - 5 Feb 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1953

Abstract

Sustainability is one of humanity’s most daunting issues at present [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Challenges for Sustainable Organizations in Light of Agenda 2030 for Sustainability)

Research

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17 pages, 1738 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Economic Convergence in EU NUTS 3 Regions: A Spatial Econometric Perspective

by Paolo Postiglione, Alfredo Cartone and Domenica Panzera

Sustainability 2020, 12(17), 6717; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12176717 - 19 Aug 2020

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 4806

Abstract

The topic of economic convergence is still crucial in the European Union (EU) as promoting regional growth and the reduction of disparities remains a key objective. In this paper we investigate development and economic growth across EU regions. Particular attention is given to [...] Read more.

The topic of economic convergence is still crucial in the European Union (EU) as promoting regional growth and the reduction of disparities remains a key objective. In this paper we investigate development and economic growth across EU regions. Particular attention is given to σ-convergence and β-convergence. These analyses are carried out for regional units corresponding to the third level of the NUTS (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics) classification. Focusing on a refined geographical scale could offer a detailed picture of the regional growth dynamics within the EU. Additionally, we use a spatial augmented version of the conditional β-convergence model to take into account the spatial interdependencies among regions. Findings shed light on the impact of spatial interaction effects and on the need of territorial policies to achieve convergence in the EU. This aspect highlights how coordinating the regional development policies between regions is pivotal to achieve economic, as well as social and political stability within the EU. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Challenges for Sustainable Organizations in Light of Agenda 2030 for Sustainability)

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29 pages, 2523 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluating Climate between Working Excellence and Organizational Innovation: What Comes First?

by Isabella Bonacci, Andrea Mazzitelli and Donato Morea

Sustainability 2020, 12(8), 3340; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12083340 - 20 Apr 2020

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3977

Abstract

This research introduces a new concept of organizational climate, seen as a "mediator", namely a factor liable to produce positive effects on both individual performances and on work processes and relations, thereby creating a favorable relationship between work excellence and organizational innovation. Health [...] Read more.

This research introduces a new concept of organizational climate, seen as a "mediator", namely a factor liable to produce positive effects on both individual performances and on work processes and relations, thereby creating a favorable relationship between work excellence and organizational innovation. Health systems have been called to promote sustainability, as actors who work for the health and well-being of their patients. Starting from these considerations, this work shows the main results of a longitudinal study conducted in the pediatric department of a large hospital in southern Italy, for a period of three years (May 2014–May 2017). The reference survey was very broad because in the first step of the research a general questionnaire was adopted which included various aspects. Subsequently, the analysis of the influence of the “climate” factor was carried out according to a 3-dimensional scheme: structural, interpersonal/relational and individual. The focus was therefore set—especially in the second survey—on those indicators responding to the objective of the research and that were consistent with the epistemological choice made. The main scope was to verify the conditions according to which the organizational climate can emerge as a novel factor capable of siding with and orienting innovative patient-centered policies of human resources management. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Challenges for Sustainable Organizations in Light of Agenda 2030 for Sustainability)

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13 pages, 3620 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Community-Based Cooperatives: A New Business Model for the Development of Italian Inner Areas

by Luigi Mastronardi and Luca Romagnoli

Sustainability 2020, 12(5), 2082; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12052082 - 8 Mar 2020

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4045

Abstract

Italian municipalities distant from main service supply hubs are defined by the Development Ministry as “inner areas”. A new business model, called community-based cooperatives, has recently developed in these areas. The name itself highlights the strong link between these firms and the local [...] Read more.

Italian municipalities distant from main service supply hubs are defined by the Development Ministry as “inner areas”. A new business model, called community-based cooperatives, has recently developed in these areas. The name itself highlights the strong link between these firms and the local population. Their essential features are the pursuit of general interest and the creation of partnerships. This research explores the potential contribution of these enterprises to the growth of Italian inner areas. The data come from a direct survey, and the methodology includes text analysis techniques and correspondence analysis to create useful concept maps that define the paths that community-based cooperatives can take to regenerate their territories. The results highlight the critical issues of inner areas and the needs of their communities, together with the potential fields of business for the establishment of a community-based cooperative. In conclusion, these new firms may lead to real and enduring benefits to local communities. They could also contribute to demographic decline inversion by introducing new practices that reduce inequalities, enhance social, natural, and artificial capital, and boost the sustainable development process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Challenges for Sustainable Organizations in Light of Agenda 2030 for Sustainability)

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18 pages, 1531 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Spatial Dimension of Income Inequality: An Analysis at Municipal Level

by Luigi Mastronardi and Aurora Cavallo

Sustainability 2020, 12(4), 1622; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041622 - 21 Feb 2020

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 4499

Abstract

This paper focuses on the analysis on income inequality in Italy at the municipal level of the areas defined by the National Strategy for Inner Areas. We discuss an analysis of the economic and spatial dynamics of the phenomenon through the construction of [...] Read more.

This paper focuses on the analysis on income inequality in Italy at the municipal level of the areas defined by the National Strategy for Inner Areas. We discuss an analysis of the economic and spatial dynamics of the phenomenon through the construction of the Gini’s coefficient and the estimation of the regression model for the evaluation of the determinants of inequality. We highlight the influence of the spatial dimension on income inequality in Italy. Inequality appears to be greater in densely populated urban centers with a strong incidence of tertiary activities and young population. Conversely, in the inner areas, the distribution of income is more balanced due probably to the weakness of the social and economic structure that determines low levels of income and job opportunities mainly in the agricultural sector. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Challenges for Sustainable Organizations in Light of Agenda 2030 for Sustainability)

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14 pages, 904 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Visitor-Sensing: Involving the Crowd in Cultural Heritage Organizations

by Francesco Cappa, Federica Rosso and Antonio Capaldo

Sustainability 2020, 12(4), 1445; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041445 - 15 Feb 2020

Cited by 41 | Viewed by 5370

Abstract

As organizations are increasingly involving individuals across their boundaries in the generation of new knowledge, crowd involvement can also be beneficial to cultural heritage organizations. We argue that in an “Open Innovation in Science” approach, visitors can contribute to generate new scientific knowledge [...] Read more.

As organizations are increasingly involving individuals across their boundaries in the generation of new knowledge, crowd involvement can also be beneficial to cultural heritage organizations. We argue that in an “Open Innovation in Science” approach, visitors can contribute to generate new scientific knowledge concerning their behavior and preferences, by which museum managers can re-design the cultural offerings of their institutions in ways that generate major economic and social impacts. Accordingly, we advance visitor-sensing as a novel framework in which museum managers leverage digital technologies to collect visitors’ ideas, preferences, and feedback in order to improve path design and the organization of artwork in exhibitions, and to shape a more satisfying museum experience for visitors. We contend that visitor-sensing has the potential to yield higher numbers of visitors, with positive impacts in terms of increased revenues and increased literacy of the general public, thus benefiting the economic and social sustainability of cultural organizations towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals outlined in the Agenda 2030. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Challenges for Sustainable Organizations in Light of Agenda 2030 for Sustainability)

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22 pages, 1918 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Rural Identity, Authenticity, and Sustainability in Italian Inner Areas

by Gianpaolo Basile and Aurora Cavallo

Sustainability 2020, 12(3), 1272; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12031272 - 10 Feb 2020

Cited by 60 | Viewed by 7767

Abstract

This paper focuses on the sustainable development conditions in Italian Inner Areas. Italy’s Inner Areas are rural depopulated areas characterized by their distance from the main service centers of education, health, and mobility, according to the classification proposed by the National Strategy for [...] Read more.

This paper focuses on the sustainable development conditions in Italian Inner Areas. Italy’s Inner Areas are rural depopulated areas characterized by their distance from the main service centers of education, health, and mobility, according to the classification proposed by the National Strategy for Inner Areas in 2012. The inner and marginal areas are recently getting the interest of the market place and agricultural economics, as well as the attention of the regional and cohesion policies of national governments and the European Union. These places provide an intriguing perspective for a broader reflection on European peripheral areas and their development trajectories. The aim of this contribution is to interpret the determinants of the relationships between rural identity and perceptive components of authenticity, in order to understand the mechanisms by which they are positively reflected in socio-economic and environmental use, influencing in turn, the level of sustainability of territorial development. We found a specific role of the rural identity in the catalyzed phenomena of interaction between citizens/community and visitors/stakeholders, through the authenticity effect, identifying them as the basis of the spontaneous, bottom-up emersion of a symbolic platform, which characterizes the identification of a place brand and of the creation of the perception/destination of the inner territories’ characteristics. Finally, the paper discusses an Italian Inner Areas project promoted by the common engagement of local institutions and social and economic actors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Challenges for Sustainable Organizations in Light of Agenda 2030 for Sustainability)

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17 pages, 714 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Entrepreneurial Drivers for the Development of the Circular Business Model: The Role of Academic Spin-Off

by Stefano Poponi, Gabriella Arcese, Enrico Maria Mosconi and Michelangelo Arezzo di Trifiletti

Sustainability 2020, 12(1), 423; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12010423 - 6 Jan 2020

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 5103

Abstract

Circular Economy represents today a new economic paradigm based on the environment and on the recovery of material. The pursuit of this change can be implemented through different policies with a top-down or bottom-up approach. Following the latter approach Spin-Offs, typically defined as [...] Read more.

Circular Economy represents today a new economic paradigm based on the environment and on the recovery of material. The pursuit of this change can be implemented through different policies with a top-down or bottom-up approach. Following the latter approach Spin-Offs, typically defined as “Science Based” companies, represent an alternative tool to promote technology transfer. In other words, they represent a bridge between the research and the production system. This part of the study is part of a larger and more complex project whose objective is to verify whether the development of research Spin-Offs and in particular academics, operating in the environment sector, or more generally sustainable, facilitate the transition from the classic model of linear economics to the innovative model of circular economics. The aim of the paper is to investigate how spin off enterprises can be a driver for the development of a Circular Business Model and to facilitate the transition from the classical model of linear economy to the new model of Circular Economy. At the methodological level, a multiple compared analysis was made between a sample of firms located in Lazio Region- Italy, that operates in the area of green economy Smart Specialization Strategy (S3). The analysis shows a rapid succession of variables that lead to the identification of four scenarios, deriving from the interconnection of the outcome: “closed loop”, “open loop” and the presence or absence of Circular Economy practices. The result confirms that the Academic Spin-Offs can be a driver of Circular economy, as long as that fall within the IV scenario, characterized by the interconnection of an open loop system that works in a circular approach. The “High valorization of waste” represents the discriminant in this scenario, which allows to activate a cascade system in a multi-stakeholder perspective. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Challenges for Sustainable Organizations in Light of Agenda 2030 for Sustainability)

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21 pages, 1706 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Administrative Reforms in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: The Case of Blockchain Use

by Seunghwan Myeong and Yuseok Jung

Sustainability 2019, 11(14), 3971; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11143971 - 22 Jul 2019

Cited by 31 | Viewed by 7226

Abstract

The increasing interest in blockchain since the end of 2017 has induced many attempts to apply it to public sector administration. Blockchains have been shown to improve the levels of economic efficiency, security and decentralization in administration. This exploratory study examines the determinants [...] Read more.

The increasing interest in blockchain since the end of 2017 has induced many attempts to apply it to public sector administration. Blockchains have been shown to improve the levels of economic efficiency, security and decentralization in administration. This exploratory study examines the determinants of blockchain administration and their priorities through an analytic-hierarchy process (AHP) analysis. The priority ranking of internal factors was security, economic efficiency, and decentralization. The introduction of blockchains in the evolution of the current e-government to the future of convergent governments will be generalized through trial, error, and learning processes. As experienced both in the knowledge and information society and in the e-government development process, reforming government administration is not solely a technical problem. The study results suggest that future blockchain administration in the public sector be used in the field of e-voting to encourage citizen participation in the process of agenda-setting, to enhance the level of security and transparency of taxation, and to increase the level of equity. Blockchain technology can also be used to improve efficiency in the provision of individually oriented social welfare services. Its adoption via administrative reform may reduce the level of corruption in personnel management, recruitment, and procurement in public sector organizations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Challenges for Sustainable Organizations in Light of Agenda 2030 for Sustainability)

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